School Sport - cross & orienteering

Hi!

First of all we want to say sorry for doesn't write for so long ago. School started and the time is not very much : /

This week laranjitas had school sport activities. Last Wednesday Mariana run the 2nd phase of the Cross, (city championship) where she was 3rd :) Joana and Isabel went to the first orienteering competition, from School Sport season 08/09 . It happened last Saturday, in a shiny morning in Ponte de Lima. It was a very short competition with just 2,8km. Joana was 2nd with 33'48'' and Isabel was 1st with 29'53''. Although Isabel lost 3' in control 2, in control number 3 Joana lost a LOT of time so Isabel, that started 4' after her caught her there. They run the all competition together, however they were making different choices. Joana was running stronger but Isabel was choosing the best choice so they were always together. Take a look to the map:

Like we said, after win in her school, Mariana went to the Cross where were running athletes from all the schools of Sintra (where she lives). She was 3rd and did 10' 59 '' in a course of 2,5km. See some photos from the race:

waiting for the start..

starting »

already in 3rd place =D

Next weekend there's a National Ranking Competition. It's going to be in Alter do Chão (South of Portugal) and it's going to be organized by Joana's and Isabel's club, Grupo Desportivo 4Caminhos. Michael Smola (2nd last WOC) and Eva Jurenikova (8th last WOC) are the more important athletes running. Joana and Isabel are going to be organizing so they are not going to run, but Mariana is. Good Luck ;) After the competition, as usual, we're going to write about that and download maps and splits. Check all information about this great competition in www.gd4caminhos.com/naom2009

Good trainings for everyone,

O-laranjitas...

III Trophy of Mondego

Hello!
This weekend Joana stayed at home recovering (she was sick during Christmas holidays), Mariana stayed at home too resting from de POF trainning Camp and also making the last things to school, that starts tomorrow. Isabel went to a Regional Competition, not very important, but always nice to train orienteering. This Competition was in Quiaios, in the Centre of Portugal. Like it wasn't very important, it was for trainning, Isabel ran in WE. Her opinion about he competition:

"We left home very early on Saturday so we had the chance to visit a small montain called Serra da Boa Viagem, wich means Mountain of the Good Trip. We took amazing photographs and we had lunch right on the top of it. It was so beautiful.

Saturday, 7,2km

The race was very tuff because there was a lot of wood in the ground, if you decided to run in the forest, and a lot of sand in the paths. So the basic problem was to decide if you wanted to go straight ahead and face a lot of green and a LOT of wood on the ground, or run in the paths with sand so soft, like when you are on the beach. I lost some time in the 3rd control, because I couldnt understand the terrain very well so I took some time to decide when I should leave the path. Control no.10, I was looking to the long lenght so I run right to the control but I didn't saw it. Also very close to control no. 11 I didnt understand very well the details so when I got to the path I realize where I was. I also lost some time in control 15 because I didn't know exactly where I should leave the path. You can see the map with my route choices and the splits:

Sunday, 6,7km
I knew the map was going to be the same so the night before when I was drawing my route choices and analysing my race I decided that next day I would try to be perfect when I was in the forest, and run the fast I could, because of the sand, in the paths. I started very well, although I lost some time to the 3rd control because the path between the greens some times "disappeared", and I got to the 11th when I was trying to reach the 3rd. The same thing happened in control no 7 where I got to the 12th first. I was very tired so I started to lost a few time in each control because I couldn't get focus. I lost some time again in control no 12. The last part was terrible because I just needed to run in the sand the fast as I could. I made 1h 13. After two days running in the sand and with a lot of wood on the ground I was first in Woman Elite :)

Tomorrow school stars for the three of us wich means that our orienteering trainning days ended :( Now we have to go back to the books and study to have the best marks, keeping trainning orienteering at weekends. For Mariana next goal is Norte Alentejano O'Meeting, for Isabel and Joana that are going to be in the organization that weekend, Portugal O'Meeting is theirs next stop.

Bye Bye,

O-laranjitas

GD4C Training Camp

Hello!

Last post you could see how Mariana's training camp was, now you can see how Joana and Isabel spent theirs last days of 2008.
GD4C, their club, organized a training Camp in Alter do Chão, south of Portugal, from 27 to 30 December. The training Camp was prepared by Maria Sá (Isabel's sister, one of the best WE atlhetes in Portugal, http://www.mariasa.com/) and it happened in the maps that are going to be used in the next National Competition, Norte Alentejano O'Meeting. We are going to be in the organization that's why we could train in the maps, new maps. Obviously we can't download the maps to here because they are new, and they are going to be used in the competition.

Joana was sick so she didn't run all the trains. See our trainings:

-Line course, 6km
-WE, NAOM midle distance course, 4,3km
-sprint 3km
-25 controls training, 3km (for training focus and changing direction fast)
-long choices training, 7,2km
-simulation training

Maria Sa also did, every day, orienteering classes, meetings, where we were able to discuss our route choices during the day and we also discuss the "Route to Christmas", from World of O. We can also promise that NAOM it's going to be an excellent competition, with amazing maps. All of you are invited, check the last information in http://www.gd4caminhos.com/naom2009/

See you

O-laranjitas...