The toughest "Raid the Hammer" so far

Map#1:
The event started with 3 mass-starts 2min in between and only one runner from the team. I started first because I had to go to the farther CPs (B and E). There was a small delay on busses, so I did not have time to warm up, but still managed to punch both CPs first. On CP#1 (meeting CP) I was waiting for Nikolay Rybkov (6th place in Toronto Marathon 2010 - 2.37.28), who came 1-2 min after me, and Nick Duca (Canadian Orienteering National Team member) came little bit behind after his mistake at CP (A). So, we left CP#1 on 16th place and 6 min behind a leader. In the next 20min, we caught back all teams except leading team.

Map#2: Nick missed info about CP#2, which was moved from original place to exchange maps point; plus, it took some time to relocate too (we had only one map, so I could not lead). We got passed by another team, and we were third at that time. But after CP (A), Nick picked up the pace and we started to move faster. We got lucky to pass the railway just before the train, so we did not lose time on waiting.

Map#3A:
This part of the course was really hilly, rocky and slippery. We had to cross the river several times and the water there was really cold. My muscles felt exhausted from that climbing; so, I got my power gel. The only good news was that we dropped a minute to a leader (we did not know that both teams were running together).

Map#3B:
That map was flat. It was perfect timing because I got tired of climbing, and I was really happy to use my long legs on those trails. Really fast, we got team2 and tried to leave them behind, but lost ~1min on CP#11 (I still believe it was in a wrong re-entrant). We finally got team2 on CP#12A and ran away on a different route choice to CP#13. We did not stop on CP #13, which was food/water station, with only one reason- to lose team2 from our tail. It was funny to see Nick and Nikolay running non-stop through that station full of all people, when I could not find/see CP flag to punch it. We did lose the tail thanks to rough vegetation to CP (C), where I broke my brand new Adidas pants. Running to CP#14, I thought that this race is over, but in the same second I saw leading team1 on the top of the hill. I got really motivated; I ran that hill like I did not race for 2 hours before. I saw team1 crossing the road, so it was only a minute difference. We got the team1 on the Map#4.

Map#4:
I got really tired and exhausted when we got to map4. I wanted to take it easy for few CPs and then run away in a way back to map3B. But Nick’s experience told him not to give any chances to other team. He punched CP#15 and started to run to Cp#16 so fast that I barely keep up with him. On CP#16, we could not see team1, so we took time to recharge/rest. I realized that I broke my compass, but still wanted to lead in my pace. We did ok on CP17 and 18, but I got frustrated close to CP#19, where were a huge path, which was not marked on the map. I did a small extra loop, and team1 caught us back. In our way to CP#20, Nick and Nikolay ran forward and I got behind, when I got caught by Robbie Anderson, who passed me and started to slow me down. I got really “pissed off,” so I got my second push and ran like crazy for whole way back to map3B (that trail between maps is ~3km). My team got the best split there with around 3 min lead.

Map#3B (Finish):
On the way from Cp#21 to our last matrix Cp (A), we saw team1 coming down to CP. I knew that it was around 3 min lead already. It was funny to see my teammates stopped on CP#22 for food and water, for short talk to volunteers and other teams. I was happy to see them so relaxed after 3.5 hours of a tough chase. We jogged down to finish (even though I checked our back few times- just to make sure). So, our team “Foreigners” won with little under 5 min lead - 3.44.28. According to GPS, we ran 30k; there are only two teams, who ran it under 4 hours. It was a great experience and good lesson from Nick – NEVER GIVE UP!!!

Results: http://dontgetlost.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81&Itemid=93

Organize is fun, get injured is not!

The last few weeks were quit a ride for me. After Canadian Orienteering Championship, I was really busy with organizing two last TOC Wednesday Night trainings. My first WNT was in Earl Bales Park (right map) where I set the same course as I had on Summer Training Camp http://vimeo.com/15346460 There were lots of positive feedback and few families came back next week again!

My second and last 2010 TOC WNT was in Taylor Creek East. I presented a new updated map, which included some new parts that were never used for orienteering before. The main course included middle (left) and sprint (2d map). On both trainings I had 35+ participants. After the training, TOC had a pizza party, and I was happy to see more than 10 juniors there. Some of them represented TOC at Ontario Orienteering Championship in Hamilton.

All my next week I spent for organizing Turkey Trot event.
Review of this event by Robbie Anderson (a winner of $100 main prize): http://teamcanadaorienteering.blogspot.com/2010/10/turkey-trot-2010.html I, personally, did not have a chance to control this event on Sunday because I got injured day before during course setting. I had spent 2 hours in hospital, where I got 5 stitches on my left low leg (little bit under the knee).

I did not run for a week. On eight day, I went for 20 min run and felt very sore next day. After one more practice, I felt discomfort; so, I took stitches out by myself.

And in a day, I was racing Ontario Orienteering Championship in Hamilton. My first race was World Ranking Event- Sprint. I did my best and finished 6th. Such a result could be a lack of energy or even a fear to get injured again, but I can say for sure there was lots of climbing.

I skipped Middle course and ran Long on Sunday. I finished 6th again with few minutes behind third place or 1st Ontario. After the race, I saw that I lost 3 min on the first CP, which was a long leg. I lost on speed and small mistake in the middle of the leg. The rest of the course was really clean. Results and maps are here:
http://dontgetlost.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=221&Itemid=263
In the end of the day, my coach and I are happy with my results. Hamilton area is phenomenal orienteering terrain and with this year new map, it is truly a gold reservoir for Canadian Orienteering. I am sure that we will see lots of great juniors and elites coming out from Hamilton (GHO club) in a few years.

PS: I got great news that my comments for COC long were posted on North America Orienteering newspaper :) Super happy!

Athlete is nothing without coaching/training

I realized that I was writing about my-self and did not mention about my coach. I am a lucky athlete, who does have a real coach, who can listen, analyze and provide valuable feedback. I have a huge personal respect and trust to this person.

When I compete, I try not to put down, first of all, my coach and only than my-self. For the last 1, 5 year, my orienteering and running shapes have been improved in my-own eyes and I start having fun in the forest. I wrote it before- “More fun you have, better your results are!”

My coach is Andrei Logvin. I believe he is THE BEST and most knowledgeable Orienteering coach in Canada or even North America. This year his athletes got 3 medals in the most competitive groups at Canadian Orienteering Championship in Ottawa. Serghei Logvin got Silver at Sprint M18 and both of my medals (Silver at Sprint and Bronze at Long M Elite) are his achievements too. He does spent lots of time to coach Serghei and me; and his price for that is personal performance. I promise that next year will be much easier for Andrei to deal with us (b/c we are better with every training), so he can fully compete at COC11 in Yukon. But so far, Thank You very much for your time, energy and trust!!!

My next post will be about positive and negative sides of organizing O-events.

Second in Canada or 50/50 Sprint

It is almost a month after COC10 is over, but there is no even a day for me not thinking about that Sprint race. I spent lots of time to analyze what happen and why I get so far behind a leader. I asked myself what could be done differently and why I did not do so. There is only the part of my analysis:

As soon as I get to the sprint area, I realized that there are lots of buildings and most of the choices will be 50/50. I knew I should not stop even for a sec. I was starting the last, so I tried to avoid the finish area because there were announcements about present winner time. I changed and warm-up perfectly as I planned. I did not feel any pressure; it felt like it was training. I had some empty feeling though.

I started behind the building across the finish area. As fast as I turned around the building, people started to scream. I ran straight and was hoping to run so in the woods, but they were too green and I followed the path on semi-open area till road and to CP#1. CP#2 was easy to come back to field and run downhill with fence corner as an attack point. CP#3 was the most surprising for me. I lost on it ~15sec to a leader. I ran hard till the trail and uphill till the flat, than right on the boulder. I probably should go straight as a leader did, but I remember it was a rocky area, I still do not understand, how? CP#4 was easy. CP#5 too, but on a way I checked 16 and 17. From CP#7 I could go right or left. I went in the way I should not stop (left), plus I should not stop on CP9 after. It was a smooth run. I lost to a leader ~ 1-2 sec there on speed. CP#11 was my only mistake at this race. I should not cross the line. On CP#14, I checked the legends and I knew that the flag is in the bottom, so I stayed low and picked it up with no lost. CP15-16-17 was same routes as I ran before. Coming to last CP, I saw many people were cheering for me, so I pushed hard (5 sec to a leader :).

I punched last CP and started to finish, but I realized I did not see a light flash (b/c people was taking photos) and I did not hear a noise (b/c of announces that I am running for the top place). I was so focused on punching all CPs clear that I even did not realized how, but I turned and punched it again. I lost few sec there, but it was not close anymore.
I lost around half a minute on a 2.8k course. It is a lot. I was losing 1-2 sec at almost each split. I could not run faster- b/c of sickness I had few days before or not training harder. I had cleanest Sprint race of my life at NAOC (9th place overall or 5th North American with 2 sec lost to 3d), Sprint Chase was phenomenal race (I won it with 15 people running in 1 min chase), and COC Sprint was another perfect race, but just not my day.

It is a right time to go through it and move forward for Ontario Champs by GHO (Long and WRE Sprint), US Classic Champs (total of 2 long courses) and Hammer Raid 25k in Hamilton, as the last race of the year.

I am at the news...

Ottawa citizen posted a nice article about Canadian Orienteering Championship and I am the part of it! ;)

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Gaining+ground+competition/3430214/story.html

Bronze at COC 2010 Long course

In my opinion, Elite runner’s goal is to simplify the map, in such a way that makes orienteering fun. So, before the start my goal for the race was to indentify the most obvious features on the map. In my scenario, it was top of the hills and lakes- those are most dominate features on the map. I was happy to see most of the top hills were rocky and easy to run on. From the course planner notes, I knew that there are no trails in the beginning of the course.


So, my 1st route choice was really simple because it was along the trail and up at the reentrant. On the second leg, I ran slowly with an idea to adjust to the map. I caught Nick Duca (Stars), who started 3 min before me in the RED GROUP. After 2d CP he ran away and I caught him again at Cp 6 (long leg). Legs to CP3 and CP4 were simple as to stay on the top of the hills and make sure I was running on a right compass bearing. CP5 was easy one around on the road. CP6 was the longest leg, and it usually the main leg on the long course. Again, I was running on top of the hills with the lakes on both sides. Cp7 was short and it meant to be a turn point, so no problem with it.

CP8 was another long leg, where the good route choice could save you few minutes. I went straight and was running strong there, but in the last 100m, where I should cross the beaver dumb, I could not do so- it was too thick. In the end, I ran around to CP8 through CP9 (2min lost). It was ok because I ran through CP9 and half of the CP 10 leg without looking at the map after- that extra loop to CP8 saved me time on the next 2 splits. CP10 was a map exchange point.

CP11 was a 50/50 choice, and I went right- almost to the road. After CP11, I could not find the beaver dumb between the lake and marsh, so I get caught by Nick again. I ran straight till CP14. To CP 15, I ran left through islands; I did not check the compass bearing, and went to much right on one of them, so I had to cross an extra dumb- I lost 1 min there.CP16- two towers, two hills, marsh, and under two cliffs.
CP17 had two possible route choices (left or right). I went left to the broken fence (good feature on this map), two hills, marsh, three hills, beaver dumb, hill, beaver dumb and hill with CP on the bottom of the cliff. I passed John Torrence- another RED GROUP runner. CP18- beaver dumb, 2 hills and another dumb, followed the cliffs till the control point.

CP20 was easy and good for me because I could use my speed a little bit. I ran fast and got CP 20 without mistake through the semi-open area. To CP21, I ran straight, even though I had a choice of the road- but I was confident on my orienteering skills. CP 22 was a classic traverse leg. I stopped to drink water and got caught by Nick again. To CP 23 I went straight through the top of the hill and trail as a catching feature. Running to CP 23, I got a felling that there is something different with the map and I thought it is because it is a forest part. After the race, I saw that the last forest part was mapped by a different cartographer. So, I had to slow down and use trails as a save feature. I ran with Nick till CP25 and after it I ran as fast as I could. I knew it will be a good result because I was running clean and had fun. I finished third, and as I like to say: “More fun you have, better your results are!”

O-week in Ottawa

My last preparation has included a week of Orienteering in Ottawa. The first day in Ottawa was really rainy, but as usual, it does not stop orienteers from racing.

My first race and gold medal was on Farsta race (Lac Beauchamp. Farsta means one-man relay. We had 3 loops with two kilometers courses on them. Ottawa terrain is well known for its rocks and marshes. After my first loop, I was 3d. I did not do mistakes, but choose more safe routes. In the middle of the second loop, I got Robbie Anderson. We ran all way to the end, but two CPs before finish, I checked legends and our CP was located on the bottom of the cliff. After Robbie went up, I went to the bottom and got a chance/advantage to punch it first and as a result, I finished first.

My second race was Classic Event. It took place on the same area as 1st Canadian Orienteering Championship (COC) in 1968. The map is quit old and vegetation is not reliable; so, I took it easy. I finished 4th and only few seconds behind second place, which was not as bad as I was thinking.
My third day was a Sass Peepre Junior Training Camp. I got an excellent opportunity to run some Orienteering with juniors, and provide them a feedback later. Training day included 4 trainings: Contour-O, Line-O, Sprint and Star-O. I would like to say that only my group of kids took all CPs in the forest. I was really surprised that present juniors are more Orienteering oriented and willing to spend their time to improve their skills and results.
Next day I got sick and did not feel well, but I wanted to run a Sprint Chase in Carleton University. Sprint Chase included prologue at 12pm and chase sprint at 3pm. My goal for 1st race was not to win, but to be not far away from the leader. I started 4th and 9 seconds behind the leader in the main sprint chase. The final race was really technical, fast and fun. With 15 runners in one minute on 2,5k course, it was a great challenge to run away physically. So, I tried to run away on different route choices, but they were to close. Finally, on CP#13 (I punched 2d) the leader of the pack made a route choice mistake and pack followed him, so I ran to the right into the tunnel and got around 15 sec advantage. It was my second gold in 3 races.

My 5th day and the last before COC10 was a Relay, which I ran with Andrew and Ethan Childs from US Junior Orienteering Team. I got really confused and upset because of the start procedure. I lost my concentration and did few mistakes, which is not very often these days. I finished 5th, but my teammate did a great job and we won it. It was my third gold in 4 races. It was a great lesson from me before COC. I realized that I should focus on my-self, map and pace. Only good news was that I felt better from my sickness.
Next post is about my main race of the year- Canadian Orienteering Championship 2010.

Last preparation before the trip to Ottawa

It was one week before Canadian Orienteering Championship (COC) in Ottawa. I was packing my stuff for the week of Orienteering, and making my last preparation before the main race. I did analyze my mistakes from North American Orienteering Championship and trained hard to fix them.


I had increased a number of trainings with map. A big part of my preparation for COC10 was training with Antonio Perez (on the photo - European Youth Orienteering Champion/16th in JWOC10) and another Spanish orienteer Oscar Vila. They showed me how hard I have to work to achieve my goals.

World Orienteering Championship was a great mental preparation. I spent lots of time watching Elite runners running on live TV and GPS, and of course, after race analysis. Thierry Gueorgiou did a great job and finished with two BRONZE medals at Middle and Long. Aleksandr Kratov, my Ukrainian teammate and friend, did very well and finished 5th at Middle.

It was very important for me not to think about COC10 before the race day- I did not want to “burn out”. So, the best way to forget about upcoming races was to go and do something different from Orienteering; something like Rogers Cup Tennis tournament. I went to watch Roger Federer (Ranked 3d), who did not play for 6 weeks and it was an important return match for him. He won, but with a small struggle. It was an inspirational lesson for me to fight till the end.

My last preparation part was in Ottawa, where I had few interesting races and trainings with Canadian Junior team before the final COC10 races. Orienteering week in Ottawa is my next post!

North American Orienteering Championship 2010

As I promised at the last post, I will write about my trip to NAOC in BC. So, after the hot weather in US, I travelled to +10C and rainy Cranbrook, BC! It was quite a change for me. First race at NAOC was Middle. I remember I get some hard time to navigate and understand the map, but in the end of the course I get really happy with my Orienteering style, which promised a good result on Long.

Long course was fast, simple and boring on some splits. I had really clean race till CP12, where after a well-done long leg, I lost 3 min in the CP area (I got few Elite runners there and lost my concentration). And the same mistake on CP16, which cost almost 5 min. I got caught by Rob Baker, who motivated me to run faster in the end. As he told me after the course, he thought that I caught him, so he tried to run away (he did, but only on the finish line). His result was third, and mine was 14th or 10th between North American orienteers. I was really close to my goal, which was overall top 5!!! Concentration is one of the major mistakes in Orienteering- it could be caused by different factors; so, it needs lots of training and attention!!!

The last race was Sprint! I would say right away- it was my cleanest race ever! I got everything clean and fast. I finished 9th overall or 5th North American orienteer. I lost 6 sec to 6th place (there were two runners) and 1 sec to Boris G (or 6 sec to 3d North American orienteer). I started one of the first people, so I had to push hard to break branches. I was 2d till the Red Group started. So, they knew the results and pushed a little bit harder on 200m track finish. I am satisfied by my results for the last week! I have very stable results on Sprint and almost stable on Long, which are my favorite disciplines.

I have few weeks to eliminate my weak sides and be prepared to COC 2010 in Ottawa.

Trip to US Individual Champs Spokane, WA USA

My first post will be about my trip to US Individual Champs in Spokane, WA US, from which I came back few weeks ago. My trip started with the flight to Calgary and long drive to Spokane, WA through Idaho State the next day. US Individual Champs had a great number of strong foreign runners from Norway, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Canada and New Zealand.

The first day of US Individual Champs was at Moses Lake Sand Dunes. It was a great and very unusual terrain. I did enjoy my run, even though it was very hot and no water stations. I was running flat without mistakes, and after 2/3 of course I start catching my competitors. That was my biggest mistake because on dunes type terrain, everything looks the same and you cannot lose the contact with the map, which did happen. I got 3 min mistake, which cost me 5th place. I am an athlete, who specializing on Long and Sprint course. So, 10th place at Middle course was not bad for me.


The next day was a Long course day and located at Fish trap Lake. There were 16,5k with only 24CPs on desert type of the terrain. We were around 8 water stations and I stopped at every single one.  I got a really clean race with one 40 sec mistake, which is ok for 2 hours course. I will remember this course because I got caught by Nikolay Nachev (US O-Team member), but with the smart and hard Orienteering, I managed to run away in the end of the course. I lost 8 sec to Eric Bone (#1 US O-Team member), who finished 4th with 1:55:31. Fredrik Eliasson (Norway) and Michal Besta (Czech R.) had finished with 24 sec difference with 1:48:31 and 1:48:55. It was not the first race this year that in 1,5 hour course I lost less than 1-2 min to 3d place and finished 5th.

The last day of the US Individual Champs was Sprint race, which in the end of the weekend was the worst day for organizers. The map quality was not to Sprint standards; elite runners had a hard time to read the map. I will leave it to organizers. I finished (walked) 12th.

In the end, my goals were top 5 in Long and Sprint. I got it done, so it was successful weekend for me. I got 5 days to rest before North American Orienteering Championship 2010. The next post is about the trip to NAOC Cranbrook, BC Canada.

My Orienteering Background

Hello Blogger.com readers and my fellows- Orienteers,

My name is Igor Palagnyuk, and I represent Toronto Orienteering Club in International and National levels. I am originally from Ukraine, but for the last 5 years I compete at North American continent.

I have been in Youth and Junior Ukrainian Orienteering Teams; I had represented Ukraine at European Youth Orienteering Championship in Gdansk, Poland. I finished 25th at Sprint, 35th at Long and 9th at Relay courses. I raced Relay course in Orienteering World Cup in Austria. I have been more than 10 times Ukrainian Orienteering winner in the different age categories (14 till 20).



At the present moment, I was ranked top 6th in Canada in 2009. My best results at Canadian Orienteering Championships are 6th (Sprint) and 10th (Long) in 2008 and 7th (Sprint) in 2009. There are several silver and bronze medals at Eastern Orienteering Championship and Ontario Orienteering Championship 2006-2009. Most recent result is from North American Championship (Cranbrook, BC Canada), where I placed 5th in the Sprint and 10th in Long courses. One week before NAOC, I got 5th at Long in US Individual Orienteering Championship.

The goal of the blog is to promote sport online, and of course, keep my-self motivated. I am looking for your support and comments!

See you in the woods,
Igor Palagnyuk