After weeks of running on ice and snow it was great to get a change of surfaces. Logging some quality hours of orienteering in early spring is a key part of my yearly season preparation. Right now everything is heading in the right direction and going as planned. Certainly, there are still a lot of things to improve on, but there is also still time so I am looking forward to the next weeks when the spring finally will settle in.
Of course, I knew the general terrain style but having never been in Portugal (or anywhere else more west than London for that matter), I was looking forward to some new terrains. Especially the small villages and towns offer great possibilities for intense sprint racing. Although this year ‘s international season is in the first half sprint focused, doing forest orienteering is always benefical for me. Considering Tiomila and Jukola two night-trainings came in handy as well. Spending all this time with your (national-)teammates obviously makes the whole trip way more fun.
As previously written, all this would not be possible without the support from my sponsors namely the German Förderverein which helps me to afford quality gear and training camps.
Further, I am happy to continue presenting my Finnish club Angelniemen Ankkuri, as well as Nvii shoes and Str8 compasses.
Thanks!
The next weeks will be about transitioning from winter into spring training and focusing more on the specifics. The first big test will be in beginning of April with sprint selection races in Belgium. The plan is to have by then a good amount of sprint trainings in the books already. Further on this year’s list are the World Cup in Sweden, WOC in Denmark, and the World Games in the USA, given of course I will qualify.
As this is basically all happening in a busy first half of the year, the second half isn’t that clearly planned out yet. There is of course EOC in Estonia, WUOC in Switzerland and the WC in Switzerland in October but I am not sure yet in which of those events I will want to take part in. Some basic work in the form of forest orienteering would for sure not be a bad choice in late summer either, considering a more forest focused season next year. Either way I am looking forward to a great year of orienteering!
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