European Ski-O Champs

With a week or so to go to the European Ski-O Champs, I decided to get a late entry for the sprint and middle races.

W21E middle distance

I immediately regretted the decision when I realised the terrain was far hillier than I first thought. But Ski-O seems to be excellent training for MTBO so it was worth going. I was also one of the team leaders for Norway again so ended up helping for the Sprint Relay, Long and Relay races. In addition I had a boyfriend to support (who later won two gold's, one silver and two bronze).

First was the middle race, around the highest 'mountain' in Latvia, Gaizinkalns, which stands 61.6m higher than the hills surrounding it, although it's actual height is over 300m.

The course was long for a middle (in comparison to those I've done this season), 7.4km with 250m of climb. Essentially the more climb on a course equals higher chance of crashing/falling/penguin steps!
So needless to say, I was nervous about the challenges the course the would bring.

The first controls were ok. I took a longer route to 5 by going left, but to avoid the best route which had a steep climb on it. Being an early starter meant the step hills would be narrow making life much harder for me, so I opted to go up the hill with the gentlest incline. Control 8 was possibly one of the worst on the course, I took a wrong path for 30 secs, and also couldn't stop at the junction with the control so ended up disappearing off down the hill for a minute or so!

On the 13th control, mixing in with my 32-36th place splits was a little gem! 19th fastest on that leg, mainly due to being able to navigate in the technical sections! The next controls were ok again, so more crashes and falls, and surviving some of the icy descents. The end of the course had a sting in the tail with a small loop around which included several steep steep hill climbs, just to finish off my arms in case the planners didn't think I'd be tired enough by that time!

A few days later was the sprint distance with the start and finish immediately in front of our cabins. I was looking forward to this race, as there was due to be 70% wide pisted tracks which means I can maintain speed and move a bit quicker!

W21E sprint (solid line = race route, arrows = re-race route)

After some hassle at the start, I messed up the first control losing 40 seconds but missing the junction. I then opted for the wider track route to number 2 but was met with a steep climb right at the end. I made some further mistakes to 6 and 7 but didn't lose a great deal of time here. I also finished 45% behind the leader, a vast improvement over the middle distance's 80%.

The following day after the relay I headed back out on the sprint course to test route choices. It's not very often in Orienteering that one gets the chance to re-race the course in the same conditions. I leapt at the chance and decided to take alternative route choices to the actual race and was pleased to finish in 18.44, nearly two mins quicker than the actual race and 35% behind the leader. The main areas where I saved time were controls 1 and 2, 6 and 7, 11 and 13. It was fascinating to see the difference between route choices when my skiing speed was the same. I also found I was more confident going round the course again as I knew there was nothing out there I couldn't ski. I got to spend a bit more time getting to grips with skidding out of narrow tracks onto wide ones and vice versa.

The next day I also re-re-raced the course, but new snow overnight slowed the conditions so I was 20 seconds slower than the re-race. Interestingly the first few controls I was 30 seconds up, but thereafter I was making the tracks again as no-one else had been around those tracks, so I lost a few seconds on each control. I would think, if the conditions had been the same, that I would have skied faster still.

Ski-O improvements (?)

Mainly for my own curiosity but maybe some readers are also interested to see my ski-o improvement so far.

First XC Classic session: 27th December 2010
First Ski-O race: 2nd January 2011
First XC Skate session: 4th January 2011


List of Ski-O races and % behind winner
02/01/2011 NOR Sprint 100%
(one week of XC skiing)

06/01/2012 FIN Middle 95%
07/01/2012 FIN Sprint 34.20 (18.19 winner) 90%
(2 weeks of XC skiing)

01/12/2012 FIN Middle DSQ
02/12/2012 FIN Long 57%
(6 weeks of XC skiing)

08/12/2012 NOR Sprint 43.42 (24.39 winner) 80%
09/12/2012 NOR Middle 51.38 (29.02 winner) 80%

14/12/2012 SWE Middle 49.31 (28.51 winner) 75%
15/12/2012 SWE Middle 77.53 (48.18 winner) 60%
15/12/2012 SWE Sprint 16.54 (11.08 winner) 50%
16/12/2012 SWE Long 169.51 (85 winner) 100%

30/12/2012 NOR Sprint 30.09 (15.56 winner) 90%  ... Icy conditions

26/01/2013 SWE Sprint 14.58 (10.36 winner) 40%
27/01/2013 SWE Middle 36.16 (25.09 winner) 45%

02/02/2013 NOR Long 93.58 (60.11 winner) 55%
03/02/2013 NOR Middle 45.30 (28.08 winner) 60%

Norwegian Ski-O Championships

Long Part 1

Following my personal success at last weekends Swedish Ski-O Chasing Start champs, and following a good technical ski session in the week, I was looking forward to the Norwegian Champs (Long and Middle) at Skei.

The technical ski session focussed on developing my 'kick' when skating and uphill technique. Sadly I couldn't put it all into practice at the Ski-O races due to narrow tracks and steep hills!

The long race was first on the agenda, with 10km up and down the mountain. Sections are steep and covered in those brown squiggly lines called contours, which in Ski-O I hate! Others parts of the map were flat marshes with a technical path network, but to get to the interesting bits involved going up or down the mountain.

The long not be my strength in Ski-O I was really pleased to be 55% behind the winners time. The winner took 60 mins while I took 93mins. So it was a definite improvement over the long in Vemdalen where I suffered and died. Painfully! While this race was painful, the hills were at least manageable for the most part, and the snow fresh and soft making descending controlled (sort of) and not so scary! My only falls in the race were going uphill and catching ski tips in the harder snow, or going downhill and not landing small jumps properly due to getting a little too confident!

Long Part 2

I didn't make any mistakes and and was pleased to be consistently getting closer to the winner across the disciplines.

Sunday was the middle distance race, and a mere 4.5km compared to yesterday. I was expecting the courses to take us around the technical navigation sections, made all the more challenging by required map memory on the descents so I could focus on the skiing (and not falling). I also expected the course to take up briefly up to the top again, but hoped this wouldn't be the case.

I made a small mistake to 2 by taking a wrong junction and then not turning immediately when I realised. Instead I carried on and took a slightly longer route adding 30 seconds to my time for the leg. The technical sections went well. I survived the descents and succeeded on the climbs I had struggled with yesterday (thanks to a little grip wax under both ski's).

Annoyingly I messed up the route choice legs which cost me dearly. I wanted to take the best route choices on both occasions (to 8 and 10), but decided against it for various reasons.

Control 8: Saw the best RC going to the right of the line, but I knew from discussions on Saturday evening that the hill was steep and narrow at the bottom. Despite the wider track starting halfway up this climb, and the route being shorter and more direct, I opted for the left RC which took most of teh climb on the wide ski track before a gentler climb up to the control. It was too long and I lost a bit of time here despite getting up the hill quickly (for me). I also messed up my route out of the control.
Lesson learned: listen to advice of others but make own decision on RC.

Middle Race

Control 10: After having learned my lesson from control 8, I decided to go straighter to 10, back down the track I had avoided on the way to 8 because it was 'maybe too steep to go up'. It went closer to the line than the eastern route choice and I knew I could always run down carrying ski's if it did get too much. Unfortunately the route to get there was wiggly and slow going. Again I should have kept to my original RC heading NE out of 10 and then descending on the wide ski track before going straight into the control. My speed on the descent would have been much higher as the track was straighter and familiar.

Part of the problem at the moment with my Ski-O navigation is I'm not confident enough with my skiing to take certain (often the best) route choices. For example, I was put off my choice to 8 by the steepness of the hill knowing it would take me a loooong time to ascend. But likewise I was put off my choice to 10 because of a steep downhill (just north out of 9) and a fear of falling. I felt calmer attempting the descent I knew would be a challenge, rather than face something entirely unknown.

I think with more skiing confidence and practice on the descents I can start taking the RC's I want to take rather than fitting my RC to my skill level.

It could have been 2 higher results. Saturday possibly not so much time to save apart from the falls (inparticular a face plant that resulted in a ski-pole knot and snow up my nose and in my face). Sunday should definitely have been better. I certainly had the potential to get 2 or 3 places higher but circumstances (stupidity and RC's) dictated otherwise.

Kvarnsveden GoIF OK - our new Swedish club

Hans Jørgen and I recently joined a Swedish club, Kvarnsveden GoIF OK, who we will represent at Swedish Ski-O races and champs, and Swedish MTBO Cup and Champs in 2013 and onwards.

The have been kind enough to give us each a brand new ski suit and MTBO kit.

Our ski suits have been worn over the weekend at the Swedish Champs Chasing Start, but we will have to wait for warmer weather and sun before going biking in our shorts and jerseys!

Here is a link to their website's press release on us joining (for those who read Swedish): http://www1.idrottonline.se/KvarnsvedensGOIFOK-Orientering/Nyhetsarkiv/Egnanyheter/Varldsstjarnortillklubben/

I am sure there will be some photos of us competing to come in the following days!

Swedish Champs Ski-O

Yet another new experience when it comes to Ski-O. This time a little more intense! Sprint prologue. Chasing start. Live TV. Internet broadcasting. Spectators. Swedish Champs.

No pressure then!

Sprint prologue

Before the sprint prologue I was feeling incredibly nervous. I desperately wanted a good race, but with my skiing skills, so much depends on the snow condition and number of contours!

I started conservatively and then after control 2 increased my speed and aggression. Come the end of the course I felt really good and was navigating well. Not only that but I felt faster than normal on ski's.

My time was 40% of the winner - 14.56 (me), 10.36 (winner). So I was a happy Penguin for the rest of the afternoon (albeit a little disappointed with last place, but 40% is a new record for me).

After an early night, and one of very disturbed sleep, we were up at 0630 for the chasing start. As part of the Swedish Champs week, Ski-O had managed to get a chasing start format in which would be televised live and broadcast on the internet. The schedule for Sunday was busy so the first start was at 0835, just a little after dawn.

Only those 3 mins behind the winner of the prologue would be in the chase. Everyone else was in a mass start at 0838. A compact start interval. Naturally I was in the mass start so had the added pressure of being head to head.

Part 1

The first part of the course was fairly good. Uphill and tiring, but I was insight of the others until control 2. Through the technical section I was clean and choosing the shortest route. Control 6 was my only error of the race, where I forgot the green hatching means pisted area and didn't see the direct route choice. Instead I climbed the hill and then came to the control from the wrong angle. I messed up the descent on both loops by not crossing to the left side and getting on the slightly shorter track.

Part 2

After the map change we had a long leg up to the top again, so I chose a route I knew from before and headed back up the hill. After the descent to control 11 it was back up the massive hill to the top of the ski jumping hill, before a final hair raising descent to the finish. The climb up was ok, I took the left route choice rather than the straighter steeper option, which was the faster option for most skiers. Given the gradient of the steep climb, most people who went this way lost time compared to slower skiers going left. Needless to say the descent to the finish consisted of a very wide snow plough and small screams in the sharp corners! But it was another sub-50% today, with 45% behind the winners time. Additionally I was only 11 mins behind and just off the back of the pack, so when the conditions are good, I can put in some good speed on ski's (for me!)

December Update

Apparently my last post was in early December, so well over a month ago. I was under the impression I had written something after the Swedish WRE's in Vemdalen, but clearly not!

Here is a brief update of the last month.

The Vemdalen races were a mixed bag of results. I had a very good night sprint/middle and felt strong, but the next day in the mass start middle my nerves got the better of me and I made a sizeable 90 second error early on. I wasn't the only one judging by the number of girls coming past me later on!
Part way round the course I was shoved by the leading group of elite men, which upset me. So I finished the race in tears and had a paddy. After calming down we returned to the start line for the sprint in the afternoon. With 3 races in less than 24hours it was intensive. I had another decent race in the sprint and was 51% behind the winners time, so close to that magical 50% that I'd recently started aiming for after not being last in Norway!

Then the next day came the long. It was epic. My arms were shattered after the previous days and I had no energy to get up the steep hills. Resorting back to penguin steps, the first loop was agonisingly slow.  As I went out on the second I saw the loop had two hill climbs, both going up to the top, and then back down to the bottom. As a battled with exhaustion, giving up was not an option. But after my 4th fatigued fall, I couldn't be bothered to stand back up as I lay face down in a soft patch of snow. My drive to reach the finish and escape the painful hell I found myself in, saw me get back up and keep skiing uphill. By the time I finished everyone else had gone home, and only Hans Jørgen remained to cheer me into the finish - right before I burst into tears. Again! Rather than tears of anger, this time it was tears of exhaustion and happiness to complete a long long tough course.

The next couple of weeks were spent in birthday celebrations for HJ, a weekend trip to London and Christmas with the Kvåle's in Norway. More skiing but fortunately no more races.

Post Christmas we headed up to Lygna on a section of map I made in the summer for a Ski-O race. Unfortunately the day before the race, the temperature warmed, and then cooled on the morning of the race. So the ski-o tracks became ice skating rinks, and I feared for my life. While not a hilly part of the area, the hills were steep enough that I couldn't control my ski's so ended up in the snow a lot. With the icy crust and soft snow underneath getting out of my 'Emily holes' was a challenge in itself! With a pulled hamstring and a sore arm, I limped into the finish. And cried. Again!!!

I find it so frustrating to try Ski-O because I am perfectly capable of navigating my way around a course without mistakes. The problem is the skiing. It's not like I've skiied all my life and have suddenly decided to start Ski-O. Instead I am learning the XC skating technique in my daily training, and then having to learn the Ski-O skiing technique, and then having to develop upper body and core strength so I can do the Ski-O technique! Add that to being unable to control the ski's on ice or hard packed snow, and lacking the technique to drive the ski's forward in soft snow, alongside being passed by EVERY competitor in the forest, my ski-O experiences tend to err on the bad side of racing rather than the positive and enjoyable. So, I finish most races in tears. One week there'll be perfect conditions for me and I'll have a good race and finish smiling because I feel that I've improved significantly over the last race, and the next week it will be hell and there'll be a tantrum because I've gone backwards and am now 200% of the winners time!

But, the good news is that I have collected World Ranking points from 4 races in December of the 6 WRE's I competed in. One was a mispunch and the other I finished so far behind, everyone went home!

Ski-O. Attempt 4!

It finally feels that all this ski-o and skiing practice is paying off. Not only am I managing to not fall over on the steep descents and flat, but I'm no longer finishing last (although I do seem to only be able to 17 year olds!)

I was lent some skis by Barbro Kvåle which I used for the race as they glided better on the fresh snow that fell last night. I also had the added challenge of beating HJ's father who was skiing the same course today, but I was really most keen on not being last two days in a row.

The course was one of two halves. The first half with a track network skirting the edges of smaller marshes and tree lines on the hill, while the second half was more technical with some steeper climbs and descents and a denser path network.

I started steadily and quickly realised that I would have a challenge counting off all the paths as those that didn't have controls or on route choices, were hard to see as the fresh snow had covered the tracks. With no skiers using them, finding the right track became much harder. I paused at the junction before the first control as despite it was the first track junction I had seen, I had to pass 3 on my map. With a control half way up I figured it was mine and was rewarded with my control! The route to 2 was difficult, I opted to head straight out to the ski track and then 500m later turn back up the hill on scooter tracks. I was reluctant to take this route as there was 35m of climb (hills not being a strong point) but the other route which contoured more with shortcut options looked too technical and with invisible paths I felt it was asking for a mistake.

The next controls passed uneventfully, but I was starting to tire. I'm ok at skating on wide tracks and I can co-ordinate the movement, but as soon as I hit narrower ski-o tracks my skiing becomes increasing unstable and uncoordinated. Which is frustratingly hard work! Not to mention inefficient!

6 to 7 was a frightfully scary leg, with a short sharp climb out of the control, and then 2 steep drops with corners at the bottom. But I made it with no snowplough and no fall, but just a little unsteady! At 7 I proceeded to get stuck in a tree as my skis went under the foliage and into the dip in the snow. Getting out was a pain and look a good 30-40 seconds. The slight slope and marsh plants poking through the snow meant everytime I got the skis clear, I slid back in at another angle! It must be comical to watch me ski sometimes ...

I loved the descent to 8, I knew there was nothing scary in the way of drops so I picked up a bit of speed and cruised all the way with a smile on my face. After that I fatigued quickly and couldn't find any power, so the final km's back to the finish, uphill, were something of a struggle.

I was 25th today, with a 40 second gap to 23rd. Damn that tree! I was 22 mins behind the clear leader, Tove Alexandersson who won by a massive 4.5mins. I was 150% behind second place and the rest of the ski-o mortals! It's pleasing that I can continue to get closer to the winners. Just a little more coordination needed!

Ski-O. Attempt 3

Today's ski-o race took us to Sjusjøen near Lillehammer in Norway. We arrived yesterday afternoon and headed straight out for our second session of the day. I was building on my first sessions of ski drills and had an emphasis on poling with each skate stroke. My natural tendency is to be one sided as my balance isn't yet good enough to get a long glide on the ski's. I was doing pretty well and nailing some climbs, when I got a little cocky on a descent. As I came to the junction I made the right hand turn without a snow plough but caught my ski in the classic tracks, and as I was still heading to the left, hit the snow twisting my finger (of all things!). A bit of TLC needed, but no shortage of ice for the swelling!

The first race of the weekend was the sprint, 4km around the semi open fell. A look at the start list showed I had a middle start of the girls (must be last start of the unranked skiers!). HJ didn't want to hang around in the cold too long, so we arrived at the event 30 mins before my start (do I need to emphasize the stress??). I ran off and missed the route to the start and was wandering around a campsite for 5 mins hoping to find some ski-orienteers.

Heart rate and GPS route of course. Max HR zone from just after start to finish (and a few small sections where it dropped to 185).


Naturally by the time I got to the start and had started the course, my head was far from the right place. I skiied off and messed up the first, by not sticking to my plan and getting distracted. On the way to 4 I was caught by some faster girls who had already overtaken me, but I followed them at a turning and then realised I was wrong. Relocating quickly I then found the control while they skiied around some more. They finally caught me again by 6. 6-8 was a straight line and I was lucky to realise when I hit the main track that I needed to get 7. Fortunately I was only 50m away, so a quick shortcut dealt with that control. After that I got in to the flow a bit and despite not having good glide on the hills, managed to pick up some speed.

I finished in a long 43 mins, and skiied straight back to the cabin along the ridge with a glorious sunset which made the mountains look to be on fire.

I beat 8 people in the womens race and 2 men (who skiied the same course), so I'm pleased despite making at least 3 mins of mistakes.

Time to rest, recover and eat before a middle distance tomorrow (and keep my fingers crossed for WRE points!).

A few pics!

Someone built a GIANT snowman looking in the window!

-27°C and nice and warm!

Ski-O. Season begins!

Having finally reached a grand total of 6 weeks skiing in two years, with 3 ski-o events, I was a little anxious about the first races of the season in Saariselka, Finland. Flying up to Ivalo airport in Lapland, we were met by the cold. I was immediately grateful for my warm snug Craft kit, and armed with thermal trousers, thermals, hats, down jacket, ski trousers and mittens, I braved the cold.

I felt as if I had steadily been improving my skiing and my balance was considerably better than at the beginning of the Val Senales trip. But downhills are still scary. And corners still require a snow plough so I was concerned at how I would manage on the narrow ski-o tracks, where penguin steps are difficult!

My goal for the season is to not finish last in one race. In early 2011, I was more than 200% of the winners time. Earlier this year, I was 180%, so I knew with more practice I could only improve.

Sadly I didn't realise that controls might be placed close together on the same path, and I mispunched. BUT, I would have beaten an Italian by 3 minutes! The middle distance was ok, not as hard as I imagined. I made it up the hills, despite being shouted at by everyone passing me. I've no idea what they were saying, but I'm guessing it wasn't a polite conversation they were continuing as they skied on up the hills. I know I'm not a fast skier, or particularly good one. I move out of the way as fast as I can, and let's not forget that while I'm not winning, I'm still trying not to be last. I had to contend on several occasions by the other skiers pushing me out of the way, because I wasn't in control of my ski's enough to move a quickly as they wanted. 

Middle distance map:

The next day, we moved onto the long distance. An 18km epic. From the start I was last, but it didn't stay that way. As I came up the hill to control 2 I met a couple of lost girls. They caught me up at 5/6 and then I made a mistake and lost them good. But the signs are there that things are improving. My cornering practice in Italy, has improved my cornering skills no end, and I'm now confident enough to skate around corners. Steep downhills still require a snow plough though!

I finished in 1:49 and the winners in 1:09 so much less than 200% of the winner :-) I was exhausted at the finish, mainly due to picking up the map and thinking it was long enough and there would be no map change. So from 6 onwards I was sprinting my feeble arms off (the narrow tracks mean it's difficult to skate and thus the arms are used!) to catch up the Italians, but I was mystified when I wasn't allowed to finish. I was then handed a new map and realised I had to go back up the big hill and do the other gaffles! So the last half of the course was seriously tough, and my arms burned! My core gave up and with it went my remaining speed! Lesson learned, don't sprint from 25% of the course.

Long distance map (my gaffling was: A, C, B, D)