Baltic Junior Cup

BJC, Long, 29.09
Latvia

Course: M18, 8,26 km.
Map: Lielupe, 1:7500, H 2,5 m.

It's the first time for Estonia to take part in this competition between the Baltic states, Poland and two counties from Sweden.
The previous day, on the training map, I drew a conclusion that the forest was something like two weeks ago at the Latvian championship in middle and relay. So I decided to take go with the same tactic as back then - equally fast the whole distance.
But what was not in my plan, was that my feet were really stiff when I was warming up. I still believed I could make a dignifying race though. If only that was true!
Starting beep. The course was quite what I had expected. When closing in on the first control, I was already about to make my biggest mistake in this race. And I did it! First I couldn't understand which way was up and which way was down, then I mixed the depressions and the result was there. About 30 seconds of loss already in the beginning. Still didn't change any tactics. After that it was technically OK for me for the rest of the distance. No big misses except for small direction flaws. But the trouble started just about before the 10th control. I was getting tired, which was notified by my stiff feet. I was giving my maximum, but my speed was just below any level. But the positive thing - I caught Mantas Martinkus, who started two minutes before me. At the moment I was running at about the same speed as he was, but that changed when being in the middle of the 13th leg. I was really tired now and Mantas was slowly slipping away... But I saw him almost the whole way to the end.
Splits

    1 Erik Folkesson-Blom        Småland        41:21
2 Andris Jubelis             Latvia         41:30   +0:09
3 Andris Kivlenieks          Latvia         41:59   +0:38
4 Kârlis Diðlers             Latvia         42:03   +0:42
5 Artûrs Pauliòð             Latvia         43:14   +1:43
6 Maciej Jasiñski            Poland         43:23   +2:02
7 Lauri Sild                 Estonia        43:29   +2:08

I was angry and pissed in the end. How the hell was I supposed to run the first leg in the relay on the next day!?
Again, I was surprised by the small loss to the winner. My speed really was low you know. But I didn't make any remarkable mistakes. Maybe that's the reason?
I'm guessing that the speed troubles were caused by the 3000 meters cross-country running that I had on wednesday.

BJC, Relay, 30.09
Course: M18, 5,78 km, first leg.
Map: Lielupe, 1:7500, H 2,5 m.

Woke up at 6 o'clock to eat. 8:30 mass start.
This was a special kind of relay. A little bit like 25manna maybe. The teams consisted of 6 runners - the best from each class. 1st leg: M18 & W18, 2nd leg: M16 & W16, 3rd leg: W20, 4th leg: M20.
As a surprise, I felt pleasantly loose before the race. Could this mean something good?

In the start, as usually, everyone launched away like cannonballs. I tried to be steady and not to fall too much behind the leaders. In the first control was a struggle for punching the SI card. Some elaborated words and the punch was made. The next moment, I found myself to be first in the second control. I tried to push myself to the limits and try to run away from the group while I was at it. I stayed in the lead just seconds ahead of the others until the 5th control where we had forking and I managed to run further away. Was running alone for some time, until the "accelerators" from the back caught me in the 10th/11th. Some even went ahead of me, but then slowed down for some reason and I got a safe lead again for a second. Then the mistake. Mixed up some of the roads since one of them was really wide, not like on the map (a small path). A small mishap and the lead was lost. I was side to side with the others again. I was together with Andris in the two "public" controls. But then again we had forking and we ran our own ways. Now I felt that I was in the lead again. On the way to the 19th I saw a polish guy getting closer and closer. Fought till the end and a five second vantage remained.
Splits
1. Lithuania 2:00:50
2. Småland 2:01:57 +1:07
3. Poland 2 2:03:43 +2:53
4. Estonia 2:03:51 +3:01
5. Poland 2:04:03 +3:13
I was really satisfied with my performance and my result. My team was also doing great until it came to the junior classes, in which both of the runners, roughly saying, failed. And the total place was 4 - a disappointment for the whole team.