10Mila (2013-05-04)

I ran first leg for team OK Älvsjö-Örby 1.
Start was hectic - a lot of fighting and little orienteering. As I wanted to get close to the lead, I gambled and didn't pay much attention to orienteering in the first leg, but just tried to run fast as possible. Of course it cost.
Further on I was not afraid to choose my own route choices and to run alone. For example, to 2/3 and 4 where I was mostly running alone in the darkness. As I avoided mistakes and took OK route-choices, at the first radio control I was 92nd, 4:02 behind the leaders. Then, to 10th control all runners around me chose to run on the meadow but I didn't really see the point in that and went alone up the hill. I was hoping someone would follow me, but noone did. I made a small mistake near the control but even with that this was a better route-choice.
I continued with some good orienteering and pushed up the hills and, to my surprise, at 15th control i noticed Kalevan Rasti and Halden shirts. I figured that they are second or third team runners (they were first team runners actually) but I am in good position anyway. And so I was, I had climbed to 52nd spot, 4:04 behind leaders, so on 4,1km I had lost only 2 seconds. Great success!
To 17th control I met Anatolijs Tarasovs and that was when I understood that it is an OK race. Unfortunately I was not strong enough NOT to follow big guys from previously mentioned clubs into childish mistake at 19th control. I recovered quickly but lost valuable seconds. I finished 50th, 4:53 after 1st leg winner, but only 35 seconds behind 23rd place. So you can understand that even though this was my by far best ever result in 10Mila or Jukola, I was bitter because of that last stupid mistake.
Anyway, it was a good race and I finally experienced competing between top50 runners and I am happy with that because I didn't expect such good running shape in the middle of a hard training cycle.
Team didn't do so well and in the end got disqualified but we will get ourselves together in Jukola for sure.