Precautions for orienteering
1. First of all, you must have confidence in yourself, believe that you are the best and can complete the game well.
You must have confidence in yourself. If you feel flustered, uneasy, or have doubts about yourself before the competition, you are already one step away from success. You must have confidence in yourself, especially before setting off. Stay calm and don't panic. During the competition, you must fully believe in your own strength, have a clear mind, and complete the competition tasks according to your own abilities. Don't follow along on the way. Blindly following others may be counterproductive, and it won't truly reflect your true level. You must fully believe in yourself.
2. Be serious, careful, and calm during the competition, and choose the route correctly.
During a competition, sometimes you will run back and forth nearby for a certain goal. You can’t find it for a long time, and you will feel flustered. In fact, the more anxious you are, the less likely you are to find it. At this time, you must be calm and calm, and try to eliminate your irritability. , carefully compare the icons on the picture with the surrounding objects, observe the surrounding characteristic objects, and determine the exact location of the target. Occasionally, points will be missed during the game (even the completed game results will be invalid). If you find out in time and you have not missed many points, then stabilize your emotions and try to make up for it in order to complete the game and obtain valid results and rankings.
Generally there are two methods. One is to use the current location as the target and follow the route on the map to find it backwards until you reach the (missed) target you are looking for. If the terrain is complex, you must first Find landmarks (buildings, etc.) here or nearby. The second is to go directly back to the original place where the target was last found and follow the route. When you find the target and clock in, you must be careful to see if the indicator light is flashing and buzzing. Pull out the finger card after reading the information. Complete the card insertion and reading in one go to avoid unnecessary time consumption by repeated actions, because the effective results at the end point are It is calculated in seconds. Sometimes the time difference between the two people before and after is only one or two seconds, or even less.
3. Have sufficient physical strength and distribute it reasonably throughout the whole process.
All the players participating in this competition have relatively good physical strength, which has been intensively trained in daily life. Endurance and cardiopulmonary function are not inherited solely by innateness, but acquired factors can also be modified through exercise. A good runner has abundant physical strength, good endurance and speed, and can generally run a 10,000-meter race with ease. That is to say, an orienteer is first and foremost an excellent long-distance runner, but how to perform in the competition and how to distribute his/her physical strength is a question. It deserves careful study and discussion. Excellent runners can reasonably allocate their physical fitness according to the terrain and judgment during running. For example, when going downhill, they can relax their stride due to inertia, which can save a certain amount of physical energy; when the terrain is flat, they can speed up the pace appropriately. And frequency; when sprinting to the finish line, you have to spare no effort and use 100% of your strength.
Related reading: What are the essential skills for orienteering?
Although generally speaking, the performance of orienteering is determined by the ability of field orientation and map recognition and use. But the question is, what kind of running techniques should people master in the wild, and what issues should they pay attention to in order to take advantage of greater physical strength, achieve high speed, long distance, and avoid all possible dangers in the competition? That is to say, If you want to achieve better orienteering results, you also need scientific cross-country running training.
Characteristics of cross-country running
Orienteering cross-country running is actually a long-distance intermittent race (you often need to stop to look at pictures or orientate along the way). This kind of running in the fresh environment of the wild can make the muscles tense and relax, and the physical load and mental concentration can be constantly alternated. In this case, the whole body of all participants, especially the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, will receive greater exercise.
Basic requirements
Orienteering cross-country running is the same as other long-distance running events. On the one hand, it is required to reduce the body's energy consumption as much as possible and maintain a certain running speed, and on the other hand, it Able to accelerate according to the situation of the game. Therefore, the following requirements should be mastered by athletes during the training phase and should always be paid attention to during the competition:
Posture
Mainly adopt a slightly forward or upright posture. You should try your best to coordinate the movements of all parts of the body (head, trunk, arms, hips, legs, feet), and be good at using the support reaction force and inertia generated during running to keep moving forward to keep the body stable and improve the running effect.
Breathing
It is best to use your nose and half-open mouth (lick the roof of your mouth with the tip of your tongue) to breathe at the same time. In addition to changing the frequency and depth of breathing when physiological extreme phenomena occur during running (that is, using the method of exhaling more to increase the gas exchange rate), in general, breathing should be natural, appropriate, deep and rhythmic. .
Physical strength distribution
Either according to the selected road section, or according to the stage of the competition (starting point, en route, finishing point), or based on the different physical conditions of one's own body. By alternating the working phase (muscle tension) and the resting phase (muscle relaxation) in a timely manner, we can achieve the goal of running fast and running with less effort.
Speed ??
Generally speaking, it should not be too fast. Accelerating too fast or too hard on the way will not only affect the normal performance of physical strength, but also seriously affect judgment. Someone once conducted an experiment: it takes several times longer to calculate a math problem of the same difficulty while running than when stationary; if you accelerate again, it will not only take longer, but also make more mistakes. But for an experienced athlete, when the terrain is favorable (such as many reference objects, flat roads, etc.), he should run as fast as possible.
Rhythm
According to experimental data, the most suitable rhythm for people is 70 to 90 times per minute (that is, each step is 0.85 to 0.67 seconds). A rhythm that is too fast is It is not easy to feel, and if it is too slow, it will have an inhibitory effect. Rhythmic movements not only save body energy consumption, but also achieve optimal movement coordination. Coordinated and rhythmic movements can give people a relaxed feeling and beautiful enjoyment.
Sense of distance
It is necessary to maintain a certain sense of distance in cross-country running. It can not only help improve the speed of finding points, but also facilitate the planning and distribution of physical strength.
In the wild, you run at the same pace, but due to changes in terrain, the step length (distance) varies greatly. If you haven't measured your step length, you can refer to the following data measured by regular jogging.
Cross-country running technique Correct method during intervals Unless you are lost, relaxing jogging during intervals is better than walking, and walking is better than standing or sitting.
When running cross-country, because the location and environment are changing, the running technique must also change due to changes in conditions. The following are just some cross-country running techniques on a few common terrains:
When on the road, use basically the same techniques as for medium and long distance running, and try to run on flat surfaces. .
When on the grass, land on the balls of your feet and look forward and down to avoid falling into potholes or hitting rocks.
When going uphill, your upper body should lean forward, lift your thighs higher, touch the ground with your front feet, and run up in small steps. If you encounter a steep slope, you can switch to walking or zigzag running (walking method). If necessary, you can use one or both hands to assist in climbing.
When going downhill, the upper body should be tilted later and the whole foot or heel should be on the ground. When encountering a steep downhill or a slippery slope, you can use the side of the foot to land on the ground, or even Move in a squatting position and use your hands to pull (grass, trees) and support (the ground) behind your body. When you reach the end of the downhill slope (usually 8 to 10 meters), you sprint down the slope to the flat ground.
When jumping down from a slightly higher place (less than 1.50 meters), you can use the step jump action: the leg on the high place (supporting leg) must be bent, and the other leg should be forward and downward. Reach out, jump off, land on your feet and soften the impact with deep knee bends. At the same time, when landing, your feet should be slightly separated from the front and back to continue running forward. When jumping from a very high place, you should try to reduce the height difference of the jump. Depending on the situation, you can use the method of sitting on the ground to jump with both hands or sideways to jump with one hand. Pay attention to deep flexion of your legs when landing.
When running in the woods, be careful not to be scratched by branches, leaves, vines, etc., especially to avoid being poked in the eyes by branches. At this time, one or both hands are generally used to protect the face at all times.
When encountering small ditches, trenches, short bushes or fallen trees, increase your running speed and leap over them with long strides; while landing, lean your upper body slightly forward so that you can Protect the waist and facilitate running forward. When passing a wide ditch (2.5 to 4 meters), you need to run at an accelerated speed of 15 to 25 meters and use long strides and long jumps to cross. Pay attention to landing movements to prevent falling backwards. If you encounter large fallen trees or other short obstacles, you can cross them by stepping on them. When encountering higher obstacles (no more than 2 meters), such as short fences, earthen walls, etc., you can climb over them by squatting and jumping with a frontal approach and supporting with one or both hands.
When passing narrow and suspended obstacles such as single-plank bridges, you should run with your feet turned outwards into a figure eight. If such an obstacle is long, you should not run but walk smoothly over it.