August 14, 2011
Long Distance Orienteering in challenging terrain with a malicious course setter.
4:01:20; 12.24mi; +3328ft; 12/13 OA
I had a very interesting race... got kind a lost a few times, but that's the fun of it.
1-3 stuck with group so those were good. Fell behind in a patch of cut wood and was on my own for the rest. I need to work at picking my way through rough terrain since it appears I'm not very fast at it.
5... oops! I took the road route and actually beat some of the group I was following to (what I thought was) my attack point, but then I took my bearing from the wrong ditch! Then I got confused by a trail that wasn't on the map with a very similar bend to one that is on the map.
Got caught in an evil logging area on the way to 7. I thought I came down the middle reentrant, but I guess not...
Between 8 and 9 I caught a tree branch / pine needles directly in my left eye. Contact got caught up between my eyelid and eye and I rubbed it until I could somewhat see out of it but it hurt the rest of the way so after this point I walked with my left eye closed the whole time. Not much running after that incident. After the finish, I pulled out the rest of the contact (it seems like the branch took 1/3 of it). Not comfortable.
Came down the wrong reentrant on the way to 11 but that was a quick recovery. Was very surprised that I caught up to Nic at this point.
12 was a horrible disaster. It looks like I was good until about halfway through my bearing when I veered off 90 degrees, and then another 90 degrees. What did I do that for? I think that was when I saw Katie relocating and panicked that I must me going in the wrong direction too. The second turn was to go to the road to relocate but then I found 15.... Not at all where I thought I was! Ugh!
Started off on a bad bearing to 14. Way too low.
I thought it would be easier to find 15 again since I had already been there, but it was a bit nerve wracking.
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