Discussion: I'm not sure I have any suggestions

but I seem to have many of the same thoughts (and difficulties) as you do, especially with this year not going well. My problem is definitely primarily in the execution, not the basic skills set. Sure, the skills could be stronger, but they're strong enough to get much better results than I've had recently. I've found that my best runs (by a large margin!) have been at the Team Trials. They feel different - I'm nervous and excited and, most of all, extremely focused. I wasn't very focused this past weekend or the weekend before. I also wasn't nervous or excited, and I also noticed that I wasn't feeling very competitive. People would catch and pass me and I really didn't have much fight to stay ahead.

So yeah, it's concentration/focus/discipline. I know what I need to do, and I can do it okay when I'm "on". I just need to figure out how to be "on" more often. I guess when I figure that out I'll be able to write a book and make millions. And also be a good orienteer.

But in the meantime I'll try anything. Maybe we should have CF battles. ;-)

Adrenaline is great for focus, isn't it? I also concentrate better when I'm a little bit nervous and "ready to go" at the start.

Also, a CF battle could be fun! CF does help me relate the map to the terrain, but it has it's limitations. I still need lots more work in the real world.

For years, Mike and I have compared reading a map to speaking a foreign language. In the beginning, one translates everything you hear (in the foreign language) back to your native language (in your head) and vice versa. Eventually though, you start to understand more of the foreign language and do less and less translation. I've almost gotten to that point with the map, but as Mike phrased it, I still have an accent :)

So I need to practice seeing more subtle details on the map. Instead of just a hillside, I should see (and anticipate ahead) exactly where the slope flattens out, or gets steeper or whatever. More prediction, less reaction.