Orienteering race 52:44 [4] 4.8 km (10:59 / km) +225m 8:54 / km
shoes: Inov8 Oroc 280 (2)
WOC Relay Leg 2
First WOC forest race! This was like nothing I've ever run before!
I'll admit I was extremely nervous for this race. And unlike the sprint relay, the nerves didn't really go away with my mental warm up. I was focused, but there was always that feeling in the back of my mind.
I started out with two other girls, but I wasn't so confident off the start and they got away from me. I should have pushed a little harder and tried to stay with them.
Leg 2 started off well, I took a breather and then headed off on my route. Things were matching up until suddenly they just didn't. I wasn't 100% sure of where I was so I decided the best thing to do was figure it out. I relocated quickly from some big cliffs, checked and double checked my compass and headed out where it made sense again!
I refocused at 2 and had a few really good legs after, from 3-6. I was looking up, matching things and running faster.
The leg to 7 was pretty vague at the start and then it launched you into super technical stuff. I ended up getting into the technical stuff not knowing exactly where I was, but I relocated from big cliffs and used precise navigation to get there. I could have chosen a bigger attack point to have reduced this problem.
After the spectator loop I was pretty worn out. The terrain was hard running and I spent a lot of time on the ground (There were holes in the ground that you didn't know where there until you were in them!)
The final loop, however, went really well. It kinda felt like the DV in there!
What an incredible experience it was to run in the WOC relay. Even though there were tons of good (and kinda bad) emotions running through my head for most of the race, I've learned a lot about my orienteering and can't wait to get better.