orienteering 41:44 [3] **** 3.4 km (12:16 / km) +113m 10:32 / km
spiked:14/17c shoes: gray and yellow mizunos
No-trails course at boojum rock. Thanks to Barb for the maps and course-setting!
We did a chase start, so Anne started first, the me, then Dave, and then Izzy. Super good practice for me! Most of the mistakes I made were from people being around, so I definitely learned more than I would have by myself.
Here's what happened:
1-8: The jumbled-hilltop-type terrain is becoming more natural for me to read. I was able to read ahead, have confidence, and plan my exit direction while coming into the control. I've also run on a no-trails map before, so I was able to keep from being distracted by all the trails on the ground. I'd caught up to Anne at some point, and Dave had caught up to us both. We were all doing a decent job of not being distracted.
9: Error #1: read down as up. This was the root cause of my mistake. I thought there was a huge hill behind the control that would catch me. Gotta do more of those armchair exercises! This would be so easy to prevent, especially if I did the exercises while running. And the high-low exercises provide the instant gratification that motivates me to keep doing them:)
9 (cont'd): Error #2: I crossed the blue dotted ditch. I recognized it as a blue dotted ditch and found it on my map, but I completely forgot to stop and relocate when I looked up and saw Dave and Anne ahead of me. So stupid! I'm optimistic about being able to fix this. I think it's progress that I at least had conscious thoughts about where I was. Maybe forcing myself to verbalize my thoughts when I'm unsure of where I am?
9 (cont'd): what Anne did right: Anne and I were talking out loud after I'd failed to relocate the first time, and she was much better than I was at forcing herself to acknowledge she wasn't where she wanted to be. She did the absolute right thing: stopped, came up with a hypothesis for where she was, and checked off features on her way to the control. That's a procedure I'll have to keep in mind!
12: I felt that I did better in fighting my herd mentality here. Anne had run ahead, and I could see her running the opposite direction as my plan. I checked my map while I was running to make sure I was right, and I ran to the top of the hill where the control was. I did hesitate 2-3 seconds, but that's still progress!
13: Heard Anne behind me while I was on my way up to the control.
14: Error: Ran out of 13 quickly so Anne wouldn't hear me. Neglected to check my compass! I was actually going in the right general direction, but I saw a hill similar to mine before I crossed the big reentrant, and I ran up several contours to check it because I was distracted and not staying in close enough contact. Confused when the control wasn't there, lost more time.
14 (cont'd): The good: quickly came up with a hypothesis for where I was, took a bearing to my control, and checked off features along the way.
15: Error: Compass sloppiness, and confused by some water that looked like a marsh. Ended up on the wrong ridge but saw Anne at the control one ridge over. chased her.
16: Good: Had planned ahead of time. checked off cliffs as I passed them and re-set my fine compass bearing off those. Crossing the wide reentrant, I'd caught up to Barb and Anne, who were discussing where the streamer should go. From the training I did the other day with Anne, I was able to locate the dot knoll without hesitation and keep on running. Barb said later that I was right! This was a victory for me, because the other day I wasn't as confident as I should've been while O'ing without controls.
17: Good: In case I'd been wrong about the dot knoll, I stayed in extra close contact, looking at the locations of 2 large rock things. Found the control without a streamer.
core/legs 20:15 [3]
Woohoo! New season best!
Still being careful w my arch. So it was a good excuse to focus on things on the ground! I was surprised how far I got just by rotating variations of supermans, dog pees/donkey kicks, sit-ups, and leg lifts. And my 5-pound ankle weights meant the supermans actually worked my hamstrings! Exciting to build a foundation for some of the more rocky terrain like West Point.