Orienteering race (Ultralong) 1:42:21 [5] *** 10.82 km (9:28 / km) +468m 7:47 / km
28c shoes: Inov-8 X-Talon 212 #3
This was fun! Had been looking forward to it for agees so was suuuper excited for it!
Started off comfortably and paced myself so that I would have some energy for the last bit of the course. Didn't see any of the other girls after the 4th control which was weird and made it hard to push hard.
Started second guessing myself on the long leg and came down slightly too low too early but was able to correct fairly quickly. Was being cautious going back into the detail with the short legs which was fine until #9 where I started to switch off a bit again and didn't quite look at the map closely enough, also costing time. #10 - #11 was not great, had very little contact, just a vague idea and I knew that it I kept going I would eventually get close or hit something I could rebound off, not a great way to orienteer. Was lucky to trip on the fence. Then was too low and had to climb up the cliffs to the control. The loop from there to #14 was a slog that I knew I just had to get through cleanly and then I would be halfway around. Going up to #17 was tough and I tried my best to keep running up but just had to walk the top little bit. Almost ran straight past #21 because it popped up way sooner than I was expecting it to, which also threw me off a bit for #22. Hadn't realised how far down the hill #23 was so kept second guessing myself as I went down the hill. Was a bit unsure of my height going to #26 so was being careful. Was way too high for #27 and my brain was not functioning super well by this point, but luckily I checked a control on the way which made me drop a few contours and then put me on the right line to my control.
Hip was quite click beforehand and back was sore afterwards, going to have to do a fair bit more strength to minimise this.
Perfect day out made this was so much fun, I really enjoyed it!