Orienteering race 14:57 [5] 3.18 km (4:42 / km)
shoes: Brooks Racer ST5
British Sprint Champs B Final - 7th and 25th overall!
Had executed the first half of the plan, now to step it up for the final. Was seeded 20th fastest and wanted to beat that by as much as possible. Was feeling a bit nervous and excited. Had a fairly good rest in between races, relaxed a bit and did some dynamic stretching.
Easy first control then long route choice, spent a bit of time getting it hit (in general both races I started slower relatively and built into the race). My geeking of the multilevel section helped for 4, chose the straightest and most direct option. Couple of easy controls then back through.
May have underestimated the controls through the halls of residence, missed a couple of route choices (only realised on analysis +10s or so each time). Pace was pretty good, intensity felt high and would've liked my inhaler. Forgot how hard work sprints are when pushing it. Tried to up the pace for the easier final controls. Overran the first easy control, had thought head down and run but didn't have a clear catching feature or point to run too. Corrected pretty quickly. Nailed the last few controls and sprint finish (thanks to Dan's shouts). We 3s clear on 8th place so worth the strong finish.
Had come about 40th at my previous two Sprint champs so very pleased to have improved on that. Waited for Nick +1 min and James +2min, was good to see them in. Knew I'd had a good run and happy that my current (perceived low) fitness levels were good enough to get me the result. The two sprint O sessions and some map geeking helped. Will have to see if I can get my running speed back and maybe get into the A final one year (running the heat faster).