orienteering race 15:00 [5]
shoes: Inov8 XTalon red
WOC Sprint qualification.
Felt totally hopeless whilst running (heavy and weak from nerves) and didn't seem to be able to push the pace as much as I hoped. Navigation through the tricky gardens and identical holiday houses was good, but missed a gap through the fountain area a made a much longer route choice. Did not expect to make the final after I finished, so was ecstatic that Jas, Fel and I all qualified along with Simon :)
orienteering race 17:00 [5]
shoes: Inov8 XTalon red
WOC Sprint Final- my first ever :)
Felt very calm at the start and enjoyed the buzz of starting in front of a full stadium, and physically felt much better after having run the nerves out in the morning. I was prepared for it to be tricky and knew I had to be totally focussed, which I managed the whole way. Started really well- I felt like I was in a orienteering video game- just my footsteps, breathing, reading the map, looking ahead and getting all the turns. In the middle section I chose a few of the longer routes because they were the first I saw and I didn't do a proper comparison between two route options- something to improve.
Happy with the run and placing (32nd) as I didn't start with very high expectations for the sprint. However I know I could be physically much faster, with better training, and still have a lot to improve in sprints :)