Running - Road / Track warm up/down (mostly road) 16:00 [2] 2.13 mi (7:31 / mi) +40m 7:06 / mi
ahr:135 max:156 shoes: Brooks Trance 5 - 1
Warmed up for round 1 of the Sprint Series Finals. My knee hurt quite a bit, so much so that I ran with a limp at first. Near the end of the warm-up, the pain began to subside.
Orienteering race (sprint) 13:21 [4] *** 2.8 km (4:46 / km) +45m 4:25 / km
ahr:168 max:174 spiked:15/17c slept:8.0 (injured) shoes: VJ Twister (US size 10.5) - 2
Round 1 of Sprint Series Finals. I felt the need to make a last minute toilet visit just before the start, so I ran up to the start and was still tying my shoelaces when the start was called. I started perhaps 6 seconds late and pretty much caught up to the pack by control 2. I raced against Nick Duca, Erin Shirm and Ted Good. Erin, Nick and I ran the course pretty aggressively and were very close together until the long running leg from control 13 to 14, when Erin got a bit ahead of me and we both gapped Nick. Once I saw that I was safely in second, I eased up for about the last 130m to save my legs for the other two rounds.
Running - Road / Track warm up/down (mostly road) 9:32 [2] 1.23 mi (7:45 / mi) +20m 7:23 / mi
ahr:133 max:149 (injured) shoes: VJ Twister (US size 10.5) - 2
Warm-up jog before the second round sprint. My body felt somewhat tired still from the effort of the first sprint.
Orienteering race (sprint) 16:43 [4] *** 2.61 km (6:24 / km) +65m 5:42 / km
ahr:168 max:178 spiked:12/16c (injured) shoes: VJ Twister (US size 10.5) - 2
Sprint Series round 2. I started off okay but felt a little tired mid-way through the course. Still, I was in fine position when Nick led us from control 9 to control 11, then proceeded to 12, etc. I saw that we had come to 11 and didn't punch, but I took a bad bearing and missed 10 (where I assumed Nick and Erin were leading) so badly that I arrived at 12 first, then missed 10 a bit short on the way back. After I finally got to 10, I dashed back to 11 then went somewhat slowly and deliberately to 12, picking up the pace some over the remaining controls to hold off Jon Torrance.
Orienteering (control pick-up) 13:11 [2] *** 1.3 km (10:08 / km) +30m 9:06 / km
ahr:128 max:146 spiked:3/3c shoes: VJ Twister (US size 10.5) - 2
Picked up controls 3, 4 and 5 after sprint round 2.
Running - Trail / Grass warm up/down 11:30 [2] 1.28 mi (8:59 / mi) +20m 8:34 / mi
ahr:126 max:151 (injured)
Easy warm-up jog before the last round of the Sprint Series Finals.
Orienteering race (sprint) 16:19 [3] *** 2.86 km (5:42 / km) +85m 4:58 / km
ahr:165 max:174 spiked:13/17c (injured) shoes: VJ Twister (US size 10.5) - 2
Sprint Series Finals, A final race, against Ken, Ross, John, and Michael. I got out well at the start, dropped back a bit in the middle of the first loop, then took the lead again going into the final loop. In the middle of the final loop, the lead group (I, Mike and John) eased up the pace significantly, probably because none of us wanted to run quickly out front and blow a control at a tactically crucial moment, which is just what I did on the 3rd to last control, to which I took a fairly direct route through the green then blew it to the left. At this point John surged ahead and Mike took off after him with amazing speed. I was too busy kicking myself to realize that the last couple controls were a flat-out run to the finish, so Mike got a jump on me leaving the control that I had no way to make up. I think I double-punched the finish, leading to an apparently slow finish run-in split. My legs felt pretty strong throughout the course, which was nice, but which made it all the more frustrating to screw up near the end. Still, 3rd place in such a strong field is pretty good, and it beats my 5th place from last year.
Running - Trail / Grass warm up/down (some terrain) 14:05 [2] 1.51 mi (9:20 / mi) +30m 8:47 / mi
ahr:127 max:145 shoes: VJ Twister (US size 10.5) - 2
Warm-down jogging after Sprint Series Finals. My legs still felt quite good after the three races today.
