Orienteering (Foot) 1:19:18 [4] 7.3 km (10:52 / km) +290m 9:04 / km
spiked:10/15c
DVOA Delaware Watergap Gap Recreation Area, PA. North American Orienteering Championships: Long Championships. I enjoyed the running today. I made to errors that cost me significant time though I had a few others too.
Going to #1, I went over the ridge too soon and hit a control on a pond before coming over. The running was slowish going the left side most of the way-- across marsh and hillside to #2. I attacked a bit farther away than planned, from the rootstock since the fallen log blocked the low route. #3 was short and sweet though I had to force myself right to be on the spur. I started out okay going to #4 but even though I saw the control, I stayed too high and passed the control before coming down to it--I thought it to be too low to be mine. It was steep on most of these early controls so I didn't feel good runing.
The long leg to #5 was fun. I didnt see an optimal route stand out so I more or less went straight. I read my way across but missed a linear stoney ground feature and came out at the marsh almost across from the control. Rather than go around, I found a way through it--over my knees. It was slower than hoped for but perhaps a better recovery than going around would have been. After the cooling marsh water, I felt refreshed and ran well. I hit #6 slightly low. I ran straight at #7 noting the cliff and linear field but coming off that just a little too early to be optimal.
Going to #8, I crossed on the bridge and passed Virginia on the other side. The contours looked a bit funny but I was thinking to keep moving more than I should of. I went for a reentrant and dropped down into it, feeling better again when I got on the trail in it because I saw it on the map. I looked for the reentrant to open up ah ehead and when I saw this, I cut right w/o looking further. Had I gone left there I would have saved 5 minutes. I had lost concentration enough to mistake a line of cliffs on the other side of a ridge that i was on, for the trail. I hunted the hillside and saw Eileen Bressman in the area too. I figured out what happened and went right to the control after that. I moved more cautiously toward #9 after that--I hit that well attacking from the rootstock.
I ran for part of the way toward #10, and angled right to save climbing. At #10 I had to tie my shoe and I had a Gu. I had been running with loose laces for a while. Feeling more confident again, I headed toward #11 but got distracted by a control in the middle of a neat boulder cluster--4 cleaved pieces. It took some time to relocate after that. I moved hesitantly toward #12 after that. I pulled up short then went on to spike it.
Going to #13, I went straight but needed to walk up the steepest part. I spiked it. I went straight to #14 feeling okay and running well-- there were almost som rides through the green. I ran on a spur for a short while thinkingi knew where I was and I anticipated hitting a big marsh. I figured that I'd go left around it. When I finally hit a marsh, it was the more indistinct one past it. This slowed me down as I was less confident. The rock wall at a stream helped reassure me but I still went slow wondering why my bearing kept me so close to the stream. Seeing two controls and picking up the features they were on--a marsh edge and then a root stock reasured me more and I resumed a better pace; marsh on my left, to spike it.
I ran straight at #13 and was a little to the left. The knoll and white radio antenna clued me in. I didn't want to mess up so I looked at the map a bit before leaving. After weaving in the pines, I cut right and my bearing ended up to be a little to the right. I had to cut back left silly when I hit the finish chute, to get in it. I had a better run in than yesterday once at the top but time had already been lost. It turned out that Clint Morse beat me by two seconds.
I had the 18th fastest time on the course, and was somewhere in the top 10 for N. Americans in my age group. That silly 5 minute error from lack of concentration hurt.