Orienteering race (WMOC Long Qualifier #2) 58:00 [5] **** 6.8 km (8:32 / km) +230m 7:18 / km
spiked:16/18c shoes: Inov8 Mudclaw 270
What a difference a day makes! As good a run as I could have hoped for, bearing in mind I needed to make up 12 places to make the A final. I made up 10 places which was not quite enough but didn't really deserve it on yesterday's effort. Downside is I pulled a calf muscle 50 metres from the finish line and will really struggle to make the final in 2 days time.
Started well with a slight hesitation on the way to #1 when I came across what looked like a creek but was in fact a very deep ditch. Once I worked it out I got 1 and 2 easily. Apart from being very slow up the long climb through 3 and 4 and again over the hill to 6, made no real errors until I got a little low on 8. Also slightly overran 13 but combined time loss was probably only 30 seconds. Clean and fast through to 16 then hit the downhill to 17 where we dropped more than 20 contours in less than 500 metres!! Punched 18 at the top of the finish chute then about halfway along the calf just "popped" and I had to hobble across the line. Had a similar injury in Denmark in 2006 and wasn't able to run for about 2 weeks so doubtful I can do more than walk the B final on Friday. Just have to wait and see. Garmin distance today was 7.7km.
Caught a guy wearing a Tasmanian O shirt at around #8 but I'm sure he wasn't from Tassie as he was on my course and there is no one from there running M50! We sort of ran together through to 13 when I got ahead of him. Had hoped to seek him out at the finish but had to go straight to the first aid tent to get ice on my leg so will probably never know!
Deb had a mixed day with a number of smallish mistakes but still qualified well for the A final on Friday. Best to make the errors today I guess!
Not too sure about all the other Aussie results but I know Blair, Suzanne and Jenny, Jimbo, Liggo, MaryMac, Anne Ingwersen and LInda Rapkins are all in the A finals. GrantM had a very rare (of late) bad day and looks like he has missed out which is a shame as he has had a great year.
Orienteering warm up/down 20:00 [2]
shoes: Inov8 Mudclaw 270
Walk/run to the start and then walked the warmup map.