GAOC Navigator Cup, day three, Mistletoe State Park. 0c and sunny.
A decent day. And finally, a decent weekend of races!
Very cold at the start, and I was a bit confused trying to find the first control. But I stopped, looked closely at the map and the surrounding terrain, and then settled down.
I had decent map contact today and reading ahead was OK, but I was starting to slip. I guess we know my fitness level at the moment: 2 races, and then I start to fail.
As I left 4, I noticed it was time to eat and drink, but I had to struggle to get everything organized with my many layers on body and hands. And I was trying to ignore Mike, who had passed me in here. Too distracted, not clear focus.
I thought I was following a rough compass on the red line to 5, but I wasn't really systematic about it, and I didn't have a clear expectation of what I would see next. I also had to pee, and it was distracting me. So I finally decided to stop and pee.
Continued on my way to 5, but didn't stop when I said to myself "I would have thought that ditch would be mapped". Duh! However, when I saw the park boundary sign, I did finally stop and assess where I truly was. This was a victory for me, to actually stop instead of wandering. Headed due east to find the stream, and quickly relocated on the ditches.
Another bobble executing 6, and walked past the non-existent depression at 11 and had to backtrack a bit. Didn't feel as sharp as yesterday, was re-acting more than I wanted, but I still avoided any major disasters. So glad to have made it three days in a row without one control costing me many minutes due to wandering all over.
http://sprintseries.org/doma/show_map.php?user=map...