Orienteering race 1:23:11 [4] *** 7.6 mi (10:57 / mi)
17c shoes: Silva Pro Lite
QOC's local event at Wheaton. Small 1:10,000 map with short legs. I was fairly happy with how I ran my first nine controls - there was very little I could have done to make up lost time (except run faster). However, on my approach to the number nine control the cold that has been plauging me for the past 2 weeks finally caught up with me. First of all, it is my belief (and others I spoke with after my course) that the control was hung on the wrong rootstock. There were two within the control circle, but only one marked on the map. I, of course ran to the wrong one, it was less than a 30 sec. error, but just enough to throw my concentration. Coming out of the control I completely lost all sense of direction and really struggled to re-orient my map which easily lost me 2 min...I did the same thing again on my way to #16 when I came out on a trail and could not figure out which trail I was on (there were several intersecting in a relatively small area). From #9 on my head was in a bit of a fog which caused me to hesitate and second guess myself. Had I been able to keep my head attached to my body for the entire race I could have easily saved 10min.
Overall, though I was not disappointed in how I ran. I'll probably run the course again in a month or so to see if I can beat my time from today and run a cleaner race.
