Orienteering race 1:22:18**** 4.55 km (18:04 / km) +181m15:04 / km ahr:139 max:166 spiked:12/15c shoes: Inov8 ORoc280-B 2013-10
Middle Brown course at TT event at Westmoreland Sanctuary, in mid-to-upper 80s temps. SL 2.9 km, 160m climb
Started okay but apparently left #2 wrong and wandered the hillside for way too long, finding #3 on the second relocate effort after I saw Kathy Bannister leaving a bunch of rocks much higher on the hillside that I had been looking. Ugh. 14+ min and 530m on a 56m leg. AP says about 12:00 error and I believe it.
Was off to the right to 5 (1:30 lost), then angled to the big trail intending to go up along the rocks / stream but footing there looked thick and I wasn't far from the trail junction so took the trail route. I could see the huge boulder near the target knoll from the trail.
Managed to botch #7 as well, crossing the stream apparently at a different point than I thought (farther right, again) and following the wrong stonewall line, too far, before figuring it out. AP says about 4 minutes lost. After that it was just slow going fighting the heat (I *was* carrying/drinking no Vitalyte but it wasn't enough) I was able to run a few places downhill on trails on the way from 13-14, but everything else was at pretty much a trudge.
Not my day.
Other EMPO members here for the weekend decided to join me for the relay tomorrow, and will let me run the third--shortest--leg. Last year we were the team the "won" (by shortest overall time) the Retro O in Gatineau, Ontario.