Orienteering race 20:05 [5] 2.48 km (8:06 / km) +78m 7:00 / km
spiked:12/14c
Sprint at Hope Lake at the CNYO A-meet. The rain stops as planned and hoped for. I am not fully awake, as it seems. I study the map too much on the way to #2, should have just followed the compass instead of reading contours. Ted Good passes, we get to control together.
On the way to #3 I see the other control before the trail. I am promptly losing contact, while my control smiles 20 m in front of me. On the way to #5 Ernst Linder and Randy catch up. I punch, they don't see/hear it and keep searching. I don't get very far, they chase me down at 7 or 8.
The train stays together, at #13 I try to cut through the woods, no smart, I get stuck and Ernst goes around, is faster.
Not much of a sprint energy, need to warm up better.
Running warm up/down 25:00 [3] 5.0 km (5:00 / km) +40m 4:48 / km
I do a real run before the middle distance race, not the buzzing around in circle at the start. This gets my engine going and I am ready to run better.
Orienteering race 51:19 [5] 5.4 km (9:30 / km) +185m 8:07 / km
spiked:15/19c
Middle distance at Hope Lake. I start somewhat slow, figuring out the green stuff to #1. Too much thinking. On the way I see Patrick, who has a seizure. Bernie Breton and some other people are there already and take care of him. I check with Bernie, he says they do what they can do. Still, for some time I think about it and hope it works out. I know that he has seizures sometimes, not much can be done besides staying with him, make sure that he is safe and it will pass after some time. I hear the ambulance howling, but I also know, that normally they can't help him much.
I keep going, stop short on the way to #3, but I figure it. Some not clean running along the hillside, but ok recovery. Before #7 an unmapped jeep trail. Go up on hill, read contours, get to control. A branch hits my eye, the contact lens is gone. Have a while to adjust to half vision, put the reading glasses away. Left eye reading, right eye scanning.
It gets easier on the open fields, more light to see the map. Find some good rhythm, even some speed on the jeep trail along the lake. Good run for the rest, too slow to #16, I only see late that the control was visited in the sprint, it is the trail control. It is dark in the woods, hard to read the map.
I catch Clint Morse, he stays with me, tries to outsprint me in the finish. I win, but collide, slide and miss the punch. So he wins the punch sprint. Happens. Have a good time, finally have some sense of speed and even trust my navigation.