orienteering 37:47 [5] 4.4 km (8:35 / km) +140m 7:25 / km
Double Dukes middle distance Blue, South Achray
Didn't get a good night's sleep with palpitations all night, and just felt a bit out of it at the start. Ran past the path to #1 before I realised where I was and ran up the hillside to it rather than the open spur, maybe 20 seconds. Half way along 1 to 2 I started reading the parallel leg 6 to 5 which cost me about 15 seconds of confusion although I was still just about moving in the right direction. #4 I was slow up the hill and just when I had nearly got to it I persuaded myself that I hadn't and swung left, confirmed where I was and came back again, 30 seconds.
After that I was good until I encountered the fence. On the way to 13 it just appeared half way along the leg without me having spotted it on the map, and I had to go around it to the right. Using the upper crossing point would have been better. Another 30 seconds.
Then on the way back to #15 I insisted on going back inside the fence so that I could choose the wrong crossing point again to come back out. It would have been much better to stay outside the fence altogether. 45 seconds lost. Charlie went around the outside and caught me at #15, then took another minute out of me from there to the finish.
And finally I lost 7 seconds between the last control and the finish. I punched the last control and headed for the tent with the control in front of it, when 90 degrees to the right was a large finish banner with a control in front of it that I just hadn't seen. I was heading for the string course.
Not too bad a run but not in control of things and not running particularly well. Nice area, better than it looked on the map. The undergrowth screen was unnecessary at this time of year.