Dalrulzion - Day 1 of Scottish 6 Day
Goal was clean race no matter the speed I needed to go. Started easy and felt good about my first few controls. Didn't start to make errors until the open area of heather. One nasty bingo control returning to the woods and then a series of complex controls in thick areas. Pine plantation with uneven/rocky ground often covered by moss, slow. Navigated reasonably well and was generally pleased. Of course, placing 47 of 80 is not so great but maybe everything will get better later in the week.
Later reflections:
- Route choices were good.
- Conservative run, but necessarily so. My ability to translate between map and terrain (both active & passive) takes a while and, since I was careful never to lose map contact, this took a lot of time.
- Need to do more simplification. I get mired in the detail to stay connected. I also think I enjoy the challenge of map-nav-running and reading everything. But the is a race and it's timed.
- Handrails & collecting features. Yadda, yadda, as always. Sometimes I do this well and sometimes not. Must find them before route choice is made. Must improve finding CFs. Decent about HRs but must remember that there are less obvious ones both along contours and within contour shapes.
- Mental image of leg (or sections) rather than constantly referring to map to remember.
Splits...