Sayneisen Salpa Middle (
splits,
quickroute)
Well, got my butt kicked by Hanny by 5 minutes. Yep, she's fast! I didn't run terribly clean, but still, 5 minutes is a lot! The terrain was kinda thick, lots of recent logging and such, but really, that's no good excuse. A few times (off the start, #6) I was flustered by others, so good training for a bit more people around.
1 - Some Finnish guy rocketed off the start, so I thought that was the pace I should be running and tried to keep up. Wrong! So plan of just running directly on my bearing was shaky, because I wasn't totally sure where I'd come off trail. I put things together eventually using the lower little trail that loops. (3.26 - me, 2. 34 - Hanny)
2 - Up up up the hillside, cruised in on the little trail, then didn't really see the correct hill through the green, so headed to the further and on the left hill that I could see. Wrong. (4.48, 3.19)
3 - I thought not bad, but Hanny still smoked me. Chatting afterwards, I think to a different more cruisable route (trail to corner to follow cliffs), as opposed to my direct, including through some slash. (5.20, 4.19)
4 - A hard little leg, I was very hesitant making sense of what was and was not a cliff. (2.03, 1.33)
5 - Straightish, using quite a few skidder tracks and popped out in and easily IDable location for the final attack. Beat Hanny on it, but she also said she didn't do this one cleanly... (5.19, 6.07)
6 - Ug. I passed my -3 girl and then goofmuppeted trying to run away from her, being a full contour too low and just running at least 100m past. (3.36, 1.39)
7 - Went straight, went well. (2.11, 2.19)
8 - Used skidder tracks most of the way, also went well. Saw a tired-ish running Alex here. (2.27, 2.24)
9 - Short little leg, c'mon legs! (1.14, 1.12)
10 - Used a skidder track most of the way. Hanny went up and straighter, perhaps faster? I'm surprised, I thought I was moving well. I had a bit of hesitation, but not tons... (4.46, 4.21)
11 - A big route choice leg. I haven't yet talked to anyone who did it how I now think is the best (straight out to road on left). I used trails to go to the lower road, but then had to climb a bunch again. Still, I won the split. (Hanny went straight, which wasn't so good.) (5.53, 6.22)
12 - Downhill leg of awesomeness, through open woods! Visibility for miles too, no reason not to kill it. (1.59, 1.49)
Finnish- Got a bit distracted by a guy darting off the wrong way. (53,49)