Orienteering race (Mill Bank and Whitley) 57:02 [4] *** 6.0 km (9:30 / km) +255m 7:50 / km
spiked:13/19c
Ran 'down' (on blue) because of the junior team, so really wanted to win. But didn't. Started well and was very pleased to see 2, a dot knoll in the middle of a lot of light green. Battled the hills and brashings through 3 to 6, then got careless on way to 7 and hit the ride unsure whether to go left or right. guessed wrong and wasted almost a minute and a half. Was a bit cautious for 11, sticking to handrails, and lost 30 more secs. Then, en route to 12, I was following a fence round an enclosure and heading downhill fast when I ran into a very strong wire which seemed to be right across the 'path' at chest height. Was completely shocked, winded and bruised, but got back up and saw the wire was one anchoring a fence post to the ground. It was lucky I hadn't hit it at throat height. Felt dazed and then completely flunked the next control by neglecting compass and being way too far right (2.5 mins). The last part of the course was in the coppiced area where I've binned stacks of time in the past and I had no confidence at all. But saw 13 with relief above me, then aimed for ride near 14 but dropped too low then worried I'd overshot. I hadn't but was walking to the flag and probably lost about a minute through hesitancy. Spiked the rest, though slightly fluffed the finish, so reckon I lost about 6 mins in total. Won't win doing that. Second though.