Day Two of the Navigator Cup didn't quite go as planned. Perhaps it was the sunny weather breaking my concentration..I'm not sure, but I just couldn't quite pull it together. I started off blowing the first point, running around in circles until I finally figured out my mistake, which was a very silly one to make. I wasn't paying close enough attention to my map and ended up running up the wrong creekbed. Argh. The next few points went ok, except that several of my bearings were slightly off so I ended up going a bit out of my way. About an hour in is when the wheels really came off. I attacked from hilltop that looked distinct enough on the map, but in real life, it was a pretty confusing area. There were so many little undulations in the terrain that weren't showing up on the map that I started second guessing myself, thinking I might not be in the right area. Several features matched up, but there were some that just didn't seem right. I was really frustrated and not sure what to do. I'd already wasted so much time, but reattacking would certainly take at least another 10 minutes. I was about to go all the way back to the lake to reattack, but instead just went a little farther over the next spur...and there the damn point was! I totally didn't expect it there and even after seeing the terrain, I was still a bit confused..oh well..moving on. Going to the next point, I was running so fast (to make up for my previous blunder) that I got off my bearing and ended up running way further than I needed to. Grrr! The next two points went ok, but by that point my run was completely ruined, so all I could hope for was to hold onto second place. Luckily my time was still faster than third place, but nowhere close to the winner's time so I stayed in second place overall. Not bad considering that I'm convinced that the girl I lost to can walk on water and fly, and apparently reads a compass and map better than I!
Tomorrow is the Extreme_O, which is a military style orienteering competition. Its longer and more up my alley...swamps, culverts, muck, and other nastiness. I'm hoping to redeem myself, but not really looking forward to full submersion in the 20 degree weather we have been having.
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3 comments:
you've had some rough weather for the event...but well done. tomorrow will be better! :) good luck.
Hard core ... all the way. Hoo-ah! Hope today went better.
Thanks, it was still a pretty fun weekend despite the ho-hum second day. At least I didn't wander off my map..someone else ended up 5 miles outside the park.
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