Training Log Archive: Niall

NAOC Middle: Nothing like passing 30m off the first control to start off the championships on a note that would be sustained throughout. Major errors at controls 1, 3, 4, 7 and minor errors at 13, 14 and 16. Third from last, both in category and overall for the map. Horrible, horrible start, could have done so much better. (Specific details for each control mistake found in the splits.)

Middle - RedX - Splits

Event: 2012 North American Orienteering Championships
 

Cold, thick pea-soup foggy morning. Could not see past 50m ahead, in the forest or clearings. Standing at the fence surrounding the Camp Fortune antenna, and seeing the guy wires disappearing into the fog... not a trace of the antenna visible... wow. A slow start, getting a bit confused on the numerous trails, but recovered well - until contorl 5, which confused me for no good reason. Once again, took way too long to decide to re-attack from the path (over ten minutes). Took a reasonable trail detour on the long control to 7, and was not the only one; attacking from the ski path made it easy to find. Going from 8 to 9 was a long slog of carefully running down one alpine slope and painfully up another, but I knew I was getting tired and wanted a way to know at all times where I was. Pure luck got me to 10 (I was off my bearing to the attack point), poor choices on the trail network after that slowed me down.