Orienteering race (Foot) 1:40:50 [4] **** 6.9 km (14:37 / km) +260m 12:18 / km
spiked:10/16c slept:8.5
2010 US Classic Championships at Moreau Lake State Park, NY. EMPO received lots of praise for this meet and I concurr that it went well. Had my navigation matched, the weekend would have been about perfect. I was a bit rushed getting to the start. The interval for bus ride to the start was long. I just missed the one before and once I got on the bus, it waited 10 minutes. I had missed my start by about a minute but had kindly been allowed to start a few minutes later. I took off down the trail trying to get a feel for the map but I didn't really navigate until I crossed the second stream. Going high, I let myself get pushed lower by rocks instead of following a bearing over them. I mistook a large marsh for a small one near the control, then took a while relocating. I was worried about it going to be a long day for me when I looked at the next long leg but my leg to #2 was good. I kept a general bearing north of the direct route. I was alone until others started converging from all directions. I ignored Samantha Seager who probably was going to another control. When one reentrant that had potential turned out to be the wrong one, I kept going and felt some confidence. It helped that another guy was headed the say direction ahead of me.
I had a slight bobble on #4 but the next several legs were good. I started #9 well but coming off a large marsh, I had gotten further east than expected. I missed attacking to the north and then turned east again. I partly relocated on a trail but wasn't sure where on the trail I was. I attacked anyway and missed. I finally went back to the marsh, attacked and spiked it. Just before I got there, I saw Daniel Shaublin punching. He'd gotten there from west of me. I chased and passed him on the way to #10. I paused at a clearing with a trail, wondering where the yellow was on the map. The control was just past this point. Tearing-off south of the straight line to #11, I got careless. I crossed the creek but got confused after rounding the ridge on the other side. I saw a control in a reentrant to my left and was sure it wasn't mine. Several other people were punching it. I went on and Daniel caught-up, also confused but only for a second. He convinced me that we needed to descend; we did so but it was down a dangerous rock slope. At the bottom, Daniel took off in the reentrant. After passing some cliffs on the left, it seemed I was too low, despite Daniel being lower. I circled back, read the map better and got into the reentrant near the control. After punching #11, I saw Daniel on the way to #12 and though he didn't need it, I thumbed backward.
I was doing well going to #12 but approaching Kris Beecroft on a steep ridge, I slipped on a wet stick and slide down 10ft. She heard me but had to keep watch herself with hurting knees. I approache #12 at the right height in the small reentrant north of the control but eneded up passing it slightly. I was better getting to #13, basically running on the trail, then cutting west to follow a line of cliffs in. I split the fields to spike #14. Headed to #15, I initially used the traiul but found myself bouncing off the out of bounds road before dropping in one reentrant to the north. I descended the rocky slope to the trail and used it to get to the GO control. Patti Mace was ahead. I fumbled the punchiing at the finish and might have been able to save a second at the very end.