Orienteering race 2:42:11 [4] ***** 6.63 km (24:28 / km)
spiked:9/18c shoes: Adidas CornerBlitz
Long Course at the Ontarios at disputed Oliver - Saugeen map. Felt good at start line but running was painful, hamstrings tight and left foot ankle still bruised. Climbed hill to trail leading to east with a bearing to a ridge with CP1 on the south side. Continue on ridge to hit road on the east but hit trouble. Area had been recently cut and lumber with branches were all over the ground. Springy, this terrain was difficult to run on. From an early dew, the trees are damp. Rubber spikes are useless as rubber slides on the wet lumber. Finally hit the trail and headed for CP2. Off a bit on bearing but found CP2. Took a bearing to CP3 but overshoot and ended up by a creek. Realized the error but lost 5 minutes. Find CP4 fine and headed for CP5. Hit a road but run the wrong way for a few minutes before reversing towards CP5. Angled up hill towards CP 5 and wandered through green hilltops. See a re-entrant and a control but is CP6 so backtrack to CP5 and back to CP6 though reverses are never prefect. The plan is to go straight north to CP7 but wander on the hills until I see a road. I realize my error but correct badly. Now I am really lost and wander the woods for 20 minutes before hitting CP7. Oh well, on to CP8. Hit trail at corner and find CP8 in the adjacent woods. Take a bearing, past the out of bounds to hit a ski trail leading towards 9. See Jerry Baker on the trail. Take a bearing to CP9 but miss it and follow swamp edge too far south. On returning see Marianna. Stopping in the area and I notice CP9, hidden in the trees. Decide to take swamp edge but make a major error and end up in the swamp which is dense vegetation and trees down, very slow. Hit forest edge and realize where I am and angle south to the control. Take bearing over the hills to hit trail, leading to CP11. Major error in not carrying any water becomes a major disappointment as the water station is dry. 2 jugs seems woefully little for this event. Switched to A/R preservation mode with lack of coolant. Back trail I take a bearing to CP13. Come in low by a dried lake but do not see the re-entrant indicated and soon come on CP14. Backtrack above lake and find the control. Back to CP14 but more lost time. Looking at map for the long leg to CP15, I decide to go up the east side of the swamps as this section is known rather well. West side with long straight road may be quicker but requires traveling through heavy green. The trails up the east side are fairly straight forward and there is a fence line to use for reference. As I approach the trail junction to CP15, Elisabet Orosz comes up behind commenting that this event is a marathon. Other than disgruntled from lack of water I am fine. Bruised left foot is slowing me down though. We go along trail and over the hill to CP 15. Back to the trail after a minor direction errot, she and I play tag going to CP's 16 and 17. Tom Hamblin is seen exiting CP16. Exiting from CP17 to the west, we sight across an open rough area towards the finish. CP18 is at the top of the open area and it is a quick sprint to the finish. The finish chute flags have been collected but the straight, old, railroad bed is easy to follow. I turn on the jets and go anaerobic but Elisabet decide to make a race of it and holds me off at the finish. We arrive just in time to make the awards ceremony. I am under 3 hours and faster than in Saskatoon but with way too many mistakes. Left foot and ankle is sore, even with ankle supports. Time for new shoes I think though only 115 miles on the Corner Blitzs. All these miles have been in races and I go through shoes quickly due to supronation.
New rule, always carry water on long courses. Going down to A/R mode really slows me down. Rubber cleats are not good on wet logs. Explore new footwear options before next major race. Knees and ankles seem weak after races but carry me through. Have to work on correction technique. I am good at determining lost mid woods locations but am not at using this to advantage. Moscow thumb compass looks like the way to go. Though I carry a base plate for backup.
The Waterloo Stars put on a good Ontario Championships. Too bad it was not a recognized A event! The controls, course setting, finish area, electronics and overall events went fine. Personally pretty annoyed that the water station was completely out by my arrival. Getting lost though, this was mostly my own fault. Comparing to past A events, it was evident that the Stars were light on bodies. Those present did an excellent job but there was the little differences that require a larger club. At present, this was the largest event they could handle. As being suggested from this year's Canadians, resource partnering with other clubs may be the way to go in the future, especially for national or bigger events. If the Stars continue to grow as in their first year, bigger things are expected.