Orienteering (Park) 23:00 [2] **
12c shoes: Reebok spikes
Warmed up with an old Yellow course plus a few extra minutes at Jefferson Barracks (1:10).
Terrain race (Grass) 15:05 [3]
shoes: Reebok spikes
Bubba XC#2. None of the fast guys were here (except Andy Koziatek who can beat me any day, on any surface, over any distance) so I just did a tempo run. Nice course. Something like 2.3 miles, but that's just a guess. 2nd overall, 1st M40.
Orienteering (Woods) 1:01:00 [2] ***
17c shoes: Reebok spikes
Followed with a Green and Orange course. Since running through the southern rough open with no leg protection on the warmup was just about the least fun thing I've done this year, I jettisoned those controls from the Green loop. The map has not magically become any better since the meet 2 years ago, but knowing the problems made it tolerable. I think I may have been a little hard on the venue. If it was mapped REALLY well, it might be pretty interesting. But, that's the rub. Why would we put that much effort into a small area when we have similar terrian, only better, already mapped just a couple miles away in Cliff Cave?
Note
The C race was just about over when I finished, so I stuck around to watch the first few laps of the B race. Rudy is riding B this year, which is pretty stout. He was hanging in OK when he got to where I was watching. Of course, I had picked the spot where I expected everybody to wreck because that's what's fun about Cyclocross - people go down, but they don't get hurt. Well the guy in front of him does an awkward remount at the bottom of the berm and he's flying down because he remounted at the top. He goes wide to miss him and the front wheel washes out. So far, just standard stuff, but just before he hits the ground his position changes a bit and it turns into really nasty face plant. In fact, his head bends back so far and so fast I'm thinking that not only is his race over, but this might be the sort of thing that has permanent consequences. He lies there for a few seconds and I feel my whole body go cold thinking, "He's broke his neck." Then, he hops up and gets back on the bike. Damn, dude, you scared the crap out of me.
Running (Road) 31:00 [2]
shoes: 2140 White
On the way home, I dropped the WRX at the shop because I think the steering pump is dying. Jogged home. Turns it into a longer day than I needed, but I've got plenty of time to recover for the marathon.