Orienteering 17:07 [4] 2.97 km (5:45 / km) +69m 5:10 / km
18c shoes: 201304 Inov-8 Oroc 280s
US Team Trials sprint, Camp Wakpominee, New York.
I was very excited about the trials after my twelve hour trip to Charlotte to attend Andrés' wedding rehearsal dinner and a decent night of sleep. Giacomo and I left Boston at about 9:30, and arrived at the event site with a comfortable hour and a half before our starts. I walked around the permissible areas and scoped out what I could about the terrain. I warmed up for twenty minutes, took a Gu, and read a few 1:5k forest maps, trying to warm up my brain. I had one of the last starts at 3:48, and the day was warm and humid.
The controls were basically where I anticipated them. I had very little zip in my running; I felt sluggish. I can't explain the cause - allergies were a problem for me the entire weekend, so perhaps my breathing was impaired? I stayed on top of my navigation, read my codes well in advance, but I couldn't make up for my slowness. My only mistake of note was a poor line into 14; I had to slow fighting through the green. Today was an incredibly disappointing way to start the trials.