Orienteering race 1:38:16*** 9.54 km (10:18 / km) +177m9:25 / km ahr:123 max:165 spiked:10/13c shoes: VJ Falcons 9
Red course on French Creek Central. 7.3k, 200m. Course had eight legs in common with the Blue course I did yesterday, so I tried to take different route choices. Nailed the two legs I had missed on yesterday but messed up one I did OK yesterday (took a riskier route today). Avoided the disaster I had yesterday on the very long leg by using a route with a very solid attack point about 100m beyond the control. Woods were very wet since it had poured overnight and was still showery while I was out. Same challenges with the vegetation as yesterday. I confirmed (several times) that I have difficulty staying on a compass bearing in thicker vegetation.
Orienteering race 2:17:39*** 13.15 km (10:28 / km) +279m9:28 / km ahr:124 max:165 spiked:13/16c shoes: VJ Falcons 9
Blue course on French Creek Central map as part of the MASOC (although none of the scouts did the Blue course). 8.8km, 300m. French Creek terrain - big broad hillsides with subtle contour detail, lots of zero height features (charcoal platforms, circle ditches, rocky ground). More (low) vegetation in the terrain than shown on the map and it is leafed out, so you need to be right at the zero height features to see them.
I hung five of the controls on my course yesterday, but that didn’t help much. Two of the three controls I had errors on were ones I had placed, although the course approached them differently than how I did hanging them (and there were streamers hung high which I removed after placing the bag). Smallish errors on 5 and 13, a huge error on 8. According to my GPS track, I passed within about 50 meters of 8 on the first pass (19 minutes into the 1.9km leg) and then got within about 30m on the next try. Finally got it after relocating at the next control about 300m away. Lost nearly 30 minutes.
Woods were wet from earlier rain but temperature got to the low 70s, so it was muggy and buggy (black flies, which were biting if you stood still).
Trail Run1:26:49 7.57 mi (11:28 / mi) +357m10:00 / mi ahr:146 max:178 shoes: NB Leadville VS
Trails at Trexler Preserve. Did about 80% of the Quadzilla race course (last year’s version), including all the hills except the last big one. Trails are mostly dry and in good shape. Good running weather, upper 50s and overcast. Spotted a heron, three deer, and about a dozen bison, but no elk.