orienteering 58:06 [3] 3.98 mi (14:36 / mi) +433ft 13:14 / mi
shoes: x-talon 212 #2
Day 2, Green course, M60, 5.3 km.
Another day where the energy levels were not good. Seems to have been the case all week, don't know why. So although I did some decent orienteering, when push came to shove, I didn't have it.
Chase start, had Glen and Tim starting 10 seconds or so after me. I started dragging on the sidehill and slightly uphill slog to #3 and fell a little behind, maybe 30-40 meters. Made that up at #4 when they both went too high and didn't see me cutting down to it. But the margin was not enough of a gap to put me out of sight, and so things slowly closed back up and by about #7 or 8 we were all together again.
Slightly different routes to 9, but no difference, ditto to 11. I arrived there to find we had caught up to Ernst, several minutes. That was the classic good news and bad news. Good news that we had caught up. Bad news in that one more person made the odds of error even lower, and at the end, there was no doubt in my mind that I would clearly be last.
So I took a different route to 12, to the right, they all went left. It might have been OK, but my energy just wasn't there, moving way too slow. Got to the point and no sign of them, splits showed they had been a minute faster on an 8 minute leg. So that was that.
Polished things off with a miss at 13, and really dragging through the junk to 14, and by the time I came in they had already showered and changed. At least it seemed like that.
But still an acceptable run as far as the navigation goes. Helps that the eyesight is better, probably helps a lot. But somehow that just reinforces the feeling I've always had about orienteering -- I know where I am, I know where I'm going, I just can't get there.
But not really complaining. At this point after a run I often find myself thinking -- survived to run at least one more day. Someday that will not be true. But not yet.
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And afterwards, a bunch of good conversations -- plans for the 2016 North Americans, junior development issues, team matters. There are good things going on, and good people doing them.
And the same could be said for the weekend -- very well organized by a bunch of good people. Ian seemed under control, Ed was getting a full night's sleep. What is the world coming too? :-)