Orienteering (blue) 1:46:42 [3] ** 10.0 km (10:40 / km) +200m 9:42 / km
ahr:134 max:159 spiked:10/11c slept:8.0 weight:172lbs shoes: VJ Falcons 2021
Area had more thorns than advertised. Downed debris was less than mapped in many places. Course navigation was more like a orange course with very long trail legs. Not very inspiriing.
1: down trail until I found a spot to cut into road, down the hill and could see the ruined car from a long way away.
2: cut along stream until reentrant area then cut up to trail, across open field and continued on trail to the next rough open field which had been mowed. ran through medium green and along stream until I got to the control.
3: More or less straight. Green was thorny here. I was already getting slashed up. Twisted my ankle on the way.
4: Long trail run. After crossing the bridge I decided not to take the optimal trail up the hill and instead ran along the stream so I wouldn't just be doing a trail run for several miles. Eventually the hill side pinched out my running area so I had to climb. Once climbing I went ahead up the trail and ran the trail the rest of the way.
5: Up hill to trail, to junction and cut into woods. I the way I stepped on a stick which turned out to be attached to a stump. The end result was the stump slammed into my left shin. It really hurt and I was slower the rest of the course as a result. Control seemed much farther than mapped. Control was also higher than expected but could be seen from a long way away.
6: Icky leg. This is a control location that shouldn't have been used. Ran down spur to clearing to the trail. Trail to rough open scattered trees, then cut into the medium green. This should have been fight and not medium. It was mostly thorns. scaped my way through. once past the stream area it was less thorny and just very close together saplings. Still very slow going so I just walked. Compass kept pointing me up the hill but I know I was to high. I cut over to the gully then had to fight my way along it to the control which was hidden behind a tree. As I was leaving someone was coming up the gully from below. I warned him the control was hidden behind a tree.
7: Went down gully. It was less green than the way I came up. Still very thorny along the stream. Fought my way back to the trail. Another long trail run. ran near 8 and cut into woods to get seven. I spotted the control from across reentrant.
8: Straight. I could see the control from way off.
9: I was very tired. What should have been another long easy run was just a very slow long run.
10: Cross the bridge, trail to road. along road and cut up reentrant but not on trail. Then I screwed up I continued up the reentrant over spur, cross the reentrant to the correct spur but I was way too high (SE of the control). Contours didn't look correct so I went higher and hit the trail. Saw what I had done then went long way to the control.
11: went north to avoid the worst green but someone else went straight and didn't have an problems so got way ahead of me. Very slow walking up the hill.
12: I saw the trail option but didn't want another trail run, plus I was too tired to run so went straight. Green wasn't a problem until the final reentrant where it was all thorny again. Trouble getting across the ditch with all the green.
Overall I was slow. for a 10K 200m course, My watch says I traveled 7.5 miles and 430 m of climb. quite a big difference.