Orienteering race (Sprint) 17:53 [5] *** 2.3 km (7:47 / km)
Flying Pig Sprint #1. We'd been told that the navigational difficulty would be low, and the course would be flat - so we were advised to go fast. Oh, and they also suggested that we devise a strategy for crossing fences made of heavy chains hanging between small posts. I went out on the model map to get used to the sprint mapping symbols, which I haven't seen in awhile. I also got a feel for when I needed to go over the fences with a scissors jump and when I could go under them and fling them out of the way like a low branch. The latter was *much* faster.
I'm normally not a good sprinter, but I had a good race today - probably my best-ever sprint performance, even though I came 2nd in my category. Right from the start, I remembered to try to go fast because it was a race - something that slipped my mind yesterday! The nav went well, and I tried to read ahead one control at all times - which I seldom have the cycles to do, even though I know I should. It only backfired once when I was leaving a control and it took me a few seconds to realize that I was mistakenly thinking about the way I would leave the *next* control. But overall, I'm very happy. I don't think there is any way I could have gained the extra 46 seconds I would have needed to win - not unless I start working really hard on speed intervals!
Orienteering race (Sprint) 17:54 [5] *** 2.1 km (8:31 / km)
Flying Pig Sprint #2 - a totally different beast, and equally fun. This sprint was a mix of fields, trails, bush and mud - a little slower and more navigationally complex than this morning's event. I don't usually push all that hard in races, but I could feel that I'd pushed hard this morning, and there wasn't any extra oomph available at times when I might have liked to call on it. But things went fairly well in this sprint too.
In comparing notes with Sid, who beat me by about 50 seconds, I realized that I could have saved time on two legs that went out and back through the same patch of thick vegetation. We'd been warned that there were evil trolls out there who would steal precious seconds in this section of the race course (I'm quoting from the course setter's notes!), so I ran around the nastiest green vegetation on trails, rather than making my way through it. So my main weakness in this race was that Bash was too chicken to bash. But in the end, I was only 1 second slower than this morning, and I was quite pleased with that. This was enough to win my category for Sprint #2 and for the overall event, which combined the times for today's two sprints. I don't usually think of myself as a sprinter, so I'm a very happy camper! :-)
Note
We tried to represent Canada well today - each in our own way. Bender was stopped by 3 students on the main street of Oxford - a university town. They were doing a scavenger hunt, and they needed a photo of themselves doing a high five with a man in tights. Things were looking a little grim for them until Bender showed up, dressed in his finery for lunch at a nice restaurant.
Other Canadians made a good impression by running fast, as Wil Smith did.
Other Canadians made fashion statements.
But most of us just hung out and chatted in the sunshine, went for a yummy lunch, and enjoyed a couple of great orienteering courses!