Note
I'm about to head out on my first 1:15,000 map and my longest-ever O course (9 km), and I am SO sleepy that I can barely keep my eyes open. I'm sure that when this establishment was originally built, there were good reasons to put rooms right above the tavern, but they certainly weren't put here so that people could sleep through the night. It was almost 2:30 a.m. when I last looked at the clock, still listening to hits from the seventies being blared out by the live band below me and breathing the cigarette smoke that drifted up into my non-smoking room. I feel bad for Sudden and Wil S next door, who have an even longer race today. I barely feel safe to drive, let alone interpret tiny little features on a map for 2.5 hours.
Orienteering race 2:17:16 [3] *** 9.1 km (15:05 / km) +220m 13:27 / km
Barebones Long - new White Earth map
I was sleepy going into this race, but quickly woke up because I had to pay close attention in this subtle terrain. My first experience with a 1:15,000 map went fine. I had to force myself to go a bit farther than felt right when I was navigating to the first control, but after that, it felt natural. I guess I do so much nav on 1:50,000 topo maps that this map still seemed wonderful.
This is a great area for orienteering - easy to avoid nasty vegetation, and lots of nice, dry, open woods. The only hazard is deadfall, which covers some of the open ridges, and can really slow you down.
This was my longest orienteering race so far, and I am reasonably content with how I did. My execution was far from perfect in some cases, but I think most of my route choices were good. I stayed closely in contact with the map most of the time, since I really wanted to finish this course and get to the airport for an afternoon flight!
One of the positives to take from this race is improved confidence in my relocation skills (although it's too bad I had to use them!) Typically, I have backtracked to a known place and started out anew. Today there were a couple of times when I knew things weren't right, and I was able to figure out where I was and attack from that point, rather than going back. It sounds simple to experienced orienteers, but usually I am afraid of compounding the problem if I keep moving forward, rather than retreating.
One of the areas that needs improvement is my rough compass work. There were a couple of controls where I wasted time because of this, and there is no excuse for it. I wonder if this will be easier with my new Spectra thumb compass, which should make its O debut after the North American Champs.
I was the last starter of the day, so it was quiet out there - and the awards started right after I finished.
It's been a fun couple of days - good to see everyone, and fun to compete on challenging courses in the toughest field of women I've ever raced against. Not surprisingly, I finished behind most of the younger, more experienced orienteers - which is how it should be. It was a great experience, and it was nice to see that I'm not too, TOO far behind them.