Orienteering (Foot) 23:25 [3] 2.0 mi (11:42 / mi) +63m 10:39 / mi
spiked:17/21c
40th Annual West Point National Meet: Sprint - It was nice to see the West Point campus. I didn't perform so well on this sprint. I paused a the start for a long time, not being able to find the start triangle. Having the river on the map would have helped with that. In the initial few controls, I didn't make errors. I ran low toward #2 but realized immediately that the control was going to be above me. At #4, I turned right behind the small building at the bottom of the stairs, but didn't see it. It was narrow so I backed-up up, scratched my head and went around the other side to find it. I started to follow Mitch Collinsworth across toward #5 but saw him turn back. As Mitch went up the stairs, I thought about going low to the right--I couldn't see a way through without going way past the control--I climbed the stairs too but later found out that there was a way to go more directly on the lower route. The #2 or #5 partly obscured the break in the wall. I caught up to Mitch again on the way to #6. At #7 I worried about crossing the garden but it wasn't mapped out of bounds. For #8, the tunnel seemed like it should have been mapped a little differently--it slowed me a few seconds. I went on the outside to #11 to simplify. I debated going clockwise and counter-clockwise to #13 but chose clockwise. The contsruction was unexpected but I adjusted quickly. However, once to the parking lot, I was a bit confused. I crossed it almost to #14, then had to come back to the stairs to get lower. I messed up good on #14 by passing right by it as I was reading ahead on the map. I was have the straight distance to #15 before I turned around. Mitch punched before I did. I took off going high to #15, and expected the control to be under the canopy--this was one of the few controls that I hadn't read the clue sheet on, and I didn't do that because of the mix-up at #14. Once at the canopy, I kept running straight as others were standing and wondering. Someone passed me before I could get around the wall and down to the underpass. On #19, I went left to the stairs rather than around the wall on the right. It wasn't as good a run for me as the morning run had been. Peggy ran well beating a lot of people including myself and I think that made her happy.