Brown X Day 2. Another good day, with a couple of relatively minor mistakes and a few more hesitations than yesterday, but still good on the day, I think 6th overall on Brown X, and 5th for the two days. Nominal distance 3.6K.
Based on US eligibility, a silver medal in M65. Much unexpected.
Map and route
1. Downhill through lovely open woods with a stonewall on either side. The best running one ever gets. Crossed the little streams and the E-W trail, trail S, then wall to the corner, heading right for it, but the cliff and the flag were obscured by a tree, so didn't see it until I was more or less right on it. Spike.
2. Drifted R across the stream to the trail, followed it to the wall corner and then an easy attack.
3. Started along the line, but then corrected N so I could get down the cliffs. Jammed my ankle in the rocks. It was pretty sharp and I hopped a few steps, but soon forgot about it. A little lower than I thought I was, had to climb a bit to the control, but no problem.
4. Everything was looking good, maybe too good. Followed a reentrant down, apparently without checking the compass and ran into the two boulders before the trail, so corrected from there and got to the flag, but I couldn't find the SI box. I almost punched on the map before I saw it on a stand a bit away from the flag. So maybe a minute lost of getting off line, and another 10 seconds or so trying to find the box.
5. Left around the cliffs, then more or less straight through blueberry, but nice terrain, gently down. Right by the boulder halfway from the trail, saw the rocky cliffs to my right and right in.
6. Also pretty good. Red the boulder at the top of the green, the green patches, and saw the bag from about 40 M or so.
7. More or less straight on compass, picking off the rock just across the trail. Fooled a bit by rocks up higher and a bit obscured by the circle, but figured it out reasonably soon and right in.
8. Right of big cliffs, difficult footing getting down the hill to the trail. Left on trail a bit, then along the L side of the big hill, gradually climbing it and following the long spur down. Saw Karen Muffati leaving, maybe 45s or a minute ahead.
9. A little uncertain on this leg, not sure why. Drifted a little toward the wall, then corrected and headed right to it, but just slow.
10. Again, saw Karen well ahead, far enough away that I couldn't necessarily follow, but maybe I could go a bit faster heading in the general direction.
11. Pretty dumb. Saw that my control was at the end of the wall, and didn't even notice the parallel trail, instead climbing over the wall, picking though some rocks and stuff, instead of the nice fast trail. Probably 30 or 40 s lost.
F. My leg wasn't twinging, so I was able to finish a lot faster than yesterday.