Orienteering race (Long) 1:18:28 [3] **** 3.4 km (23:05 / km) +50m 21:30 / km
spiked:6/10c slept:6.5 shoes: Jala Jukola Spider 6 #3
What a map! I turned it over at the start and said "whoa!" First impression is very little white; then, light green and rough open pock-marked with blue and marsh.
Apparently I never started my Forerunner (I thought I had, but it started when I finished...).
Rattled, I never really got my head around how the eastern part of the map was depicted. Used compass to get me in the right direction but couldn't match features with the map so quite unsure where I was. Got to a point about 50-60m NE of my control point on the edge of a wet area. Instead of the pond mapped I read it as a marshseveral hundred meters west. Tried to head south to trail to relocate, but when I hit a trail I couldn't match it win the map, still. Saw Sandy at some point, maybe halfway between start and 1? She'd started ~16 minutes behind me.
Once I did find 1, I still wasn't getting into the map, seeing only some features on the way to 2 actually on the map. Passed a control flag on my way to 3 and made sure to check it; wasn't mine but was recognizable as a pit--yay, there's a couple of pits right next to my line; only a little farther to go.
Next two legs were to controls 100 m or less from the road (beeline meant more light green, and more subtle features), so I ran alongside it. Managed to mess up one more control, a relatively short leg (~150-200m?), was sloppy on 7, and then finished fine. Ugh.
11th W55-64, tho I'd been in 13th when we left. Two women were dsq'd--haven't heard why. Probably could have done around 58-60 if I'd
been able to get into the map.
Not sure I'd return to this map, despite some folks' rave reviews on AP. ;-)