Orienteering race 1:19:08 [4] *** 5.1 km (15:31 / km)
ahr:163 max:182 15c shoes: Montrail Hurricane Ridge
Green course at Miami University Natural Areas (OCIN).
Note
I opted for the "scenic route" today, so I took 44 to Liberty, then 27 down to Oxford. It was a nice drive, actually, with a trip time of 1:48 from Franklin.
I felt better, physically, on the course today than I've felt for a while now. For example, when a course is beating me up, I'll typically need to use trails (if I encounter them) to recover. But today, I was able to use the trails to make up time, jogging almost non-stop.
But this course had a lot less climb than the recent handful of courses I've run, which has a lot to do with my pacing as well. I've got a long way to go in the "hill strength" department. Still, I'm very pleased that 9 of the 16 legs are better than my current "goal pace" of 15 min/Km.
Overall, I'm much more ENcouraged than DIScouraged, which is a good way to end the year. :)
I felt some twinging in my right knee early on in the course, and then some sharp pains in my right ankle later on. These didn't last long, but definitely got my attention. There was also one mild ankle turn, but no injury.
It was nice to finally get to one of the properties around Oxford. I really dig small, funky college towns like Oxford. I had visited Oxford only one time before, for a concert years ago, in my pre-orienteering years. It's got a great vibe there. I wish Franklin was more like Oxford. There's Franklin College here, but the "big city" is just up the road, so I guess there's never been a need for Franklin to develop the kind of youth-oriented businesses that you see in a more isolated college town. Too bad.
Plus I had a very nice chat with Gerald before I left, who had some constructive training comments, which are always appreciated.