Orienteering race 1:06:58 [4] *** 7.8 km (8:35 / km)
18c shoes: VJ Supra Fall 2015
West Point National Meet Day 2
This time Alli and I asked for split starts. We didn't get them initially, but I just asked for a late start time at the arena when I showed up, and the cadets were happy to accommodate me.
Inara and I walked Alli to the start on this beautiful Sunday morning in Harriman, and then hung around the finish while Alli raced and I slowly got ready. At one point, Inara was unhappy unless she was being held, but luckily Nadia stepped in and played with her a bit while I taped my ankles. I was changed and ready just as Alli was running down the finish chute, so our transition was very smooth.
I got to the start with loads of time left, so I asked for a slightly earlier start time, which ended up being just 2 minutes after Wyatt, who was running Red after feeling bad on Blue the day before. That gave me some great motivation to open my race running hard.
The early part of the race suited me, with a number of short, technical legs, and I ran well for the first six controls, just losing 15-20 seconds on route choice to #2. Going into 5 I spotted Wyatt ahead and raced hard to 6 to catch up. We took somewhat different lines going to 7, as I stayed higher and closer to the massive green blob. My route wasn't great, as the white passage through the mountain laurel shown on the map didn't exist, but I relocated quickly after emerging from the green and hit 7 about 45 seconds in front of Wyatt.
I was clean on 8, but hesitated on 9, and Wyatt caught up here. We were together through the section of short legs on the hilltop and remained together for most of the rest of the course. Our pace on the trail run on the long leg to 12 was a bit leisurely, and Peter Z took a minute out of us here. Going into 14 I felt pretty good, and so I picked up the speed to 15. That gave me a bit of a gap, which I maintained all the way to the finish, despite notable slow splits on the road run to 17 and the finish chute, which AP shows as my only mistake of the day!
All in all, a very good race, good for a win on Red. Great map, great terrain, fun course, and beautiful weather. My back held up through the weekend, though was quite sore for a few days afterwards.
And the highlight: getting cheered my wife and daughter as I ambled down the finish chute on Lake Welch Beach!