Orienteering race 1:22:32 [3] **** 8.86 km (9:19 / km) +120m 8:43 / km
ahr:151 max:173 slept:7.0 shoes: Icebug Ardor OLX
Xmas 5 Days - Day 5 - Belanglo
I had raced at Belanglo State Forest once before on one of my first bush orienteering courses. Let`s just say that things didn`t go quite so well that time navigation-wise so was hoping not to do a repeat. Well overall out of 21 controls 18 I was able to find without too much trouble, 2 I was misplaced and 1 control I totally had a brain freeze moment trying to remember if I actually had punched the control. These three errors caused at least 15 minutes of loss and an uninspiring finish. Ho-hum! Despite this time I was the first to finish my course which resulted in horrified faces from organisers fearing that others were suffering the same fate. Well this didn`t end up being the case but it was quite hilarious at the time. The organisers were generous with flags putting out multiple controls in close proximity to one another so it was essential to check the control number to avoid a mis-punch. From the start it was essentially off trail to control 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5! These went quick well except for control 3 or 4 where I was misplaced 20-30 meters from where I thought I was. Controls 7 and 8 were straightforward using the road and trail system where possible. Controls 10 and 11 were short legs and posed no problem. However for control 12 I either missed it altogether going to control 13 or I punched it in subconsciousness!?! For some reason my mind drifted and I was on route to 13 in doubt. I ended up tracking back to 12 which I don't recall visiting and headed back to 13. Control 14 was nailed and 15 I had deviated too far north requiring a correction south. 16 the boulder was straightforward, then it was to the other side of Belanglo Road for the remainder of the course. Despite the relatively flat and open terrain I was still travelling slow trying to concentrate on staying in the correct heading and not overshooting the control. I was glad to finish but wished I could get out of third gear more often.