Orienteering 1:57:21 [3] *** 10.0 km (11:44 / km) +460m 9:32 / km
17c shoes: Brooks Running 20
F21E Long at Big Basin Redwoods State Park! My goals for the race were a) to always be in really good contact with the map because with the park this full of plants and this steep, I was not excited about spending any time wandering aimlessly, b) to make good decisions about the long legs, and c) not to get stung by yellow jackets. I actually did reasonably well on the first two goals, but failed on the third.
I started out nice and slow to number 1 to get a feel for the map and stuff, and was pleased when it showed up right where I expected it to. I started looking at the first long leg on my slog up the hill to 2, and decided that the two best options were around on trails or around on the road. Things were going well until 4, when I read the control description for 5 and thought I was looking for a water control in a deep reentrant instead of a control without water in a shallow reentrant. I ended up searching around too high and lost a few minutes before bopping down to 4, being confused about the lack of water and the incorrect control number, and then realizing what happened.
I got stung by a yellow jacket on my glute on my way to 5, which led to me to just run as fast as I could away from the nest, instead of running in the correct direction. I relocated quite quickly, but this led to a suboptimal route choice to 5. The good news was I had time to analyze the long leg to 6 some more and decided to go around on the roads. During the road run, I made a plan for the route to 11, and then just slogged along with my glute complaining. Julia and Tori both caught me on this leg and we ran into 6 and 7 together. I lost them when I ate a Gu at 7 and then in the steep side hilling on the way to 8, but everything basically went fine from there on out. The slog up the hill to 11 was notably slow, but I was always sure of where I was, and then I was super careful on the way into 12 because I REALLY didn't want to spend more time on that hillside than I had to. Oh, and then, my shoes really weren't designed for the climb up the hill from 14, so I was using hands and feet to claw my way up that hill. I had a really good time out there, though. I wasn't moving terribly quickly, but I felt like I was in control, and it's always fun to spend a day in the redwoods!