Training Log Archive: WIn the 1 days ending Oct 2, 2014:
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Thursday Oct 2, 2014 #
Orienteering 1:15:00 [3] 10.0 km (7:30 / km)
Sometimes things go so well.
Until the don't. And then you do a 180 and get totally lost in the dark and your only way to relocate is to find the lake. Oh yeah, and you're on an island.
That's pretty much how Kurko Cup #3 went. I was actually quite pleased until 7-8, which was a long leg back along the hill-top to the hub control. Once again, I decided to branch off on my own, and immediately lost contact and all the other lights. After looking at my GPS track, it turns out I was on the right track, THEY were actually going too far right. But, then I hit was I thought was the second distinct vegetation boundary, and I tried to follow along the edge of it go around. It was actually the first one, and it extended in weird ways that caused to start sort of going back the way I came (the doing a 180) part. I had a lengthy argument with my compass, as it kept doing weird things, or possibly it was me doing the weird things. I think I had decided to bail back to the road, but bailed the wrong way, and I generally stopped paying attention to the contours as well.
Slowly but surely I ran off the map, until I hit the lake, then followed it along until I got to some place I recognized (HALLELUJAH), and then I continued on.
Humiliation and frustration tempted me to quit then, but I realized that that would be totally stupid and might as well mean I should just pack up and go back to Canada. I'm not here to quit, so I tried to brush it off, have a nice brain cry, and then continue on.
Things went fairly well after that, in fact, I was able to spot big features on the map and in the terrain, and stayed pretty well on my compass, except at the end on one control when I lost confidence in my direction and turned back too soon.
So, in all, a *little* better. Except that one bit. I know people who look at it in a binary way - either you make a mistake or you don't. Size is irrelevant. That feels nice right about now.
Until the don't. And then you do a 180 and get totally lost in the dark and your only way to relocate is to find the lake. Oh yeah, and you're on an island.
That's pretty much how Kurko Cup #3 went. I was actually quite pleased until 7-8, which was a long leg back along the hill-top to the hub control. Once again, I decided to branch off on my own, and immediately lost contact and all the other lights. After looking at my GPS track, it turns out I was on the right track, THEY were actually going too far right. But, then I hit was I thought was the second distinct vegetation boundary, and I tried to follow along the edge of it go around. It was actually the first one, and it extended in weird ways that caused to start sort of going back the way I came (the doing a 180) part. I had a lengthy argument with my compass, as it kept doing weird things, or possibly it was me doing the weird things. I think I had decided to bail back to the road, but bailed the wrong way, and I generally stopped paying attention to the contours as well.
Slowly but surely I ran off the map, until I hit the lake, then followed it along until I got to some place I recognized (HALLELUJAH), and then I continued on.
Humiliation and frustration tempted me to quit then, but I realized that that would be totally stupid and might as well mean I should just pack up and go back to Canada. I'm not here to quit, so I tried to brush it off, have a nice brain cry, and then continue on.
Things went fairly well after that, in fact, I was able to spot big features on the map and in the terrain, and stayed pretty well on my compass, except at the end on one control when I lost confidence in my direction and turned back too soon.
So, in all, a *little* better. Except that one bit. I know people who look at it in a binary way - either you make a mistake or you don't. Size is irrelevant. That feels nice right about now.