Orienteering race (Green Y) 1:37:49 [4] *** 4.35 km (22:29 / km) +65m 20:55 / km
spiked:8/12c shoes: Jala Jukola Spider 6 #2
Day 1 of the Boulder Dash at Nottingcook Forest in Bow, NH.
I started out a bit fast since there was a trail half-way to # 1, but then proceeded to go on a "bearing" towards the control. I knew if I hit the streambed (all the water features were much drier than mapped) I went too far--I ended up at a rootstock control (someone else's) 70 m uphill from my control and had to pick my way down over rocky ground. # 2 and 3 went well, then I blew # 4, circling around it and wasting 11 minutes until I got my act together. By this point I realized that I was sloppy on bearings, always drifting off to the right (still didn't do them properly, until Sunday, but I had more features to read the rest of the course).
A number of controls were in very detailed areas, but only a few of the control circles were cut. I would have liked to have been able to read more information in the area near the control. After # 4 I did better with minor detours on # 7 and # 9 (right distance, wrong direction). All in all I figured about 15 minutes of errors. Second F50 behind Sandy F, who didn't have fun with # 10 (another one where I would have liked the control circle to be cut. (Tracey O. apparently didn't run this weekend, though I saw her at the meet site both days.)
Gorgeous day, slightly warm (upper 60's) and sunny; thickish woods but interesting, detailed terrain.