Munster Orienteering Championships 2013 - Toureen Wood, Tipperary
Goal before the race was to win a 5th MOC title in a row, did I achieve that goal, yes I did:-)
Plan was simple today, give it everything.
To 1 I went up the first track and along the edge of the forest/open and then got the control, wasn't sure when I was in the rougher stuff if it was a good idea but splits say I was nearly 1 minute faster than everyone else. It was a good start.
2 was straightforward and to 3 I went up and along the edge of the open/forest again before using the rides and wall below me. 5 was the first control I lost time on, had the fastest splits to the first 4, good start. Lost about 70 seconds to Josh on this control. Plan was to go up, follow the ride, then cut back down on the 3rd ride. Runnability in the green was good so I stayed in the forest on a compass bearing. Went past the semi-open area and hit a ride, thought it was the N-S ride, but in fact it was the E-W ride, realised this after relocating off the clearing in the green. Then lost a few seconds getting the control too. Happy to take a minute here as it could have been worse, but didn't feel overly concerned at the time.
Spotted Roar leaving 6, so i'd gained 6 minutes on him. He ran 7 hard, and we took slightly different routes. Lost 30 seconds to Colm here. His was more direct and I got stuck in some wet stuff. 8 and 9 were straightforward.
Hesitated at 10, ended up slightly west of it, so a few seconds lost, 30 seconds to Laurence on this one, hmmm. 11 was grand. Then a steep climb to 12 where I lost 20 seconds to Eoin. Thought I was looking for the odd tree as opposed to a depression. So the hill plus maybe a very slight hesitation of a couple of seconds cost me here. Did feel like the hill was tough. Fastest splits again now untl no. 19. Passed Laurence at no. 15. Slight hesitation again before it. Also thought i'd lost time getting onto the road from 14 but not too bad it seems. The forest running from 15 to 16 was nice, enjoyed that.
Had planned ahead a small bit for 17-19, was going to take track routes to avoid gullies. Met Willie Fitzgerald collecting controls on my way to 17 from his car so I was wondering if 17 was going to be there. Was visible from above so easy. Then dropped down to the track and around to 18. Lost 20 seconds to Colm on 19. Was hesitant again as I approached the control.
I lost 20 seconds to Josh on no. 20. The climb wasn't fun, wasn't enjoying it. Hit the track but after following it for a small bit I didn't see the path I wanted so just headed up. Noticed the control was next to the drain so went up and turned left, after having a glance to my right first. Control came up after I passed the path. Climb plus being a small bit off direction wise caught me here. Another nice forest leg, rough in places, to 21, back to running fast again. Then downhill to 22 and 23 before the finish. Lost a second to Laurence on 22 but can explain that with a big fall leaving 21. Had to check arm for damage and also GPS, took a bang.
So a cleanish race apart from 5, which could have been worse. I think I proved today that I'm not scared of the young lads who are nipping at my heels. Looking at Splitsbrowser, i'd a lot of fastest splits and was never headed.
Body has got a few bruises and a blood blister on my right foot, only noticed it in the shower afterwards! Worth it though.
KerryO are organising MOC next year and there's rumours of a new map which might be nice. 6 in a row and 8 MOC titles is the goal, something to train for next Autumn.
Results
Splitsbrowser
Routegadget