Caves and Ohio R. overlook. I am glad that the controls, while near the caves, weren't too close. Falling in would have been nasty.
Control clearing/setup15:00 [1] 0.5 mi (29:59 / mi)
Pulled 2 bags from the long course
10 AM
Orienteering race 2:43:33**** 15.86 km (10:19 / km) +520m8:52 / km ahr:142 max:162 spiked:20/27c shoes: Inov 340 Pair #2
Otter Creek Day 2, Red Alternate 12.5k Meet 10, Course 14
In the 60s and sunny, it was the best day in 5 months, so I couldn't resist. My ankle was not badly swollen, just noticeable, so I wrapped it, crammed it in O-socks, braced it and laced up. I started out slowly, plodding down hills and jumping with an expectation that the landing would not be happy, but it seemed like I could run so I did. Garmin showed a slowly ramping pace, which was also probably wise as I needed enough energy to finish this rather long red. There was a pleasant balance between long and short legs and usually a safe long or trickier direct path where the difference was not necessarily predetermined by thick brambles/shrubberies. I probably took the more direct path about 65% of the time and thought before I ran. There were not many big errors, most of my lost time was in pauses and letting my legs have a few freshening steps on the up hill. Small misses on 2, 4 and 20 totaled about 5 min, and some really drifty compass work leaving C16 kept me in the green way too long even if the line was accidentally quite direct. I am really happy with this run and yesterdays. Generally, I felt like I was thinking and running fast enough that it was fun.
So... Bruce Moore sent it with another great course. This was one of the best O-weekends of recent memory. Thanks!
Road running race 44:24 10.0 km (4:26 / km) +23m4:23 / km ahr:165 max:176 shoes: Saucony Progrid Wide 2
Great North Run 10k
The start of a weekend loaded with running. I have rarely run in any organized runs other than O but this is a repeat meet, a fundraiser for Aragorn's school district.
Managed to keep a very even effort level, improve my pace by 5 s/mi and hold my placing, in what seemed like a smaller field. Was supposed to run with A for the first two but he dropped me after about a third of a mile. I got to watch him slowly fade from view.
Got in the the car and headed to....
2 PM
Orienteering race 1:28:04*** 9.08 km (9:42 / km) +300m8:20 / km ahr:148 max:167 spiked:17/22c shoes: X-Talon 212
the belated Return of the Otter, Otter Creek SP, KY Red, 7.3k/200m
Meet 10, Course 13
Ate in the car, rolled, hydrated, repeated this at least once and then got on the course with just enough time to finish.
This was super fun, great map, fresh and interesting terrain with some ridge/reentrant mixed with karst features and a sprinkling of man-made stuff like trails, roads, and buildings but not too much. Many interesting legs and for KY this was some really open forest with only a taste of green briers.
I will need to find my splits but the race was a bit slower than normal but much cleaner (aka exhaustion-induced sense). I made a parallel error on 4, waffling between the N and S gullies and choosing wrong. I was not so clean going to 6 but knew I had C7 to bounce off of and I did. C12 was a big descending compass leg to a depression that had a substantial pause in the circle but that was good for this type of leg. C14 was nicely set for an oxygen-deprived mind where my brain couldn't easily pick the correct spur. Still a bit goofy at 15 and then the remainder of the controls were pretty straight forward, with one caveat. C18 had been unexpectedly moved, but I knew I was in the correct place and after several minutes of convincing myself that I really really was in the correct place, I also realized that maybe I started a bit too late. Got to the next control pit, no bag but I saw it in Jim's hand walking across the forest, chased it, punched, and kept going with no other course issues. Rolled my ankle hard going into C21; I am starting to think that I have some OLOU ankle curse -- same as last time, glancing at the map while transitioning my pace going downhill. It was worse than normal but better than 3 yrs ago. Hobbled to the go and then slow ran to the finish.
(current time approximate; I will update it later)
5 PM
Note (injured)
Using the note to self that I might not be a big teenager any more -- ice, ibuprophen, wrapping, elevation -- the works; try to get myself ready for tomorrow.