35 and counting

Today the sun rose on my 35th birthday; ja, that's 35 years on this planet. The first dozen years passed slowly; the next half-dozen moved a little (only a little) faster; the next half-dozen were pretty swift and the last decade has been a tornado - fast, turbulent and excitingly wonderful.

When I woke up this morning the world was not any different; it never really is, even on one's birthday. I am lucky enough to have Gauteng Orienteering Champs fall on my birthday this year. It's usually a training camp or Champs around this time.

I was hoping for a really good run today and most controls were reasonably good; just one made the house of cards fall down. Oh dear... 15 minutes on a control that should have taken a third of this to find. If I'd stuck to the open ground instead of going through the bushes... I would be the only one straight-lining it through the bushes eh? On the path and in the open I would have seen it fairly easier once nearby. I was within five to 10 metres of it the whole time and just didn't nail it. It's the silly errors that hurt the most.

I'll think about putting my O map from today up here. Most controls fine - just #14 that was really nasty. *sigh* Mmm... where's that hole to go hide in?

I'll tell you another mistake I made with the first few controls; I just didn't trust myself. Voortrekker Monument two weeks ago gave me a bit of a navigation wobbly. Sure, not bad and not terrible, but not great. I prefer great. Hahaha. So, I was a bit hesitant on the first few and the third one, visible on the approach and blowing in the wind... I just didn't believe it was my control because it was so clearly visible. I definitely expect the controls not to be visible on approach - that really had me foxed and questioning my navigation.

Oh well - I do hope that the kinks have been ironed out and that my thinking cap will be on straight for the long distance champs tomorrow (Sunday) - my favourite event.