Day 3 of Big 5 O Week, in the Harkerville area, was wet. The gentle rain and mild temperature were quite fine for running. It was really squelchy for the day's organisers for hanging controls and setting up the start and finish. Those of us wearing glasses struggled with fogging up and not being able to see anything.
This was so far my worst day of the three, especially as I messed up the first control, which was not at all difficult. I came into the control 5-10m below it and just didn't see it. I wasn't sure how I'd messed up and it cost me time to figure it out. Actually, I messed up almost right from the start when I decided to run on the road, then chastised myself for not taking a straightline and I then cut across the forest, which was good terrain but slower for me than running on the road. I hit all the other features until I dropped into the ditch.
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| Drawing in my route. |
Something that I have realised across the three events is that despite not having done any orienteering events for 8 years, with the exception of two or three rogaines (last one in about 2018?) my navigation and compass work are pretty decent.
Where I am compromised is in my speed of weighing up route choices and relocating if I mess up. I haven't had to do much fixing of mistakes, but my indecision and sometimes less optimal choices have cost time. After messing up Control 1, I spent more time checking and rechecking myself, my confidence shaken. Just out of practice.
I ended up second in my age category - three minutes off - and far down on the overall course results. Arrrggghhh!!! Win some, lose some.
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| Route comparison overlay of the route that I drew in that I think I took (pink) and the Strava track (red). |
I need to pull up my AR Gaiters for Tuesday's Day 4 Long O. This will be my last event as I am controller for the 5th and final event in George on Wednesday, so I want to make it a good one.
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