Tracking my wanderlust need to get out of town once a month

Track my O progress here

Day One of the Oringen

Yesterday, Magnus and I went for a map hike at Lunsen. The terrain is very different, very soft but uneven. And this map is very difficult, as Mike has commented. After walking with Magnus, I decided that I would need to go very slowly during my first day of competition, to stay in close contact with the map, checking off every feature. I would also have to pay closer attention to my compass, and not get pulled aside.

Last night I had a hard time falling asleep, because I was so excited about finally running in the Oringen. Today was the day! It truly is an amazing site to see 13,000 orienteers in one place. I stood and watched the finish for a while; there was a constant stream of people running out of the woods. We joined the other Americans sitting under the US flag (they have a line of flag poles at the event, with the flags of all the participants's nations). I walked to the start with Gail Gagarin. The start areas are divided by age classes. It was strange to see only women, age 21 to 50, standing around at my start. The number of people there was similar to a US meet, but we were one of five start areas.

I had decided to go very slow today, to be careful, and to enjoy the spectacle around me. Still, I was very nervous at the start. It is amazing to see so many people in the woods at once, and "elephant trails" where they have worn a trail through the forest. But which trail is going towards your control? I had no problem ignoring the other orienteers, but I did make a mistake once and blindly followed an elephant trail that seemed to be going in my direction. It led me about 200 meters off the straight line of where I wanted to go. That was my biggest mistake of the day.

I made some small errors in the control circle on a few controls, but overall I was pleased with my map reading. In the begining I was going SO slowly, that it was hard to make a mistake. Later, I walked a little faster, but I never really pushed myself today. I wanted a safe run my first time out.

I also took time to enjoy myself. I was amused by all the people around me. I was impressed how fit everyone was, and how fast they were moving. I was the only walker out there. I really enjoyed the run in to the finish. We punched the last control in the middle of a field, then ran over a bridge and into the finish chute. It was exhilirating to be running to the finish with all the other runners, in front of thousands of spectators. I loved it.

In the end, I met one of my goals (a safe day) by sacraficing another other goal (less than twice the winner's time). I took 77 minutes, while the winner was 33 minutes. I was very satisfied with that result.

I will try to be less cautious tomorrow and pick up the pace a bit, but it will be tough. Tomorrow is the most difficult day (very subtle terrain). I hope I can get a good night's sleep and be ready to go.
posted by Mary 2:51 PM [edit]