Street O: Maroondah Triangle
After last week's dismal performance, I had to improve on things this week. I arrived with plenty of time before the start. Had a good look at the unmarked map and eventually came up with a couple of possible routes, then headed off for a nice long warm up. It was a cold night.
Maps handed out. "go, Go, GO" was the call. This time, instead of sprinting off in a predetermined direction I studied my map for nearly half a minute. In that time I planned the route I would take. There were a few quirks in the control placement I definitely hadn't predicted, but that added to the brain work. Then I was off.
Struggling with the concept I was behind I lifted the pace from the start. That was my mistake tonight. There seems to be a threshold of intensity where my mind switches off. It was during this initial effort that I ran straight past my planned second control. Adding to this I think I had covered it on my map with my thumb during the run. The next problem was I hadn't realised I missed it until the next four controls had been ticked off. Too late now, hopefully I have enough time at the end to cover the extra distance.
My confidence was down again, resulting in lots of double and triple checking of the map. This slowed me down. As I headed closer to the finish and the 20:00 deadline it was becoming apparent my route choice was good. Unfortunately I wasn't going to be able to make up that early missed control.
Next week I'll keep to the same route planning approach. It seemed to work this week. The change I'll need to make is to really put a limit on the physical intensity. I know I can push my body hard, but in orienteering this is at the expense of a working brain. Running slower, and eliminating major mistakes should have me finishing higher up in the order.
Maps handed out. "go, Go, GO" was the call. This time, instead of sprinting off in a predetermined direction I studied my map for nearly half a minute. In that time I planned the route I would take. There were a few quirks in the control placement I definitely hadn't predicted, but that added to the brain work. Then I was off.
Struggling with the concept I was behind I lifted the pace from the start. That was my mistake tonight. There seems to be a threshold of intensity where my mind switches off. It was during this initial effort that I ran straight past my planned second control. Adding to this I think I had covered it on my map with my thumb during the run. The next problem was I hadn't realised I missed it until the next four controls had been ticked off. Too late now, hopefully I have enough time at the end to cover the extra distance.
My confidence was down again, resulting in lots of double and triple checking of the map. This slowed me down. As I headed closer to the finish and the 20:00 deadline it was becoming apparent my route choice was good. Unfortunately I wasn't going to be able to make up that early missed control.
Next week I'll keep to the same route planning approach. It seemed to work this week. The change I'll need to make is to really put a limit on the physical intensity. I know I can push my body hard, but in orienteering this is at the expense of a working brain. Running slower, and eliminating major mistakes should have me finishing higher up in the order.
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