SOG Local Event – Slindon Forest
After being ill all week (low level) I was very tempted to stay in bed, but once I got moving I decided to go orienteering despite the miserable rain that was falling. I am glad I went.
As I drove towards Slindon, 
the cold front came through and it dried and brightened up. It was a very pleasant January day and there were lots of runners. I was still not feeling anything like 100% and it showed. The terrain was chalk with mostly beech woods. Paths were very muddy on top of hard chalk.
The first control went well enough, but I was slow going to number 2, then started moving at a more reasonable pace until about two-thirds of the way round when I just had no energy and went slower and slower. On the way to control 10 all I had to do was run down a road for 300 metres but I just could not do it, then got into nasty thick trees and fumbled around, looking for enormous depressions with the controls at the bottom.
Eventually, I took 56 minutes and was not in contention at all. Never mind. The result made no difference to the autumn series of the club “SO gallopen†league which is based on “best sixâ€. I was twelfth, up two places from the last series, and ahead of a number of people who were ahead of me then – there has been an influx of new talent so although my times have improved significantly, the places not so much. I am pleased with progress generally, though I wish the fitness would come quicker and stay easier!