Final Day of competition

Day four and time to make amends, but no a few more errors, two serious and three careless. If I could get rid of the mistakes I would be dangerous. Ended up after the four days in the worst position - forth. But then out of 84 in the over 60's and against some of the best in the world I can really complain when I haven't been able to train much over the past three months. Delighted the calf has held together. Now 90 days of cogitation in France to decide what to do for the future. No more Orienteering planned until late July in Sweden.

Day Three

How many times do you have to try and go straight through the green bits before you realise that you will get hung up in nasty stuff? Four times in my case. Talk about not being able to learn on the job! The area was a bit of a surprise as I was expecting much more run ability, but in this game you have to adapt and today I didn't. 2 to 3 and the first block of green had me backtracking a couple of times then slowly finding a way through. By the time I realised I should have gone NW out of the control I had lost 2 mins. Second line of green cost me about 30 seconds then I lost the plot at the end of the leg and another 90 seconds gone. Got 8 ok but suspect going south around the green may have been quicker. Lost my line 8 to 9 and same 10 to 11. 11 to 12 would probably have been faster to go to the first drink station then SW through the white to the path then to the next crossroads and west down the track. 15 to 16 definitely should have come back out SW through the gap then west to the track. So probably six or seven minutes lost. BV the Finn had a perfect run and looks odds on for the win. I'm going to need a good run tomorrow to get close to a top five place.

Day two

Even faster area than yesterday as less green bits. Still red lining where possible, but keeping a check on distance as well. Confirmed third place yesterday and looks like second place today 30 odd seconds behind. Still in contention in what is an incredibly competitive class. Two errors today. Just don't ask me what I was doing 9 to 10. Was on line but just didn't crest the spur before the track, saw an open area to my right and mistook it for the larger open area in front of the control. Realised my error but lost at least 30 seconds. 10 to 11 was shaky due to loss of confidence and another 20 seconds lost. Happy though with sub 30 for 4.6k with 80 mtrs of climb. Back to long distance tomorrow in a new area a bit to the north. map on FB.

Solid start

You can't win a four day competition on day one but you sure can mess it up. So delighted with third place out of 80 plus over 60's. 41 seconds down. Got everything pretty clean just made two route choice errors that cost me about 90 seconds. All to play for over the next three days, just have to keep the brain in gear. Map of today is on FB. I suspect tomorrow will be on the east part of the map which looks more difficult as ther isn't any green to catch you. Enjoyed tonight's urban night sprint round Praia de Mira, just hope the legs hold out.

Weather forecast

Looks like the local weather forecast here in Portugal is as accurate as that back in the UK. Cloud and showers forecast, but bright blue skies and up to 15 degrees. Rain forecast for tomorrow though. Map shows the model area. If the real thing is anything like this then we are in for a treat. All the Brits were saying how lovely it is to run in such areas. Drove up the coast to Aveiro yesterday about 40 minutes drive. As we were getting close we passed Praia da Bara and some lovely painted stripped buildings. Aveiro itself is a thriving place. Some old quarters but a busy shopping area as well. Took a traditional boat trip to the salt pans and now have some packets of salt! Before registering at the event centre today we spent the morning in Mira, the town just up the road from where we are staying. Very quiet, but some good shops and a couple of supermarkets. Everyone very friendly. The local church stunning in gold as usual. A twist with this one is that the usual 14 pictures of the journey of Christ around the body of the church was depicted in tiles. Pictures to follow.

Quinta de Lagoa

Transfer day yesterday from Sao Miguel d'Acha. We had been well looked after by Raul and his family at Casa d'Acha. Stopped at Coimbra on the way, slightly disappointed with the place but still very interesting. Then on to our abode for the next week or so. Hotel Quinta de Lagoa betwixt Praia de Mira and Mira. Beautiful hotel complex with its own lagoon. As we are the only people in the whole complex till tomorrow they bumped us up, so what is still the cheapest place per night of our whole excursion has turned out to be a suite with separate lounge diner, double wash basins, cooking facilities, terrace and stunning views. Luck of the Irish! This afternoon, making the most of the sunshine, went out for a terrain run in Praia de Mira Norte. Heaven! Soft underfoot, light detailed contours, everything accurate, very fast run-ability and all to myself. I was just disappointed I had told Valerie I was only going to be out an hour or I would have still been out there now.

That's a bit better

Long distance race today. Took Normans Jones advice and tried to keep things simple. It paid off and got second place only three minutes behind Borje Vartiainen, world masters gold medalist and the person Thierry Gueorgiou credits his success and 15 minutes in front of third placed, world masters silver medalist Rauli Helkkula. That pulled me up from 6th overnight to 2nd overall. Only two minutes lost on 9 to 10 when I should have gone down to the track rather than going south. So happy bunny after yesterday's debacle. Pictures (on FB) show today's course -some serious rocks. The area we were running over and winnings to date.