Links and Loops

Is writing a blog post based around a link to another blog post legit? Well, Jamie and the Osquad does it, so I'll go with it :-)

Alex Jospe's post on shoelace tying caught my eye this morning. Being a bit of an unco, and prone to tripping over untied laces, I've used this lacing technique for years. Not only has it saved me a number of faceplants (maybe 10), but it's saved a number of dollars on shoelace tape (literally $10). That's enough to enter an orienteering event, in which I can practice not faceplanting.Winning all round!
Unfortunately, being unco, I've universally failed at explaining the lacing technique to the surprising number of people (I'll say 10) who have asked about it.
Fear not. Someone more coordinated than me has finally done it - you no longer have to resort to velcro shoes! Thanks Alex!

But you may wish to keep them, for style's sake.

 

 

While we're on the subject of faceplanting, and general uncoordination. Knowing my predisposition for hurting myself, my friend Laure put me on to a blog post by semi-rad.com. Ouch-maps. Amazing. And useful. Without mentioning names, a couple of orienteering and soccer friends come immediately to mind...

I've actually found that most of my activities result in very similar ouch-maps:

ORIENTEERING: Ran into tree/faceplanted. Dodgy glute/knee.  SOCCER: headed ball/team-mate. Fell on bum. Killed knee on artificial turf. WORK: Thought too much. Sat on bum too long.

And, coming full circle; imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Jamie gave my mammoth post about Rowdy flat a mention on the Osquad blog. But really, I was inspired by/imitating his post race analysis of the TONIC chasing start. A great and insightful read if you are an orienteering geek, or bored at work. :-)
Also up and in development is a website with details of NZ's elite o-tour, our equivalent of the Australian National Orienteering League, or the Swedish Silva league.

Keep an eye on both sites as the kiwis prepare and wind up for a big season. NZ champs are in just over a week, and it's only onwards and upwards from there as the JWOC and WOC teams build up to their respective races. Watch out world!