As Jerzy said, the question today was whether or not to gamble on the approaching thunderstorms.  I decided not to gamble and left early.  In hindsight, it was not the fastest option for the day.  The winner in our class took the gamble to the extreme and started 1:30 after me.

I got low going into the second turn area just as the sky was going blue to the south and lost too much time.  I thought about re-starting, but that would mean about a 1450 re-start and I thought that would be too late – apparently not, so maybe I should have!  After getting out of that hole, things went well and I was able to make good speed. 

My final glide was probably the best part of the flight, as I was able to bump up to glide height without having to circle over the last 85 km of the task.

Stats for the day, 16% circling – too much, for 5.0 kt average – too low.