Race Evaluation
2006 North American Championships (Golden Leaf Ori: Sprint 4
Nadim
| 1. | +02:00 | I got to the start line 1:23 late. Let's call it Max distractions. With all the travel and excitement going on around, he wouldn't take a nap. I finally got to go on the model event about 30 minutes before my start. I returned and used the facilities thinking that Peggy started after I did. When I got back to the car, she was frantic and had about 2 minutes to go before her start. We exchanged Max and she told me that I started 3 minutes after her. I got him in the stroller and rolled to the start area, running into Spike, Alar and Mary. Alar understood the situation and didn't run for another hour so he volunteered to watch Max (Peggy had an earlier plan but it fell apart). Approaching the start line, I realized that I'd left my compass in the car when I took it off to get Max in the stroller. Once on the start line, I went straight to the front and hadn't watched anyone leave. Though I had a holder, I left w/o separate control descriptions--it seemed it would have taken too long to slide it in. Without a compass and no history, it took me a little while to orient the map. I heard a few bits of laughter; I'm not sure if not knowing my situation made it funnier than knowing it or not; I wasn't really happy at the time. I finally got going south along the mall and passed between the buildings on the right. I hesitated briefly before turning left to go under the overpass. Cutting right again, I pulled-up short one building corner before going the rest of the way. | |||||
| 2. | S-curved around the building. Someone was punching as I was leaving. | ||||||
| 3. | Around the circular building, then south through the corridor w/the overpass that I'd used to get to #1. At the end, I chased behind George Walker who was moving quite well. | ||||||
| 4. | Still behind George Walker, I gained ground and passed. I used the sidewalks to guide me to the right tree. | ||||||
| 5. | Past the start, using the small dirt path, I went left around the building at the end to the control amidst the bustop full of waiting people. | ||||||
| 6. | +00:35 | I cut right at the first gap and followed the building to the wall. I wasn't sure if the control was on the east or west side of the wall. W/O separate control descriptions, I would have had to slow to unfold the map (thus losing my place) and find the description printed on the map. I opted to go to the lower end of the wall on the east side. Using a footpath to head there, I squeezed through a good gap in a fence and didn't recognize anything--this was the construction area and it headed downhill. I turned around and after climbing back, I realized I had a bunch of burrs stuck to me. I began pulling them off all the way to the control (over the wall and along the building) | |||||
| 7. | Around on the north and right to it noting the first set of gardens along the way. | ||||||
| 8. | Somewhere about here, I noticed a guy ahead going my direction. I chased him around the building and between a gap on the north side of the next building to get there. | ||||||
| 9. | Around on the south side of the buildings to the main walking area, I went straight to the walled area still chasing and gaining ground on the guy I'd seen earlier. This guy passed the walled area so I went right in. | ||||||
| 10. | Unlike most of the lasst controls, I hadn't read ahead. It took me a while to where next leg was going to go. Having a compass would have helped. The guy I'd just gotten ahead of passed me back. Going around the east side of the building, we got to the garden and were shooed away from going through it. The control was right there. | ||||||
| 11. | I ran fairly fast, chasing the guy I'd been with for the last few controls. At the end, I put more effort into it and passed him. | ||||||
| 12. | The other guy I'd just passed had again read ahead so he was out before me. We kind of took an S-curve past the registration, left through the gap in buildings and underneath the overpass. I was a little hesitant near the end where stairs and a ramp distracted me. | ||||||
| 13. | Around the south side of the first building, then north. Because I'd not had a compass and wasn't planning suficienty in advance, I took time to read and I had started falling behind the guy I'd been chasing from about control #7. At the end, I'd gone around the north side of the building that the control was next to. | ||||||
| 14. | East after passing the north side of the 3 winged building, then left between the buildings with the overpass. | ||||||
| 15. | Around both buildings on the north side. I hesitated at the fenced area. At first, I hadn't seen it and I forgot which side I had rounded. | ||||||
| 16. | South, then left then around the north side of the next building down to the control in the open. | ||||||
| 17. | South, then left on the curved sidewal. I cut right through the tunnel, that I'd gone through earlier on the way to #12. I slowed down a bit at the end unsure which side of the wall it'd be on. I also glimpsed the guy that I was chasing earlier as he was headed to #18. | ||||||
| 18. | +00:20 | Without my compass, I'd lost my place on the map. I had to reorient myself and in the process, I ran past the left turn to the finish. I stopped dead for what seemed like 20 seconds. I could see Samanth Saeger coming toward me. As I read, she cut to my right toward the finish. I realized what I'd done and followed after her to the control. | |||||
| F. | Samantha was well enough ahead that I didn't have a chance of catching her. I ran hard anyway to give it a good try but probably didn't get going soon enough. I was verifying the code on the previous control. |
Total Time Lost - 00:02:55