Race Evaluation
Hudson Highlander 7:
graeme
| 1. | Splits are all sort of made up - I forgot to wear a watch. Everyone went off sooo fast on leg 1, it was all I could do to keep up, let alone mapread. Ended up sort of on line, but then got pushed right by vegetation on top. corrected in time to see Eric steaming out of the control, and everyone and his dog streaming in from left. Ah well.. | ||||||
| 2. | bumbled along in a line passing people when it seemed polite to do so. | ||||||
| 3. | As 2. | ||||||
| 4. | Arrived at head of pack, had to look at map for a bit, but ten the flag showed up. Eric and Joe(?) still ahead. | ||||||
| 5. | Passed Joe and nearly caught up to Eric on road. Eric cut in by the start, and I follow, up rocky reentrant, Eric bangs his knee and stops. He says he's OK, so I go on to flag. | ||||||
| 6. | Head down reentrant, go right of marsh and see pack coming up. Then, disaster, oversimplify and run the wrong side of the lake. Swimming not being my forte, its a mighty quiet forest when I get to #6 | ||||||
| 7. | Lose count of how many are ahead, by try to make up ground on road. Slow for a chat with Greg, pass Joe and Randy. | ||||||
| 8. | follow reentrant along then cut up late - bit short of confidence after #6! cut up to control and in. | ||||||
| 9. | through the green to wall and in. Felt I made reasonable progress through the green, but obviously not as Joe and Greg are approaching the control as I punch. | ||||||
| 10. | With greg and joe on the path. If the locals aren't tackling the native flora, nor am I. Doesnt help though - still get stuck getting to control. | ||||||
| 11. | struggle out of laurel, then run to circle and around and around in the hope the flag isnt in the laurel. As usual, the map is right and into the green we go. | ||||||
| 12. | Pass Greg and Joe (stop me if you've heard that one before). Almost lose concentration with the breathtaking view. | ||||||
| 13. | stop to tie shoelaces on steep descent, then pass Greg on the road. Lose track of bends and arrive at circle (the one on the road, not around the control point...) Back we go - I seem to have pulled Greg of line too, I think he says something I didnt learn in bible classes, but maybe it was Russian. | ||||||
| 14. | Pass Joe and Greg again... Run up wrong hill again... Arrive at control just behind them, tie shoelaces again before punching. Chase off down the road - check control card - sheepishly return to control to punch. this is getting annoying. | ||||||
| 15. | Pass Greg and Joe on the road. No change there then. See the adventure racing guy run right by the flag, so in sympathy do exactly the same. If I'd been navigating well up to now I'd blame the change of scale, as it is I'll just accept I'm crap. | ||||||
| 16. | run out up the wrong reentrant. Pass Greg on the climb... | ||||||
| 17. | decide to go straight. spend a reasonable time hanging upside down in the laurel before finally emerging on the trail beyond the control. Head back to the control, spending time in the wrong patch of laurel and overshooting for good measure. | ||||||
| 18. | run way left on path I already saw. Not going back in the laurel now, no way, no how. | ||||||
| 19. | Catch Greg at the control. He looks really tired and is moving slow. | ||||||
| 20. | Run along the top of the steep slope and cut down at the last moment. | ||||||
| 21. | skirt right around the laurel again, then climb back up to the control. Beginning to move a bit better now, but unfortunately straight is better as Greg is approaching from that way as I punch. | ||||||
| 22. | |||||||
| 23. | right round the swamp | ||||||
| 24. | bail out to cliff top some 20m above the road. Ooops. detour further left to get to road. | ||||||
| 25. | sixth at changeover "Doing really well" to be 20mins down. Apparently. Joe has passed me, probably while I was upside down in a bush. Try to head off the way I come, but my 2-year old son kindly points me towards Sebago map. Bumble down the road and cut in. | ||||||
| 26. | bumble | ||||||
| 27. | pass joe for the umpteenth and final time on the climb | ||||||
| 28. | decide to whizz round the road and attack through the clearing. Wonder what the pretty red berries filling the clearing might be...then wonder what the pretty black thorns filling my legs are. | ||||||
| 29. | go backwards out of the control and a million miles round to avoid any foliage, red, pretty, or otherwise. Manage to collect only injury of the day falling on a rock in the field by the beach. get a contour too high and run down spur into control. | ||||||
| 30. | can't make much sense of this bit, but arrive at road and back to control. | ||||||
| 31. | all the way round the marsh, and approach the control from beyond. see noone, and reckon there's littl ehope of catching a place | ||||||
| 32. | confused early in the leg, but eventually hit the big valley, up and in. | ||||||
| 33. | I loved this leg. Trying to pick a fast line left of stream, navigating through campground then nice contour detail on the way in. This would have been great for a head to head. | ||||||
| 34. | round the road and home. 5th, or as that nice Mr Bennett put it: "First of the old guys" | ||||||
| F. | My lack of orienteering this year certainly showed: I was all over the forest and my confidence got so low at times I could hardly bother to run, so sure was I that Greg would catch me in the green. By the end, with the 1:10 map, I was just about getting the hang of it. I'm supposed to be good at this mass start stuff, but once the leaders had gone at #6 I was never able to think about closing the gap, relying instead on Ken and Eric getting eaten by bears or something. A fantastic event though: thanks to all the organisers and helpers for mounting such a good reintroduction to US orienteering. |
Total Time Lost - 00:00:00