Race Evaluation
Hudson Highlander: Highlander
dlevine
| 1. | Up towards water tower behind pack. Having trouble on downhill on power line... Stay on trail N of power line and step in marshy spot with right foot, wrenching left knee. Feels like I can't even really run. Great... Hobble out to road hoping to "walk it off". Up reentrant at end of road as most of my pack heads right. Following Susie DeWitt and (I think) Charlie up reentrant, followed by a pair of folks speaking French. Lose Susie and Charlie and the French speakers go left when I think straight is necessary. Great, not even to #1 and I am now alone. Head right in as I hear voices coming in from the right and I am actually in a pack as I punch. | ||||||
| 2. | Up the hill, as the caboose in the train, passed by the French couple. | ||||||
| 3. | Same group is together to #3, including a good train up the hill through the ferns. | ||||||
| 4. | Quickly out of #3, I decide to head up the hill, intending to take the AT and the trail around to the right. See the DeWitts in front of me, but quickly lose them. Catch them as the AT goes down the cliff system but they lose me when the pick up the pace after the next right turn. Out to the trail run, through Times square and I start seeing folks coming the other way. Cut in beautifully and see the DeWitts ahead again, but cut down to the stream too early and miss the control. Come back out and reattack, seeing Paul Regan. See flag by a boulder (not a cliff) but I check and it's mine anyway. Very confusing. | ||||||
| 5. | Alone again, over hill and down through climbers' camp. Down the trail run to the trail in to #5. Overshoot slightly, but quickly recorrect. | ||||||
| 6. | Surprisingly long run to trail and then in to control. | ||||||
| 7. | LONG trail run. Left foot is now hurting as well as left knee. Not sure I'll be able to finish. Passed by David Yee and Barb Bryant right at first turn. Miss the turn at the power lines even as I see Paul Regan above me and comment to him about this. Getting to road, I find David and Barbara have done the same thing! We all head up hill and down to the transition area, though I detour to my car for a knee brace. | ||||||
| 8. | David, Barb and I head up the road, but they veer off even as I go past the water tower. I see the Barkers ahead of me taking the same attack to the control. | ||||||
| 9. | Uphill from the Barkers, I see the control, but Zac runs in ahead of me. | ||||||
| 10. | Over the blueberry covered hill and down on the other side. Spend too much time scanning the hillside NE of the control, but we find it. | ||||||
| 11. | Slog the hill, somehow getting ahead of the Barkers, but behind the "man in green". | ||||||
| 12. | Lose the "man in green" going down the hill, but see the trail, the reentrant, and the (sort of) knoll. Seemed like the bag was a bit away from the knoll, but who cares? | ||||||
| 13. | See someone coming in as I head out; he asks if I am going to or coming from #12. I shout "coming" and head in to #13. | ||||||
| 14. | Head downhill a bit too much and take the trail in again. Surprised to find no aid station, just bananas and oranges at the control. | ||||||
| 15. | Having eaten, head up the reentrant and down the valley to the control. Not fast, but very safe. | ||||||
| 16. | Yikes. Passed by the "man in green", I follow him up to the AT, but he appears to head too far NE. I dive off, but get drawn way right and end up near boulder on hill mass just W of "9" on the map. Spend time wandering before I finally relocate and then "spike" the control by virtue of seeing it from a distance. An army cadet punches with me stating that he'd been looking for an hour! | ||||||
| 17. | On the way out, see Dave Onkst and someone else taking a cool down run. Can't believe how out of it I am. Cadet takes high road and cuts down to control (good choice). I sidehill and see him punch from a distance, making it easy. | ||||||
| 18. | Dave Onkst (who was not on a cool down run, but apparently having a very bad day) catches me as he and I and a third guy overshoot the control and waste some time. | ||||||
| 19. | Dave and the third guy head down to the road, but I believe they get caught by the fence. I hobble in more or less on the straight line. | ||||||
| 20. | Eat some and walk out to Silvermine. head past the Go control and end up seeing David and Barb punching ahead of me by about 100 m. | ||||||
| 21. | Dave and Barb take off, a bit more to the right than I expect. I had been planning to take the road around, but this alerts me to the "better" route to the left, coming in from the south near the "21" on the map. I miss the first "large path", but know to turn at the marsh. I follow the general direction and also miss the crossing "large path" and end up on the road 50% of the way there. I am no longer surprised not to find the next "large path" and end up using it as Line-O until I am uphill from the control. I come down aiming off right and am rewarded as I turn in just in time to see two cadets sprinting across my field of vision. A quick trace back locates the control. | ||||||
| 22. | Slow, but steady across the hill to the road/stream junction and then sidehill in. | ||||||
| 23. | Up the hill, but I miss the "dirt road" as I cross it and head down. To be careful, I aim off left, figuring I'll see anyone who is leaving it. I see the parking lot below, turn right and almost immediately bump into someone leaving it. I take lots of water and remove my pack to refill my pockets with food. | ||||||
| 24. | Sidehill WSW, across rocky reentrant, and around S side of hill mass. Cross reentrant and see Dave Onkst looking confused on the ridge line. I see the boulder and head right there, believing that he sees me do all this. | ||||||
| 25. | Talking to Dave on way to road, I mention that I no longer trust any trails and will take highway to blazed path in just N of #20. He decides to do so as well, but runs up the road as I walk at what I am pretending is a "brisk" pace. He misses the turn and has to double back. At this point, we start walking together, only being concerned about finishing on time. On the road by the clearing, we head in, but too soon, and end up spending time N and E of the control before finding it. | ||||||
| 26. | Over hill, through picnic area and down to the control that I've already seen. | ||||||
| F. | We agree to jog in together and tie, but there is only one finish punch. We get lucky, though with a quick second punch (captured on YouTube, my only quick move of the day!) and do end up tying. |
Total Time Lost - 00:00:00