Race Evaluation
WCOC Sessions Woods A Event: Red
Nadim
| 1. |
Did not check features en route Confused parallel features +02:00 | S-1 Felt okay warming-up. I'd been getting over a cold the last couple of days. Started at 12:00, 8 minutes ahead of Daniel Schaublin and less in front of others. Off through the field, I left too early. I had to cross a wood pile as I dropped into a reentrant and went left up another. Searching I circled on the knoll, returned, then saw the road. Realizing my error, I ran down to cross the reentrant and up the next ridge to punch. | |||||
| 2. |
Did not follow plan Disturbed by others Followed by others +03:30 | 1-2 Charlie Leanord had just punched at #1. I set off to chase him and caught him on the intermittent trail to the right of the straight path. At a bend, I cut through the mountain laurel up to the road. At the picnic house, I started to cut through, but before even getting to the vegetation, I changed plan to go back to the road and around it. Dropping down to the next road, I cut through some of the mountain laurel and found it wasn't that bad-something which held-up throughout most of the course, but also something that I didn't take notice of at this time. At the road, Charlie had just crossed from my left to my right. Following him, we cut-in immediately. I knew it better to ignore other people's navigation and be safe by knowing which trail I was picking but I ignored this. Charlie paused and I went ahead, probably just missing the control by being a little too far south. I eventually got too high, cut north and turned around at the large earth bank almost 200M from the control. Coming back, I saw Charlie continuing the way I had just been. I eventually hit the pit south of the control and used it as an attack point to get there just ahead of Charlie. | |||||
| 3. |
Bad compass work Followed by others +03:30 | 2-3 With Charlie right behind, I opened my map and decided to follow the stream. Unfortunately, I oriented it 180 degrees off. I didn't realize it until I'd reached a bridge almost 300M south east of #2. I came up the trail from there which to my fortune was a good alternate route. At the first trail junction, a little east of where I would have taken reached the trail had I picked this route from the beginning, I checked my watch and I was +3 minutes in meaning about 3 minutes of error already. I felt weak on the climb but passed Charlie on the way. I dropped down to my right at the first set of cliffs, a little early. I was confused near the bottom but reorienting the map 90 degrees straightened it out for me. I crossed a reentrant and punched with Charlie just ahead. | |||||
| 4. |
No attack point +01:30 | 3-4 Charlie seemed to aim for a low route but looking at the green and same climb along the stream, I headed west for the trail. Climbing was slow. Charlie seemed to pick-up behind me. Getting to the trail, I cut right then right again almost immediately back into the woods because I was near the big cliffs. I couldn't tell which was which. I dropped what seemed like a little but before I knew it, I could see the stream. Guessing at stream bend I climbed a little, read the green and took aim. Daniel Schaublin came a straighter line from my left. More confident and also not happy that he'd already made-up 8 minutes, I pressed on and got there first, ahead of some others who were also converging. | |||||
| 5. |
Did not like map Bad map reading Followed by others +01:50 | 4-5 Rough compassing uphill to the trail and turning right, I pulled ahead and almost caught a West Point runner. He cut up and left at the line of cliffs diagonally intersecting the trail and I cut before then, crossing his path. I had trouble reading the map at the knoll and missed the control to my left by just a bit. I circled, saw others come and then go before finding it. I think I was last leaving. | |||||
| 6. |
Bad map reading Bad compass work +00:30 | 5-6 Leaving, I set a bad bearing which nearly took me to the house. Cutting back, I had to cross more mountain laurel before I could turn left at the trail, right behind Charlie. Running down the rocks, I was slow. We left the trail at the bottom and cut across the marshy area. I passed Charlie and one or two other guys and was leading a group. I got too low near the circle and didn't see the wall. Realizing the knoll was running out, I looked back and could see the pack heading up to the control. | |||||
| 7. |
Followed by others +00:15 | 6-7 I liked the thought of a long trail run around the lake. Leaving #6, my line was too straight and I got hung in the cliffs. I jumped down and set off. I didn't feel strong but caught people. It seemed long. The guy who was leading paused as the trail neared the road but I kept going. As the wall on the left came up, I paused. I hadn't seen the trail bending at the same point but figured it out, leaving the trail to the right. I didn't want to overshoot so as I came up on some greenish stuff, I cut right. I hit the lake and turned left along the shore, having to make a long hop to stay dry. I paused again at the rock but a few steps to the right reavealed the control and only muddy "water pit". | |||||
| 8. | 7-8 Others were right behind me. I set off straight, crossed the reentrant and spiked it. I think the rain started around here. | ||||||
| 9. | 8-9 With another guy still close behind me, I set off straight. I used the trail a little since it bent my way but kept straight as it bent off again. I wanted to see the wall at the corners but never did. Upon coming to the almost clearing at the distinct tree, I paused to check where I was. Crossing the trail, I cut left a little because I didn't see the next wall corner. The guy behind me kept straight and moved to my right. As I found myself on the knoll spur, I read that I need the next to the right. Getting there a few steps ahead of the other guy, I rounded the corner to spike it. | ||||||
| 10. | 9-10 The guy behind me punched and left quickly. I found myself chasing, then passing him as we neared the stream. Ahead, I saw Daniel Schaublin, just running along the stream. I think I passed him just before the control was visible. | ||||||
| 11. | 10-11 Setting off straight, Daniel was right there again. I passed and spiked the control. | ||||||
| 12. |
Bad map reading Bad distance judgement Followed by others +07:30 | 11-12 I figured that if I was going to make any dent in the 8 minutes Daniel had on me already, I would have to push ahead. With a climb, I thought I could open a gap. Going straight, I opened 30-40M but felt weak and slow on the climb. My wet gaitors, shoes and socks felt heavy. Looking for a dot knoll, I paid no attention, nor did I see any rocks. Guessing the distance was up, I looked back and saw Daniel and the other guy taking a bearing a little more left than I did. I cut left too to be safe but not seeing anything, I kept climbing. As the climb steepened I looped back. Eventually I saw Daniel and the other guy. Thinking they had missed and were heading to #11, I chased until I neared the mountain laurel. Realizing they were going to #13, I turned around and felt lost. I eventually saw the wall and relocated. Setting off, my head was spinning. My bearing was so bad I ended up at the rock groups near the steep side of the knoll. Realizing this and finally coming back, I hit it. | |||||
| 13. |
Bad route choice Bad map reading Could not relocate +07:00 | 12-13 I was feeling cold and tired. Knowing the hillside was very vague, I tried to be careful going straight. Half way across, I thought that I should have been pace counting. I believe I passed the control to the left and then cut left to check the reentrants near the knolls. Eventually cutting right, I hit a trail at an intersection. I couldn't relocate from it. It tuned out to be a small trail split SW of the control but I didn't know it then. Coming NE, I hit a wall SE of the control, guessed which one, then followed and crossed a reentrant to get there. | |||||
| 14. | 13-14 As bad as I had been doing, I really felt a lack of confidence for the long leg ahead. I looked long before leaving straight. Aiming for the large reentrant, I hit it at the top and cut left to the other side w/o dropping. Following along it, I hit the road and decided to turn left. I climbed all the way to the road intersection to cut right through the field around the electric fence. Following trails, I hit the next road and turned right. Following the road over the knoll and past the bend to the right, I dropped in to the right. I was just a little past the control but could see it as I came down the reentrant. | ||||||
| 15. |
Bad map reading +00:50 | 14-15 Back up the hill the way I came to #14 I felt a little better and more encouraged about the last leg. When I hit the road, I thought it quicker to cut across the big field but I didn't realize that I was not at the road bend but south of it. I hit another electric fence area, and didn't realize where I was. I wondered if the fence was unmapped in the field but actually I had the wrong field. As I passed it and hit the road, I understood and took off up the road. It would have been a decent route if I was going to the finish but at the road intersection, I had to cut back a little. In the process, I got tangled in the String-O course and almost demolished it. Ted Good was taking photos and the look in his puzzled face said enough. | |||||
| F. | 15-F I didn't think a fast run-in was worth it. Ted took my picture as I ran easy past him. I'll chalk-up the day to partly a learning experience for the New England terrain and partly a bad day to due to my cold. A great number of times, I had the map oriented wrong and didn't have my head into it. Afterward, my left ankle injury that's been bothering me for a year now was hurting and I kept getting cramps in the evening. I figure the ankle was hurting from the rocks and wet ankle grabbing stuff. I probably would have made errors had I not been recovering from a cold but I think they would have been fewer (no clean controls until #8) and with less impact. |
Total Time Lost - 00:28:25