Race Evaluation
Billygoat Run: Billygoat
mindsweeper
| 1. | I head out at a careful pace for several reasons: * Having had digestive problems for 6 days * Being of the opinion that most peaple head out too fast at mass starts. I follow some people across the bridge, wondering whether the faster people went straight. End up following a long line of people through some very unpleasant reentrants. Then again, I guess the per K time wasn't half bad. | ||||||
| 2. | Veering a little to the right to get an attack point, since I no longer trust the orienteering skills of the crowd around me. Try to figure out whether to skip 4, 14, 16 or 18. Sadly, skipping 5 doesn't cross my mind. | ||||||
| 3. | Try to discuss skipping options with George Walker Sr., who doesn't seem very chatty. (Apart from pointing out that the people we're following are going too far to the left.) I correct in order to hit the dark green. When approaching the knolls in front of the control, there are more leftists. I duck in to the right and Joe Brautigam (I think) follows. | ||||||
| 4. | Drink some water, then off to a skip! | ||||||
| 5. | The terrain is a bit more bumpy than I had expected. Also, the path I'm running on is annoyingly windy. I lose a minute or two keeping track of the path and its angles. J-J punches just before me and I start suspecting having made a mistake. | ||||||
| 6. | Not a bad split considering the climb, but disheartening watching all the people who skipped 5 come running in from the right several 100 m higher up. Pass J-J on the way to the control. | ||||||
| 7. | Follow the crowd without having much control over where I'm going. | ||||||
| 8. | Drink water before punching since there's already a line. | ||||||
| 9. | Follow the crowd tentatively but veer to the left. Then charge down the hill like a maniac to get ahead of everyone and avoid waiting in line for the punch. Since I have no drink time included, I end up with a good split. | ||||||
| 10. | End up missing the path and lose my head start on the main crowd while navigating back through the green. I recognize Erin, Kristin, and some Canadian shirts. Instead of heading left at the junction I plunge into the forest to climb the ridge. Later on I notice Kristin following to the left. I lose a bit of time missing the corner of the next path a bit to the left. Climbing down the reentrant to the control I get too far down to the left and lose a minute or so climbing back up and standing in punching line. | ||||||
| 11. | Kristin and Erin are gone, but I'm still with the Canadians. I choose to hang lower around the last two hills, and it costs me a bit of time. I'm getting tired, both physically and mentally. Clint Morse catches up with me as I approach the control. Again I eat/drink before punching to avoid lining up for the punch. | ||||||
| 12. | With Clint, both of us cursing the rocky ground. | ||||||
| 13. | Pretty straightforward. | ||||||
| 14. | Kristin, Nadim and Erin catch up with me in the first reentrant, which surprises me since I thought Kristin and Erin were up ahead. But then Kristin asks me if I know where the others are, so I figure out they must have made a mistake at some point. The control is pretty easy to find, and I'm glad I didn't try to skip this one. | ||||||
| 15. | Start feeling tird again, and I stay at the back of the pack, hoping I'll be able to save some energy for later. | ||||||
| 16. | As we cross the bridge, I get my first calf cramps. Stop to stretch before heading on at a slower pace. | ||||||
| 17. | Running at about 70% of my previous speed from here on, I start losing valuable time. I'm starting to suspect whatever gain I have on J-J is not going to hold. | ||||||
| 18. | As I head out from 17, I hear Joe Brautigam shouting. I fail to understand what he's shouting. He passes me on the way to 18. (Crossing the river is no big deal, I find a few logs.) | ||||||
| 19. | I veer a bit too far to the right. I pass Mihai shortly before the control, and ask him if he's ok since he's walking. | ||||||
| 20. | I see J-J crossing the finish line as I come running down the roead. I also see Kristin and Erin up on the terrace eating food. At this point I don't realize that Nadim/Kristin/Erin skipped 18, so I'm a bit puzzled by how much they seemed to have gained on me since I dropped behind. While crossing the brook I misstep and my calfs cramp up again. I stop and stretch agaist the grassy slope on the other side. | ||||||
| F. | Luckily there is nobody close to catching up, so I jog to the finish at a non-cramp-inducing pace. Not my best race ever, but still a fun event. |
Total Time Lost - 00:00:00