Race Evaluation
West Point Day 1: Red Y
Nadim
| 1. | Starting late I wondered if I'd see anyone on the course but Peggy who was starting a minute behind me. I figured the road would be faster and safer. It was a bonus that I didn't have to experience the unchecked hillside on the direct route. I came past the curve at the top of the road and attacked from the clearing through the gap. I hit it just right though I was worrying a lot about going down too far. | ||||||
| 2. | +01:00 | I climbed gradually and immediately had second thoughts seeing the flat area below. When climbing I could feel the workouts from earlier in the week in my quads. After crossing above the spur I had pulled up short just past the reentrant. I kept expecting to see flater ground and couldn't figure out why I didn't. I kept going very slowly figuring I'd at least hit the road if I missed it. Before the road I got above the control a bit, recognized the reentrant and dropped down to it. | |||||
| 3. | Up to the road intersection, and on the dirt road to the curve. I expected to see the cliff more prominently on my left. I plodded ahead through the green and rembered running the same ridge from a previous A-meet going the other direction. Knowing there was a trail on the ridge I cut over to it and up. I thought it was a bit too easy to have the control right at the top. Another guy punched just ahead of me. | ||||||
| 4. | I took off down the hill on bearing leaving the other guy chasing behind. On the way down I realized I'd need to leave the road at a known location. I cut right a bit to the crest and attacked from there. Though I approached from the reentrant, I read the code just in time to continue straight up the cliff. As I climbed, I could see Mary Jones running in. | ||||||
| 5. | +02:20 | Mary Jones was kind enough to pour me a cup of water despite my objections. Afterward I took off just on bearing and thinking that I'd find the trail which I remembered from two previous A-meets. I found it and passed a few people but I wasn't careful reading features as I went. I crossed the stream below the marsh but was unsure how far down I was. I kept running and didn't pace count or take time to set a good bearing. feeling I'd gotten too far I kept going until I hit a cliff north of the control and checked it out before heading south and backward to the control. I was glad to see the others whom I'd just passed come through (they were on other courses but I felt more comfortable being in an area where others were running through). | |||||
| 6. | I went fairly straight at first because it was faster running. I remembered losing time from a previous A-meet when coming down the cliffs so I reasoned that climbing them just to drop again wouldn't do me good either. Going left I found the remnant of a road and kept moving. It was rocky and thus not as fast as I'd hoped but it felt quicker than the cliffs would have been. I knew I was near the right cliff when dipped into a reentrant. I thought to start angling a climb from there but the rocks looked bad. I got past the last big cliff and climbed steeply up smaller cliffs. Using a tip that Keg Good taught me I looked up at the tree tops to identify where there would be a clearing ahead, behind the rocks above. I was already a bit west but this technique got me close enough to the clearing to see the reentrant and go in. | ||||||
| 7. | +00:15 | Down over the cliffs the way I climbed I hit the flat area and was a bit further left than I thought. I corrected reasoning that I'd have seen it on the way to 6 if I went further left. | |||||
| 8. | +00:30 | I glanced at the route and took off without setting a good bearing. Seeing water ahead I cut left a bit thinking that I might be seeing the beginning of the uncrossable marsh. I didn't remember that the road was in between and didn't bother reading more while running fast and being funneled toward the road intersection. I hit stream and crossed it climbing to the dirt road much higher than necessary. Going through the intersections I didn't see the water stop. Cutting left after Lake Georgina I stayed on the road past the shack on the left. On the run I wasn't sure if the black square on the map was the shack or a rock. I also decided to be conservative enough to see the road bending before cutting up. The control was so visible that I didn't need to bother with all that. | |||||
| 9. | Going straight since the road looked too far out of the way I crossed the road on the line and went up over the gap. I followed the grassy area climbing a bit high and left of straight. Fortunately I caught myself and corrected by dropping down. I followed the rocks in and got there just behind Ross Smith and another person who came from another direction. | ||||||
| 10. | Ross and the other guy climbed. This made sense to me even though they were on another course--it looked grassy. I didn't read well and didn't see the trail on the map. I don't think I climbed high enough to get to it and instead paralled it while going over the top of the wide spur. I crossed the trail twice after that, dropping to cross the stoney reentrant. On the other side I hit the cliff on the spur south of the control. Using this as an attack I spiked it. | ||||||
| 11. | +00:30 | I was lackadasic about setting direction. I knew getting to the road fast was better than the shorter straighter route but I got hung-up in the rocks going straight any way. I was following what at first was the easier route. Once on the road I went to the field. Hearing a yelp at the field I saw Tony Federer on my right having cut the corner a bit. I paused and he indicated that he had gotten caught in some concertina wire. He said that he would be able to get out. I went on with another person following. I figured I was nearing the end and anticipated a fast downhill finish from an earlier A-meet. Also remembering a very similar leg and losing time by contouring I went straight from the field corner. I can't remember if I saw the big cliff NW of the control or not. I kept going, reading compass and map till the hill crest. I turned the corner to spike it just as someone else was leaving--I hadn't seen him approaching. Perhaps I was lucky--this was a risky attack. | |||||
| 12. | +04:00 | As I looked at the leg ahead I thought about bingo and whether a leg I set at QOC's recent Patuxent meet was really fair after all. Leaving, I heard, then saw Kenny behind. I hadn't planned a route other than going straight and tried to be careful by checking my compass a lot. I should have stayed high and used the mapped cliffs. Straight I found what I thought would be obvious rock features to map that were not on the map. I should have checked the code too as I was looking for a boulder, not a cliff. Passing the broad reentrant I saw rocks ahead and below. Thinking I had gone far enough I thought to check them and found nothing. Looking back and lower I saw a control. It turned out not to be mine. Flumoxed, I saw Kenny come through then a woman passing above. I climbed a little went further and eventually wandered back and up to get there. I was dissapointed that a fallen tree seemed to be hiding it from the direction I came. | |||||
| 13. | +03:00 | I contoured across, hit the trail and climbed to be sure where I was at the the ridge. Not reading the code and just looking at the map I mistook the control to be a spur. I hunted on the wrong side of the ridge near the marsh. A cadet begged for help locating so after telling him the area and seeing the road across the marsh I went over the ridge and to the control. | |||||
| 14. | Straight across the marsh and up I spiked it. | ||||||
| 15. | +00:05 | I had trouble reading the detail of the trail intersections. Going slow I got on the trail and slowed to look at the wrong control. Reading the code description at the end I realized it was a footbridge. | |||||
| F. | Tired and after my poor efforts on #12 and #13 I was not inspired enough to try harder. |
Total Time Lost - 00:11:40