Training Log Archive: AliC

Event: UNO Boulder Dash
 

US Classic Champs @ Bear Brook, Blue, 9th

Missed a whole bunch of controls by 1-2 min, hmph! Very slow both in boulder-land and then in vague-land at the end.... more analysis post-flight!

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#1 - Use the trail until the knolls on the left, dived a bit up and over the hill, then down into the marsh, which really wasn't too marshy. I was distracted by the rocky-top hill, before deciding it was too far left and going to the right one.
#2 - Around the bottom of the hill until the stream when I went on a bearing, going through the depression over the form line hill, past the downed-trees wide reentrant and then up into kinda vague flatland, which scared me. After hesitating, I kept on the bearing, ran into the wall of contours and popped over at the corner to the correct boulder.
#3 - Used the shallow reentrant and then popped over when I sensed some nose-y-ness.
#4 - Down on a bearing, just right of the index contour hill. On a correct bearing from there, some slight hesitation when mini-hill wasn't totally visible from top of hill before it.
#5 - Bearing to reentrant on the right of the line, and tumbled down into the depression where I found Ed before skirting around to the saddle.
#6 - My plan was to go in on the nice simple index-contour reentrant, turning up at the double boulders, but I don't think I got into it, always too far right. I significantly stopped just before the control on something like a hill top (actually form-line nose) with two boulders. A bit hard to spot under the line, but still, would have liked to have realized wasn't big enough to be a contoured hill....
#7 - Low visibility, but on a bearing and noting the big boulder off to the right along the way worked.
#8 - First major whoops. I went out to the trail on a rough bearing, then left it to go over the peanut hill before heading down to the marsh. I intended to skirt along its right branch, so made things fit with that plan, but really I must have been in the marsh most of the time. I ran 200m beyond the nose in the reentrant, before figuring that the cliffs to my right were actually telling me something I should listen too. So then approached the control from the SE.
#9 - Out to the little trail, then up on the road, cut across the yellow back to the road then in from there. Maybe too safe, and I didn't see the little trail under the line that would have been faster, I think.
#10 - Up to the road on a bearing through thick. I remember being a bit off and seeing it farther to my right, forget if I was really checking out the too-low boulder or not.
#11 - Long leg. Out to the big trail, then it and the yellow ride at the end before heading cross-country. I just went straight W for awhile, then went through the first marsh, I think, but didn't really notice the second one, and just kind of guessed I was going down the hill in the right reentrant and more or less tripped on the control after hesitating in the right area for awhile. Really would have liked to do this better, I should have been more dedicating to IDing the second marsh.
#12 - Attempted to use the little yellow marsh at the beginning, but never found it. I continued on a vague bearing and eventually realized that I was too far low, after stopping and looking around and finding rocks on top of hills.
#13 - More careful, kept picking things off and just going slowly. Never truly out-of-contact, but sometimes questioning.
#14 - Over the ridge, then hooked up with the water flow up to the marsh, which I then went across and deflected slightly to the right, so I hit the big boulders to the E instead of the control. Should have placed where I was in the marsh better and come out with confidence on bearing.
#15 - Went along the first yellow, then touched the next two to send me basically straight to the control. (Was slightly tempted to head further left from the last yellow, not sure why now.)
#16 - Hm, not sure how I did this at the beginning. I know at the end I headed in from the yellow to the control's W.
#17 - Eddie caught me, I started a bit different way (I stayed on the yellows), but then behind him, and joined his route when he cut from the medium-green acros to the second yellow, coming out right by the control.
#18 - Down and out to the big trail on the yellows, Eddie in sight in front of me. Then through the S marsh (whoops) and into the vague. I thought I was good, but I was looking to far S of boulder, corrected after a bit, Eddie had disappeared.
#19 - Hesitant, but I kept it moving. I really wasn't sure how to approach this one, figured to use the hill tops along the way (which I did, but kinda confusedly, thought I passed low of the first one, but then ended up going over it?). Came out on the yellow in the light green, then straight in from there.
#20 - Ug. Tried to just keep my bearing through the thick, stopped confused a few times, just trying to identify something, but there's not much on the map, so really I should have just kept firing through. Came out on the control on the cairn, then in. Better to just hammer and bounce of the wall if you don't hit it?

Day 1 - Blue - Splits

And decided I'd save the bus trip back from the conference by just running back to the apartment before flying home. Started at Estec and then navigated mostly using bike paths back to Leiden center. A grey misty day, but still sort of starkly beautiful by the canal with greenhouses on either side.

Then travel times back to the States!

Pre-team-meeting joggeroo around Leiden. Happily earlier than the rain, although it was dark when I headed out. Sunday morning 7am bonus: very, very uncrowded city!