Race Evaluation
QOC: River Bend: Red
donkst
| 1. |
Bad route choice Read map too late Lacked concentration +00:30 | Hard to get up for this race. Tired and sore. Lots of training lately, but decided to run hard. So, got myself a little pumped up to run. Unfortunately, I'm scrambling right before the start (still stapling my map in my map case when my time starts). Consequently, rushed and a little out of sorts leaving the start. Stupidly go straight through the green until the first stream and then finally down to the first contour. Duhhhh!!!! | |||||
| 2. |
Read map too late Bad map reading +00:15 | Like Ted, started climbing the hill, but then dropped down right away to avoid the climb. Start climbing right after the stream to small building on hill top and then followed small trail to main trail. Hesitated on main trail because I was a little confused by the trail I had just taken, and the trail I was now at. Look in the general direction of control and see Christian Hanson punching. | |||||
| 3. |
Bad route choice +00:30 | Hard down through green to smaller clearing just E of bigger clearing. Clmbed to trail. Christian is first on my right and then goes high off the trail on the hill to my left. I run the trail past the the clearing intersection and the main trail intersection and watch the compass carefully for the trail turn. I've blown past Christian in the process. I then spotted the gully and steered around it and right down the spur. However, lost time by not taking the indistinct trail out of 2. | |||||
| 4. |
Did not read control description Hesitated +00:45 | Straight with a hard effort. Because I'm only reading the circle and not the control description, I misintrepret as a reentrant, not a spur. Now stopped in red light mode a little past the bridge. I start jogging up the stream to the W and fortunately turn my head enough and back to the right (something I usually don't do because of my "tunnel vision" style of O'ing) to see the bag on top of the spur. Lost a good 45 seconds because of confusion. | |||||
| 5. |
Bad route choice Bad compass work +00:20 | Up the hill, but started drifting too far to the W. See the reentant just NW of trail, but because I'm not using my compass well enough, I'm not able to really place it right on the map. At the indistinct trail (the one that runs E to W), I'm a little confused and misinterpret as the main trail. Fortunately, I keep going straight and then hit the main trail about 100 m E of trail-driveway intersection. Now that I know where I am, I go straight, loop around house to the left, through the "nice" unmapped rock and right down the spur. Heidi is headed into the control as I'm coming in. | |||||
| 6. |
Bad map reading +00:20 | Contoured around big hill a little. Up to trail. At the bend, right on down to ditch. Spike, but then where's the punch? It's not on the string. It's broken and laying in pieces on the ground. Have to place punch card up against tree and press hard with the pin side of the punch. Lost a good 20 seconds here looking for the punch and trying to figure out a way to punch. | |||||
| 7. |
Followed by others +00:30 | Funneled NW into trail intersection and then down main trail on a pace count. Decided not to trust first trail intersection or perhaps even the second one because of my past problems in this area. The trail and clearing are just not as distinct as they are mapped. That's why I'm pace counting. At the second trail, down to the indistinct trail. Right before going onto indistinct trail, I see Christian coming up the main trail from the E. He turns on the speed to try and stay up with me. I cut in one spur too early and am stuck in green. Walking slowly, I finally see the bag, way down the spur. Yes, it was way too low. Lost 30 seconds here due to being caught in the green, hesitation, and cutting in too soon. | |||||
| 8. |
Did not read control description Hesitated Followed by others +00:20 | Straight with a hard effort. found small indistinct trail which led me down to trail/stream intersection. I'm neck to neck with some guy I don't recognize. Straight on up from intersection and right down on reentrant to within 15 meters of the bag. I see the bag, and I've spiked it, but I don't punch it and instead stop and look left and start taking a small walk looking for the small SPUR with my control on it. Gee, maybe I should learn to read the CORRECT control description. I'm still reading number 7, and if you're only looking just inside control circle 8, it is a reentrant, right? I'm still standing there contemplating where that small spur could be as I see the unidentified guy I just passed (who would later turn out to be Russ Damtoff) go in and punch the bag and keep on going. Hmm, another look at my control card reveals that's I'm looking for a reentrant, dang it. You'd think I'd learn, but since I've already made this mistake once before in this race, why not repeat it. Unfortunately, I stupidly gave up a good 20 seconds on a spiked control. That hurts. | |||||
| 9. |
Ran too fast Read map too late Bad map reading Followed by others +04:00 | Alright, now I'm mad and I'm running hard. I blow past Russ (whom I still haven't identified) on an unmapped indistinct trail (between the two gullys) leading down to the stream. I blow over to the other side of the stream and start contouring and following the stream. However, when I see the bridge, just below 4 and go past it to the reentrant to the E of 4, I come to a dead halt and double back quickly to the reentrant to the W of 4. There I see Russ and yell out, that's too far (he's headed in that direction). I'm headed up the reentrant to the W of 4, and it finally dawns on me that I'm going to 4 instead of 9!!!!! So I blast down along the stream again and start climbing the big hill to the SE of 4. I'm apologizing to Russ along the way about my mistatement. Then, at the top ot the hill, I run to the first big reentrant on the SW steep part of the hill. Russ is looking down that direction also, and he says: "It should be here, but I don't see it." I'm thinking the same thing until I finally stop and read my map. When I finally figure out where I am, I turn around and bolt over the top of the hill to the N and don't say anything to Russ. I can see the stupid ditch and bag for a long way off as I start coming off the hill. I lead a train of people into the bag, Heidi, Russ, and someone else (Yuliya?), as Christian is leaving. 4:00 minutes gone due to stupidity. Oh well. | |||||
| 10. |
Did not like map Did not read control description Hesitated Followed by others +01:00 | I blast out of 9 and am watching my compass closely so that I don't drift too much. I blow past Christian again on the way to the road bend. I come in perfectly to the right of the small hilltop with a beginner's control on it (just NW of the road bend, two people are at it) and do a face plant. Getting up I run straight to the small trail where the green intersects, and then have problems reading the green properly. I've never liked this area of the map. The rough open should have some trees marked in it. As usual, this causes me confusion, and instead of just running into the green about 10 meters and finding the small trail that leads to the control, I decided to do a major W and N tour around the rough open looking for the vegetation boundary. As I'm slowly jogging around the rough open and green, I see the control hung on the man made object at the edge of the vegetation boundary. I was thinking it was on the NW corner (didn't read the description correctly). UGGHHH. One more minute gone, despite coming in right on line. | |||||
| 11. |
Bad route choice Did not like map +00:30 | Followed the trail out to the road to the N and then ran past the first intersecting road and went on in. Had to stop and climb over the two barb wire fences. Almost killed myself both times by running into them full blast. Then in red light mode for a good 10-15 seconds looking in the distance. Finally see the bag far off in the distance. Ted, I agree with you on this one. This saddle has always seemed like it is placed wrong on the map. | |||||
| 12. |
Lacked confidence Disturbed by others +01:30 | Running hard, I spilt the house and water tower and crank down to the road. Best route? --straight (too many contours), no, the road to at least the bend. I'll decide what to do enroute. Should I attack through 13 and then have an advantage finding it again in a few minutes? That's the plan, but when I get to the bend, I decide to blast on in using the shallow reentrant to the E of 13. It takes me right on down to the stream. Right before I cross, Dan Quinn crosses at a right angle in front of me and asks if I'm looking for 4. I reply in the negative and cross over the stream. The gullies should just be a little in front of me, but if that's the case I should be able to see the openess of the road up to my right. Since I can't see the tree openings of the road, I must be too far to the left. That's easily fixed, I'll just run to the right. Opps, there's the road, and there's only been one big hilltop to the S. When I finally figured out what I've done, I contour around the hill to the S, hit the first gully and then go right on up to the second one. The second gully is mapped much larger/longer than it actually is. Lost 1:30 here. | |||||
| 13. |
Bad compass work +00:30 | Straight, but drifted too far to the left. When I see the road, I correct for the mistake, but it's cost me another 30. | |||||
| 14. | Down smaller, more "indistinct" trail hard. Just a little past the bend, cross the reentrant and right on down the spur. Spike. | ||||||
| 15. | Straight down to the small trail. I hesitate a bit once I get to the trial because I'm not sure which side of the trail it's on. I'm a little slow while looking right and left, but nothing significant. | ||||||
| 16. | Hard down the trail. Probably terrified the mother and toddler that I almost ran over. | ||||||
| F. | Pushed hard in. Very tired. Ted, are you sure you measured all of the legs correctly? My goal was to run a sub 9 minutes per a K, which I did with Tom's 7.1. But with your 6.8, I'm back up over 9 per a K. UGGGGGHHHHH. |
Total Time Lost - 00:11:00