Race Evaluation
QOC: Rosaryville: Blue
Nadim
| 1. | I felt a little slow getting into reading the map. It was so different looking from the King's Gap map in PA yesterday. I almost started to go more straight but corrected, using the fields and the trail from the south to attack off of. | ||||||
| 2. | Up and over. | ||||||
| 3. | I was wishy washy about doing this leg, shifting directions and still not being able to focus on the map properly. Going back out the field, I cut right between the trees, then eventually came a fairly direct route via trails. I was a bit hesitant attacking from a trail bend NE of the control. | ||||||
| 4. | +01:00 | As I crossed over the spur, I hesitated. I had misread the leg a bit but was back on track soon. I curved around the side of the reentrant and then went up to the rootstock marked on the map but was surprised not to find it. I looked around and checked another rootstock before doubling back. Another orienteer perhaps from another course came through. I climbed higher from where he came and found it. It was on the incorrect rootstock and I later found out that this was just an inadvertant error which ocurred when Peggy (course setter) had been tranferring the course from OCAD to Condes. | |||||
| 5. | I initially went west to get around the green. I cut right at the next trail and was familiar with it. I should have kept going to the next trail west but it worked out okay. I left from a bend, then hit the big trail intersections. I ran down one trail a bit before attacking. I was hesitant about whether I was dropping into the right ditch but I did it correctly. | ||||||
| 6. | I ran fairly straight and recognized the top of the reentrant leading into the control from when I was course setter last spring. A streamer still was hanging where I had place a control earlier. I was a bit slow reading the map but did go on to the spur in which the distinct tree was found. | ||||||
| 7. | I ran a bit high to avoid some ups and downs. I used a trail bit but cut off some parts. Once across the road, I ran up the trail and watched the ridge on my right to monitor progress. I noted the knoll and saddle. It turned out to be fairly easy to see the barn from the trail. | ||||||
| 8. | +00:15 | I ran straight but when I got to the knoll above the control, I started searching too high up. I kept going down but lost a bit of time. | |||||
| 9. | +00:25 | I intended to stay high. I was familiar with the rootstocks in the area already. Attacking from one about 150m south of the control, I aimed wrong and went to a perhaps new rootstock to the right of where I needed to be. I realized I was too low but didn't fathom how much until checking at least on other rootstock on the way to the control. | |||||
| 10. | +00:15 | I ran straight and then used the trail south of the control to get close. I misread the map and started hunting along the ridge of the formline knolls. Realizing the error, I cut north (down) and fortunately landed in the right area. | |||||
| 11. | I stayed along the ridge, going straight as I could. The vegetation made me cut left and right a bit. | ||||||
| 12. | After having to weave on leg #11, on leg #12 I left #11 going south figuring that the running would be easier and faster on the trail. After rounding the ridge, I cut up and followed along the hillside. I expected the control to be higher and eventually saw it lower. Somewhere either before or after I saw the control, I bumped my head on a low branch. I was surprised at how much it had hurt. The branch didn't seem to have much mass. Soon my head was dripping red stuff onto my map and in my right eye. I kept running. | ||||||
| 13. | I went out to the road, having had some familiarity with thorns when crossing the marsh. I didn't have gaitors on anyway. On the road my head continued to drip and I began to wonder how bad I'd hurt myself. I had to wipe my forehead with my sleeve to keep seeing and then had to wipe my map to keep it clean. I cut in after rounding a stand of trees in the small field, where there was an easy entry back into the woods. | ||||||
| 14. | I ran straight or at least ran until I got to the green. I was able to cut through it fairly easily and walked across a fallen log on part of it. I came out in white woods and spiked the truck control. | ||||||
| 15. | I ran straight but started to get a bit to the right. I almost hesitated. | ||||||
| 16. | +01:45 | I ran straight and when I crossed the first trail, I noted the horse jump to my right. I'd located it on the map so I felt my bearing was right on. A little further, there was easier running on what was probably an old road. It took me a bit to the right. When I came out on the next trail I came to a complete stop expecting to see the control below. Straight ahead was a light green reentrant but this didn't ocurr to me. I looked left and another reentrant, then back again. Finally I decided to just plunge into the light green one which was on my attack vector. I didn't find it and fortunately had the sense to realize that the correct reentrand didn't have this much green. I corrected quickly. | |||||
| 17. | I ran straight initially and then used the trail. I crossed over the ridge with the indistinct trail but didn't stay on that trail for long. Once in the fields, I noted about 4 minutes left before it being 1 hour. I had hopes of finishing before then. As I neared the control, I noted that the area was where Chris, a park worker, had informed me that they'd done some work changing things. The control turned out to be outside the roped area where the work was in progress. | ||||||
| 18. | I realized that I still had a few controls to go and that it wouldn't be likely for me to finish in under an hour. I was surprised at how much time had passed since there was 4 minutes left. I knew where the tree was and went right to it. I felt slow going up the trail. John Blaisdale had left the path going there just before me and tried to move out of my way but we ended up having a little dance. | ||||||
| 19. | Leaving #18 going straight, I did read the green bits of trees in the fields pretty well. I went right to the control, knowing the location from when I course set earlier. | ||||||
| 20. | I ran out of the woods then straight over the ridge. At the crest, I expected to see the control. When waiting to start and watching my son Max, I'd seen Peggy in the vicinity so I wasn't too put off by not seeing it. I figured the ditch was deep. I caught a glimpse of the control on the way down before crossing the road and lost it again. Keeping straight, I hit it well. | ||||||
| F. | I finished fairly strong. With nice grass to run on and a slight uphill, I pushed a bit harder than in other previous races. I was less worried about aggrivating my knee injury and wanted to test it a little too. |
Total Time Lost - 00:03:40