Nadim's comments - by leg
| 1. |
Hesitated | Having the benefit of running the Green Night-O course the previous night, I was familiar w/where to go. However, I didn't study the map other than the previous evening's run. I took a straighter path this time but still climbed to the trail near the buildings. I turned left at the intersection, crossed the power lines and paused. I hesitated because I didn't remember a bend left in the trail as it dropped down the reentrant. After looking at the map it jogged my memory and I saw it. Another guy was just leaving. |
| 2. | Running straight today and last night, I ran up against some deadfall. I circled right but this time, didn't stay so low. I left the knoll where I could see the correct reentrant. The guy I saw at #1 say it just after I did and came at it from my right. I got there just barely ahead and thanked him for letting me punch first. | |
| 3. |
Hesitated | Down the reentrant, I angled left across the stream and followed the curving reentrant upward. I think I walked a little where it was steep then ran as I could up the rest. I passed the girlfriend of the guy I saw at #1 & #2 along the way. I thought I'd see it below from the top so when I didn't, I stopped, read and looked. I was dead on becauase a few steps further, I could see it. |
| 4. |
Bad map reading | Just as last night, I went along the high left side of the horeshoe shaped reentrant. This put me further left than I should have been. In the night, I didn't see the rocky knoll at all, but this time, I could see it off to my right. I corrected and dropped down the large reentrant, just checking the smaller ones on my left as I passed and found it. |
| 5. |
Bad route choice | As in the previous night, I headed downhill for the trail. It was slowish but faster than last night. It took me far left but when I hit the trail and turned right, I made good time. I intended to leave the trail before the stream but before I knew it, I had already gotten to where it was faster to stay on the trail. At the stream on the way to the control, I saw the same guy I saw last night at the same place and mentioned something about deja vu to him. |
| 6. | Determined to save time by not using the trail, I cut across on bearing. I got a little left as I ran through deadfall and green areas, probably nearing the knoll top before dropping back to the stream. After crossing the stream and angling better to Bull Run, I saw, then passed the guy I'd seen as I approached #5. Running along Bull Run, I stayed low except where debris forced me up. I used the rockfall in the river as a judge of how far to go, anticipating that the cliff would be in the same area. I was right. Just as I approached, I saw Pat Zerfas leaving going straight up the hill and commenting on the adventurous nature of the leg. | |
| 7. | I glanced at the map and chased Pat in a slow walk up the steep. The walking gave me time to read and I saw that I'd do better if I went right more. However, already on steep ground I didn't want to stay level because it would prolong the bad footing. I got on a deer trail eventually, crested the steep part and ran to the deep reentrant. Crossing it and staying low and right, I found it w/o trouble but wishing that I had stayed along the river. | |
| 8. | I stayed on the flatter ground along the edge of the rise, even though it was marked light green. The running was good just about the whole way. I even got a bit far from where the land rose but corrected and saw the control from far off. | |
| 9. | I angled across, a little to the right of straight so that I'd be able to turn left and attack from the trail intersection. I never saw the intersection and instead cut in where the trail started climbing. I knew this vague attack point wasn't good but thought I could as with #8, stay along where the hill flattened. I ended up getting too high and hitting the narrow yellow ride which I hadn't read on the map earlier. Following it to the intersection of the next ride, I turned right and could see it. | |
| 10. | I ran back up the ride then angled for the trail. It took longer than I thought so I stopped to read. Another step or two and I found it. On the trail, I ran toward an intersection. I'd been debating whether to go w/the low trail or the high one. I chose the high one, but never saw the low one. When I got to the next intersection on the map, I was confused because it didn't look like the intersection on the map that probably wasn't there any more. It felt just like last night on the way to #8 and was very near the same place I had trouble then. I eventually went on, realizing what happened but had lost a lot of time. I left the trail as it began to rise. Stopping to look at just the right distance, I saw it 35m to my right. | |
| 11. | I need to look at the map again to remember this leg better but I think I did okay--I only hesitated when I didn't see the lower trail. Once again in another step, I saw the next trail at a distinct bend and took to the creeks. I followed the dry creek up to a distinct bend, climbed to the left side and ran until I'd gotten there. This time I could tell why the rootstock was a manmade feature--somewhat under it was a pile of cut wood. | |
| 12. | I climbed up the reentrant like last night, but put a better bearing on the control at the top to spike it. | |
| 13. | Like last night, I ran up through the deadfall to the trail. Going up to the split again, I hit one reentrant and climbed out to the right side again, going around others until I hit the control. I was a lot faster in the daylight. | |
| 14. | I didn't see any bees as had others leaving #13. I worked my way down mountain laurel to hit the reentrant at the confluence. Instead of going up the right side, I ran straight up the knoll, curving right before the top. The running was good from there to the trail where I turned right. This time I could see that the trail I hit, the same one as the night before, was in fact a long ride and not the short intermittant trail before it. Some fallen branches were blocking the trail and at night had made it seem to end there. I went around the brush, almost to the field before turning sharply left and following the left side of the reentrant to the control. This wasn't efficient but I wanted to make sure not to miss it as I did the night before. | |
| 15. |
Did not follow plan Underrated difficulty Did not like map | I was starting to feel a little tired and not looking forward to an other loop. I looked at going along the telephone lines but thought it better to go past the Start, up to the buildings and hit it by using the ride. I got up to the Start where Tim Good having already finished, cheered me on. In the dark the previous night, I had a hard time figuring out where to find the trail head so I was worried I'd waste time doing the same looking for the ride. Looking at the distance, I thought I could just follow the reentrants and hit it. I crossed the reentrants going up and down the steep sides and unknown to me, drifted left, downward. Counting the reentrants, things started not to match-up. When I got to the cable swing clearing, I was really confused because the only clearing was 2 spurs back. I went what seemed an extra reentrant and still didn't see it. This reentrant lined-up at least so I climbed up it and eventually found it. |
| 16. | Headed out straight over the top, I went the right side around some deadfall, then dropped into the reentrant and found it. | |
| 17. |
Bad route choice Did not like map | Given the thick green around #16, I didn't think it'd be fast to stay high going straight. Since the reentrant was in the way I'd have to drop anyway. I decided to get out of the green ASAP by going down to Bull Run. It took 3 minutes just to get to the bottom. The trail was at first fast but then rocky and slower. A great blue heron was undisturbed by my presences and the area was very pretty. I left the trail just before the island in Bull Run and climbed up the hill to the trail. Turning right, I then turned left at what I thought was the trail leading down to #17. It turned out to be a deer trail so I came back, climbed only a little higher and went down the right trail. Leaving at the bend, the control was much further down than I'd thought. I wandered a little dropped more and then could see it. |
| 18. | Going straight toward #18 but backtracking my attack to #17, I tripped on the broken wire fence. I dropped down the big reentrant along a smaller one, then climbed to the fields going up a reentrant. I was on target and crossing the field, I saw the control in the bush. | |
| 19. | Leaving #18, I wasn't sure about the layout of the field until I passed the barbed wire fence on the right. I ran up to the road and looked right for a while before I could see the trail head dropping down to the pond. Taking it and passing the pond, I saw Dave Onkst taking the same route ahead. I caught up as he walked the hill and he complimented me for having a good run. As we both ran right and to the next intersection, Peggy came out of the woods on our left onto the road. Dave and I hustled to the control and I just got there ahead of him. | |
| 20. | Dave and I and lost seconds looking at the map to make sure we knew the way back--should we have just trusted Peggy? I kept expecting Dave to give a sprint from behind but wasn't looking forward to it since I was tired too. Neither of us sprinted but I picked-up the pace and got in first. |
Total Time Lost - 00:00:00
| Suggested Exercises | |
|---|---|
| map reading | |
| route choice | |
| route planning | |
| map contact | |
| control flow | |
| concentration | |