Race Evaluation
GMOC A-Meet: Relay: Orange
Nadim
| 1. | S-1 Team "Going for the Gold" from Quantico consisted of and ran in the followin order, myself, Heidi Onkst, Don, Ted Good. I lead off with the lead leg because we thought it more likely that I could keep the fast pace with the leaders and would lose less time than say Don would running the more technical Brown. The first leg was a dash. I didn't even bother running for the $1 bill since it'd just wear me out unecessarily and it'd be hard to get it anyway. I thought it'd be good to keep an eye on Dan Menehan (Snorkel) and Randy Hall. I also figured the CSU crew would be good to stay with if possible. My start on the left side made it harder to get to the lead. I started slow enough to read, then picked-up the pace so as not to get behind a long line at the punch. I think I was about 5th. | ||||||
| 2. | 1-2 Going to #2, I stayed in the field as did the rest of the crowd but noticed Dan Menehan taking the direct route all by himself. I decided to stick it out in the field. The CSU runners were leading and I cut in behind them. I think I was 3rd at this point, behind both CSU runners. I recognized Ross from other meets and the Susquehannah Stumble (at Great Falls) in which I'd pulled ahead of him at the finish; but didn't recognize Will Hawkings since I'd never seen him before. | ||||||
| 3. | 2-3 Going straight across the field, the CSU runners lead again. As at the start, this had the feel of a cross country race, not an orienteering event. The CSU runners slowed to read the map. I ran on, catching and passing them briefly. Reading on the run I had made out the location in the clump of trees and spotted it first. I was a little to the left. I can't remember if I or the CSU runners got there first. | ||||||
| 4. | 3-4 Finally getting a navigational leg, followed around the trees to the upper field. I had planned to go on the trail through the rectangular field with the start triangle for the other legs but the CSU runners made for the trails on the left. Pausing but not wanting to go it alone yet, I turned back down the hill after them. Not far into the woods, I tripped on a root, got up and fell in behind the CSU runners again. We took the left most trail which dropped a lot before making a rolling climb back. Still not knowing who he was, I heard Will tell Ross that it wasn't the best choice but since we'd committed, we continued on, losing other slower trail runners behind us. Hearing this, I was encouraged at my own prospects to be competitive but I also thought that I should be doing more independent navigation. | ||||||
| 5. | 4-5 The CSU runners were off first toward #5. For a while, I was just trying to hang on. I lost contact with where we were on the map as we crossed ridge after ridge. At one pont, one of the CSU runners lead us around a ridge to the left, expecting see a control that wasn't there. We went on and after coming up to a trail, the CSU runners paused. I was expecting to intersect it and recognized it from taking it the day before so I charged off. They passed on the tricky footing. As we rounded a ridge, instead of going over it, Snorkel was just punching and leaving the control. He came from our left, probably using the more efficient trail run that I'd used going the other way the day before. | ||||||
| 6. |
Took a chance Bad map reading Confused parallel features Did not read control code Did not read control description Not thinking clearly Lacked confidence +03:00 | 5-6 We took the trails and ran fast. Unfortunatley, I was hanging on and briefly lost contact with the map again. As the trail crossed the marshy area, the CSU runners cut right. I realized where we were and thought staying on the trail a little longer would be a better way to get up the hill. I made ground on the CSU runners and cut right at the forking trail just short of the top of the ridge. I was pretty sure where I was at this point. Looking at the map on the run, I expected the control to be near the top of the ridge, on what I though was the north most of two trails. Had I taken the time to read the clue description or read the map more carefully, I'd have realized that the control was on a long cliff, one of 3 on the map in a very straight line; on the cliff south--not north--of the trail. I climbed up on the ridge, thinking I'd see it and that the CSU runners would do the same. I was confused after crossing the first trail and not seeing another nor the control. Meandering back on the south side, I saw the CSU runners not looking particularly sure of where they were going. I'd misinterpreted this too because they were just heading off to #7. I quickly looked back on the north side of the ridge and saw the trail droppind down and up to the next ridge. Now very confused, I thought we'd stopped one ridge too short. I took the trail to the next ridge and then started looking around. Not finding anything and realizing it was silent where I was, I looped back, only to see some very young runners headed away from the #6 control. | |||||
| 7. | 6-7 Disheartened and a bit winded now, I left #6 just following the kids. As we crossed the trail I read the control location and was on it before I knew it. I passed a few people here but one kid ahead of me took a long time to punch. | ||||||
| 8. | 7-8 Going to #8, I again followed the trail of people to an actual trail. Cutting right on it, I passed Pavilina Brautigam and a few others. More kids and older runners ahead left the trail to attack. I thought they left one reentrant too soon. My own experience w/#6 caused me to hesitate leaving even this group. I looked back to check the angle and saw Pavalina headed my way. Then I sprinted off and spiked the control. The others were still on the other side of the ridge that they'd left the trail from. | ||||||
| 9. | 8-9 This leg was a repeat of a leg I ran the day before. With both left and right side trails to choose from, I'd chosen the right side because of its better attack point and fewer hills. I did so again this day. I cut-off the trails at a bend to shorten the distance; crossing to the rectangular field. I could see the start triangle as I attacked from the SE corner of the field. I was very surprised upon entering the wood to see, not the control but Snorkel again. He was walking while some others passed him so I guess he was injured or feeling sick. It cheered me up a little that I'd at least made contact again. Snorkel got there ahead of me and probably didn't see me. | ||||||
| 10. |
Bad map reading Disturbed by others +00:15 | 9-10 Leaving #9, I thought at first to take the trail so I headed uphill. As everyone else was going straight and as I read the map better, I cut across too. I dropped onto the control just behind a West Point runner. I fiddled with the punch card (as I had at some others too) to make sure I was punching the right spot. | |||||
| F. | 10-F I didn't have much of a sprint left and was disappointed from not having stayed with Ross and Will earlier. Ross and Will finished about 4 minutes ahead. The consolation for me was that I'd given QOC a 1:30 second lead in the 8pt. relay competition. However, the field was too fast for us and QOC finished 6th with good but not perfect races from Heidi, Don and Ted. |
Total Time Lost - 00:03:15