Race Evaluation
QOC: Wheaton: Red
Nadim
| 1. | +01:10 | I started out thinking I would take the trail down to the lake but then decided to cut across going straight toward it. I decided coming somewhat off the corner of the ice rink building had the easiest running so right away I started getting a bit to the left. With the light greenish terrain, I didn't check my bearing enough. After crossing the creek I realized I was getting a bit too high but the vegetation kept me from correcting very much. I hit the trail and came way down. I was somewhat surprised to see the control so low but glad to see it from far off. Before doing the Red course, I had walked the White course with my son Max and had seen people attacking #1 on Red from below not knowing it was going to be my control. Had I realized this, I would have gone around on the trail. | |||||
| 2. | I crossed the bridge, ran along the lake and to the second paved trail. Instead of going up along the fence as I'd done before, I kept on the paved trail until almost the clearing. On the paved trail, I passed two women headed to the same place. | ||||||
| 3. | Out through the clearing, I went the high route around to the right and back in on the trail. I expected the control to be in the higher clearing and saw another guy stop in the area. He hadn't seen the control further down, behind some pretty rough green. I went around and punched. | ||||||
| 4. | Out to the left, around the green and down to the tracks. I ran on them a ways until the tracks started curving on a bend. I cut left and got on the paved trail until it again intersected the trail. Going left up the tracks, I went to the sharp bend, then up the reentrant in the light green and patchy white woods. The control could be seen a good way off. :) | ||||||
| 5. | I ran east and up to the spur where a small cut through trail got me into the fields. I hugged the NW sides of the fields to the road and in. | ||||||
| 6. | I ran somewhat straightish across the green to the paved trail. Along the way I tripped on the unmapped broken barbed wire fence after crossing the unmapped ditch. I rounded the bend on the trail then looked for the control once the reentrant started on my left. It was supposed to be white woods to the feature but things had changed since it was mapped. The control however, was visible. On my way to the control I had wondered what the man made feature was and now can't remember seeing one. | ||||||
| 7. | I hesitated about going around on the trail but the woods looked okay. Not far out I saw a deer trail and used it for a long way. It took me a bit too far right. I hesitated again a bit due south of the control assessing how far to the right I'd come. When correcting headed due north, I saw the control a few steps later but still a ways down. | ||||||
| 8. | Out to the trail, then to the parking lot, I reentered the woods and went around the green on the south side to the knoll. It seemed like the control was a bit further over than I thought it would be but it was correctly placed. | ||||||
| 9. | I ran down the reentrant a bit to the right, then realized that I'd lost some elevation that I'd have to climb back. I corrected going left a bit after crossing the road and reached the ridge top. Going into the reentrant, it was a bit further down and to the right than I thought it'd be but it was visible a long way off. I'm in such poor shape that I felt slow going down the hill. | ||||||
| 10. | +00:15 | Going up the spur a bit to the right, I crossed to the right side of the top of the hill. Going down I got a bit to the left and thought I was doing so. I kept running but started doubting myself. I ran down the middle between the tops of two reentrants and couldn't see into either reentrant. I finally committed, going into the correct one. Part of my doubt on the way down was an expecation to see more a slope to my right (due north) on the way down. | |||||
| 11. | +00:25 | I ran straight and kept a good bearing. I saw the root stock far off but didn't see the control so I wasn't certain. Once at the root stock, I went around on the right side and still didn't see the control. I started looking past it, then turned around and saw it on the control. | |||||
| 12. | I ran down to the lower trail paralleling Kemp Mill Rd. and started to read ahead on the map. I debated cutting through the horse farm but decided that the extra energy needed to cross the green wouldn't save me much if any. It was probably a good thing I cut left at the intersection and went to the bridge. I think some of the mapping in the horse farm is in need of updating and may not be crossable. I went up the trail in the field then straight at it once near the building. In the woods, I was expecting a large tree and thought I'd seen one far off. A few steps later, I saw the holly tree, distinct sure enough. The woods getting there had unmapped low vegetation. | ||||||
| 13. | +02:30 | I worried about this leg a little before starting. Perhaps that was a sign that I should have gone the longer route in the open to the left. Going straight, I was going for the white gap and then saw a break in the first green going straight. There was a sort of formline manmade earth back that I climbed and had some good running afterward. I got to the area I thought the control would be in then stopped. I had gone the correct distance but couldn't see anything through the thick green on my left. I went on knowing that I'd passed the control, then nearing the stream I cut back to the left in the field. I followed the edge to a cove and saw the control in the green. | |||||
| 14. | Out the way I'd come and onto the road. I looked for the road intersection and cut in before it. Having run in the area, I realized the control was in an area that is sometimes closed off due to erosion. The erosion problem there is not bad compared to numerous places that we've seen elsewhere in the park but I learned after finishing that a complaint had come in from the Nature Center Staff. | ||||||
| 15. | I kept low to the road, then through the parking lot. Back on the trail, I followed the bends and saw it ahead from the bend that I'd planned to attack from. I ran straight to it. | ||||||
| 16. | I ran straight up the spur to the control. In hind sight, I wonder if using the trail to the south would have been helpful. | ||||||
| 17. | Going straight, I kept on bearing by sighting the reentrant on the left. I spiked it, having seen it from near the trail crossing. | ||||||
| 18. | I wasn't keen on going back down the hill but ran into the reentrant. I was a bit to the left and hadn't realized the control would be so near a trail. I got hung up in a bit of unmapped green along the reentrant. | ||||||
| 19. | Up the trail and off at the bend before the reentrant. I went low from there and followed the stream. | ||||||
| 20. | +00:50 | Straight up to the trail intersection then left and right at the next intersections. I'd passed another guy at the last intersection and I cut in from near there. I should have been more careful but I was trying to move ahead. I ened up being a bit too far left and didn't read the contours well. I passed the first reentrant, not see it since I was too high. I realized from the skating rink near the finish that I was too high so I corrected but dropped into the wrong reentrant. I finally read the map and cut back. I'm unsure about the rootstock that the control was on being the correct one but it was not hard to find once in the vicinity. | |||||
| F. | I ran straightish but cut right a bit to get to the dog park fence. |
Total Time Lost - 00:05:10