Race Evaluation
Shamrock O-Ringen, Glengarriff Area: 1
roar
| 1. | P | D | P | R | 5 | Ran hard, but safe. Concious of Conor behind me | |
| 2. | P | D | P | R | 5 | Up and over. Took it safe and was a little confused in the circle but no worries. | |
| 3. | P | D | P | R | 5 | Up the sheep's head way, as I saw the markers. Did all the uphill on that, down a bit and cut over. Down the re-entrant and it was actually north facing unexpectadly. | |
| 4. | P | R | 5 | +00:50 | "ran" on the line. going was bad and Conor was gaining on me. Was a bit higher on the ridge than I thought. Hit the path for a bit and then began to contour. Saw some of the details above me but didn't trust them. Conor was way lower. Saw the trail markers again and the path on the map so headed for them. Conor came with thankfully. Was much too high and saw that dropped down thinking I was coming into the control but was still too high. Copped it and saw Conor going in. He was ahead. | ||
| 5. | P | D | P | R | 3 | Easy leg. Follow the re entrant down with the Conor running in it. | |
| 6. | P | D | P | R | 5 | Scrambled up the cliff. Remembered how I had won an uphill split yesterday so believed in myself. Excellent spike. | |
| 7. | P | D | P | R | 4 | Just ran and climbed a little. Let conor do the nav but I was checking he was doing it right. He seemed strong and I felt like crap. Just made sure I hung on in there. He hesitated then on the way up the far side after the big crag and I got back close to him as I knew exaclty what was up. He recovered and got it just in front. | |
| 8. | P | D | P | R | 5 | Went straight. Conor kept wanting to go right. I got pulled a little but fixed it better and got ahead. Getting battered by the wind I commented to Conor "WTF" | |
| 9. | P | D | P | R | 5 | +00:10 | Another rock climb. I tried to be cute and stay low but it backfired and I got stuck. Conor went high and he was ahead again. I missed the first re entrant and was surprised by the size of the one I came across. It seemed to be right and the Conot flying down the hill confirmed it. |
| 10. | P | D | P | R | 2 | Super easy leg. Fighting my legs to get up the hill, Conor pulling away. | |
| 11. | P | D | P | R | 4 | +00:10 | Not climbing cost me on day 1, get up that hill. Did the first one but stayed right due to wind for the second. Seemed to work and I got back in contact with Conor. He was farting around down the cliffs so I just committed. He was still ahead of me. |
| 12. | P | D | P | R | 5 | Out to the path and run along it. I saw Darren and knew we had time for games if necessary. Saw the hills to the left and Conor disappeared for the first time. He re-appeared sticking his head out of the control site as I came into it. Phew. | |
| 13. | P | D | P | R | Uphill. Looked at 17 at this stage and knew that it could be the make or break leg. Suffered but made it. | ||
| 14. | P | D | R | 4 | +00:05 | Got to the valley before it and Conor was stopped. I was expecting some lovely south facing crags but was faced with a hill and no crags. I stopped too. Saw the crag was North facing I set off again and Conor was out of sight behind the hill. I saw him punch it. 1s back on him | |
| 15. | P | D | P | R | 5 | Super easy again. Run hard down the spur. Conor looking strong. 4s dropped. | |
| 16. | P | D | P | R | 5 | Again super easy. Could see the feature, 6s gained. | |
| 17. | P | D | P | R | 5 | Crunch time. "I had an uphill fastest split yesterday" was my sole motivating thought. Was absolutely on my limit but Conor was edging away and the mist was creeping in. Saw him punch it 10s ahead of me. | |
| 18. | P | D | P | R | 5 | I thought he took a funny line out but it was legit. He was getting away. My legs were destroyed. He went around the hill and kept his height. I read my map and dropped. Spiked it. Suddenly I'm 18s ahead | |
| 19. | P | D | R | 5 | Killed it. All out. Full commitment. Probably no faster than a normal walk. Saw Conor flying down to 18. I fell, did a quick roll but it took so much effort. Got to the marsh on the top, started down the spur. Saw a control on a marsh, perfect. Ran to it. "I have this!" Punched it. Quick code check. 216, run away. I was looking for 211. Perfect. Compass towards 20. Stop dead. Panic rises. Conor shouts, "That was the wrong code" (he thought I was trying to trick him). I'm absolutely bricking it. I have no clue what has just happened. Where am I? Many expletives in my brain, but a nice calm facade shown towards Conor. He took the lead again and started haring down the hill. my confidence was momentarily gone but I saw the stake and went after him. Code is right. I'm 3s behind... | ||
| 20. | P | D | P | R | 5 | Conor left in a mad direction, following some tapes. I didn't go as far but was reluctant to let him more than 2s away from me as the run in was short. We came over the hill and thought we were left as we saw some crags. Little shoulder bump as we tried to take the same line. I hopped the crag but Conor's path was slightly better and he punched the last control 1s in front of me. | |
| F. | P | D | P | R | 5 | Conor took the elephant track right out of the control. I hammered it straight through the tussocks. Was gaining on him and thought it would come down to punching technique. Took a great stride, was almost beside him. Suddenly he accelerated. I didn't know where he had the burst of speed from and thought he was making an epic dive for the finish punch. I tried to kick again. But no, he screamed as he fell. He had tripped. I also shouted pretty wildy as suddenly I had beaten him! |
Total Time Lost - 00:01:15