Race Evaluation
Hudson Highlander IX: Highlander
randy
| 1. | Easy pace with Eddie and Vadim; joined by Greg, Dmitri, David | ||||||
| 2. | slightly right of the line, try to punch thru the white to the left of the swamp. Saw pat and someone else on the way. Did not know the scale of the map, but saw Mihai up ahead and was using him. Greg says its up past the green. See Will and Boris come in from the left. Think I was second behind Mihai. Didn't see Eddie halfway thru the leg, and never saw him again. | ||||||
| 3. | Leading the pack, parallel error on the rocky spur thing, then again on the bare rock for cliff face after the trail. Everyone was to the left but figured it out. Saw Leif and Wyatt punch. Shaky start. | ||||||
| 4. | Leif and Wyatt ahead and to the right. I stayed pretty much straight just going around the big cliff. Read #4's code for this and thought I was looking for stony hill. Boomed the control but only 15 sec or so. Saw Ross at the right spot. Think I punched ahead of the pack. | ||||||
| 5. | In behind Ross. Figured to be behind Mihai, Ross, and FF at this point. | ||||||
| 6. | Another parallel error -- hit the trail at the indistinct water/trail junction to the right of the one I though I hit (thought I was on line, but was 200m right, I think), and climbed the mountain to the right of where I thought I was.Bent the map beautifully, but realised I was high when I could see mountaintop levelling out. FF was with me going into the green, and joined by Greg and Vadim on the attack. Was a little iffy on contact, and the pack bailed me out. Not a great race so far, but my speed in the forest felt pretty good. | ||||||
| 7. | Took a line to the left of the green. Vadim went with me, others went high. High was a bit faster as those who went high punched a bit ahead. At one point going thru a patch of green I tried to lose Vadim, but he stuck on me. Saw Greg and Dmitri punching. FF came in on the hill after I was leaving and he looked at me; I tried the PG head fake, but it didn't work. | ||||||
| 8. | Right of green. Behind Greg, Dmitri, and FF (and Ross? or was Ross farther ahead?) | ||||||
| 9. | Follow the pack on the trail run. See Mihai come in from somewhere. | ||||||
| 10. | Straight. Can't remember if "uncrossable" meant "against the rules to cross", "uncrossable in the opinion of the mapper at the time of the map". I'm pretty scrupulous about this stuff, but I've crossed these things before, and it looked crossable at the narrow point, besides, others ahead of me were going that way, and the line was not drawn around it. Anyway, behind Ross and Mihai, and perhaps FF, see Will way up ahead. | ||||||
| 11. | Run to aid station. | ||||||
| 12. | Well behind that pack leaving the aid station. Thought of the road, but it looks awkward to get to and the trail to the right of the swamp looks better anyway. See Will going #10-#11 on the trail run; snake my way thru the green off the boulder/swamp/trail junct. All alone on the trail run and at this point. Reportedly the pack ahead of me boomed this control, and i was in second when I punched. | ||||||
| 13. | Trail run, attack off big rock, stony ground, green saddle. No sign of anyone except Nadim and Pat running trail to #10. | ||||||
| 14. | Slightly left of line thru saddle, all alone. | ||||||
| 15. | Swamp, green, stone wall, all alone. | ||||||
| 16. | Left of line, stone walls, left of hill, edge of rocky, misread small hills and get in rocks to the right. Correct quickly; see Ross coming from the southwest, I think, see Greg and a pack coming in to punch also. | ||||||
| 17. | Right of line thru gap in green down reentrant; pack who punched behind seems to go left of line green. Everyone punches more or less the same time, pack is me, FF, Greg, Dmitri, Ross and someone else? | ||||||
| 18. | Ross and FF seem to be running stronger. I think I punch last. | ||||||
| 19. | #17 | ||||||
| 20. | Straighish. Pack seems to go left at the cliffs. See Mihai on the hill looking for the flag. Also surprised to see Tom Carr. Boom a line low but still get in faster than those who went left. Think I find it for Mihal, not sure. We punch together. | ||||||
| 21. | See others on way to #19. With Mihai. | ||||||
| 22. | Right of line between green and swamp. Ross catches up and takes lead. FF behind. Mihai decides to go right around swamp, and I never see him the rest of the race. Ross is running stronger and starts to pull away. | ||||||
| 23. | FF and I arrive together. I work backwards from the streamers. FF thanks me for finding it. Ross is at about the road when I punch. | ||||||
| 24. | At the road crossing, they tell me I'm in third, a minute behind Ross. FF is with me. Control looks tricky; sort of blunder into the woods, and read pine trees as green, and scrubby trees as yellow, and find the berm with the knoll on it. I say "tricky control" to FF. Ross comes in from the north or west after we punch. | ||||||
| 25. | Field, then uphill into the trasy veg. Ross and FF to the left. I'm not sure how to force success on the control, so I head for the stone wall and attack off that. I think we all end up there pretty much the same time. | ||||||
| 26. | Run to sebago aid station. | ||||||
| 27. | Run from aid station to start. Its me, Ross, and FF. We are in second behind Will. Screw up and take the GU from my pocket rather than the one I had at the aid station, so I will be out at the next water stop. Don't think this mistake changed my placing. | ||||||
| 28. | Spend a little time standing there looking at the route choice, as we just get the map. Ross says trail to right. I see the small trail along the lake. Remember thinking from the A meet in May that it wasn't too bad. Ross goes right, FF goes to my route choice. I decide the lake route also, and am cursing it, as the trail seems lame. Not blazed, and we have trouble finding it a couple of times. But it improves once we get past the cove. I'm leading, and analyizing the RC still. I feel in the end it will be better than Ross's route, and we can gain a place. I ask FF to lead as he will set a faster pace than I am. I want to go a little faster here on the dead running to try to assure myself of that place. FF and I diverge once we leave the trail. I try to stay high, above the cliffs, I believe he goes low. The blueberries are brutal on my route and I curse my strategy of separating, but I always want to take what I think is the best route. I got right on the top of the mountain, but lost not much time there. Not sure if I'm ahead or behind FF. Feel like I'm ahead of Ross. Time definately lost in the blueberries. | ||||||
| 29. | #25 alone | ||||||
| 30. | #26 over spur - alone | ||||||
| 31. | Looks like a tricky route, busy map with potentially dubious trails. Along cliffs, trail, trail fades out, keep track of big cliffs, not sure of trail picture, and stay on my plan of heading for the long, thin swamp. There is much rejoicing when I find it, and then read in. See FF climbing down a rockface to the north of the control. He must have beat me to #26, but I made it back up. | ||||||
| 32. | Valley, then down bare rock ridge to trail. With FF. He is stronger and pulls ahead on trail run. See the Japanese hikers along Black Ash Swamp who cheer FF then me, then hear them cheer again. Realise someone is behind me, turns out to be Leif who ends up being stronger than both of us. No way I'll catch him, but try to think of ways to catch FF. Legs won't do it, and not much orienteering to go. Only one sensible route to #28, up trickle and read features. See FF ahead and hope he booms, but he does not. | ||||||
| 33. | Try to gain a little time by taking a more direct route on the approach and attack, but gain nothing. | ||||||
| 34. | Left of building. Can't catch up. | ||||||
| F. | 4th place. Nice race, thanks to Paul and HVO. |
Total Time Lost - 00:00:00