Race Evaluation
QOC: Pohick Bay: Blue
Nadim
| 1. | +00:10 | Started slow and was feeling tired from earlier workouts. On the way to the trail I saw Tim and Ted Good in the parking lot and they told me I needed to speed up. Using the trail to get to the field, I came down the reentrant and cut left. I didn't drop enough so I paused to figure out why I didn't see it. After getting to the control, I realized that I didn't take a control description sheet with me. I didn't notice they were on the back of the map until after finishing the course. | |||||
| 2. | +00:20 | Leaving #1 high to get around the green patch, I also contoured the next reentrant a bit. When I hit the next reentrant I was too high. | |||||
| 3. | I started to go back through the start and thought I could even pickup a control description sheet by doing so. Starting out, the woods really seemed open enough to make contouring around a better option. I used the trail a short way then crossed the road above a patch of green. When I got there I was a little concerned about not having a way to be sure that I had reached the right control other than it looked like the center of the circle. | ||||||
| 4. | I headed to cross the stream immediately, then contoured around. | ||||||
| 5. | +06:00 | I angled toward the shoreline trail. I got there and tapped Mark Mace very lightly on the shoulder from behind to let him know I was there--he's deaf and a co-worker. I wouldn't recommend that everyone tap deaf orienteers they pass but I wanted to encourage his efforts. After passing the last cliff where the trail drops left, I cut right. The woods were thick enough for me not to be able to see the other side of the giant reentrant. I passed the one on the left that I wanted without knowing it. Going all the way up the next one on the left, I did a big ugly loop before concluding my error. As I went to correct, I steered away from a patch of thorns and got into a worse one on the edge or even off the map before having to cut back. I passed Peggy and another orienteer going the other direction. I passed the control too high, dropped into the reentrant and followed it down, searching all the way to just above a reentrant junction, then I came back up and found it. | |||||
| 6. | I stayed high all the way around the big reentrants. At one point I used the field and after that the power line. I kind of ignored the few trails because they were either covered with leaves or going the wrong direction. | ||||||
| 7. | Out to the road in the direction of a small building, I then cut up and passed the camper gate. As the road veered right, I went to the next intersection before cutting in left. I wasn't sure if it was on a reentrant or a spur. Going in a reentrant before the spur I realized it was the later. Patti, Mark's girlfriend was just getting there too. | ||||||
| 8. | I gave Patti a glass of water, poured another, then took off. I was tempted to use the grass along the road but wasn't sure of the footing, room to run, and an attack point after that. I was worried the trail might not be so visible from the road. I kept pretty much straight getting there. | ||||||
| 9. | +03:45 | This time I used the grass along the road which was very fast. I cut right thinking I should leave the road at the clearing since it is a known point. I got close but didn't go all the way to it. I thought I was looking for a ditch at first. I crossed a formline ridge not on the map, then the trail at the slight S bend. Attacking from there and thinking the woods ahead were white, I hit the deadfall and cut right to go around. I soon hit the next trail/road very near an intersection which I knew was too far. I cut back into the deadfall area. The deadfall was really horseshoe shaped. I went inside this and had to back out because it was so bad ahead. Finally coming almost back around almost to the S-shaped curve of the earlier trail, I decided to take the trail. Bob Rush was just coming into the scene as I took off. I went around the deadfall on the trail and cut in going straight to it. | |||||
| 10. | I cut to the road rather than go straight reasoning that it'd be faster. After crossing the power lines, I went on bearing to the reentrant and followed it to the control. | ||||||
| 11. | I just followed the reentrant down to the control, staying on the right side and high enough not to miss it. Looking at it now, staying high might have been faster but from what others said it was risky and there may have been a map problem. | ||||||
| 12. | I went mostly around the first big spur then dropped to flatter ground, passing north of #18. I hit the road near the bottom of the hill, turned left up it to where I could see a bend ahead, then attacked in to the right to spike it. Peggy had left #12 as I neared. | ||||||
| 13. | +01:45 | I contoured across focusing too much on catching and passing Peggy. I was a bit high and saw to my left what looked to be a spur. I climbed it and wondered what happened while Peggy went ahead below to find it. I paused a while before dropping back down 4.5 countours to the the control. | |||||
| 14. | Fairly straight. Peggy and someone else were leaving as I got there. | ||||||
| 15. | I drank and had a Gu before leaving. I caught one guy by getting to the road then bearing left to cut the corner near a maintenance shed. I followed roads then headed across the big reentrant by dropping down just north of the line, near a depression. I climbed straight away up the other side, partly following a shallow reentrant and partly following whereever I could get through the Rhododendron. At the top, I kept poking through the Rhododoendron until I started hitting a patch of nicer woods. Bearing left only just slightly as I followed the edge of the green vegitation, I spiked it. | ||||||
| 16. | Straightish down to the reentrant juction, the up the other side. I stopped too low. | ||||||
| 17. | Across and up the ridge to the road. Cutting left, I cut right at the intersection. I spiraled in from there, having passed the control a little. | ||||||
| 18. | Contouring over to and over the spur, I found the ditch existing much higher than mapped. Following it around the green to the left , I spiked it. | ||||||
| 19. | I went fairly straight, ignoring trails until the one leading me to the power lines. My route was mostly just south of the line. | ||||||
| 20. | I ran along the left side of the reentrant and up to the road. I caught a deaf orienteer just at the Go control | ||||||
| F. | Zig-zagging through the parking lot. |
Total Time Lost - 00:12:00