Nadim's comments - by leg
| 1. | I think I was the last male to go out. A scheduling error had myself and another Red runner going at the same time so I didn't get going until 11:14am which was after all the women had started. I knew I'd have to go to the left control from watching others start but I dutifully checked the map anyway, then just followed the streamers. I did look ahead on the course a bit too. | |
| 2. | Time Lost: 00:15 | I started out straight but drifted right, up the hill. In the right area, I looked down and saw a woman punching 40m below who had started just 2:00 before me. |
| 3. | I started out straight again but drifted right and high again. At a minor reentrant junction too early and small for the big one, I didn't know where I was because no junction was visible. I kept going and almost missed seeing the big reentrant junction as it was on my left. I corrected and walked most of the hill up to the pit. I could feel the affect of the 10,000ft altitude. I just about caught Kesenia Popova who had started 4:00 before me though she'd made a mistake at #2. | |
| 4. | Around the fence on the right side then up the ridge to be sure I went down on the correct spur. I passed Kesenya and another guy who were running the side of the hill. I also thought running the ridge, even though a contour higher, would be easier running. While descending, I saw the control well ahead of getting there. | |
| 5. | Time Lost: 02:15 | I angled on the side of the first hill to get to just below the saddle. From there I went up the ridge again. At the end of the ridge, I didn't cut right enough. I descended on the right side of the wrong reentrant; one to the east of where I should have been. Had I watched my compass and the curve of it better, I'd have realized it. As it was I went below and past the control 150m. I could see Kesenya leaving as I approached from below. |
| 6. | Time Lost: 00:40 | Down the hill in the field, I crossed the trail and the spur saddle to the road. I crossed the next series of ridges when perhaps it would have been better to used the road to the bend and go around. As I crossed the last, I almost started to lose count of reentrants but Kesenya was coming up. We crossed paths as I went too far east of the control. I ran down and over about 50m to punch right behind Kesenya again. |
| 7. | I walked slowly behind Kesenya to the ridge. Rather than go straight, I got in the reentrant a bit south as I climbed the hill. Kesenya got slightly ahead and was actually running on a less steep slope where I was walking. As it flattened out, I recognized the approach to the start of yesterday's model event so I aimed for the lower end of the fence and got ahead of Kesenya. I descended along the reentrant which was the climb of last year's A-meet here, crosse a smaller reentrant and went around the cliff bottom the long way to the control. | |
| 8. | Time Lost: 01:30 | After punching at #7, I ate a gel and drank while another woman took off ahead of me. As I was leaving, Kesenya was approching from the high side. I descended, thinking it not worth climbing or crossing the rocky hill/spur on the direct line. I got a bit confused at the road intersection as the woman ahead of me turned left to go around the ridge and backdoor the control. After a pause, I climbed, walking most of the way through a yellow corridor between lots of rock. At the top, there was a saddle which looked like the one I wanted. It was too early and even now, I can't see it on the map. I saw the woman who went around the ridge coming up but passing my location way below. With a little more hunting, I saw a woman west of me hunting and then appearing to leave a control that was hidden behind a rock from me. Thankfully, it was mine. |
| 9. | Time Lost: 00:30 | I took off too fast and descended left of going straight. Realizing this on the way, I wasn't happy until I saw the Aspen stand which served as a good attack point. Walking the last bit and seeing a control, I saw another woman up higher who hadn't seen the control. She was just a step or two off as a large boulder obscured her view. I kept going and she didn't see me as I punched. |
| 10. | I ran out in the direction of the woman who I had seen approaching. Seeing me run, she started to follow and I felt a bit sorry not telling her it was behind me--she figured it out quick enough as I descended. I crossed the reentrants just above where they joined, then mostly walked up to the control. Two other guys were standing around in the stony ground west of the control looking and I think I lead them in. I noted the time and concluded that I would not likely get in ahead of Peter Gagarin's finish time. I was still motivated to get in ahead of others who I knew finished around 70 minutes. | |
| 11. | I ran straight across the ups and downs watching my compass carefully. As I approached the rocks, I noted the large hill on the left and continuance of the ridge to the right. I checked the compass and kept to the right, anglung up through some of the rocks, then contouring over to the reentrant to spike it. | |
| 12. | Time Lost: 00:20 | It seemed like such a short leg and with only a short way to go, I wasn't careful. I went almost straight, contouring just slightly. At the next reentrant, I saw the stony ground ahead and a control below to my right. I didn't get suckered into it but I did get pulled a bit too far right. I climbed, corrected and still didn't see it where I expected. I kept going uphill to the only other feature nearby that it could be and it was there. |
| 13. | I started to contour around the reentrant, cutting across near the top where there were downed trees higher. My route ended-up S-curving as I made corrections for compass bearing and the hilltop. I came down still plodding along but was energized as Ted Good saw me and cheered me down to the control. | |
| 14. | With Ted still cheering, I put in a decent effort and was a bit surprised that I could still run in uphill at that pace--I'm fairly out-of-shape. |
Total Time Lost - 00:05:30
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