Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: Billygoat Run at Mt. Tom
 

Event: QOC: Balls Bluff
 

Mt. Tom State Reservation, MA. From the Lake Bray parking lot, I walked and jogged up to the start of the Billygoat race with Tim Good.

2010 Billygoat (32 Annual) at Mt. Tom State Park, MA. This was billed to be the most difficult Billygoat yet and it lived-up to the description. I thought it was harder than the course Jeff Shapiro set at Mt. Norowatuck a couple of years earlier though more people seemed to achieve at t-shirt finish within the 3.5 hour alotted time. I had not looked forward to it being a difficult course while being in such poor shape. I also decided to experiment with the bi-focal glasses that I'd gotten earlier in the week.

I got sucked-into the straight route to #1 which took me over steep hills with terrible basalt scree-like slopes. I had actually seen a trail route to the right but with my recent performances, I just lacked the will go out on my own so early in the race (a few others did but I missed seeing them). I ended-up covering the initiall messy legs with Jeff Saeger and the mother-daughter Olafsen team. My glasses detracted from my ability to see on the early legs. They fogged-up since it was 65-70 F and humid. I eventually resorted to just pulling them on top of my head where they stayed for most of the race.

By #3, I felt more confident reading the map (in an area that was announced as not being field checked) though I led people a bit too high after an obvious knoll. I found myself with a QOC crowd going to #4: Peggy, Dave Onkst and Jan Merka. We discussed some possible controls skips on the climb. I had leaned toward skipping #14 at that point. The hellish hills kept-up through #6 and were still significant getting through #7, #8, #9, and #10. Along the way in these, I saw Tim Parsons and Jeff Shapiro but I felt like I was still running with Dave Onkst and Jan Merka mostly. I thought we got ahead of Tim and Jeff at one point but Dave and I went out of #9 poorly and then joined-up with JJ Cote and Alar. Dave led us to wrong side of the marsh on #11--this saved a nasty steep decent but we paused there. JJ encouraged us to plow across and it wasn't bad. On the other side, I expected the control to be lower so I went left toward #12 looking for it only to have to come back. I caught-up with Dave and JJ at an intersection on the way to #12. I knew the road routes would be safe and quick but the straight route looked to be mapped open. I took it but it wasn't all open--I got to the aid station just before JJ but had to move faster to do it.

I had a couple cups of a sports drink, a bannana, and some water---I took my time. JJ, Dave Onkst and Alar got out ahead. I waddled along after them on another brutal climb. Alar read most of the detail going in to #13 but I was confident about reading it too. By this point, JJ convinced me that skipping #15 was better than skipping #14. Going up further to #14, I got ahead and closed distance on Ted Good who was walking (more than I). I got out fast and headed along the ridge trail ahead of the group. I started to leave them but kept wondering what the others were doing. I had intended to pass #18 but was less confident of my exact location along the trail. I started walking and Alar caught-up. It was a good thing too because I had started reading the leg to just go to #18 instead of #16. In retrospect, I should have recognized the bend that we did leave the trail at but my confidence was still just lacking--I've been navigating so poorly as of late. The rest of the way to #16 was much greener than mapped but JJ and Erin Olafsen led the way through the ski slopes to the control. I was astonished to see Dasa Merka ahead of me at #16 and having skipped myself, I wondered if she had--she was having a great race. The climb to #17 was again nasty but it made an easier run to #18. JJ and Erin led the way in while I saw Dasa leaving on the road. Her husband Jan, who is usually much faster and lately more often than not beats me, was not having a normal race for him--he was headed the other way to #16. After #18, JJ led the way down the trail and I passed Erin. JJ cut off the trail bend. With the footing so poor in the woods I took the trail--it wasn't good either. JJ came out a little further ahead but I think it took a lot more energy to decend his way. We got to #19 (with my initials from the previous year) w/o trouble.

I took off going to #20. I trailed some others including Glen Tryson and passed them. I felt we were going too high when we should have been descending. Once across the distinctive curving rocky reentrant, I started seeing much too much contour. I slowed. JJ and Erin caught-up. JJ relocated us on a marsh to our east so we knew the control to be to the west and down the hill. I got there last. Erin and her mom took off fast down the steep hill. They were chasing Brendan. I passed the elder Olafsen and got to #21 just after Erin, with JJ behind me. Erin led down further. I wanted to save climb crossing the reentrants so I crossed them angling to my left instead, and got ahead. #22 came-up sooner than expected as I didn't see the trail that I had expected to. I caught Glen Tryson again and got to #22 just behind Jeff Shapiro who was navigating much better than me this day. When looking at the fork for #23, I should have put-on my glasses. I couldn't read the trail under the unbroken line of the left fork but I saw it. I really didn't see the bridge across the leg for the right fork so going left with a little more climb just made sense. I closed-in on Steve Perry on this, getting there just behind him--the climb wasn't bad at all. Steve went straight and I almost decided to do that too. Instead, I went back down the trail and was ahead of him when he popped-back out on the trail at the bottom. I got across the stream w/o getting wet--it might have felt better if I had. I felt strong on the run-in and after finishing, I saw Jeff Shapiro and the Olafsen women coming from the right fork.

Though not happy with my result because of the early route choice errors, I suppose I finished in a very respectable position for my physical conditioning and lack of training. It would have been more satisfying had I been alone on more legs and done more than make a lot of micro-route optimizations. However, the Billygoat is not at all the same as regular orienteering. Cooperation really helped me and not everyone is willing to do that. Speaking of cooperation, I have to thank Michael Lyons, his wife and daughter too--they watched my son Max thus making my and Peggy's run possible. I was amazed at Michaels son being only 8 years old and being able to finish the race within the 3.5 hour t-shirt timeframe.

I'm a bit bruised from the run. My left foot hurts on the top--not sure what that was from. I smashed my right thumb somewhere--I guess that means no hitch-hiking for a while. I felt inflamation pain in my right achilles tendon whille driving the long 375 miles home.

Billygoat - Splits