Orienteering (Foot) 1:47:52 [4] 9.7 km (11:07 / km) +295m 9:39 / km
slept:8.0 weight:196lbs
QOC at Quantico Marine Base, VA, on the Hangman map. I ran Blue for the first time in a long while. It was shorter than the previous week at Harriman State Park, NY, so I figured it'd be okay. I was however, tired from doing the Red course on the hilly parts of Fountainhead Regional Park the previous day. It took me a while to get into the map. The leaves being on made it much harder than when I ran well here in 2017.
S-1 - I ran the all too obvious road run to the dot knolls SE of the control; I figured I didn't need to go further to the trail and I was right about that. I came in well but at the end, I read up and down incorrectly. Part of the problem was not having taken a clue description. I was looking for a reentrant rather than a spur. I was on the wrong side of the knoll until I figured it out. Another young and adventure-racing-looking guy had been there ahead of me but I found it first.
1-2 - I ran along the stream to the bend and kept going. I never saw the trail crossing but didn't worry about it. I again read up and down incorrectly. Following a long spur, I stopped at the end of it. I cut right across a reentrant, then went out further. The guy at #1 came along and clued me in to the control location. I think I got there just after him.
2-3 - I don't know what happened to the other guy. I got out ahead of him. I aimed-off and planned to run the hillside to get to the control. I aimed off too much and found a bit of reentrant early, not expecting it. I went up and didn't see it so I went further south, hesitantly. I was almost about to turn around, when I saw it further ahead.
3-4 - I was somewhat glad that this was like a repeat of the US Championship Day 2 Green course in 2017 (I won M55+ then). I'd made a mistake on the leg and it would have cost me the championship had I not been in the lead on Day 1. This time I executed it well. I used the trail and ride, then followed down the correct spur where I'd made an error before. At the bottom of the spur, I turned left to go around the next ridge. I perhaps played it too safe getting to the stream. A straighter route to the stream would have saved a little more time. Going around the ridge was efficient for me in the shape I'm in now--in 2017, I went over on adrenaline from making the error. After rounding the ridge, I attacked off a depression and spiked the control, despite some weaving through thorns.
4-5 - I knew this area could be tricky. I aimed off and climbed a contour but I apparently was too low. I even hit a piece of what I thought was mapped fence and went lower. What I didn't realize was that I was reading a ride on the map as fencing. The fence I saw was already past the control so I should have turned back when I saw it. On my slow return, I found the rootstock and depression to zero in. I lost about 4 minutes :(
5-6 - I crossed the stream and got into the reentrants still debating going straight or around. I went around on the trail and road, but I did cut the corner getting to the road. I attacked through the field and like everyone else who did that, found it to be much greener in the forest than was mapped in 2017. I spiked the control.
6-7 - Going up the spur, it was still greener than mapped. It did clear-up eventually but I cut across a reentrant to get to the control. In afterthought it was too easy on the top of the hill.
7-8 - I headed for the road, but I had planned to hit it at an angle instead of perpendicularly like I did. I was slow running the road. When I left on a bend at a reentrant, I found myself climbing when should have been descending. I realized I'd left the road early (Francis Hogel himself had done the same so the road bend might be a little off on the map). I spiked the control from there going down the correct reentrant, following the stream, and then up the hillside of another reentrant.
8-9 - I took to the trail. I walked some hills. I saw Vido who told me not to let him distract me. That was just before the trail intersection that I left from. I had thought about going further on the trail before attacking but it didn't make sense. As it was I had attacked off a bit. I corrected when I hit the holly trees, mapped light green on the map. I didn't lose any time and hit the control right on.
9-10 - As I left #9, I saw Diana Alexiev ahead (later Vido told me that he'd seen Diana 5 minutes before seeing me, so I gained ground on her error). I got to the left of her and passed. After crossing the creek I stopped at a gully. It was mapped as a ditch so I got confused. The hill behind it seemed like the hill on the map behind the control. I ran up and down the ditch. Diana caught-up and did the same. I realized my error when I saw a very small part of the feature mapped as a gully, and I went on with Diana not far behind. I hit the next gully low and came up with Diana still close.
10-11 - I was worried Diana would pass me--I was moving slowly already and she's been getting to be a stronger young runner who's beat me before. This was her first Blue course (and a technical one). I ran straight and spiked the control. It felt like I was leaving Diana behind.
11-12 - I ran straight again but was more careful reading the terrain. The guy I'd seen at #1 and #2 suddenly came up from behind on my left. I figured he'd been running Blue but I'm not sure. I saw the hill I needed and adjusted, leaving the other guy to spike it.
12-13 - I ran straight again. I was a bit to the left but adjusted near the hilltop to spike it.
13-F - Leaving #13, I saw to my fright, that Diana was not far behind me again! I decided to go to the ride but getting there was part of the problem. I ran the ridge as best as I could, without stopping. It meant weaving around deadfall. I did have to walk twice but I was moving okay. I thought I might have hit the ride at some point but lost it again. Soon enough I was at the field and close to the finish punch. Diana seemed to come in a few minutes behind.