Race Evaluation
QOC: Avalon Patapsco St Pk: Blue
randy
| 1. |
Bad route choice | around to the left, trail, off of distinct tree | |||||
| 2. | I didn't drive two hours to do road running, even if it is the best choice, but looking it over, a cleanly executed straightest route seemed best, though I think at most 30 seconds better (based on Nadim's comments). If the road were safer, I would say pay the 30 seconds, but the straighish route offers a very strong attackpoint, not offered by the road (unless you go up the boulder-strewn valley, which did not look appealing to me). Anyway, valley view trail, up reentrant to ridge trail, to bend, down to stream, pickup N-S trail on green-tipped spur, short trail parallel to line toward boulder-strewn valley, up side of valley (which wasn't as bad as mapped) to second reentrant (the one with the cliff in it) and spike. Total climb of 19 contours over 1400m, when the control is 9 contours higher. The road run, the way I would have done it, looks like about 16 contours of climb, with (I think) a riskier attack, so I dunno. Franis thought a high route to the left was the best. I thought the woods were trashier over there late in the course, but perhaps that was because I was tired. | ||||||
| 3. | Pick up the two ruins right of the line. | ||||||
| 4. | Another long leg. I like long legs. Down to the trail stream junction, cut the corner to the cascade trail, off the bend on the form knoll, down to rocky pit and over to small twin reentrants in bigger reentrant on side of spur. I've been here before, and swear again that there is something wrong with the way this is mapped. Anyway, I hesitate and check my position relative to the rocks in the valley to be safe, and spike the control. | ||||||
| 5. | Pick up the gullies. | ||||||
| 6. | Straight, figuring the rocky knoll is the only safe attack point. Contouring slightly right saves two contours with little distance cost. Its tough to see this tradeoff correctly on the 1:7.5 map. | ||||||
| 7. |
Confused parallel features +02:00 | Contour along on a deer trail until it dies. Running becomes impossible on the steep slope. Bounce up a couple contours to flatter ground, but get too far right and mistake index contour hill for hill in front of control. Down reentrant on other side, no orange. Recognise formline sub-reentrants and cut over spur. Ouch. | |||||
| 8. | This looked like a run breaker. Control in a bland, green area, on a feature (between ditches) not shown on the map. Exit 7 to the falls trail, curve around the spur (my legs were getting tired, and needed a flat route for a spell), up the stream, up the reentrant, then drifted left into the nasty green. Unexcusable loss of concentration. Fight thru the green and come out at the ruin by the trail. Aim for the first ruin, then realise I just have to aim off for the stream and follow it in, and hope to see orange, which I did. Saw who I thought was Jim Rayburn here, who started 2 minutes after me, but seemed to be going north. That didn't make sense, wasn't sure who it was really. | ||||||
| 9. |
Confused parallel features Did not read control code Did not read control description +04:00 | Try to bail south to the norris trail as fast as possible. Green makes it tough to keep straight and miss left, wandering down the spur and come out at what I guess is the loop trail junction, but the angle seems wrong. 30 seconds lost. Bearing of the trail i'm on seems right, just run hard to Norris road and figure it out then. Hit stream valley and up other side. Figure I'm on the norris trail but the grade seems like a 1 grade trail, and Norris is mapped as a 2 or 3 grade. Figure I'm on the trail parallel to the Norris. See mountain bikers to my left thru the woods which confirms my hunch. Not sure how I got here, though, at least from looking at the map, as the trails don't connect. Hit norris road and down other side, figure I'll either hit 9 or 10, as the situations look parallel. Pick up what I think is the green on the knoll and circle around towards 9, and see the flag and punch. Head out for 10, 80m, why don't I see it. Go back to try again and realise I was at 10. Duh. Misread code the first time. The SI software has my out of order punch registered with a time, so I can see I lost 3.5 minutes here, based on the time. I figured two. Head over to 9 once I figure it out. | |||||
| 10. | |||||||
| 11. |
Bad route choice | Looking over the leg, did not like the road option due to poor approach options towards the control, although looking it over now, I would have gone that way and stayed left of the green and down the spur with the building and around the other spur. My plan was to go straightish, slightly right and attack off of #2. I went more right than I wanted to, and ended up hitting the reentrant I attacked #2 off of, and then hit the correct spur from there. | |||||
| 12. |
Did not like map +00:20 | Straight. Thought I saw big rock before control feature on the same contour but hit rocky ground SW of control. Turns out I think I saw what is mapped as a cliff. Looks like a boulder, not a cliff in the field, at least to me. | |||||
| 13. | Up the hill. My legs are feeling it. Trails to green-tipped spur reversing my path to #2, and off T trail junction and up stream. Could barely see the one trail. | ||||||
| 14. | Straight. Did not see the trail run choice. Brain is fading. Count spurs. Belive orange is in gullies, not reentrant as described, but didn't waste any time confirming that. | ||||||
| 15. | Hesitate because my map is folded here. Pick up that distinct tree again. | ||||||
| 16. | Dave and Heidi cheering me as I head to the go control. | ||||||
| F. | Good, physical course, with lots of interesting problems. |
Total Time Lost - 00:06:20