Race Evaluation
Western States + Intercollegiate Championships: Red2
Nadim
| 1. | I was supposed to start with Peggy and 2 minutes behind Ed White (who was ahead of me in my age group by about 1 minute from Day 1) however I'd left my e-punch. After running back to the car and back to the start, I got a start time about 10 minutes after my scheduled time. I'd seen David Yee go off up the right reentrant and expected to do the same. Upon the start, I figured going up the spur between the reentrants was better. The extra warm-up may have made it a little easier for me to get up the first climb. I went fairly straight but made the final attack slightly from the north. | ||||||
| 2. | Going straight seemed best. As I did, I could feel the hills taking at toll. The trees at the end helped keep me on target. | ||||||
| 3. | I ran down the reentrant then sited the large one across the big reentrant to keep on track. I came through a bit of the green slash though it wasn't bad. This kept me in the open. A younger guy was ahead of me but I lost site of him. I came across the ridge and down into the control pretty well. I was hoping the course would ease up on the hills after this. | ||||||
| 4. | +00:15 | I saw the younger guy cutting across the big reentrant on the line. I figured it best not to drop but to climb along the north side of the big reentrant, then use the roads to get to a good attack point. I did this well but at the end, I thought the control would be higher out of the big reentrant. I had crossed this reentrant and attacked from the north but this was a bit more extra climb than optimal. | |||||
| 5. | +00:20 | I went around the big reentrant, eventually hitting the trail on the spur and passing a guy. I dropped off to the right a bit early but knew this would be better than overshooting. I had to come over a bit | |||||
| 6. | +00:25 | I mis-read the control. Initially starting out high to keep from having to climb the smaller reentrants, I headed down thinking the control was low. Lining up with a bend in the wash and not finding it, I realized the error and climbed back up. | |||||
| 7. | Leaving #6, I had a poor bearing but knew I just needed to head down. I hesitated a bit and eventually got on the trail. I checked the time at around 30 minutes and knew I was just over half way. I felt a need to conserve energy so didn't run as hard as I otherwise might have. Rembering my error at #3 on the sprint in a similar flat, I left the trail and tried to keep a good bearing. The contours made me think to head to about where the fence intersected the large spur. I realized this was too steep so I cut south a bit and contoured around. I dropped down, hitting the gully about where the fence crossed. I used the cow paths and kept going. I saw a bend in the main reeentrant ahead and knew the side reentrant was close but I couldn't see it--after a few seconds of doubt, I saw it and ran/walked up. | ||||||
| 8. | Out around the right side of the reentrant then over the ridge, I cut north a bit before deciding to cross the next reentrant; going around on the road seemed too long. I had low confidence in just where I ended up as I climbed out and almost thought to go to the large spur to the south. Seeing the power lines confirmed what I should do. I attacked the control reentrant off the power line pole. | ||||||
| 9. | I immediately climbed back onto the large spur/ridge but as I headed east, I had second thoughts. The road looked like a fast way to go and the way ahead was uncertain. Fortunately, going straight was good running. I picked up the pace and rounded the spur at the end. I knew where I was partly from the parking lot ahead. A woman I caught had hesitated in the reentrant between two spurs but I kept running on up right to the control. | ||||||
| 10. | +00:45 | I ran straight but wanted to line-up on the parking area. I couldn't make sense of the road intersections in comparison to the map. I went on and again felt an uneasy feeling because of my error on the #3 control of the Sprint. The area was similar. I got up the ridge and didn't see the control. I was a bit to the right and I saw a control in a reeentrant to my right. I didn't think it to be my control but with nothing else in sight, I went over and checked before coming back. As I approached control #10 I had the feeling that it was placed poorly. It looked to be in a formline reentrant more than a saddle but I could have been wrong. | |||||
| 11. | I thought to go low but felt the attack would be better high. I went up on the spur on the direct path but probably should have angled through the reentrant to the right more. I cut right and passed a woman along the fence. I read the tops of the reentrants on my left and was confident dropping into the spur at the end. A man was just ahead as I got there. | ||||||
| 12. | +01:40 | 11-12 - I had gotten to #11 just after an older runner. He got out in first and cut across the fence before I did. I angled for the gate anticipating getting over it easier but ended up coming over just before it since that was easier. The other man was to my right and drew me over a bit too soon. My mistake was going down the wrong spur then going way too far down it. I didn't stop reading the map but just misinterpreted badly. I stopped after going down the steep part a little. Re-reading it I figured out where I was and ran back up the spur, around the reetrant and to the control. | |||||
| 13. | +00:30 | I ran down throught the reentrant to the north, then across the larger reentrant on a bearing. After climbing out a way I figured I was on target by passing the trees--they were on my left a little. I kept looking for the reentrants to the left as I climbed but figured they were too far over and too deep. This was not the best thought of the day but I was eagar to finish up. Finally over the ridge, I cut in a bit early, eventually seeing control #14. I knew my angle to that was wrong so I cut left across at least two spurs before getting to the control. On this leg, I should have stayed more to to the left and used the reentrants due south of the control for attack points. | |||||
| 14. | I ran down at a accelerated pace. | ||||||
| F. | I ran quicker to pass the lady who I had seen on the way to #11--she must have been on Green but I had also made enough errors on the last few controls that she was ahead. I ran in fairly good but not all out--my legs weren't in shape enough for that and it might have agrivated the recent pains in my calfs. |
Total Time Lost - 00:03:55