Race Evaluation
GAOC: GA Navigator Cup - Day 1: Red
Nadim
| 1. | My flight to Atlanta the morning of the meet was delayed so Peggy and I arrived late for the start. We couldn't leave earlier because Peggy had to work until midnight the night before. My rushed start had warmed-me up but we had low expectations. I wished I had been in better shape to run hard to this safety control. I saw Frank Skorina coming back over the river bridge as I was going out so he helped motivate me. | ||||||
| 2. |
Did not check features en route Underrated difficulty Confused parallel features Bad distance judgement +02:00 | After the easy run I underestimated this one. After going up around the green, I crossed a small reentrant and then came to the first set of cliffs. Mistaking the curve of the reentrant at the cliffs for the curve of the knoll where #2 was, I followed the cliffs up to a control that wasn't mine. I did a loop and scratched my head before continuing on past another reentrant and set of cliffs to the control. Usually I write codes on my punch card but my rushed start didn't allow for that. I fumbled with the map at this and each subsequent control to make sure I punched correctly. | |||||
| 3. | Easy sprint along the rustled leaves. I still fumbled w/the map to check the control. | ||||||
| 4. | I went left of straight then came back right along the gully to avoid deadfall. | ||||||
| 5. | My first thought was to go back the way I came, past #3, #2 and #1. The climb going straight didn't seem worth it. I figured there must be a better way than dog-legging back but didn't want to waste any more time. Going along the river wasn't as fast as I'd hoped. I got tangled in some green and had to climb a little just before #1. At the road I was again indecisive on going up the reentrant or taking trails. I stayed along the river, then climbed on trails, running almost the whole way to the east side of the fenced-in compound at the top of the hill but feeling very very out-of-shape. I took the road over the saddle, playing it safe to leave from the trail intersection. I kept the big reentrant visible on my right, then cut left when I started into the greenish mountain laurel not shown on the map. I passed some others who were searching high, saw the reentrant on my right, then spiked it. | ||||||
| 6. | As I decended, another guy in red was ahead, going my way. I chased him down along the stream, then finally passed him at the second gully as we climbed. Peggy who had started 2 minutes ahead was circling back toward me. I was confident of my attack point so I kept going, higher while she was contouring. She pointed out the other rocky spur which we agreed was not on the map. I crested the ridge spiking the control. | ||||||
| 7. | Peggy and the guy in red were headed to #6 as I decended. At the marsh, I didn't want to get wet so I went around to the right to a narrower crossing, still getting a little wet. I took a straight line, walking up the steep bank until it flattened enough for me to run. I saw the stone wall/cliff ahead and knew the control would be on the other side. I figured I should climb, going high, around to the right, so I wouldn't have to climb again if it was low. Of course, it was low and I should have gone left. | ||||||
| 8. | Peggy was approaching #7 just as I was leaving. She had come up the reentrant that I was now going down. After turning the corner and going right up along the stream, I could see Penny DeMoss who Peggy had said before at the start line would be her competition. We crossed the stream twice and I caught her right at the control as she handed the punch to me. I didn't have much time to notice the ruin as I fiddled w/the map to check the code. | ||||||
| 9. | I chased Penny again up the reentrant a little way. Not seeing a good alternative, I decided to go to the top. Walking the steep part at the bottom was real fun... I caught a a scholastic competitor who was running Green but said he wished he could one day run Red. After climbing into the unmarked mountain laurel, I decided to contour the climb somewhat and went left at a slow jog. I kept up the running most of the way to the road, left of the top. Turning right on the road, I again ran past the water stop, not seeing any water, then cut left to the trail on the west side of the fenced-in compound. I was surprised how quickly I was recovering going down and jumped off the trail on the wide ridge. I saw a guy ahead, almost catching him before the reentrant, then cut right to contour around with him following. I was happy to have spiked it. | ||||||
| 10. | I took a bad bearing leaving #9, feeling rushed by the guy who was just behind. I dropped through the mountain laurel to the river, ran trails until I crossed the stream just before getting back to control #1, then cut the corner to Factory Shoals Rd. The reentrant was obvious though the uphill kept me feeling slow. | ||||||
| 11. |
Bad compass work +00:10 | Coming back out, I started the way I came in, passing the guy from #10. I got a little more to the right than I'd planned. I stopped at the road to check where I was crossing it at. The multiple reentrants ahead were tricky. I could see the Factory Shoals Rd. intersection at the NE corner of the map so I estimated my distance, adjusted bearing and spiked it from there. Had I took the time to read more carefully, I could have attacked from where the earthbank starts/stops along side of the road. | |||||
| 12. | I riskily went straight at it, not even counting the number or reentrants to cross. I didn't notice the rootstock under the line on the map. I did however, hit the reentrant and control almost straight on. | ||||||
| 13. | I rushed past a family that was staying in the reentrant, also headed toward the road. I hit the road as soon as I could rather than stay in the woods in the reentrant. I passed some people on the bridge over the river, then more on the other side as I followed the trail to the form-line knoll. | ||||||
| 14. | I planned to stay on the river trail past the intersection, then cut up at the rock groups. I never saw them but cut up anyway (very tired) and hit the trail at an unmarked kink. I passed some people, got to the punch and fumbled w/the map again to check the control code. | ||||||
| F. | It was nice to have a streamered route to the finish. I gave it a good push up the hill still feeling out of shape. People I didn't know were cheering heartily. I was pleased and surprised with my result--3rd fastest on the Red course and 2nd in my age group by only 22 seconds. |
Total Time Lost - 00:02:10