Race Evaluation
Possum Trot VIII:
Spike
| 1. | I took the lead leaving the triangle, then lost a good ten spots by cutting a corner through the forest. | ||||||
| 2. | A couple of small reentrants along the leg to read made it pretty easy. | ||||||
| 3. | Nadim went a bit left of the line and then turned right and ran past the control. | ||||||
| 4. | Tom was in the lead on this leg. He dropped down the hill a bit sharply while I stayed higher along the hillside. | ||||||
| 5. | Climbed up the uncrossable cliff. I slipped a bit on some wet rock. That should have been my first warning that I wasn't wearing my spiked shoes. I'd meant to wear them, knowing that the rain would come. But my spiked shoes look just like my non-spiked shoes (except from the bottom, of course) and I put on the wrong shoes without thinking. | ||||||
| 6. | I got some water at 6 and said hello to Mary and Gene. I asked how far back we were. Mook and Platt came through together, 4 minutes ahead of us. | ||||||
| 7. | I fell on my shoulder (same shoulder I hurt a couple of weeks ago) near the control. The pack went by me (apparently thinking I'd taken a dive to force them to take the lead). I got back on my feet, ran about ten steps and took another fall. | ||||||
| 8. | Stayed on the trail longer than I should have. I was looking for a bit nicer forest before I left the trail. I should have just plunged in to the thick stuff. I saw Tom to my left. But it wasn't Tom, it was Lisa in her "Team Puerto Rico" O' suit. | ||||||
| 9. | I didn't see the route to the right until I'd started to the left. I stopped and thought about turning back, then decided I'd come far enough that it wasn't worth going back (plus the trail near the end of the right route looked sketchy). | ||||||
| 10. | I tried to pick it up a bit with the hope of dropping Tom and Aaron. | ||||||
| 11. | The reentrant wasn't quite what I expected. | ||||||
| 12. | Wandered out of 11 and planned to go up the hill. But the woods looked crappy so I headed up the road toward the entrance to the camp. I should have just gone straight. My legs felt tired going up the hill. Mary and Gene were at 12, but had just arrived and didn't know who'd already been through. I think this is when it started to rain. | ||||||
| 13. | |||||||
| 14. | I left 13 a bit quick. Once again I was trying to drop Aaron and Tom. I shouldn't bother trying to run away from people who run faster than me. Anyway, I drifted a bit off the line I planned. It didn't cost more than a few seconds, but it was wasted energy. I walked a bit of the downhill to the control and some of the thick stuff about 100 meters before the control. As far as I could tell I was alone at 14. I figued Aaron and Tom must have skipped. | ||||||
| 15. | I walked up the hill. 15 looked tricky but the contours fit and I came right to it. The flag was a bit tucked in to a cedar, so I might have been a bit lucky to spot it. | ||||||
| 16. | On the trail to 16 I took a look at the rest of the course trying to decide on skips. | ||||||
| 17. | Leaving 16 I saw Tom coming to it. After a clunk of Gookinaid at the water stop I saw Platt on his way to 20. He looked strong. | ||||||
| 18. | I never found the indistinct trail to 18. Maybe I was on it? I skidded (wishing I had my spikes) on some rocks on the downhill. I walked up to the flag. My legs felt tired. | ||||||
| 19. | Walked a bit out of 18. I was wearing glasses (over contacts) and was wondering if it was raining enough that I'd be better off without the glasses. I decided it was still ok. | ||||||
| 20. | Another slow downhill -- slipping on the rocks. Another walk up the hill. | ||||||
| 21. | Running toward the construction area I heard dogs barking. I spotted them -- two, not square-headed. One of them followed me the rest of the course. | ||||||
| 22. | Skip | ||||||
| 23. | Skip | ||||||
| 24. | A little off line to the right. It saved a line of climb, but it wasn't intended and it probably wasn't faster. | ||||||
| F. | I didn't see anyone behind me (but I heard the dog's footsteps). I finished feeling tired, but not dead. Buckley was standing at the finish and I'd have like to have beaten him. At least Dave Frie was still behind me. |
Total Time Lost - 00:00:00