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Kahibah - Event2

My 6:20 pm start time is an ‘elite’ group that consists of myself, Ian Dempsey and the mercurial and as usual superbly attired Russell Blatchford. Nervous tension fills the air. Map handout time and I’m talking so lose a few vital seconds. I then struggle to get my map in the bag, another 5-10 seconds expire. Finally I start planning. Crap…it’s a big map and the course is quite expansive.

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beeeeeeeeeeeep. We’re off! Well let's rephrase that, Russell and Ian are. My newish $400 Garmin watch has failed to commence and I proceed a mere few metres as I try and fathom out the problem (I might read the manual one day). Earlier I had switched the GPS on, gone into “Training” mode, watched as it acquired satellites and then waited for that sixth beep. That’s where my day started going wrong, that is if you don’t count all the red lights and excessive traffic I caught getting here.

When I pressed the start button the Garmin just bleeped and displayed the word “TIME” on it’s screen. WTF? Press it again same result. I moved a few steps further on, confused and disappointed as my two fellow starters move ever increasingly away from me along my and now obviously apparent their predetermined initial routes.

I switch back to standard time display and then back again to training. Finally it seems to be working but I figure I’ve lost nearly a minute and will have to remember to add it to my calculations along the way. Ian is now at least 100m ahead of me and Russell is even further in the distance.

First control 1T. I read the wrong clue and lose more time, frustration starting to develop. Next up 3G and Ian is having trouble. I’ve heard this might be a problem and advise him not to waste too much time. He goes on and I stop to indicate on my clue sheet that I have been here and once again give him his 100m advantage. This has just as much to do with wanting to rest already as it has to do with fair play.

From here on it’s plain sailing but I do struggle as I continually swap from clue sheet to map and back again as they are as usual back to back. I decide I will get to 3B then make a run for home. It’s hiily and I struggle and when I finally get to the tower the numbers seem all wrong. It’s one number out but in my fatigue riddled brain I have not read the map correctly and have pulled up short at the first tower and haven’t gone to the correct one. A costly mistake as I really needed these three points.

The rest is a hazy blur, induced by lack of fitness rather than any visual impairments generated by pure speed, as I head home as quick as possible. It’s a forlorn hope as I calculate the distance versus time remaining sums and realise I need the speed of Usain Bolt to go close.

I’m sprinting now with only a few hundred to go and Russell Blatchford flies past me. Fortunately I’m sucked along in his draught as another 2 seconds would have seen me lose another penalty point and I’ve already lost 3.

Geoff Todkill try’s to ping me for an extra penalty anyway by adding another minute to my time but I’m a wake up to his tactics. He claims it was an honest mistake, but I’ve noted it.

My final score is a meagre 22 points (25-3) in 47:58.
The Garmin suggests 7.2 km so that’s a paltry 3.06 points/km or alternately 327 metres per point. I’d be interested in what other peoples points to km ratios were.

Instead of listing my route here I have drawn it in Routegadget and urge others to go there have a look and do likewise. It’s great to “see” where everybody went and the choices they made. Very enlightening.

Thanks to Steven and the other Todkills for the courses, although I made a complete balls up of it. Hopefully this is one of mine that wont count in my final pointscore.

This message was edited by leepback on 29 October 2009, 6:41 PM


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