19 May 2019
Woodlands Office Park
The final of the Urban series for 2019.
Woodlands has always been an ok event for me, I've never had a really bad run but I have also never had a good run, I was interested to see what the event would hold for me.
I ran the RAC 10km first (in a time of 44:41), before rushing to the event. This meant that I started last - Elaine and Michelle had already finished when I arrived.
We had a different start to normal, a bit down the road, with the start control at the entrance to the park/ reserve.
Start > 1: Ran on the inside of the olive green and headed off with no actual plan of getting to the control. I ended up by another olive green, before turning left around the thick vegetation. I followed through, deciding to head to the path. Once I hit the path I turned right, following the path until I saw the small building, where I cut into the vegetation, to the control. Hind sight, I should have run to the right of the thick vegetation and along the earth wall by the dam, all the way through the vegetation gap between the thickets to the path. Another option (my initial plan) was to go to the right side of the dam and across the marsh area. I wasn't sure how wet it would be and honestly did not want wet or muddy running shoes.
1 > 2: Ran across the marsh area - as luck would have it, I found it dry and cursed that I didn't come this was to #1. I ran heading towards the undergrowth, through the boulders to the control.
2 > 3: Up to the path, and then dropped down when I saw the control.
3 > 4: Back up to the path and followed along to the other side of the olive green. Cut across, running across a path, to join the path going to the gate. Through the gate and turning left down the carpark. Took the first left, down the stairs and right, in front of the pond. Control was just the other side of the vegetation in the corner.
4 > 5: Between the vegetation (flower beds), turning right at the road, to the control in the corner. Tried to read ahead to the next control.
5 > 6: Followed the road to the corner of the flower bed, where there was a small path. Followed the path, that went through the flowerbed, to the other side by the control. Initially I did not see the path by the flowerbed, so I was going to continue round and come through from the other side, which would have been longer.
6 > 7: Followed the road, through the carpark and down the footpath. Control the otherside of the pond
7 > 8: Exited the same way, up the small foot path, through the carpark, turning left at the road. Ran around the buildings to the fence, ensuring I was clear of the flowerbeds, and followed fence to the control
8 > 9: Came back out the same way. Turned left at the road and followed along to the carpark on the left. Went through the carpark, up to the small path leading to the fence and ran along the fence to the control. I saw people at this control who had just followed the fence between #8 and #9, going through the flowerbed which isn't allowed - so mentally this threw me off a bit. Hind sight I did not see the passage way on the second building because I forget about this symbol, so it would have been quicker to run along the fence, take the passage way and end up by the parking.
9 > 10: Back out the same way to the road, turned left at the road and followed it along to the carpark by 10. Turned left into the carpark to the control. Hind sight once again, missed the passage way, which I could have taken all the way from #9. Would have meant so much distance saved.
10 > 11: Back down to the road, turning left and following to the first road which turned right. Turn right and then right again into the carpark area, to the control. In terms of flow, it would have been quicker to take the stairs going into the carpark just after joining the road again.
11 > 12: I stood around for a while deciding which way to go and thinking that the long way around can't possibly be the only option. I felt like I was missing something and probably wasted a good minute deciding and double checking what to do. So I set off down the road, turning down a path to the carpark, through the carpark to the road (how I missed the stairs I don't know). Down the road, down the stairs, through the carpark to the gate. After the gate I was back inside the reserve. I blindly followed the path and ended up the other side of the thick vegetation. At this point I felt lost and fed up. I followed the path back, across the little bridge and along the bottom of the dam. I ran around the left of the dam, and eventually in to the control. Two notes on this control, one after coming through the gate, I should have been more aware and followed the left path to the earth bank and then left around the dam. Two I could have run around the right of the thick vegetation, approaching the control from the other side - I didnt do this because I had no confidence on where I was and didn't want to risk just running through and getting lost even more.
12 > 13: Went down to the path and followed it all the way along to the other side of the thick vegetation, down the earth wall to the control. I think going around the top of the dam would have been about the same.
13 > 14: Basically straight across to the control
14 > 15: Went across the rocky marshy area, to the path and then followed round to the control
15 > 16: Just followed the path to the control.
16 > 17: Back along the path, all the way around to the front of the building, to the right and into the control. Going around the left of the vegetation initially might have been slightly quicker.
17 > 18: Followed path, up stairs and through gate. Up road to control.
18 > 19: Up road, through carpark to path. Followed path along to open area (was suppose to take first path going left, but I missed it). Ran along top of flowerbeds, heading towards road. Control on road, just around flowerbed.
19 > 20: Up road, turning right through carpark, heading towards middle path. Control on path just the other side of flowerbed
20 > Finish: Straight to control
Overall it was a throw away event for me. Mentally I could not get into the map and the flow of controls. I really wasn't focused and reading where I needed to go or the features around me. I also never read ahead, which caused a delay at every control. There was also a lot of doubt out there in terms of where I was or where I was going and I felt I was constantly checking where I was, so it was stop start the whole way. I was surprised we only used one side of the Park, as I was expecting to use both sides. Navigation from about 12 onwards was decent, I was just really slow.
Between 11 and 12 I mentally gave up and honestly felt like walking the rest of the way. My race so far had been a mess and the long leg and mistakes getting to 12 really got to me.
I ended up 5th on the womens course, my 2nd worse event of the season. I think I started off really badly, then I had some great runs and then gradually declined at each event, finishing with another terrible run.
On a positive, I finished 2nd Female on the Overall log for the Urban Series and 1st for the Open Women, which is a first for me.
The bush series starts 2 June, which I am excited for.
Comments