Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: QOC Prince William Forest Park, Happyland
 

QOC: Prince William Forest. Having, stayed up late doing some results research, I was not very energetic out of the start. It was still enjoyable to run in these snowy woods. Much derided during the 2007 US Champs, this section was just fine in the middle of winter. I hardly saw any thorns though there were some green areas to cross. My run was interrupted at #4 when I had to help a dog get out of the creek where it had fallen in and was stuck in 4-5 ft cold water surrounded by ice. I got wet feet early from this and that would prove to plague me later. I've also adjusted my official time for this based on epunching twice at #4. I was happy about spiking #5 and #6 which were some of the hardest controls of the course. Much of the rest was physical and I wasn't prepared enough for that--lack of training due to working late a lot. I made one bad mistake when midway through the leg to #11, I started reading it as if I was headed to #12. This lost me +11 minutes. See the split list.

Blue - Splits

From Northfield Rd. to the Bethesda Metro Station. The riding was a bit easier than it had been last night because the snows were more compacted. I still slipped sideways in places and had to get around downed power lines. The station manager had found some keys but they weren't mine. The best thing was getting to work and finding them in my office door! When rushing out the night before to get Max, I had gotten a phone call on my cell phone at the same time I was locking the door. In my distraction I had left them there. Even with the delayed arrival to work, the keys had not been disturbed.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Max's after care. On an evening when a lot of people had a story to tell, I had gotten a call from Peggy saying that she was stuck in traffic and would not be able to pickup Max before his after school care closed. I rushed out only to encounter single-track metro train delays on two lines. I got out the station fast and just about to the parking garage when I realized that I'd somehow lost my van keys! I doubled back to the station to check in the falling snow to see if I'd dropped them. With no luck and already being late, I ran to get Max. Peggy met me there a few minutes later. Peggy returned me to the station later but I still hadn't found my keys. We got home in her car, and discovered that our power was out.

I cleared my driveway and sidewalk. It was easier with the van not being parked on it. The wet and heavy snow had stopped but enough was falling off of tree branches that swayed in the wind, that it appeard to be more accumulation.

From Northfield Rd. to the Bethesda Metro Station and into a garage. I had ridden on my mountain bike back to check with the station manager to see if anyone had found my keys--no luck. I ran up the long escalator stairs. All 3 had stopped or were not working. The snow wasn't that bad to ride through but it was difficult going uphill especially when I had started out in a tough gear and didn't realize it. I could ride well when the 4" heavy wet snow was uniform but where it transitioned from hard pack to slush or soft snow, both front and rear tires would alternately slide sideways. There were some downed power lines to get around too. Lightning still flashed above too in the stormy sky.

Busy day at work, and a lazy me after a late dinner.

Whitetail Ski Resort near Clear Spring, MD. I took Max and his friend Miles for their first downhill skiing. We attended a Ski-With-Me class in which I as the parent learn how an instructor teaches kids to learn to ski. It was stressful getting to the slopes, finding the right lines for instructors and rentals, and getting everyone ready but nicer once we got on the snow. Max was good from the start, having already have some practice with XC skis. Miles was probably already sick and seemed tired from the beginning. I didn't think he was having a good time but he said he was. He'd fall a lot, lay in the snow, and struggle to untangle his feet and get on them again. We gradually progressed from no slope to walking up a few steps, then using a mat to walk higher, then using a "Magic Carpet" conveyor to go higher, and finally we rode a lift. It was work for me but it turned out okay. We broke for lunch afterward.

Whitetail Ski Resort in PA, near Clear Spring, MD. After lunch, Miles and Max were more energized. However Miles had lost a glove and we spent a long time looking for it. On the slopes, we rode together on a lift but the next time around, the operator wanted only two to a chair. I let Max and Miles go alone rather than favor one and leave the other with a stranger. I could see and talk and scold the kids to keep them from fooling around too much on the chair ahead of me. Of course they fell when they got off, and when they got on the next time around. On the slopes, I learned a new skill--skiing backwards. I got pretty good at it, making it all the way down a longish bunny slope while helping to keep Miles from falling. Miles eventually wanted to go it alone and progressed well. On the last run, I told both boys to work hard to keep their speed down, and keep themselves under control to make it all the way down without falling--they did it! It was the best part of the whole day to have watched them accomplish it.