Training Log Archive: Nadim

DVOA Delaware Watergap Gap Recreation Area, PA. North American Orienteering Championships: Long Championships. I enjoyed the running today. I made to errors that cost me significant time though I had a few others too.

Going to #1, I went over the ridge too soon and hit a control on a pond before coming over. The running was slowish going the left side most of the way-- across marsh and hillside to #2. I attacked a bit farther away than planned, from the rootstock since the fallen log blocked the low route. #3 was short and sweet though I had to force myself right to be on the spur. I started out okay going to #4 but even though I saw the control, I stayed too high and passed the control before coming down to it--I thought it to be too low to be mine. It was steep on most of these early controls so I didn't feel good runing.

The long leg to #5 was fun. I didnt see an optimal route stand out so I more or less went straight. I read my way across but missed a linear stoney ground feature and came out at the marsh almost across from the control. Rather than go around, I found a way through it--over my knees. It was slower than hoped for but perhaps a better recovery than going around would have been. After the cooling marsh water, I felt refreshed and ran well. I hit #6 slightly low. I ran straight at #7 noting the cliff and linear field but coming off that just a little too early to be optimal.

Going to #8, I crossed on the bridge and passed Virginia on the other side. The contours looked a bit funny but I was thinking to keep moving more than I should of. I went for a reentrant and dropped down into it, feeling better again when I got on the trail in it because I saw it on the map. I looked for the reentrant to open up ah ehead and when I saw this, I cut right w/o looking further. Had I gone left there I would have saved 5 minutes. I had lost concentration enough to mistake a line of cliffs on the other side of a ridge that i was on, for the trail. I hunted the hillside and saw Eileen Bressman in the area too. I figured out what happened and went right to the control after that. I moved more cautiously toward #9 after that--I hit that well attacking from the rootstock.

I ran for part of the way toward #10, and angled right to save climbing. At #10 I had to tie my shoe and I had a Gu. I had been running with loose laces for a while. Feeling more confident again, I headed toward #11 but got distracted by a control in the middle of a neat boulder cluster--4 cleaved pieces. It took some time to relocate after that. I moved hesitantly toward #12 after that. I pulled up short then went on to spike it.

Going to #13, I went straight but needed to walk up the steepest part. I spiked it. I went straight to #14 feeling okay and running well-- there were almost som rides through the green. I ran on a spur for a short while thinkingi knew where I was and I anticipated hitting a big marsh. I figured that I'd go left around it. When I finally hit a marsh, it was the more indistinct one past it. This slowed me down as I was less confident. The rock wall at a stream helped reassure me but I still went slow wondering why my bearing kept me so close to the stream. Seeing two controls and picking up the features they were on--a marsh edge and then a root stock reasured me more and I resumed a better pace; marsh on my left, to spike it.

I ran straight at #13 and was a little to the left. The knoll and white radio antenna clued me in. I didn't want to mess up so I looked at the map a bit before leaving. After weaving in the pines, I cut right and my bearing ended up to be a little to the right. I had to cut back left silly when I hit the finish chute, to get in it. I had a better run in than yesterday once at the top but time had already been lost. It turned out that Clint Morse beat me by two seconds.

I had the 18th fastest time on the course, and was somewhere in the top 10 for N. Americans in my age group. That silly 5 minute error from lack of concentration hurt.

DVOA Delaware Watergap Gap Recreation Area, PA. North American Orienteering Championships: Long. I warmed up with a slow jog to the start from the finish arena area.

GreenX Long - Splits

Delaware Watergap Gap Recreation Area, PA; Dinghman's Falls. My warmup consisted of running easy from where we we parked along the Delaware River, to the bus. Later, I jogged from the Finish Arena to the Start of the NAOC's. It was pretty damp out but warmer than expected in th upper 60s.

DVOA Delaware Watergap Gap Recreation Area, PA. North American Orienteering Championships: Middle Distance. I ran my age group M50+ and did okay. Running at the model the previous day helped as did taking some ibuprofen for my aching shoulder (that pain had bothered me all yesterday evening).

I started of playing it safe and using the trail to #1. I went a little left to #2 and followed the ridge in. For #3, I came off the ridge wrong and got to the left too far; I stopped going further left to a control that I saw, befor relocating and cutting back. I was clean to #4, dead on to #5, and slightly to the right on #6. Getting to #6, I heard breathing behind me. Going left to avoid the green and play it safe to #7, I nearly got passed. I went slower to number 8 and did get passed. I regained contact with him when we were both too far right but saw other orienteers and the control in the reentrant. I headed a bit right of where the other guy was going toward #9, a 30 second leg; I had to correct. #11 was similar except I passed the other guy. I expected the control to be ahead in what looked like a reentrant in front of me but I was a contour off and had to turn left again where the other guy was punching. I took my time planning #12 while the other guy went ahead. I saw him soon as we both set off to contour around. My shoe got untied but I went on. After the knoll and the rootstock in the big reentrant, I cut back. After the first spur I hesitated to line up the reentrants. I was near the junction of two but couldn't see where they were more distinctly separated higher up. The other guy had gone up one and when I looked he had just changed directions; the control had been just under my horizon. When I got to #12, I stopped to tie my shoe--about a 40 second loss. I moved steady toward #13, picking up a small reentrant, the cutting right to go around the spur. I pulled up short at a reentrant before going on. Going across the open area to #14 I passed some people then cut into the woods at the corner of the open area; the control was just to my left after that. However, my glasses had fogged enough by then and my wet control descriptions were hard to read; I left being unsure I was at the right number though the location seemed right. Going slower and more carefully straight, I pulled up short at a control in my path to #15. Reading the description was again hard so I lost time; I realized however that this was the wrong number. I left my line to the left there and it took time to make out the spur I was looking for--found to the right because my initial line was good. My glasses were too fogged to use in the detailed area. I set a bearing and went toward #16 but was slightly high before seeing it. Charging up the hill to #17, Eddie Bergeron was cheering for me. I felt I was moving not fast enough. This continued on the run-in where I fumbled with my glasses. I finished 6th fastest on the course and 4th (?) fastest North American in my age group ( M50+).

Delaware Watergap Gap Recreation Area, PA; Warm down jog from the bus to our parked van by the river.

Middle - GreenX - Splits

Event: 2012 North American Orienteering Championships
 

Delaware Watergap Gap Recreation Area, PA. I went to a lot of the controls for the North American Orienteering Championships. The forest was greener than expected but with meets like this, models are often set in the least desirable terrain. I hit just about all of the controls right on but I was going slow enough to do that. My troublesome right shoulder had formed an ache on the drive up. It loosened while running but not a lot.

From Northfield Rd. to Arlington Rd. with Max, then to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Arlington Rd., then to Northfield Rd. I worked very late to meet my own deadlines and to be able to feel like I wasn't behind. The trains were running slow with some single tracking :( so it was about 11:30 pm when I was out.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to Arlington Rd. with Max, then to 12th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was around 50 F. I started more easily but once again hit the Capital Crescent Trail when a fast rider had just gotten on also. I initially led but my legs were too tired to do much better than 21-22mph on the downgrade. The other cyclist took over and we were doing 23-24mph mostly. As we passed, we picked-up another guy who rode behind me. I took another go at pulling at Fletcher's Boathouse but it didn't last long. At Georgetown, the faster rider backed off and I went ahead more slowly. There seemed to be an angled tailwind along the water and Ohio Dr. I took it much easier the last half mile.

From 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Arlington Rd., where I picked-up Max's bicycle, then to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I was tired and took it easier almost from the start. It felt cool in my shorts and t-shirt. There were once again lots of walkers and runners getting to Georgetown. I mostly rode by myself but passed a bunch on the trail. Though I slowed down, doing so didn't make it easier.

With rain predicted, it was also a good time for a rest day.

Event: QOC Swanson Rd
 

Swanson Road Natural Area: Warmup for the second QOC event in this park. My legs were a bit sore from the days before.

QOC: Swanson Rd. It was a good thing that it was such a nice day in the Swanson Road Natural Area--I spent a lot of time out there on the Red course (no Blue offered). I figured I'd be in for a tough day when just before I started, I asked Ken Walker if he'd broken 50 minutes form the 7.5K course and he told me that he finished in 75 minutes. Other people were better able to surmount the issues which caused me trouble. The leafy forest was one thing. Dave Linthicum, the mapper had told me long ago when I'd set the first Summer Short Series event here, that he had not really field checked some areas thoroughly--his purpose for mapping the park hadn't been all about orienteering. Things were just a bit inconsistently mapped. Much that was mapped white, wasn't white. Some of what was green, wasn't that green. In some places,the contours and formlines had been worked on a lot; this wasn't true in other areas.

I started poorly on #1 but running okay on the long way around on the road and mowed field. With the line covering a narrow ridge, I looked in a ditch in a reentrant before moving up to the end of the ridge to find it. I went straight over hills at #2, reading contours well but missing high. I did a 180 leaving #2, but did find #3 quickly, a bit left of where I expected it. I aimed off to the right for #4 and spiked it while passing Billy Allaband. Going back over the ridge straightish to #5, I was on target but hesitant--I didn't see it until I was right on it. I went a bit to the right going toward #6, saw a trail bend and came down off of it into what turned out to be the wrong reentrant. The bend I left from wasn't the same one shown on the map. At the bottom, I turned the wrong way but eventually got there w/o a really large mishap. The same kind of thing happened going to #7. There was a lot more going on with the map in that area than shown--multiple ditches, and some mappable depressions and rootstocks. The trail run to #8 was okay. I saw Billy Allaband again as he was leaving it--he was probably running on the Green course. I passed him getting to #9 by going along the top of the edge of the hill but I'm really not sure what happened there. From the reentrant that I started down, I didn't see the control. I looped back and forth not really getting things to line-up as expected but stumbled on to it somehow. I'm not sure when BIlly found it.

I was fine going low to #10. I ran across the hillside going to #11. I knew that there was at least one major extra reentrant on this hillside from my earlier course setting. I think there really were a few more. I was still feeling like I was reading the map well enough and judging distances. When I hit the two reenrants the conrol was supposed to be in, I didn't find it. Other ROTC kids were looking and asking for help--I felt bad refusing it though I was in just as much trouble. I went low to relocate on the earthbank and stream bend and was just about where I expected. I came up again only to miss again. I finally found it going on after fully exploring what seemed to be 4 reentrants.

I came right off the stream bend and followed a ditch up toward #12 but didn't find it. Another depressed ROTC asked where we where. I pointed out the direction of the finish and he was satisfied with that. I did however, tell him that he'd probably see some buildings on the way that he could relocate from. I hit #13 and #14 just fine by basically going straight. After using the field edges to approach #15, I stumbled and by happenstance, one of my fingers got stuck under my thumb compass at the pointer as I stopped my fall on the ground--that left a bloody L shaped divute in my fingerprint. Good thing that I'd already gotten re-fingerprinted recently. Finally at the right location, I stood and looked around and up and down the ditch. Literally one step further, and I found it right under me, tucked rather low. On the way to #16, I went straight; the contours weren't always making sense until half way there. Tom Nolan crossed my path, on a path there. Continuing straight, I went over some hills and down past some deadfall only to find Tom having just gotten there ahead of me. We both found the control quickly after that. It was steep at first going to #17. I led walking, then ran still ahead as it flattened. At the top was the nicest running we'd had except for the start, and the one trail run to #8. I kept along the edge of some open an less open forest, staying a bit left of a knoll. Tom went over the knoll to my right and got there just ahead of me. The route to #18 was a dogleg back. I hit the bottom of the reentrant just a bit lower than the control so I lost time circling back. For my run-in, I didn't want to cross the rough open field. I went around to the field people parked in like I had going toward #1.

It was a poor day but given the many issues, I'm not going to get depressed about it. I got a fairly good workout in (7.3 miles and 356m of climb on what was billed as a 7.5K, 145m climb course). Peggy's brother Paul had met us at the park and we had lunch afterward. We also got home early enough to enjoy the neighborhood block party,

Red - Splits