Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: QOC Granite
 

Event: West Point 39th National Meet
 

West Point 39th National Meet, West Point, NY. I was pretty out of shape for this so happy that I did as well as I did.

S-1 - I ran on the ridge past the knoll but must have passed to the left of the control, within 10m. I was a little distracted by other people hunting in the area--I tried to not look at them. I saw a control further out and knew it wasn't mine but went to to be sure. I wandered a while going backward, then coming forward again. I actually found a control stand with #62, my control # and not far away, further up the ridge I found the control; same #62, but with the flag and control box.

1-2 - I went fairly straight and spiked it.

2-3 - I a little high, passing someone, and spiked it.

3-4 - I dropped to the road planning to run on it but I wasn't sure if I'd angled my descent enough already. I crossed the road and then had to run along the edge of the marsh where it was green. Once it turned open, I splashed across. The other side wasn't what I expected from the map. I did climb but not as steeply as a direct route would be. I got to an overlook of the large reentrant, crossed it and at some point saw a pond too. I got confused seeing warning signs about entering military lands and thought I might have run past the control. I ran the ridge and things started making sense. Another younger runner that I'd seen earlier dropped down and I did too. It was my control but the other guy needed me to tell him where we were.

4-5 - I ran above the large cliff and passed a guy along the way.

5-6 - I was really slow on the climb. Not seeing mapped cliffs when there were many was confusing, but once on top, I zeroed in pretty well. I dropped a slight bit too much so I had to come up at the end. Others were chasing me.

6-7 - I ran straight but not straight enough. I paused on the lower dot knoll were a few people caught me including Steven Tarry and Phil Bricker. Going on, I found it soon, before the others.

7-8 - I climbed steeply at first to avoid the unmapped cliff near #7. I just read my way in using the mapped bald rock and other features, getting there ahead of others.

8-9 - I tried to go straight, but drifted to the right. Seeing Peggy and another control, I ran on and found it with a little bit of lost time, getting passed by Steven Tarry.

9-10 - I ran straight and made up some time on Steven Tarry, but I did cross the ridge with the cliff, coming at it from the other side behind Steven.

10-11 - I ran straight, then contoured a bit. This gained me ground on others and got me ahead of Steven Tarry.

11-12 - I dropped to the road and started to leave Steven behind. At the bottom after the turns, I tried to use the ride. It was a little slow and the grass looked better, so I used the grass. Steven seemed to make up a little time coming in from high.

12-13 - I found the little road to the right, but was a little confused. I also hesitated not reading the end of the shrubs as where the control would be.

13-14 - The nice straight drop let me open up and build a gap on Steven Tarry.

14-15 - Straight on the road; I just didn't have much energy.

15-F - I was just slow.

Day 1 - Lake Frederick - GreenY - Splits

Lake Needwood, Montgomery County, MD. From the parking lot nearest the dam, I did some field checking for Peggy, since she's setting courses that are to be run here in May. The woods were great! They've opened up a lot. Many rootstocks and other downed limbs have rotted away. In my notes, I eliminated a lot of old rootstocks. There was not much thick vegetation either. It helped that this time of year, after winter weather has cleared old leaves and vegetation, and before it's had a chance to grow back. I missed the map that Peggy had set out for me to direct me toward a burned area. I was later able to find it. It was satisfying when hand drawing a ditch dug around the burn, that I was able to match up with point features pretty well. I could have used more time in the park. The map needs a lot of work. One day I'll replace the contours too.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Northfield Rd. I was working late again :(.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Northfield Rd.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Northfield Rd.

Event: QOC Mason Neck
 

QOC: Mason Neck State Park, VA. I took a bit of a risk going out with my left calf already tweaked from yesterday, and earlier. The mapped parts of Mason Neck are mostly flat so that helped. The weather was changing fast. Warmth and sunshine from the morning had already gotten to cloudy with brief blustery showers. It was 60 F. Jon Torrance had updated the map with new contours and features--it helped.

S-1 - I ran along the road going toward #1, rather than running on it. I felt that was easier on my injured calf. Alexis Merka had gone out about 2 minutes ahead of me. I kept to a bearing when leaving the road, rather than from a feature (Heidi Onkst used the parking lot off to the right) I aimed off to the left a bit. I was briefly confused by trails. I crossed on before running along the other. I really wasn't getting that the control was so close to the trail bend in the reentrant until I'd gotten on the trail.

1-2 - I ran straight at first but the vegetation pushed me to the right. I crossed the road and looked for bends on the paved trail. Turning left on the trail, I got to a big bend, attacked and hit it.

2-3 - I ran straight but that seemed odd with the trail so close. Another older person was using the trail and going almost as fast. I paused once for distance check, then went on. I ended up left of the control but could see it. I did get significantly ahead of the older man who'd taken the paved trail.

3-4 - Going straight, I was trying to be careful. I had to bear left to get around some vegetation in my path. I thought I compensated after passing it but I still ended up to the left too much. I moved right and then further on to hit it with negligible time lost.

4-5 - After leaving #5, I saw Alexis Merka ahead. She paused at a reentrant so I gained ground and eventually passed her. I hit the control pretty well.

5-6 - I went straight making some minor adjustments along the way. On the plateau with the control, there were a couple root stocks and several people. The people clued me in to the correct feature.

6-7 - I ran straight and stayed pretty close to the line. The woods were open enough for me to see the ends of 2 ridges when crossing the flat area before them. The end of a ridge with a knoll helped. Once on the correct ridge, it was easy to cross the flattish, side reentrant to get to #7.

7-8 - I ran straight. After crossing the first reentrant, running up the spur and hitting the mapped deadfall assured me of my place and a need to bear right slightly to spike it.

8-9 - I tried to be cautious on this leg knowing the control to be in an area with very subtle contours that have caused many people troubles before. Vido Alexiev was ahead running in the direction I was. I think he'd come from a different control. I kept my bearing and read the early part well. Crossing the main reentrant, I got distracted or drawn to others. This got me to a rootstock for another course. I located the rootstock on the map, and spiked it from there. Vido came in from my right just afterward.

9-10 - I ran straight. The older man I'd seen back at #2 and #3 was running/walking parallel again, this time on my right. He wasn't going that much slower. At the paved trail, I had trouble discerning the bends (Tom Strat later told me he never trusted the bends there), so I went on and crossed the road. I didn't see the control. Feeling off to the right from what I'd seen of the paved trail, I turned left and saw it soon after.

10-11 - Going straight, the vegetation pushed me left a little. Nearing the first reentrant, I saw what looked like Ted Good going from my right to left. Closer examination proved it to be Tom Strat - I apologized for calling out Ted's name. Seeing Tom helped me realize that the reentrant on my left was not the one I wanted. I went on and hit the correct reentrant. I was too far to the left so I had to come back up along it to the right to get to the dot knoll.

11-12 - I went straight and got pushed left again. I was close enough to see it. Rick Oliver was at the control when I got there but he wasn't punching it. He usually runs Green so I wasn't sure what was up. I thought he might have gotten control codes mixed-up and that he'd realize it, and follow me out after seeing me leave. It tuned out he was running Red, but he had gotten the codes mixed-up; he was at the control he needed to punch.

12-13 - I ran straight, pausing a little to try to ascertain distance. I kept telling myself that most often when people (who can run a bearing) miss, it's because they haven't gone far enough. That worked well this time.

13-14 - I got onto the trail eventually. I didn't consider the road much because it seemed longer, but even if I had, the pavement is the kind of thing that's been making it hard for my calf to heal. From a trail bend at a side reentrant, I attacked. Shortly after crossing the ditch, I stepped into a leave filled hole. I didn't fall but lurched forward, stressing my back. I walked it off and hit the control at a jog.

14-15 - I went straight. A younger guy seemed to be running a bad parallel bearing; going toward the thorny marsh. I kept my bearing and hit it.

15-16 - I aimed in-between straight, and the shortest distance to the road. A young kid on the road sprinted to get ahead, then paused. I'm glad the run on the road was long enough to see #16 on the map; the circle for it, and the finish circles overlapped a little. I'd also seen the Go control hanging on the way in so I knew where to go. From the car, it seemed that the control was just hanging on a tree but there was disturbed ground from an old tree that must have fallen and gotten rotted away.

16-F - I threaded my way between thorns to the trail.

I enjoyed the course, the soft, flat ground, and the cool weather. The leaves were basically still not out so things were easier than they could have been. My strategy of running straight, while reading the rough contours to get close worked for today; otherwise a more careful attention and pace would have been more necessary. I was most glad about being able to run and not hurting myself much more--that and wishing happy birthday to Peggy.

Green - Splits