Training Log Archive: Nadim

From the Washington DC/MD border, I ran north on the Rock Creek Trail to the 2 mile marker and back. Samantha rode along with me on her bicycle, sort of. She was fearful of various things like hills, bumps, and some standing water on the trail. There are some ver slight grades and a very bumps. She kept stopping and even when she didn’t I was usually running faster than she was riding. That frusrated me but returning was more on a downgrade and she did better getting back. Putting her bicycle away when we got home, I did I could tell that the front brakes were rubbing the wheel rim.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station. Leaving later than usual, there was a lot of traffic.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd. in the dark.

From Northfield Rd., Custer Rd., to Park Rd., to Battery Ln., to Exeter Rd., to Edgemoor Ln., to Hampden Ln. to Moorland Rd. to Wilson Rd. to Aberdeen Rd., to Aberdeen Ct. to Northfield Rd. It was a nice night for running, though still a bit humid. I did feel some lower back pain in the first mile and I wondered if I should stop. I kept going, trying to run more smoothly, and it went away.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd. in the dark.

From Northfield Rd., to Old Georgetown Rd., via Greenwich Park, to W. Cedar Ln., to the Bethesda Trolley Trail along Rockville Pike and up to Maple Ridge Rd., to Old Georgetown Rd., to Huntington Pkwy., to Custer Rd., to Northfield Rd. Starting in the evening, the temperatures were relatively cool. I happened to converge with another guy going my direction. I passed him running a steady pace on Old Georgetown Rd. and got ahead for a way. He passed me back going down W. Cedar Rd. Since he followed the road and didn't take the trail that cuts the corner at Rockville Pike, I got ahead again. Going up Rockville Pike, he passed me for good and was just ahead of me as he ran off into the NIH complex--I guess he works there. I finished up feeling okay but tired.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. The rains and muggy weather had finally ended and it was in the upper 60s F this morning, so I rode in. With surgery, being on vacation, working off site and the rains over the last week+ I hadn't done this since early August. I felt a bit slow and was carrying a laptop too, but I kept my effort modest. I got passed early once but moved past other riders the whole way. The winds seemed calm though there was probably a mild tailwind. My time is estimated since I'd stopped my watch at a traffic light, then forgot to restart it until in Georgetown.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. The roads were fairly quiet leaving work. There was some foot traffic along the waterfront at the Kennedy Center where construction of new buildings is proceeding well--it'll eventually change the trail. I got out of Georgetown well under 14 minutes. I did get passed by what looked to be a custom light framed mountain bike with fat tires. I stayed with him until the trestle bridge and passed. Another guy followed along until Massachusetts Ave. I slowed with some additional traffic, and just getting tired since I'm less used to doing this. As I got near home, I passed Peggy going the other way.

Occoquan Regional Park, VA. I warmed-up for the QOC event by running around the field twice. I didn't realize that I'd be running past the Go control, which was next to a new hill of leftover dirt. The park facilities had been improved a lot since I'd last been there.

QOC: Occoquan Regional Park. I did okay initially but it started falling apart the last third of the race, after I'd lost my eyeglasses (around #6). This was a physical race with fairly steep hills. I was wearing new VJ shoes which are a little wide. I've used VJs many times several years ago but got used to Ice Bugs. When I finished I thought I had a blister on the end of my left big toe but it turns out that it's just a change in the tingling I've been feeling, that feels just like small blister. The optimal climb (210m) is significantly lower than what my watch came up with (268m).

S-1, I ran up the spur, just to the right of going straight. I popped out on the left side of the pond, but a bit higher than I'd planned.

1-2 - I ran out to cross the road about at the jersey barriers. I plunged back in to come over a spur and cross a reentrant. I spliked it but it felt slow walking the climbs.

2-3 - I ran down the reentrant and climbed a bit as the reentrant hooked left.

3-4 - I ran fairly straight to the road, and then along the hillside. I was fairly high still when I could see the control ahead below.

4-5 - I guess I was getting tired at this point. I ran up to use the road but approaching it, I got confused into thinking In needed to cut right instead of left. I figured this out as I was angling onto the road, but I'd lost time--a minute or so? Executing the rest of the leg, I ran up the road and a to below the south end of the pond. From there I slogged up.

5-6 - I ran over to the dirt road, past the pond, and started up on the dirt road. I cut into the woods at the first reentrant and hit the road. I wanted to stay high along the fence so I crossed the road right away, above the jersey barriers. Getting through the thorny brambles along the road was slow. Those will probably get mapped medium green and be extended down the road a way (more than was shown today. After getting through it, I planned to stay high and go along the fence. I got to the fence. The vegetation at the next reentrant I crossed forced me down but I got back up again. At the next reentrant where there was mapped bamboo running wild, the map showed I could get around the bamboo while still staying high. I plunged in and at first I was making a slow progress. Eventually, I could get no further and needed to back out. I think I lost my glasses doing this. It didn't occur to me at the time, I just wanted to get out of the bamboo. By the time I got out and around, I had to drop into the reentrant so I angled up from there. Eugene was leading a small group that did manage to attack from high. We converged with me getting there just behind them.

6-7 - I angled out to the road to get around the reentrant, then went back in afterward. There was a more rhododendron than I expected from the green. I got through without too much trouble at first but eventually I had to walk. I got a bit to the right, but recognized the narrow reentrant there. I corrected to curl left into the control, still walking a lot. From comparison splits, I apparently lost more time than I thought at the time.

7-8 - I again tried to stay high so I angled upstream to cross the first reentrant. To get around the gully in it, I went further right before crossing. On my climb, I resumed my straight bearing since I wanted to get above the next reentrant. At the ridge top, I saw Gary Smith. I thought I saw the reentrant I was looking for but really, I was just SE of #2. I started seeing a lot of reentrants and eventually surmised this. I dropped down to make sure and checked the code at #2. I thought I had it made from there. I ran along the side of the reentrant toward #8. Maybe the 1:7,500 scale was throwing me off. I got past the control and south of #8. I climbed out hesitating a lot. Eventually I curled back to the right. When I got there, Eugene and his group were there.

8-9 - I ran straight and spiked it. I did stop along the way at least once to check the map.

9-10 - I angled toward the road, left of going straight. I came out at the odd small knolls on both sides of the road and felt I knew where I was. However, the lack of glasses on my second glance at the map led me to think the squiggle of a contour in the clearing along the road, south of #10, was the same 2 knolls. I plunged into the woods early, not far after the knolls and hit the reentrant near #11. I realized this and kept moving through it. I then stayed low until hitting #10, but I'd lost more time.

10-11 - I ran the stream valley a little lower than I had climbed it toward #10. I actually crossed the stream a few times. The lack of glasses again made it hard to read within the circle. I anticipated the control to be on the east side of the main reentrant. Not seeing the control there with the major reentrant that I'd crossed before going to #10 coming up, turned up it. I didn't get very far before looking behind me. The control would have been visible if I'd gone just a little further. I suppose reading the clue description would have helped too.

11-12 - I stayed in the valley, eventually picking up the trail and following it to the bottom. Using the road, and then crossing the field I felt pretty slow.

12-13 - I managed to pickup the pace a bit but it seemed to me that my finish pace was what I used to just run when on the course.

Green - Splits