Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: QOC Cunningham Falls
 

QOC: Cunningham Falls, MD. I ran Green today. My injuries have been improving but still need some care. I could feel the injury area very early on but afterward it was not a factor. I had grabbed the wrong shoe bag today so I had my trail running shoes rather than my o-shoes. My feet slid around in them on rocky and steeper bits. My GPS stopped during the run-I probably hit a tree branch on the button.

S-1 - As I moved up the trail, it took me a while to realize that I was still wearing my mask. I wasn't able to remove it and get it into my inside pants pocket while moving so I stopped to do that. Leaving the trail at the bend (mostly walking up the steep hill at that point), I kept a careful bearing The rootstocks to the right were confusing me. I saw and went to the cliffs to the left, before climbing further to the larger cliffs that the control was on.

1-2 - I went straight and saw the ride, walking most of the way. I surmised a large rootstock midway was one of those mapped. I kept right of the steeper slope to my left and that got me within eyesight of the rim of the charcoal terrace. I was glad to see the control on it after getting above the rim. Someone else had come in from the other direction to punch before me.

2-3 - I went straight but had to weave to pass the vegetation. It seemed that I was too high when I crossed the trail, since I could see a bend below. The was confirmed by me remembering that I crossed a ditch after the trail, though with my eyes getting worse, I hadn't read the ditch on the map, on the go. I kept straight but did not see the 2 charcoal terraces that should have been higher to my left were I on track or above the straight route. I did see a flatter area below me and started to move that direction. As I got closer I couldn't see a control so I thought I was getting drawn off. I moved upward again, but as I was even closer, the control was revealed where I had been headed earlier.

3-4 - I aimed for the bend in the stream and hit just above it; vegetation was pushing me left. After crossing, I corrected, keeping above the drop-off for the stream on my right. Entering the greener area, I moved up higher as the leg line showed. Eventually, I saw the flattening of the spur below me so I dropped and found the control.

4-5 - This leg turned out to be greener than mapped due to the summer vegetation and treefall. I moved around most of it, but I felt I was getting left of straight. I saw 2 rootstocks above where the drop steepened and they might have been the 2 mapped close together. However to get through the next part I had to go left or right due to unmapped vegetation. I chose right. As I was descending I could see ahead on the flatter terrain, where it dropped on the right side. I was below that by the time I got close so I went up and found the control there. I might have saved 20-30 seconds had I gone left earlier.

5-6. I started to go straight but then with the big reentrant ahead, it made sense to contour around the hill before it. I saw Greg Lennon coming the other way--he'd made an error on #5. Climbing out, I saw the mapped ditch and I crossed it. I kept a good straight bearing and eventually saw a person in blue ahead. Very soon afterward, the control was visible. It was hung high and on the visible side of the mapped rock--that was good because there was probably some unmapped rock there too.

6-7 - Climbing, I gained on the guy in blue whom I'd seen while approaching #6. I felt I was close to being on target when midway I passed a rootstock. I kept a little left and saw Kim Jepsen and the other guy in blue on my right. Getting high enough, I saw the reentrant on my right and a 3rd person--my son Max! Everyone got to the control a few seconds ahead of me.

7-8 - Max led Kim, and the other person--Matt Smith. They were drifting right which was higher. I cut in under them on a straighter path, and passed them. After dropping sufficiently I thought I recognized a steepening slope to a point on the map. I climbed up it with the others following. I knew that the slope wasn't the one I thought it was, because there was no reentrant just past it. I spotted the reentrant off further and a little left so I ran for it. The terrain was better than the heavier deadfall and rocks that we'd been through earlier, so I was able to run well.

8-9 - I aimed a little right of straight so that I didn't have to run down a too steep slope. The mapped green in the reentrant wasn't so evident. I think I was closer to it than intended. I ran on up the spur through the mountain laurel with Max chasing me. Emerging, I could make out the beginning of the reentrant east of #9. I cut right/west a little, but when I didn't see it I paused. Max and Matt caught up. Max went on a little, and eventually, I did too. I think I saw it first, further ahead. As I ran for it, Max did too, but I think he just happened to see it right after I did. Max was closer so he got there first. I kind of passed Matt getting there.

9-10 - Somehow, I led us out of #9, and I went straight. Once across the stream, I tried figure out how to deal with the mapped cliffs--I think this area had been out of bounds earlier so we'd never run through it previously. I learned that the area hadn't been mapped until course setter Michael Dickey had added them. Michael probably didn't have time to map it all. In reality, it was a complicated jumble of boulders and cliffs. I had decided to go low around the rocks and then contour over to the control. However with all of the unmapped rock, I wasn't sure if I was above or below what was mapped. Crossing the rocks was tricky too--fortunately none of us fell and we didn't hit an uncrossable cliff that we had to back out of. I hit the flatter ground first and kept my bearing which was kind of level. I saw one guy below me and 2 women above me. The women were near the rootstock and only reading the map, I thought the control was on a rootstock--my eyes have deteriorated enough that my +1 diopter glasses weren't good enough any more. I climbed, didn't see the control, and hit the Catoctin Trail--a catching feature for this leg. Max and Matt were nowhere to be seen. Fortunately I'd hit the Catoctin Trail at an intersection, so I knew exactly where I was. I went back into the woods to see Max heading my way ahead of me. Seeing me, he turned around and we found the control within a few seconds. Max punched first.

10-F - Max led towards the trail but he wasn't going very fast. I angled downward to hit the trail and got ahead. At the trail, I was looking for a better way down, but decided on the Catoctin Trail. Both my shoelaces were untied at this point. Max and I both pounded down, accelerating as we went. Max passed me exclaiming that his knees would feel it the next day. As we hit the road, Max paused for a second or so. I cut right right away, but he quickly got a few steps on me. I gained going down the hill on the road but It wasn't enough to catch him. I also didn't feel safe going into an all out sprint due to my injury history. Max finished the leg 4 seconds faster.

I got a respectable 3rd place, one minute behind Rick Oliver, but almost 13 minutes behind Zach Kuder, a US Junior team member. Max had made errors earlier but he'd still gotten 4th place, about 10 and a half minutes behind me.

Green - Splits

I slept in this morning, and then Samantha and I visited my mom and sister. By the time I was done there, it was dark and time for dinner. I didn't like it but decided to skip the day. My harder run on Friday did leave me sore in some places, including my ankle-calves which sidelined me most of the spring.

From Ray's Meadow Park and the Ohr Kodesh Congregation parking lot (near East West Hwy in Rock Creek Park, MD), I ran down the Rock Creek Trail to the DC/MD border line parking lot, down the Valley Trail, to West Beach Dr., NW, to Beach Dr., NW, to the DC/MD border line parking lot, then back up the Rock Creek Trail to Ray's Meadow Park and the OHR Kodesh Congregation parking lot. I finally got started with not a lot of light left, but the first mile, mostly flat but downstream, was better than expected. In the air, I saw one of the Presidential helicopters returning toward DC from Bethesda. The second mile on the unpaved Valley Trail in the darker forest mostly was slower, but still under 10 min/mile. Heading back up on pavement, I was surprisingly quicker. Some younger runners were catching up to me for a while on the 4th mile, so I kept up the pace and held them off until they turned around behind me somewhere. That mile turned out to be the fastest of all. I think a lot of this was the dry cooler air in the low 60s F. I was a little sore after the run, where I'd injured myself earlier.

From Northfield Rd. to Old Georgetown Rd. via Greenwich Park, to Ipswich Rd. to Fleming Ave. to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to Old Georgetown Rd. to Northfield Rd. via Greenwich Park. I felt okay and was running faster than expected. I'd gotten started late so it was getting dark when finishing up. Things were good but I was tightening up the last half mile or so, in the groin/hamstring area that I'd hurt earlier. I slowed down to finish because of that.

Great Falls, MD. From the Angler's Inn parking lot, I ran up the Berma Rd. to the trail on the right just before the bridge to the towpath. After the short but steep/rocky climb that I walked most of, I headed left to the Upland Loop Trail. Staying high, I climbed again to the Trolley Loop, then back down to the Tavern and the towpath. I returned on the towpath to the Angler's Inn parking area. It was great weather--not hot or cold but around 70 starting out. I was wearing my Nike Triax Structure for more support, rather than trail shoes. I was surprised at the first mile split. The 3rd, on the towpath was surprisingly faster than I thought I was running. My injury felt good, in that I didn't feel it until the last quarter mile. It was tightening up so I slowed down to finish. It was a little harder to sleep after the Presidential debate debacle.

From Northfield Rd., to Georgetown Pike via Greenwich Park, to Beech Ave., to Anniston Rd., to Ewing Dr., through North Bethesda Middle School to Bradmoor Dr., to Folkstone Rd., to Hartsdale Ave., to Heampstead Ave., to McKinley St., to Garfield St., to Roosevelt St., to Jefferson St., to Northfield Rd. After helping Samantha get started making a nice pasta and pesto dinner (we did the homemade pesto together) I fit a run in. I was sore where I've been injured as I started so I took it easy and remembered to keep my stride shorter and faster. It started raining within a half mile and while not pouring, it was raining pretty good. The air was cool and the rain ended before finishing.

From Northfield Rd. I ran up to Custer Rd., to Wilson La., to Exeter Rd. to Glenbrook Rd. to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to the NIH grounds, to Maple Ridge Rd. to Glenwood Rd., to Moorland Ln. to Northfield Rd. I ran late since it was warm/humid earlier and I'd eaten dinner. Starting out, I could tell that I wasn't fully recovered from injury. I ran easy and with shorter strides. I was mentally relieved once I passed the point where I'd reinjured myself last week. I tried to use a faster cadence to make up for the shorter strides. After getting out of NIH I felt like I should go farther so I cut through a neighborhood that I don't usually run through. It was kind of nice to add innovation after running this loop so many years. It wasn't much longer however. I was just glad that I got through uninjured.