Training Log Archive: Nadim

From Democracy Blvd. Old Georgetown Rd. to Tuckerman Rd. to the Bethesda Trolley Trail/Fleming Ave. to Old Georgetown Rd., to Greenwich Park, to Northfield Rd. Peggy dropped me off at the start after an errand we had. I did the reverse of this one-way run in September, and did it 40 seconds more quickly back then. It was 70 F then, but in the 40s F today. I probably wore too much by having on a long sleeve t-shirt and a jacket, but I was cold going into this. I ran okay for a while. That was a little unexpected since I was tired from the QOC event yesterday. Going up the slight grades slowed me down. My right quadricep was hurting and felt weak again. I'm sure I was compensating with my left leg.

Event: QOC Kings Landing
 

QOC: Kings Landing, Park; a part of the Patuxent River Greenway in Calvert, County, MD. I ran the Score-O event. It took me a little while to get into reading the map. The scale was 1:7,500, but the symbol sizes were smaller than standard. Though mapped well, point features appeared fuzzy despite me using my 2.0 glasses. The glasses also got foggy at times. This Sunday, it was about 40 F, with misty rain, after heavier rains over the weekend. Knowing the area was hilly, I paced myself, not rushing for much. The steep slopes were slippery. I had no memory of running here. The last time I ran here was in October, 2002, when I was still new and just really starting to regularly do orienteering.

I started out going to the west where it was flatter. I went clockwise. After making the initial decision on which control to start with, the order to clear the course was pretty clear. I started reading the map better after about 8 controls. The hilly part came next. I would go across reentrants or around them depending on what looked best.

Going from #62 to #73, I made my only navigational error, by missing a spur and going down the next. The next one happened to be one of the longest and greenest. I recovered pretty well but lost about 5 minutes.

Going from #61 to #42 in the extreme east, I struggled getting out of a reentrant--I slid down when trying to climb up.

I ran from #40 to #67 well but with my map folded, I hadn't realized that I should have crossed the marsh after #40. I ran back toward #40 after getting #67 and seeing Peggy and Max there, then found a way across the marsh. I kept out of the deep mud but it was still a slow crossing. The loop on the south side was done in order of #36, #59, #75, #70, #63. I wasn't sure if I had enough time to get all of them since I anticipated having to cross the marsh in the same place, back upstream near #40. Since the map symbols were small and fuzzy to my eye, I couldn't tell if there was a boardwalk along the edge of the Patuxent River. However looking from the edge of the dropoff near #63, I could see there was no bridge, but also that there was a potential crossing just a little way east. It went across a lot of reed grasses which held enough land together. As it was, I found footsteps and an elephant trail from one other orienteer that were helpful in keeping me from sinking too much. I reached the shore closer to #48, than #67 which I'd already been to.

It was nice to clear the course. I felt a little lucky that my initial control choice was good. It would have been nice to have been more energetic, but one can't have everything.

From the intersection of Elmhirst Ln. and Elmhirst Dr., to Elmhirst Pkwy. to the Elmhirst Trail, to Cedar Ln., to the Rock Creek Trail, to Old Spring Rd., and back. After a day of rain, it was too wet for dirt trail runs and I still wasn't very energetic. It being 50 F starting out helped. I only needed shorts and a jacket. The train and closed road were busy. I covered my face whenever passing people, which was frequent. I weighed out at 189.5 lbs.

Wheaton Regional Park, MD. I got started not long after light rain had started. The rain got a bit more pronounced and it was about 34-35F. This fit my mood. I'd forgotten to bring my backpack in the car, with trail shoes, running gloves, and a change of clothing for afterward. I used regular gloves that I had in my coat. I felt okay running for a while but slowed going downhill in the first mile. I was taking random trails, wondering what had changed in the park. The night before I'd talked with Michael Dickey about map updates he's making for a QOC event to be held here in a couple of weeks. I found several more things to update including one trail very rarely used by anyone, that's all but gone. I got stuck getting through and out of the green/thicker bushes on that, hence my slow second mile. The rest was just weakness, probably from losing more weight. I weighed out at 189 and was hungry for a change.

From Northfield Rd., Custer Rd. to Wilson Ln. to Glenbrook Rd., to the county pool parking lot to the trail into Norwood Park, to Wisconsin Ave., to Woodmont Ave., to Old Georgetown Rd., to Huntington Pkwy., to Custer Rd., to Northfield Rd. I wore my new Nike Zoom Trainers that Peggy had given me for Christmas. They felt much lighter than the Nike Triax Structure shoes I'd been using for roads and sidewalks. Having had an extra day off of running and the first in a long while without any working out, I wasn't sure if the boost I was seeing was more from the new shoes or the break. However, it didn't last. I felt myself slowing and keeping a manageable pace. It was in the 40s F. I needed a restroom at the end so I didn't get around to stretching as usual.

Unexpected things came up late in the day as I was gearing up to run.