Training Log Archive: Nadim

Weston Bend State Park, KS. I didn't do enough plannng before I left home so with limited time, I thought it best go out to Weston Bend again. I repeated the same route that I'd done May 26th. Starting from the Vault parking area near the park entrance, I got onto the paved bike trail and went clockwise. I hit the unpaved Harpst Trail and took a small detour to the river overlook again. I then did an out and back segment on roads and on the North Ridge Trail to the gas pipeline before descending back to the bicycle trail to finish up. This time it was much hotter (upper 80s F?) but with low humidity. I started out faster but I could tell less than half way through that I was feeling weaker. I couldn't remember my exact pace from before but thought I'd need to push a little bit to stay ahead of the previous pace. Conditions on the trail were pretty good. It was much drier than before but some leafy protrusions obstructed the trail at times. I sweat a lot. My time was almost 3 minutes faster.

Shenandoah National Park, VA - Big Meadows Campground. After packing up the campsite, Peggy, Max, Miles and I hiked the Forest Discovery Trail from our nice A68 campsite to the Big Meadows Visitor Center. It was a very easy hike mostly downhill until a steeper climb at the end. The frequent placards along the trail were in the process of being updated. We saw marsh to our left and some navigable terrain with scattered boulders elsewhere. It might be fun to have an O-map of the greater Big Meadows area but it'd take a lot of work to make and the park seems to frown on off-trail uses.

From the Big Meadows Visitor Center in Shenandoa National Park, VA, I ran on trails down toward Lewis Falls, then turned north on the Appalachian Trail to return to our campsite for our mini-van. I ran with a purchased map but it was way off-scale. Peggy and I were both hoping to take turns running but she graciously let me go instead of her since there wasn't enough time for both of us. Along the AT on a big long hill climb, I spotted a big wild turkey. As two other woman hikers were coming the other way, I explained what I'd seen. They seemed excited at the thought of seeing it too and almost forgot to tell me about the bear they'd just seen... I got to a great overlook of the Shenandoah Valley without seeing any bears. I've seen them before and if I wanted a high probability of seeing them again I'd have gone to Loft Mountain--not something for the kids first camping trip. At the amphitheater slide show the night before, the park service ranger quizzed everyone about what was most dangerous. It turned out that lightning, deer, and snakes were ahead of bears in that order. A previous park ranger holds the Guiness Book of World Record for having 7 lifetime strikes. Another ranger, still alive, had 4. The bear danger was downplayed so much that the ranger made fun of it by showing statistical comparisons. Cheating vending machines have killed more people over the decades by falling on their attackers. The bear danger was made better by park efforts to educate people about safe food practices and by relocations.

McKeldin State Park, near Granite, MD. After a drive back from Virginia and a short break at home, Peggy, Max and I made it to the QOC Summer Short Series training. Jan Merka watched Max so both Peggy and I got out into the woods a short bit apart. The training was in the area used for Day 3 of the QOC Ran-It Granite A-meet last Spring.

I started off okay spiking the first four controls and catching Peggy at #2. I must have been close on #5 but then overshot, relocated and then came back to it. Ted Good has set this as technical training for US and Canadian national team members Eddie Bergeron and Jon Torrance so it was no surprise that I had similar troubles with the next several controls. I drifted right, then left before stopping a few feet from #6; I then saw the small flagging which Ted had marked all the controls with. On #7, I got to the area well enough but in the woodland light I couldn't read the map well enough. I wandered with Francis Hogel near a quary before realizing that the boulder I was looking for was in a reentrant--I later agreed with Ted that the area there was so packed with mappable stuff that it's just hard to show things. I went the southern or left route to #8. Around to the right would have been technically easier and only a hair longer. I read a reentrant there incorrectly for a very brief time before hearing Francis give it away. I started to go off the way Francis had, then realized he was running a shorter course. I turned back and had Ted Good right behind me after passing #8 again. Ted ran a better route and got ahead. Along the way I forgot that #9 was in a pit. Not being able to focus well on the map while chasing Ted, my eyes focused on a boulder in the middle of the circle. Ted of course having set the course and mapped the map went to the correct pit--it was one that I'd made a similar small mistake on in the A-meet last Spring. Going to #10, I closed a gap on Ted. He stuck to a trail and climbed a bit extra perhaps giving me a chance to get ahead without being obvious. I took the lower route on the hillside and did get there first but only barely. Going to #11, I led going right around some water filled small quarries. I was unsure what to expect of them in the summer but it turned out that they were filled as mapped. I had to climb higher than expected to get around the quarry cliffs so going low may have been better. Going to #12, I ran like I had to #7, then attacked off the large quarry corner. I hesitated along the way but soon saw Ted going more directly on my right. He slowed enough to let me get there first. I was going to let him go first to #13 but he said it didn't matter since we were nearly done. I went a bit left of the line to stay high early. Going a bit to the right side like Ted had done might have been better. I crossed a trail and got confused enough to drop into the wrong reentrant. I must have been reading my compass incorrectly. I was swift at relocating so I made my correction fast; unfortunately for me, Ted was long gone. I ran a straighter route than necessary to get to #14. I felt the lowlands were getting too messy. I ran around reentrants and got a bit confused getting out of the woods and to the finish.

This was great training for me. The technical terrain might be the best I'll get all Summer. It was made harder by the basket wavy grass obscuring rocks and sticks and sometimes large pits. My legs felt a bit rubbery from increasing my cycling commuting last week but I ran up hills and through the grass with some strength. The woods looked very different (thicker) from last Spring but I navigated better in areas where I'd messed-up last time. The small flagging used for controls this time made it harder.

McKeldin State Park. After arriving back from the SSS training, Max told me that he wanted to go orienteering. He didn't realize that we were just at the park for training. He wanted to do the White course. He was probably bored while waiting and tired from the long day. I obliged him by trying to do a map walk with him. He wasn't in a state of mind to really learn or read the map though we did look at it. We just walked to the large quarry and back. A black dog followed/walked with us; it had followed Eddie B. while he was training. I presume it got back to its owners who were hanging out and floating in the water filled quarry. I carried Max back on my shoulders most of the way.

Shenandoah National Park, VA. From Skyline Dr., Peggy, Max, Max's friend Miles, and I hiked down the Dark Hollow Falls Trail to the first set of falls. It was a bit humid out but the cooler mountain air was refreshing. The water was more so. I got my feet wet up to my ankles and dunked my head under the falls. The kids went in further. The water was pretty shallow but they had swim suits on. I was mostly dry by the time I got back up to the top. The kids pretended to be sled dogs and pulled an imaginary leash most of the way. I hadn't been to these very accessible falls in a decade or more. I suppose we've been orienteering too much.

Shenandoah National Park, VA - Big Meadows Campground. After setting-up camp for Max and Miles first ever overnight camping, Peggy, the boys and I went to gather wood (we had to buy it; the campground is popular and gets picked over. It was heavy enough to justify logging this) and later made a second trek across the campground areas for an amphitheater slide show in the twighlight and dark. The camping was a great success. Peggy's smores were the best I've ever had. I usually don't like burned and melted marshmallow. The kids did pretty well though not without some expected melt downs from Max. We say plenty of deer and the kids began to ignore them mostly; one time, I did have to stop Max from running up on a fawn and her mother. I had wanted to show Max the Milky Way at night but there were clouds. Fortunately when things happen in the mountains, they are more dramatic. We had great views of lightning lighting up thunderheads over the valley to the east. I only briefly managed to sprinkle on us long after we were in our tent. The stars did come out very late too as a mild cold front swept through.

From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. with Max in his trailer, then to C St., SW, Washington, D.C. via the Capital Crescent Trail and Ohio Dr. I felt much more tired this morning. I haven't ridden to work 4 days in a week since last Fall and I got less rest last night. With a late start the trail was less crowded. I felt less need to push so I took it easier. There was less tailwind and it was around 80 F.

From 12th St . SW, Washington, D.C. to Maple Ave., then to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. It took a while to warm-up and I surprised myself. My speed on the early flatter parts was just a bit faster than when climbing the grade later. I had expected to slow down much more but I kept spinning. It was a moderate ride all around with some but not much wind. I was 40:20 at Maple Ave.

From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. with Max in his trailer, then to C St., SW, Washington, D.C. via the Capital Crescent Trail and Ohio Dr. I felt pretty good overall. I was using my lungs better. After dropping off Max, I gradually got moving faster. I crossed Little Falls Rd. just ahead of a fast group that was getting on the trail. I towed all of them well into Georgetown weaving into the left lane a lot to pass a bunch of other cyclists and some runners. I was doing 23mph down the hill and 20-21mph on the flats. There was a tailwind. I slowed the last few blocks with traffic getting into the building. Though my time is slower it was a faster ride than the day before. I didn't feel any knee issues though last night my right knee was hotter than the left.

From 12th St . SW, Washington, D.C. to Maple Ave., then to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. There was a little less headwind along the water (mainly due to a drafting off a bus) and more headwind on the trail after Georgetown. I towed a guy in my draft from before the water treatment plant to Falls Rd. and slowed after that. I was 40:39 at Maple Ave.

From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. with Max in his trailer, then to C St., SW, Washington, D.C. via the Capital Crescent Trail and Ohio Dr. I had a good tailwind most of the way and the weather was cool. I felt stronger; going 22-24mph down the hill and +20mph on the flats until I got passed in the last 3/4 of a mile into Georgetown by a pair doing 23-24mph. I hung on to them. There was some headwind the last few miles along with a few riders spurring me to push the pace.

With the train crash yesterday, while riding, I was thinking about the safety comparison between riding the metro trains and riding my bike. I have a lot more close calls on bicycle but these are somewhat more under my control. Today I almost bit it cycling on a crowded trail. I'd just passed a cyclist and a runner with another cyclist coming from the other direction, and a lady walking her big labrador ahead on the right going my way too. I gave an audible warning to pass the woman and her big dog but inexplicably she decided right there and then to make a u-turn across my path. It was fortunate that I had slowed enough before hand to miss hitting them. The woman with the dog seemed oblivious as to what had happened.

From 12th St . SW, Washington, D.C. to Maple Ave., then to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I had headwinds to Georgetown and once again, the shelter of trees after that. I was slightly slower on the flats but oddly stronger and faster on the hills than the day before. My right knee had bothered me a bit in the morning and I felt some strain again going home. I was 41:12 at Maple Ave.

From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. with Max in his trailer, then to C St., SW, Washington, D.C. via the Capital Crescent Trail and Ohio Dr. My family came and left a lot of food yesterday so today I'm heavy... Starting out, another guy climbing a hill caught up and asked about commuting with Max. I've been getting more frequent inquiries about it. The guy asking is expecting a kid of his own. I explained it's well worth it. In the brief time available to talk and ride it's hard to understand what part of the commute that people asking want to know about. I drop off both Max and his trailer at his day care faciltiy and pickup just the trailer on my way back (Peggy picks up Max before I get home). Having alternate commute methods is necessary so my backup plans are to drive to the metrorail station, ride just to the local metrorail station, use a bus and metrorail, or walk to the metrorail station. After separating from the guy inquiring, our paths crossed again. He unknowingly took a longer route into Bethesda so Max and I saw him again as we waited at a traffic light.

The ride into DC was nice. I had a good tailwind and the air was cooler than it usually is this time of year. I cruised 20-22mph down the hill and about 20-21mph on the flats. I started to tire approaching Georgetown. I slowed a bit the last few miles. I rode in with my laptop but it wasn't very obtrusive. I feel it more when climbing on the way home.

From 12th St . SW, Washington, D.C. to Maple Ave., then to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I had headwinds going to Georgetown and almost bailed into Rock Creek. Expecting the headwinds to contine, things seemed to get easier once I hit the Capital Crescent Trail. I couldn't tell if the wind had changed or if the trees were just providing that much protection. I spinned well, slowing speed a few times to keep up the cadence. I had some more headwinds after crossing Massachusetts Ave. I was 41:52 at Maple Ave where I picked up the trailer.

C • Bike 3

From Northfield Rd., I did some errands around Bethesda, I rode both going and returning with some things in my hands so I was slow. I had a nice Father's Day greeting after sleeping in this day and I had been cleaning up the house before running to be ready for my parents and sisters coming by after lunch.

Summer Short Series (SSS). Tom Nolan had created a map of his neighborhood for the second SSS of the season. It was quite fun but not many were able to make it. The torrential rains may have kept some away. We were fortunate for the rains to have stopped long enough for the roads to dry out. A fast wind was blowing the whole time too which was good because it kept it cool. I started out behind Peggy and my old roommate Ralph Keith, from undergrad days who had stopped by for a visit. Similar to myself several years back, he hadn't orienteered since our college days. He wasn't able to run because of an injury but he did walk it successfully. I passed Peggy getting there just before the first control. I rushed up the short leg to the second and instinctively felt the need to run out fast before Peggy caught me. Doing that I missed what was perhaps the better route choice to back out and go around to the left to #3. I hadn't done much running for a while so I felt awkward climbing to the top of the course. Having missed some recent events, I also felt I hadn't orienteered on a course in a while so the process of just reading and running was good. On the way to #9, I dropped down off the field too soon. I should have been keeping better track along the way. I stayed low and got to the correct street before turning. However following the stream along the road I couldn't find the control. A search well past and then back up didn't reveal it. I searched the other side of the stream and then in and out of the few crossing trails. I was the first through on the course so I wanted to be sure it was gone before leaving the area. The next control was fairly easy but slightly misplaced due to mismapped vegetation. I was a little surprised to have finished so quick since the same distance in the woods would often take longer. I lost at least 5 minutes looking for #9 which no one else found either--someone said they heard some laughing from a house near where the control should have been so we probably know what happened to it.

My warmdown for the SSS was to go backwards on the course to make sure that my old roommate Ralph didn't get hung up on #9. I found him in the correct area and he'd only been there a few minutes. I walked back with him.

We had another very nice dinner at the Nolan house after all this.

Upper Marlboro, MD. I started exploring the new map which Dave Linthicum made over the last year. It's a new part of the Patuxent River park system, about 3 miles north of Rte. 4, off of Rte. 301. The map title and sign in the park weren't the same. The sign in the park labels the place Swanson Rd. Natural Area. I didn't get to see very much. I had woke up late and while getting ready in the morning, I couldn't find my streamer roll. I had to stop at Home Depot to pickup more and I got delayed there getting some other needed items for around the house.

The parking area is tiny. I think 3 or 4 cars would fill the designated lot. There are some open fields there. Some had wheat ready to harvest. It had been raining a lot the last few days so I found the woods to be lush and far more green than the map would indicate. I think in the winter it would be much nicer. I got to my first control easily but it took a long while going along the bottoms, to make progress to the next. I wanted to stay low to make sure I could read features along the way and set the control correctly in an area with high risk of making parallel errors. Though a creek I crossed was swollen, I got across easily and only a little wet. I found some deep mud on my return crossing, then I had trouble making my way up a steep saturated slope. It was like places in Ohio for a little while but once I got out of the bottoms, the woods were much nicer. At another control in a ditch which was more of a gully, I spyed a crayfish crawling around.

Dave claims he hadn't intended the map to be used for orienteering but he did a nice enough of a job. There were some things, and especially the field edges, which were a little off here and there. The ditch at the second control for instance, was much closer to the field than mapped and a thicket island in the same field was bigger than shown.

The fields were kind of fun with some roll to them. When crossing one field, I surprised a fawn. It took off when I unknowingly got within 10 ft. and it raced an S pattern while running so low to the ground to stay hidden, that it looked like a small dog for a while. It darted into the woods in the direction of my next control so I ran around.

I ran out of time having only whetted my interest in the area. I never even got to the area I consider to be a technical area. I had to get back for a special Father's Day show that Max's class was putting on. All the day care fathers were there and I made it with only 2 minutes to spare. Immediately afterward I had an appointment with our builder about an addition on our home that will start work at the end of July. I'll go back to Swanson Rd. Natural Area and finish course setting exploration for a QOC Summer Short Series event which will be held later in this Summer.

Bethesda, MD. From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. via the Georgetown Branch Trail with Max in the trailer, then back home w/o the trailer, then to the Bethesda Metro Station. After dropping off Max I realized I had forgotten to bring my lock with me so I had to go home to get it. With the little bit of extra riding, I got sweaty in my work clothes :( I should have brought the trailer home with me. Now I'll have to grab it as usual on the return trip.

From the Bethesda Metro station to Maple Ave., then to Northfield Rd. via the Georgetown Branch Trail. I was rushing home a little bit so that Peggy and I could go out for our wedding anniversary. There was a cool breeze blowing almost like at the ocean.

From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. with Max in his trailer, then to C St., SW, Washington, D.C. via the Capital Crescent Trail and Ohio Dr. With nicer weather ahead and hopefully a less busy work day, I though it time to get back on the saddle. I rolled along comfortably, passing regularly. After passing Fletcher's Boathouse and on the flats, I was content to slow to about 17mph for a mile until I got passed. I hung on to the guy until in the city doing 21mph to 23mph. I cruised the rest in from there. There's still some construction and a closed trail at the Watergate area. There were some headwinds by the Kennedy Center but it was all from the side on Ohio Dr. My helmet kept slipping down toward my eyes on the ride so I had to keep pushing it back up. I knew I was losing weight but is that proof that it's all been in my head?

From 12th St & Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C. to Maple Ave., then to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I left work after 8pm and as often have in the past, I rode through the basement of the two block long building to get to 12th & Independence Ave., SW. It sure seemed fast as I got up to 10mph at my peak indoors. The ride home was smooth and uneventful. The prime characteristic was a lack of power. I kept a fair cadence and oddly, the ride felt like it does when I'm going about 3mph faster. Had I left earlier I would have encountered a small thunderstorm from Fletcher's Boathouse up almost to Dalecarlia--the trail had been wet there but was dry elsewhere. I finished just as it was getting dark. This is about the only time of year when I can leave work that late and do that.

C • small thunderstorm 2

From Northfield Rd. Custer Rd. to Huntington Pkwy. to Maple Ridge Rd. to the Bethesda Trolley Trail/NIH Trail, to Jones Bridge Rd. to Maryland Ave. to Pearl St. to East-West Hwy., to the Georgetown Branch Trail, to the Rock Creek Trail, to Beach Dr. to Cedar La. to the Elmhirst Trail. to the NIH Trail along Rockville Pike, to Maple Ridge Rd. to Old Georgetown Rd. to Huntington Pkwy to Custer Rd. to Northfield Rd. I had been working in the yard most of the morning. I took a break at lunch time with Peggy and Max. Max rode in his trailer. He got yet another fast food restraunt toy and some time at a playground in Rock Creek Park. This was a nice casual ride on a nice comfortable day. However, I felt a bit lazy in my muscles all day.

After more work on the yard including putting down some pavers along the road, Peggy, Max and I went out for dinner with our friends Bob and Ben. We came back and had brownies with ice cream. Eventually we got home and I got Max into bed. At about 10pm it was finally time for me to run. While running my muscles felt better than I had earlier in the day but this didn't happen immediately. Running on a stomach still full from dinner and dessert I just had to take it slow starting off and at other places. In fact, I struggled multiple times against some cramps. From Northfield Rd. to Custer Rd. to Huntington Pkwy. to Maple Ridge Rd. to the Bethesda Trolley Trail/NIH Trail, to Rockville Pike, to Cedar La. to the Rock Creek Trail, to Grosvenor Rd. to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to Old Georgetown Rd. to Greenwich Park, to Northfield Rd. The nighttime trail was fairly easy to see. There were a few slippery/muddy spots. The fireflies were out in a few places too. My last mile was about 7:30 pace.

I'd been busy all week at work and have been still getting over being sick. Having missed a planned run on Friday evening because of getting home late and other things, I was looking forward to the opening QOC Summer Short Series (SSS) event in Great Falls, MD. We had a picnic to attend at Candy Cane Park (Rock Creek near Chevy Chase, MD) before the the training. At the picnic in the playground area, Max had been climbing on some 15" square vertical wooden posts with irregular heights. He'd done this many times before and at least 2 times this day. I was surprised at how easily he could do it now compared to a year ago. UnfortunateIy, he slipped and on the way down banged the side of his head near his right eye on a rounded corner. Though overall he was okay after some crying, we had to take him to the emergency room to get him checked out and to stop the bleeding. They said it was a contusion. The taped him up with Steri Strips rather than use stiches so close to his eye. He was still a little bloody drippy hours later.

With the ER visit, we missed the SSS training setup by Dave Onkst (we did have yet another fine dinner with friends). Missing another opportunity to run motivated me. I had to wait until I digested but very late, 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 Georgetown Pike, to Huntington Pkwy., to Custer Rd. to Northfield Rd. It was a nice calm summery night. I wasn't trying to move that fast but I did run 40 seconds faster than my last try on this route. I thought it was going to be slower because I had increased nasal drip all day however I was glad to find that my lungs could breath pretty well.

Bethesda, MD. From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. via the Georgetown Branch Trail, then to the Bethesda Metro Station. I woke up at 5am and after getting back in bed I fell into a pattern of nasal drip coughing. I didn't sleep much after that and was not eagar to ride in. With more storms predicted and an expectation to work late again tonight, I was on the fence about riding in until Max in his usual emphatic way stated his preference to ride. He played with his Optimus Prime helmet while I got ready then just as emphatically stated that he didn't want to ride this morning; if we drove, he could play with his helmet until we got to his school. It was too late to change directions for me so I rode.

At one point starting from a stop and going up an incline I again felt sudden pain in my right knee. When I was running more the previous week, I had started to hope that this I'd seen the last of this but it looks like it may be around for a much longer time. It hurt several more times on the ride and occured with much easier torque than on earlier rides that set it off. I slowed my riding even more.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd. It was an odd day yesterday. At lunchtime at work there was a lot of activity going on around the building associated with the shooting at the Holocaust Museum across the street. Streets were closed off and I had to evacuate my office from the afternoon onward for fear of possible stray bullets or explosions. I worked until pretty late at the other end of the building (it's about two blocks long). It was already dark when I left. Emerging from the Bethesda Metro station I found it was raining pretty good. I forgoed my usual stop at Max's day care to pickup his trailer and left it there overnight. When the thunderstorm subdued I rode home. Perhaps I should have taken Max's second advice from the morning after all especially considering the compatibility of riding with laptos in the rain.

Bethesda, MD. From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. via the Georgetown Branch trail, then to the Bethesda Metro Station. Though my lungs are still congested and I am coughing up phlegm, with a nice morning like this I just had to ride. I was tempted to ride in but after riding this much shorter way, I'm pretty sure I made the correct decision.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Maple Ave. to Northfield Rd. When riding this shorter commute over the cooler months I didn't need to bring a change of clothes. However, at this time of year it's a lot more comfortable, especially for the return commute. Unfortunately I had forgotten to bring the extra clothes wtih me this morning.

Event: QOC Beer Chase
 

I had been feeling pretty lousy on Saturday though I had to go to work then. On Sunday morning I felt much better and contemplated running a shorter course of the Beer Chase. I remained undecided right up until we arrived at the park. After the race, meeting and festivities, I played several holes of disc golf with Jon Torrance, Ted Good, Tim Good, Io Good, and Max. The walking and throwing wasn't bad for me (though my consistency was awful) but whenever I had to climb up a steep hill (after recovering from a bad throw) I could tell that I had little lung power. Max was enthusiastic throughout the disc golfing despite attending a friend's birthday party in the morning and then running around playing with other kids while parents ran the Beer Chase. Max switched discs, throwed and ran from throw to throw. I carried him up a few hills but he charged ahead on his own most of the time. He wanted to do it again once we got home. One day he'll learn that there is scoring to disc golfing. I sure he beat Io who competes as "if this were a bowling score..."

Washington, D.C. With bad storms predicted for later today, I didn't bicycle commute. At lunchtime I did a reverse version of what I call the Memorial Tour from my office (From 14th & Independence Ave. SW, past the Tidal Basin, and Jefferson Memorial over 14th St. Bridge to the Mt. Vernon Trail, past Lady Bird Johnson Memorial to Memorial Bridge past the Lincoln Memorial, along Independence Ave., over the Kutz Bridge, to 14th St. to C. St. SW. to 13th St. SW). Before going out the weather was reported to be 77F. It felt much warmer. I suppose that I was still a bit tired from the longer run around the airport. I also didn't get enough sleep and felt heavy from a big Olive Garden dinner on the way home from picking up Peggy and Max at the BWI Airport. I think the +60% humidity did it to me too. I was fading the last mile but overall my time for this was normal.

Bethesda, MD. From Northfield Rd. to the Bethesda Metro Station. Since Max and Peggy were still in Minnesota, I had a pretty easy morning. I got to sleep in a bit and get to work easily. I was tempted to ride in to work but since I have to pickup both of my better halves from the airport after work, and since I had to carry my laptop in, I only rode this short, easy commute. The pedaling felt easy and the air was very comfortable.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd. Commuting between the station and home sure is easy without extra stops and a trailer to pull! I rushed a bit so that I could meet Peggy and Max at the airport.

Anne Arundel County, MD. I had been traveling home most of the day, without time to do a run before leaving Peggy and Max in Minnesota. My plane got delayed an hour in Chicago by a thunderstorm. The storm had hit just as the boarding got finished. By the time I landed I felt I had but one option to run for the night. From Thomas A. Dixon Jr. Aircraft Observation Area, I ran the Baltimore Washington International Airport Trail. I had done this prevously after a flight home but it really felt like it was a long time since I'd both run the trail and run on pavement for this long of a distance. I was a bit worried about running out of gas before making my way around. It was already getting darker just over half way around. However, the evening air was cool and a good breeze was blowing. I tried getting splits wherever I saw markers but some were missing. The trail rolls along but I felt I had good energy up to about 5 miles. After that, I climbed strong to the top of the route where there's a great view of planes descending overhead onto a runway below. You could see the whole runway from this area. What was wierder was spotting an Emu behind a fenced area on the climb up. I thought that this was airport land but he could have belonged to a nearby park farm. He appeared to be hanging around looking for handouts from passers-by. I slowed on the climb and for a little while after that. I got a second wind on a long gradual descent back in the direction of where I had parked. Unfortunately it was not a straight line from there. Once off of the long straightway in the wind, I slowed again in the more protected woods where the trail twisted and rolled a bit. When I couldn't remember if the loop around the airport was under 10 miles or under 12 miles. I kept thinking it was under 10 until I'd gotten over 9 and knew there was a lot to go. Available splits and distances in miles: 3:45 (0.5), 3:45, (0.5), 3:46, (0.51), 7:30, (1.03), 3:57, (0.53), 3:49, (0.51), 11:44, (1.54), 3:58, (0.51), 3:53, (0.52), 3:41, (0.51), 3:47, (0.49), 3:38, (0.5), 3:39, (0.49), 3:43, (0.49), 3:43, (0.5), 3:53, (0.51).