Training Log Archive: Nadim

Summer Short Series at Glen Artney, MD. Ted Good set streamer course starting from the Catonsville Community College campus. It took a little adjustment to find the streamers--I stood right next to a few early-on w/o seeing them. It was hot out but I felt pretty good despite spending a couple of hours earlier in the heat picking up after the Friday night storm. The forest temperature felt okay but I lost a lot of water weight. I tested the mapping of the woods early going straightish to #1 and found them to be greener than mapped. I used trails more after that which worked well. Since the exercise was about route choices for longer courses, using the trails was natural. Though I didn't push the pace due to the distance and heat, I felt unusually strong during the run. My feet felt light. There was debris from the storm but the park and areas chosen for the course were fairly good as far as green terrain goes. Racing here earlier in the spring in other parts of the park, I didn't think the same for much of the time. However, this time I had more trouble running through rocky ground. Initially, the course was steep too so I found myself running and then walking up hills a lot. Later I could run more steadily. I was fairly accurate with many short attack points but had trouble on the last control when I attacked early from a poor attack point, and turned the wrong way. We enjoyed pizza later and got to see Gail Ryan/Pat Ryan who'd watched Max while Peggy and I ran.

A planned evening run was cancelled when a dechero hit the area with sudden force. Tree branches broke all around and a few trees fell onto houses and cars in the area. We were lucky in that we retained power and only lost cable/Internet services. On window pane was broken. Neighbor houses on either side were damaged more.

Cabin John Regional Park, MD. From the ballfield parking lot, I ran the Cabin John Trail north across Tuckerman Ln. and got onto the unofficial trails paralleling I-270. There was a new one forged by cyclists and at least one of the older ones is now intermittant. It was about 96 F on the road but in the upper 80s F with moderate humidy in the forest. I felt fine. The slow times reflect some pauses in deciding which off trail route to use, and some genuine bushwhacking. I met Peggy and Max for dinner later.

Cabin John Regional Park, MD. I tried to finish-up the ballfield area but there's a little bit more plus some small patches of wooded land along Westlake Dr. to do too.

From Northfield Rd., Greenwich Park, to Old Georgetown Rd. to Beech Dr. to to Singleton Dr. to Bulls Run Pkwy., to the trail along the school to Bradmore Dr. to Folkstone Rd. to Hartsdale Ave. to Heampstead Ave. to McKinley St. to Garfield St., to Roosevelt St., to the trail at Jefferson St. to Northfield Rd. It was in the low 80's F. I felt better than the last two days and didn't think that I was going as fast as I was.

From Northfield Rd. to Ayrlawn Park with Max, then back, then to the Bethesda Metro Station. Max happier to ride today. It was much cooler, like a late April morning in the low 60s F.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd.

From Northfield Rd., through Greenwich Park to Old Georgetown Pike, to W. Cedar La. to the Elmhirst Trail, to Cedar La. to the Rock Creek Trail, to Beach Dr. to Grosvenor La. to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to Old Georgetown Rd. and to Northfield Rd. via Greenwich Park. I worked late so I ended up eating dinner before running. Watching the PrefontaineTrack & Field meet on television kept me motivated while I digested. I had told Max that I was going to find the lightning bugs when I went running. I eventually did find them. They were only in the darkest spots--the kind of places where Ineeded to just about stop running to keep from having an accident. The night was rather nice-in the low 70s F and mostly feeling dry.

From Northfield Rd. to Ayrlawn Park with Max, then back, then to the Bethesda Metro Station. Max was a bit sleepy and reluctant to ride. The ride through Bethesda yesterday made him more nervous than he had made known. I was getting warm by the time I got to the station.

Washington, D.C. From 12th & Independence Ave., SW, onto The Mall, past the Washington Monument and down along the Reflecting pool ( still under construction, to Lincoln Circle. to Ohio Dr. to the Rock Creek Trail, to Calvert St., NW to the Woodley Park/Zoo Metro Station. I had been feeling weak legged for a while and sore in my quads, even when not exercising. With no other explanation (not running or biking much the last two weeks) I guess the soreness is from a combination of the lack of training, acclimating to the heat, and not sleeping enough. I started off somewhat sluggishly but with a strong cool headwind it was better than I feared. I caught and hooked up with another runner for a while--he runs with a group meeting on the Capital Steps. The wind made me feel slow along the water but once on the Rock Creek Trail, I was feeling more strength and confidence. Going up the last hill was a struggle but the run seemed to shake off some of the soreness and weakness.

Feom the Bethesda Metro Station to Ayrlawn Park to get Max's bike, then back then to Northfield Rd. I rode pulling Max's bike along and was happy that it wasn't too low for me to hold. I was sweaty after my run but dry after the breezy ride. Max met me at the driveway with a nice hug.

From Northfield Rd. to the Bethesda Metro Station, then back. I was rushing to meet friends for a movie.

From Northfield Rd. to Wisconsin Ave. for dinner, then back. Peggy, Max and I had dinner with friends.

Cabin John Regional Park, MD. I only had a short while but thought there to be a chance of completing the map today. I finished-off most of the wooded areas but as time was running short, I got into a small but detailed depression with reentrants that took time. I added some root stocks which I had left out earlier when short on time. I also changed some of the wooded areas to white from light green. I still have to double check my drafting of that, a small area of woods near a road, and the ball field/tennis court areas to go over.

Wheaton Regional Park, MD. Tom Nolan set a lot of controls for QOC Summer Short Series (SSS) training today. We started with a trail-o of 8 controls set on a 4K course. Going rignt from the end of that was a sprint using mainly open terrain and trails. I ran in my trail shoes which I had been wearing since doing field checking, and felt slow. It was interesting to have the trail-o spread out over this distance. I hadn't been doing any real map reading lately so doing that on the trails alone was good. The Wheaton map isn't very technical nor is it very precise and detailed. This added to the interest since I had to figure out on the run where the map was off. On the trail-o, I missed 3 of the 8 controls--I didn't go back out to see why since after the sprint portion of the training, I was rather thirsty and tired. Though for the trail-o, Tom used real controls, on the sprint through the popular grassy areas, It took some gettinding used to finding the small streamers.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 12th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. After a nice small vacation, I'm back to work and more training. It was about 78F starting out and humid. I rode steadily and felt weakish. Everyone was spaced out evenly on the trail as if it might keep them cooler. My front derailed cable slipped at a bump and left me in the middle ring. It was okay for the last +2 miles and kept me from pushing gears too hard. There was traffic at the end.

From 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. It had cooled off from 97 F to 95 F when I got started. I felt fine riding. With my front ring stuck on my 42 from this morning, I spun. There was a slight headwind. I kept a nice pace. After Georgetown and halfway to Fletcher's Boathouse, a younger roadie woman passed me. I tucked-in behind her and picked up the pace. It was faster than I've been riding lately at 21mph on the flats and 18 to 20 mph up the hill. I would of pulled for her too but every time when I thought she slowed, she'd resume a faster pace than I could hold for long. She turned off at River Rd. and I continued at a nice pace.

45 Situps.

From Northfield Rd Bethesda, MD., to Old Georgetown Rd. via Greenwich Park, to Johnson Ave. to Heamsteadt Ave. to McKinley Ave. to Garfield St. to Roosevelt. Ave. to Jefferson St. to Northfield Rd. I might not have gone out if it weren't for feeling lazy, and the nice weather outside. For Peggy's and my anniversary, we went out to see the Capital Steps--always funny! By the time we picked-up Max and got him to bed, it was getting late. I still felt full too. With the moonless night, I had to go really slow in a few places. The endureance from the run yesterday carried through to the run today.

Rehoboth, DE. From the trailhead at seaside Outlet Dr., to the Junction & Breakwater Trail, to Gills Neck Rd., to E. Savannah Rd. in Lewes, DE, to Second St., a u-turn back eastward on Savannah Rd., to Cape Henlopen Dr., into Cape Henlopen State Park, the Pinelands Nature Trail to an unnamed trail paralleling north of the Great Sand Dune, past Fort Miles, past the Environmental Training Center, onto the Walking Dunes Trail, onto Gordon's Pond Trail, to Ocean Dr., in Rehoboth, DE, onto N. Surf Ave., onto the Boardwalk, and to Rehoboth Ave.

I had done so little exercise that I wanted to get in a significant run. I guessed this incomplete loop might be 12 miles before setting out. Peggy and Max started it off with me on their bikes. We passed terrain not unlike that in Fair Hill State Park, in MD. There were wooded areas and farm fields except that it was flatter. There was also some evidence of the former rail line part of the trail, having been a horse trail too. The woodlands did have some contour to them and significant amounts looked like they would be alright to run through. The trail crossed some salt marshes too, using bridges. The open marsh smelled of decay and the forest surrounding the marshes would not have been fun to cross off-trail. However the marshes were pretty, and huge. Just before the trail exited the forest for the last time, Peggy and Max turned around, ~2.75 miles out. Max did well cycling at my slow but steady running pace. I wondered when he'd reach this point on bicycle; the flatness helped.

Moving on, I got a call from my sister about coordinating a Father's Day get together--this was about my father. After stopping for that, the trail soon ran out. I also developed an ever increasing need for a bathroom. I just made it into downtown Lewes to the place I ate lunch at yesterday. I also stopped and bought a Gatorade, forcing myself to drink it all before proceeding. After some flat straight and windy roads, I enjoyed getting into the forest again and this time on dirt and sand trails. There were just enough pine needles over the sand to run normally on it. The forest opened-up near the Great Sand Dune. This looked great but it became harder to run and harder to follow the now forking trail. I lost it completely before climbing and intersecting it again. I had some park road and dirt trail running after that.

As I got to Herring Point at about 10 miles and on the Gordon's Pond Trail, heading south, the trail was immediately sandy and mostly open. Some foolhardy soles appear to have tried to cycle the trail for a way. It soon got to the point of trying to run in a sand box for me. The hot white sand was clean, fine and loose. The views however were cool as the air and the strong ocean winds. I stopped several times to take pictures and got a few neat dot knolls of sand that had been built up around vegetation by blowing winds. After +0.5 miles of this, a view over Gordon's Pond emerged. The trail descended there and was on dirt/dry mud, and grass. The pond area was pretty too so I stopped multiple times for more pictures. I was getting tired.






The long straight stretch of Ocean Dr. taking me to downtown Rehoboth required some mental stamina and technique. I shifted focus to the wind at my back, and the vanishing point ahead. I was willing myself into a trance that made time compress, and made me feel like I was going faster; even though I wasn't. After the road was over, the boardwalk which seems so long to walk went by very quickly.

I found Peggy and Max at Funland and enjoyed some time there.




I hadn't realized how dehydrated I had gotten. With it being so cool, I hadn't felt very thirsty but it took a lot of drinking before I needed to pee. The run was longer than planned but rather enjoyable. This terrain is so different to run on. I used to be good at flat land running in high school. Here, the use of the same muscle groups over and over felt like a struggle toward the end. Sitting in the water at the water park after lunch was nice.

Cape Henlopen State Park, DE. Being rather tired last night, I was ready for bed early in our hotel. I started trawling the Intnet for what to do the next day. However, Max was having a hard time getting asleep with our lights on while we read. He crawled up next to me and then fell asleep. I soon fell asleep too but when Peggy was ready to sleep, I had to carry Max into his bed. That woke me up enough to let my mind start thinking of work and life and I had a rough time falling to sleep a second time. I dreamt vividly and had some not so nice, unrestful dreams. Eventually, I woke up after Peggy's run and shortly after Max woke too. After a late breakfast, I found a map of Cape Henlopen with trails and having wanted to checkout these scrubby dune lands since coming to the area in high school with a friends's family, I thought it a perfect time to finally explore them.

We started at the Nature Center in the park and went clockwise. While Peggy was pointing out a nice open section of pines that would be good for orienteering, Max got so distracted that he rode off the edge of the paved trail and fell in front of me. He was okay so we proceeded to an ocean view overlook, through Fort Miles with WWI big artillery pieces that Max liked, past an observation tower that we climbed, throuh a neat open dune area, past a slithering black snake crossing the trail, then back to the Nature Center. It was a cool (65 F and windy) and delightful outing. Max bought a shark's tooth at the store there. We stopped at a quilt store, a bike store, and had a late lunch in downtown Lewes. Kite flying and more fun ensued in Rehoboth in the evening.

From Northfield Rd. to the Bethesda Metro Station. I was tempted to ride all the way in but was still fairly tired. Though cool, It was wet anyway. I also anticipated having a lot to carry home.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd. It was a really busy day.

45 Situps. Busy day.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to Arlington Rd., then to 12th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. Max and I rode together. There were pockets of refreshing cooler air but elsewhere it was warmer than mornings have been. My pace accelerated as I kept passing people getting to Georgetown. It was quite fast in some spots. I eased back after Georgetown with some slight headwinds. There were lots of cyclists and other traffic out which emphasized the need for diligence.

From 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Arlington Rd., then Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I mostly had a tailwind which was good since I needed some rest. I went to check if Max had ridden home w/Peggy and found out that he and she had. There were lots of cyclists out. I steadily passed one after another and basically rode alone the whole way--that was nice because I didn't feel like I wanted to push too much.

Event: EX2 Bushwhacker Adventure Run
 

EX2 Bushwhacker Adventure Run: QOC members had been looking forward to the return of this race format last run about 2 years ago. It was basically a trail race where one was allowed to go off trail as long as one got to all the checkpoints in order and stayed on the provided map. There were many categories for the competitions. I ran the Solo which meant out and back. If I were to have taken the trail the whole way it would have been 20K roundtrip, starting at Fountainhead Regional Park, VA, and turning around at Bull Run Marina. Team partners ran ~10K each. The map was 1:16,000. Though it looked like an orienteering map, many parts of it weren't mapped to orienteering standards.

I went out chasing the lead runners. Jon Torrance, some trails runners, Ted Good (master's relay teamate category with David Onkst) ,and Ryan Hanna were ahead early. I struggled on the steep hills but made-up time opening-up my stride on downhill stretches. We'd gotten to see the map well before the start and having run the same trail in the last similar race, I knew what to expect. I stayed on trails just about the whole way to the first checkpoint. I did have some position changes during this but was just ahead of 2 runners at the checkpoint. I left after they left, and cut across the woods on the second leg. It was fun popping out ahead of them while still in sight. This happened over and over during the race, though it was more frequent on the way out. At one point Amber Tomas caught and passed me in forest. As she said later, it was good to have someone else nearby who was navigating. We both ran more confidently. We were pretty close together until just before the turnaround when she cut across a stream that I was expecting to be uncrossable as far down as she was. I made-up some distance near the turnaround when she went all the way to the parking lot--I had gotten drawn off that way too by hearing her and other people who were cheering. I drank a lot at the turnaround as I did at each stop--though the morning had started at 62 F, by race time it was pushing 70 F and we probably finished with it being in the low 80s F (later in the day it hit 96 F).

On the return, I took a better route than Amber right out of the turnarond control so even though Amber had left earlier, I was close behind soon enough. As she lead across some other shortcuts off the trail, we were still moving at similar speeds. At one point, she cut up to cross a spur that I chose to contour around more. She had made the right decision because deadfall and steepness ahead forced me to climb too. I was also slower at the next checkpoint since I took time to drink. I lost sight of her probably near where she cut up to shorten the route as we'd done together coming out. I fumbled with my map at this point and lost place of where exactly I was on the trail about then. I ended up cutting a much lower straighter route that crossed more hills. One of the trail runners caught me the next time I was on the trail but I got ahead again by taking another allowed short cut--on one of these, I think I could hear an audible sigh behind me from the runner as if it was breaking his spirit for me to get ahead on a shorter route again. Approaching the last checkpoint, someone I ran past who was headed the other way told me that Amber was about a minute ahead of me. As I left the last checkpoint, I could hear one of the runners coming in just behind me. I stuck to the trails again for the last leg. I think the route minimized the risk of unmapped deadfall slowing me down, and played to my strengths better--I was able to open up my stride going down a long hill, then climb more gradually up the next long hilll. The navigation cutting across wouldn't have been difficult but I think I would have just moved slower, probably with some walking. However, as it was, on the long trail climb, I tripped and fell pretty good, landing on a knee and my already hurt right shoulder. It happened because my legs were tiring and I didn't lift enough to get over a tree root. Still alone, I moved as best as I could--not swift but not extrordinarily tired either. Going down what was basically the last major hill, I got caught by a runner for the last time. I moved over to let him pass just before we hit the steep part of the hill with many more tree roots. I guess foot specificity coming from orienteering and not having run as far or fast as the runner worked to my advantage because I found myself pulling away instead of getting passed. Once across the creek, I popped up the steep next hill, encouraged that I had a chance to get 4th, I kept up the effort. I somehow managed to get in 10 seconds ahead of the guy who'd come up behind me.

To my surprise, not long after the runner finished, Amber Tomas finished--it turned out that she wasn't ahead of me because she'd missed the trail climbing that last big hill and lost a couple of minutes. Also, I discovered that Ryan Hannah had slowed the second half and was not ahead of me either. I ended up an unexpected 2nd overall in the Solo category to John Torrance by about 7 minutes. Perhaps one of the team category runners finished in between us. It was great to have as good a good result as this and satisfying to have won it in basically a physical effort at the end. This race had lots of great prize swag. I got a nice Patagonia cycling courier bag--something I've thought about buying several times. I also won the Male 50 year age group category,getting a drinking cup for that too--Peggy and I have enough for a set now. While things were going my way, I was fortunate to win a raffled micro IPod too. I hadn't gotten this much swag since my college road racing days. It turned out that all the regular QOC people who came to the race won something too. We had a nice lunch afterward.

photo taken by Heidi Onkst

photo taken by Heidi Onkst

C • Awesome 2

45 Situps. I would have liked to have done a short run but there wasn't much time.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to Arlington Rd., then to 12th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. Max and I rode together. It was in the low to mid 60s F this morning and very pleasant. I basically kept an easy pace though I pushed just a little bit in a few places. I had a tailwind.

From 12th St & Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C. to to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I left work late so I first had to ride through the courtyard and basement of the building to get to 12th & Independence Ave., SW. For the fist time, I saw two other cyclist in the same predicament leave ahead of me doing the same thing. When I did it, a guard happened to be walking the hall and admonished me--I wasn't really riding but was using one leg to push and the other to stand on a pedal. Once out, I went down Independence Ave. to the Rock Creek Trail along the river, the through Georgetown as I normally would. On the ride out of Georgetown, I had picked-up a drafter for a while. He took over, then I did again going up most of the hill to Dalecarlia. I had told him that promised myselft I'd take it easy so I let him lead the rest of the way to Falls Rd. where we split. I stopped early at Arlington Rd..to pickup Max's bicycle, left there from the morning. If this sounds vaguely familiar, it's very nearly and oddly conicidentally what I did on June 8th, 2011. This time I didn't have to pickup Max but Peggy and he did meet me there so that we could eat in downtown Bethesda.

From 12th and Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C. accross the National Mall, past the Washington Monument a along Constitution Ave. to Roosevelt Bridge, down ro Roosevelt Island via the dirt trail on the south side of the bridge, looping counter-clockwise around the Island to Rosslyn and the Key Bridge, down to the C&O Towpath, then across Georgetown to the edge or Rock Creek Park, to P St., NW, to the north entranceof the Dupont Circle Metro Station. There were loads of people out on a very pleasant classic Spring day. Everyone was looking their best strutting around, even the tourists. There was some kind of large concert starting as I passed the Lincoln Reflecting Pool. The music was very regular and worked okay for running. I set out to take it easy, thinking of doing 3 to 4 miles slowly. It's rare that I'd set out to do 8 miniute miles but my quads were a bit sore and needed the rest. I hadn't been on Roosevelt Island for a long time but not much had changed. In Rosslyn, I decided to stretch out the run a bit. I hadn't run on the little trail above the Rock Creek Pkwy. before. The park it went through was busy as only city parks generally can get. All were looking like they were having fun. My GPS recorded time and distance but didn't record a track--I'm not sure why.

The GPS recorded a track after all. It must have had something to do with the upload that didn't work initially but it's strange since the wasn't anything to be seen in the watch interface either.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to Arlington Rd., then to 12th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. Max and I rode together. It was 57 F this morning. Dropping him off I had ridden the first +1 mile in 10:30 minutes. I rode comfortably afterward and kept passing people by doing 20-22mph. Soon I had 2 others in tow. After the iron trestle bridge over the GW Parkway, a young but full size deer popped out on my left, and cut across to the right in front of me. I was probably 10-15ft. from hitting it going almost full speed. Surviving, along with those behind me, I did push a little on the flats after Fletcher's Boathouse to keep up my pace. Right about to enter Georgetown, another guy passed riding with a child seat strapped behind him--deflating to the ego but he was doing +22mph. I used his wheel through the busy streets and we split a mile later as I headed down river and he, to downtown. There was hardly any wind today but I did hit some slow traffic on the trail along the river.

From 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. Leaving work, I was pleased to discover a tailwind with the bit of showering that was also ocurring. I cruised to Georgetown, then through it. On the CCT, I slowly caught up to a roadie and finally passed her at afler Fletcher's Boathouse. After a little while in her draft, I towed her to the Little Falls Trail, pushing more than intended along the way. I slowed a bit more after that. Not knowing that I was going to hit 40 minutes on the nose, I did but I would have biked a little harder to get under that time.

From the Van Ness/UDC Metro Station in Washington, D.C. down Connecticutt Ave. to the Melvin-Hazen Trail, to the Rock Creek Trail to Broad Branch Rd., trails on the west side of the valley to Military Rd., then up the Valley Trail to the DC/MD border. From there I used a mish-mash of unofficial trails to pop-out at Meadowbrook Stables. I continued up the Rock Creek Trail to East-West Hwy., Freyman Dr., and Terrace Dr. to the Georgetown Branch Trail. From there I got to Woodmont Ave. and Moorland Ln. in Bethesda, MD. It was cool, in the 60s F but humid. I was really surprised at how much I had sweat and wonder how it'll be on Sunday. I kept the pace very comfortable today and felt fairly well all the way through. I had not felt so good earlier in the day just walking around.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to Arlington Rd., then to 12th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. Max and I rode together. Dropping him off I had ridden the first +1 mile in 10 minutes. The rest started out comfortable but still fast, as a cool 63 F downhill tailwing ride might be expected to be. I had towed a drafter from Falls Rd. to Georgetown. I did slow a bit when passing the Watergate complex and seeing a rescue squad lifting a bed with a bloody faced cyclist into the vehicle. I'm guessing that he collided with a pedestrian--things happen really fast in that area. I didn't sleep well last night. My head was buzzing with plan making for the summer.

From 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. The first 9/10ths of a mile of this was rather fast and I felt pretty good. After that, I rode into headwinds a lot. They were strong but I also managed to cut through with good speed. There was some reprieve from the wind in the shelter of the trees and hillsides. I had intended on going home easier and the wind was just the thing to keep me honest about it. I did step it up after getting passed by two younger guys. The leader dropped off after a mile at Dalecarlia and the oter guy got ahead as I was slowed getting around others. I caught-up to the other guy and he pushed hard. I don't think he knew I was behind him and he was in the zone. We were climbing into the reduced wind at 20mph and rounding people along the way. At one point 2 other cyclists were coming fast the other way and I backed off on passing 3 cyclists in the right lane. The guy I'd been drafting was so absorbed with his head down that he didn't see the oncoming cyclists until the last second. That would have been really ugly. He backed off after surviving that and Islowed further leaving the CCT at Falls Rd.

Event: QOC Jug Bay
 

Jug Bay Park, MD. Warm-up with Ted Good, and David Onkst.

QOC: The (Beer) Chase at Jug Bay. The end of the season event came and went fast. I didn't feel like I was running well on the first leg and by the second, I was really just feeling like it'd be great to take a rest. Of course, I messed-up there too. I chased Ted Good through the first loop though we split routes on the 3rd control. I caught up on the 2nd loop but when I saw Ted going off in a different direction, I had second thoughts or beer thoughts. I got confused and went back to a control that I'd already been to because I had thought I might have flipped the map to loop 3. Loop 2 and 3 were printed on the same page and earlier, I had remembered dropping the map when it got stuck in some stickers--I had feared that I had flipped it when I picked it back up again. I made 2 other minor errors and was really feeling the effects of the beer in ways I never had before. I was floating through the woods, not feeling the ground the same way I usually would as I was struggling to stay ahead of David Onkst. There was not much to be proud of on this race except spiking a lone tree. After the race, the effects of the beer lasted a long time and I was sore.

Long - Splits

From Northfield Rd., to Old Georgetown Rd. via Greenwich Park, to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to Woodglen Dr., to Nicholson Ln., to Executive Blvd./Jefferson St. Starting off I was a bit sleepy and even sore from not running enough lately. I had a hard time figuring out if I was going too slow or too fast. It was in the 60s F and a lot of other runners were out after the rainy last 2 days.

Cabin John Regional Park, MD. Trying to finish-up the field checking, I got a lot done but didn' have enough time to succeed. There's not a lot of forest left to go over. What I covered today was mostly white woods. It was a little harder to judge vegetation thickness now that the leaves are fully out and almost all of my previous field checking was done with them down. I found a bunch of rootstocks and added them to the map for now. All but one were only 3 feet tall so not really as big as I limited them to elsewhere. It seemed to make sense to add them since the forest was open and there was not much else in point features to this part of the map. I still have the ballfield area to cover as well as some of the upper drainage near them.

45 situps. It was rainy today so I didn't attempt to ride as I otherwise would have.