Training Log Archive: Nadim

From Northfield Rd., Greenwich Park, to Old Georgetown Rd. to Beech Dr. to Johnson Ave./Hempstead Ave. to McKinley St. to Garfield St., to Roosevelt St., to the trail at Jefferson St. to Northfield Rd. I moved slowly through this. A breeze had come up just before I started making it better, but it was still humid.

From Northfield Rd. Max and I 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. I ran late but it was cooler and drier outside.

Great Falls, MD. From the Angler's Inn parking lot, Max and I ran up the Berma Rd. to the bridge where the Billygoat Trail starts, and returned on the towpath. It was in the low 80s F but humid. The parking lot was still a little busy, but we got lucky and didn't have to wait to park. Max and I took it easy. Meanwhile, Peggy and Samantha cycled on the towpath. We all got dinner afterward.

From Cedar Ln., I took paved the Rock Creek Trail south to the Kensington Pkwy and back. Max had already worked-out and even showered-up so he rode along with me on his bicycle. We mostly talked about him getting to learn to drive and how he needs to prepare. That was nice and it made the run go much more quickly despite being in the mid 80s F. We got lunch afterward and made a stop at the hardware store.

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 ran after work. It felt hot and I felt heavy. I took shorter strides. As slow as I was going, I still didn't feel comfortable on the run.

From the playground parking lot in South Germantown Recreational Park, I check the several copses that I'd not gotten close enough to earlier. Most of these were unpleasantly green. I did however, find some erosion control ditches near the playground, and found a part of it that differed from the satellite imagery. Trees had been cut.

Hoyles Mill Conservation Park and the South Germantown Recreational Park. From the lake, I went about setting controls. Initially, I had to make an emergency trip to the store to get some tape. My shoes had been in a bag and I grabbed an older pair. This pair had one soul that was about 3/4 of the way off. After a quick repair, I realized I'd forgotten to bring streamers to set my courses with. I'd made reflective controls to support night-o and some of these had fluorescent strings. I just used those. In a few places, I made course adjustments and also, I did some remapping. That took a lot of time. It was hot and I walked a bunch. The water I'd brought along helped but didn't seem enough for the 90 F weather.

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 Georgetown Pike, to Huntington Pkwy., to Custer Rd. to Northfield Rd.

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. After work and the rains stopped, I got outside for a warm, humid, and overdue run. I felt weak and heavy but felt good afterward.

From Northfield Rd., to Norfolk Ave., then back. I went out to get lunch for Max, Samantha, and myself.

From Northfield Rd., to Bethesda Ave. and Woodmont Ave., then back. Peggy and I rode into town for our 18th anniversary. Wodmont Ave. was closed so that restaurants could put socially distanced tables in the street and serve people. It was nice to hang out downtown again, even if for only a while. It was just past sunset riding back and the sunset was beautiful.

Gaithersburg, MD. From the Kentlands shopping center parking lot near Lowes, Peggy and I started out separately but riding a similar route. There were a lot of police vehicles in the shopping center and that seemed weird.
I got a flat tire 1.5 miles out on Quince Orchard Rd; just about where I was settling into a good pace. Peggy started later and passed me after I'd already gotten the old tube off. I turned on Rte. 28, and again on Riffle Ford Rd. Going up the last hill before MD Rte. 118, I passed Peggy and gave her the car keys. I went on Germantown Park Dr. into the South Germantown Recreational Park, other wise known as the Germantown Soccerplex and Hoyles Mill Conservation Park. My route diverged from Peggy's at this point. I went around the traffic circle to turn left on Schaeffer Rd., then picked-up White Ground Rd. that I'd ridden with Max last week (this week Max was off on a backpacking trip). Hitting Clopper Rd., I headed back, using Richter Farm Rd., and the trail along Great Seneca Hwy. I used Quince Orchard Rd., to get back into the Kentlands shopping center. Peggy said she'd been there for 5 minutes so all in all, our timing was good.

We'd come out this way to ride partly to look at new refrigerators at Lowes. However, unbeknownst to us, a planned Black Lives March or protest had been planned in the area. As I was putting my bicycle away, I overheard an officer explaining this to someone else who'd come to shop at Lowes. He went on to say that the march might have been cancelled. Peggy and I headed home.

From Ivy Ln. in Greenbelt, MD, I followed part of what was an old Greenbelt Bicycle Club route. I went out Cherry Ln. and Rte. 201 to Odell Rd., to Springfield Rd.. Taking the fast traffic Soil Conservation Rd., I got a flat tire and had to fix that. Doing so gave me a break as I was feeling winded and a little hot. Using Beaver Dam Rd., I was reminded of my first running marathon in 1976. It got me to the other part of Springfield Rd. Next I took Ducketown Rd. It was really odd before going on it that I couldn't remember a lot of how it connected-up with other roads. That made it like a new adventure but of course I recalled stuff as I passed it. Until I'd gotten to it, I'd completely forget the whole town and layout of Old Bowie! It was nice to see it active--there was even a popular and fun looking, socially distanced street cafe. Nothing like that was there when Peggy and I lived only a couple of miles away. Next, I went up the old Fletchertown Rd., to Quetzal Dr. and Quill Point Dr. Peggy's old home looked fine. It seemed like the plants I'd added had either overgrown or were replaced. I next did a loop using Hillmead Rd., Annapolis Rd., Glendale Blvd., and Daisy Ln. That got me onto the now somewhat old WB&A Trail, which was practically as empty as it had been. I took it all the way to the end (the woods I passed on the right for Patuxent River Park near the old Bowie Raceway, looked really nice! and open--mapping prospect?), and got onto the extension to a viewpoint of the Patuxent River.

I turned around but very soon took the trail into what had been QOC's Fran Uhler map. The old railroad grade was paved. Though it is practically summer, the terrain looked both greener and wetter than ever. There also was more grade to it than I'd remembered. I'd hoped that the paved trail would link into the old Bowie State University where the QOC map had shown some planned paved trails. Unfortunately, the pavement ran out 1.5 miles out, at the power lines. I knew where I was so rather than turn around I went on the dirt paths. They quickly turned challenging and I was feeling warning signs for leg cramps. First a detour from a downed tree got me onto a partly wet area that ATVs were using. Getting back to the old road, I found that thick chunky gravel had been added. I got as far as the train tracks before deciding to carry my bike over to the other side. I'd expected another dirt trail and found it however it was deeply puddled. I had to walk around a few places. Hitting intermittent pavement, I found that the old road had been closed, even at the spot I used to park my car at to set courses or run.

After a mile and a half of that mess, I eventually I got back to civilization for road biking, and headed north on Laurel Bowie Rd. It was the same as since I'd been riding it in the 1980s but I struggled some with fatigue. I worked on finishing-up the water I'd had. I enjoyed the long downhil on Powder Mill Rd., and cut over on Research Rd., and Beaverdam Rd., to get back to Edmonston Rd. I finished, reversing how I'd started out. After the ride I was sore not only in my legs, but in my upper body and arms. It was however an enjoyable ride made all the more fun by visiting old haunts.

From Northfield Rd., Max and I started out but after a half mile, I'd noticed Max hadn't had a helmet on. We circled back and went again. We went out Bradley Blvd., turned north on Seven Locks Rd., and turned right on Tuckerman Rd. We cut through the Tildon woods neighborhood and crossed Old Georgetown Rd. to get to Edson Ln. A short stint on Rockville Pike got us to Strathmore Ln., and Beach Dr., in Rock Creek Park. We rode out of that on W. Cedar Ave. and the Elmhirst Trail. It was getting dark there but no fireflies were to be seen. I forgot to restart my watch when crossing over Old Georgetown Rd., and we finished up using the Bethesda Trolley Trail, Maple Ridge Rd., and Custer Rd. This was a pleasant route with little traffic. Part of that may have been the evening hour and pandemic social distancing/closings.

From Northfield Rd., to Norfolk Ave., then back. I went out to get lunch for Max and myself.

From Northfield Rd., I rode with Samantha after dinner. We picked roads that Samantha was comfortable with. She's getting more skilled with her cycling again. She got up one steep hill and some longer grades (the later prompted the familiar "I hate you daddy"). It was hot and on the steeper downhill trails near the middle school, Samantha stopped and walked. She did so a few other times so it was after sunset and really after twighlight when we got back.

From Poolesville, MD, Max and I enjoyed most of a ride that I did last year and have often done in the past. It was his first time on it. We went to Dawsonville, then up White Ground Rd. past Hoyle's Mill Conservation Park. The park look thick on this end, which I haven't mapped yet (I'll explore it but I may not map it). We took a break at Boyds, at the commuter rail station and Max was asking things that made me think he was wondering if he could live in the area. Went up Barnesville Rd. to the hillier Slidell Rd., then cut through W. Old Baltimer Rd., to the always nice Peach Tree Rd. There were a few more houses on Peach Tree Rd., but the views were still good and the houses spaced apart somewhat. The finish on Catail Rd. was fun too.

Starting from Northfield Rd., I put together a route through Rock Creek on Beach Dr., and Ross Dr., then looped back on Ridge Rd., Utah Ave., Bradley Ln. I cut through Bethesda on Bethesda Ave., and took familiar back streets home. This was a nice ride but I was tired climbing.

From Northfield Rd., to Bethesda Ave. The whole family cycled in to Bethesda for dinner. We sat outside--few people were eating out, though Cava was doing having a busy hour with pickup service.

From Bethesda Ave. to Northfield Rd. After dinner, Peggy and Samantha were moving slowly and Max took off racing home. I was riding casually in-between.

From Northfield Rd., to Huntington Pkwy., to Irvington Ave., to Roosevelt St., to Ewing St., to Greentree Rd., to Heampstead Ave., to McKinley St., to Garfield St., to Roosevelt St., to Jefferson St., to Northfield Rd. I got Samantha to go along with me as I ran at an easy pace. She was on her bicycle of course. She was slow to get going again but later she was more confident and capable. She decided to stop near her old school and I kept running. She caught up and finished a slightly longer route to avoid a bumpy trail. It was the first hot and humid day; close to 90 F or higher. However the sun was behind the clouds and it wasn't bad. I still felt slow.

I rode around the neighborhood somewhat randomly with Samantha, as she was getting used to riding he bicycle again. She was afraid of starting off, and then when going downhills. We turned around a bit here and there. Basically we went out McKinley St. to Ewing St., to Greentree Rd., to Heampstead Ave., made a detour to Bradmoor St., the up Roosevelt St., to Grant St., and to Northfield Rd. We were stopping and starting a bit and the pace was slower than I'd normally walk.

From Northfield Rd. Max and I 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. I didn't feel like I was trying harder but we were easily running faster than we last did together.