Training Log Archive: Nadim

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to Folkstone Rd., with Samantha on her trail-a-bike. Samantha yelled to catch Max. We did but he started pushing harder. I answered and he thought it wasn't fair because he thought I had a faster bike. I was able to keep ahead of him to Samantha's glee. After dropping them off, I towed Samantha's trail-a-bike and held Max's bicycle bike with one had going back.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was humid. I started easy and that coincided with my legs feeling tired. There was traffic in several areas. I rode alone steadily passing people the whole way. There was a hint of a headwind.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C., to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. After getting to the Potomac River, I merged right behind a Rock Creek Velo (RCV) teenage racer group of 6 male riders. They were moving easily but I figured it best to stay behind them. There was a slight headwind and it's hard to gauge the effort required to go faster than a group when one is behind it. As we approached Georgetown some of directly riders in front of me were unsure which direction to go and they were falling behind. I passed them skirting the waterfront before getting onto Water St. I caught the others passing them, and several more before leaving Georgetown. I kept my own pace but it wasn't strong. I still felt the slight headwind. A short way past the trestle bridge, the RCV group and one other commuter passed me. I kept pace until the water treatment plant, then backed-off at the bridge. The rest of the way I was moving okay and into a more discernible wind.

I spent the day finishing old projects around the home. I was planning run but ran out of time. My legs were feeling tired anyway since I'd been on my feet almost the whole time. I built a birdhouse with Samantha, cleaned-up camping gear and did some vacuuming. I build a small garden in a spot that had been a bit of an eye sore, near the neighbor's garbage. To do that I made a small retaining wall out of stones that I'd purchased. They were about 50lbs each, but on top of that I had gotten sod, soil and mulch which meant I was tossing around 1,000 lbs. I had to fix a drainage pipe in the area which meant hacking through some thick roots. The bent over lifting and hatchet swinging strained my back which was additional reason not to go running. After plants Samantha helped with the watering, I did drive her to her school to help her practice bicycling but the rear tired had flattened and she wasn't too into that. Instead, I had to play tag with her. In the evening, I got groceries and changed my own flat bicycle tire, however I did get to see the anniversary showing of Back to the Future; some of that with Max.

Dolly Sods Wilderness, WV. From the Rohrbaugh Trail, (TR 508) to the Wildlife Trail (TR 560), to Forest Rd. 75. It had been hard to sleep overnight. I was sleeping in between Max and Samantha but neither moved for long. Both fell asleep quickly, after 10pm when I had gotten in the tent, and probably because they were tired. I however had a hard time right away. My pack in the vestibule was at the bottom of all the other packs and I hadn't already made a pillow out of my extra clothes like I usually do. The ground wasn't too lumpy but had a slight backward arch to it. It hurt me to lay on my back but I grit it out until it was easier to hold the position. Eventually when I needed to turn on my side, I found that my head wouldn't reach the ground. I tried the left side first. I found that my left shoulder problems, also experienced last year that also got better, weren't completely gone. I found it hard to adjust and angle my shoulder without more pain or just plain stiff inability to bend. I turned to my right side eventually. That worked better but with the bumps on the ground, it wasn't so easy either. I went through the same 3 positions over and over again, eventually falling asleep but waking regularly.

This was only broken-up by Max's usual wild dreams. One time he woke to say aloud that he didn't know where he was--he started feeling around in a mild panic. I experienced enough of Max's sleep walking to know he was basically in the same state of mind. He did similar things a few more times, and remembered none of it in the morning.

By the time it was light enough outside, Peggy thought it was time to wake up. Later she realized it was only 6:20am, not 8:20am as she thought. I had also been warm when I went to bed but as it got colder out, I found myself zipping-up and tightening my sleeping bag a lot to stay warm. Samantha woke us up for good a little before 8am. It had never rained on us. The storms Max and had seen the night before kept west of us.

We ate breakfast on the cliffs again and packed up. The way back was primarily uphill--about 700 vertical feet by the time we were done. Samantha again didn't like the mud but she did move through most of it better than the day before. When she got tired we'd take breaks but the cumulative effect wore her down enough to get her cranky. She got fussier with the mud and wouldn't move. To motivate her we'd wait behind her. She was sometimes standing on the trail and asking which way, partly meaning how do I get through the mud. It was like we were teaching her to walk again. When waiting behind her got too frustrating we'd move ahead of her. She eventually would move for this but was upset by it being akin to leaving her--a central and common adopted child deep-seated fear. She got upset enough at one point that she left the new hiking had that Peggy had gotten for her. I didn't see her set it down. When we caught with Peggy and Max, Peggy noticed and hiked back a quarter mile down the hill to retrieve it.

Making it back eventually, all of our spirits were better. We drove over to Mouth of Seneca for a view of the famed rocks, and some lunch. Rain finally fell as we drove there--lucky us. We were all too tired to hike-up the back side of Seneca Rocks (as I'd done before). Max wasn't interested in the few climbing stories I had when I'd scaled the wall in years past. We did however go to the visitor center. The old stores in Mouth of Seneca hadn't changed much since the 80s and 90s but the visitor center was completely different.

Dolly Sods Wildernes, WV. A little less than a year ago, the thought of being able to go backpacking again was just about unimaginable, given the pains I was going through. I packed lightly and it worked out okay for me.

Peggy, Max, Samantha and I set out from Forest Rd. 75, Wildlife Trail (TR 560), south onto the Rohrbaugh Trail, (TR 508), to the rocky cliff overlook. After that we hunted around for campsites and wandered away from the rock; we didn't want to crowd some other campers who took the primo spots. The area wasn't really that crowded and I wanted to be closer to the rocks so we wandered back.

The way out, down the Wildlife Trail had been fairly muddy. There were a few dry segments. Samantha who'd only done minimal hiking and never any backpacking had struggled with the idea of going through or around the mud. She expressed being frightened. She says she's frightened of so many things these days that it's hard to separate excuses from the real thing. It was a good thing that it was downhill going out as that helped her get through it. She carried a small pack with her own water, some snacks, and some clothes. We stopped a lot of times with Peggy and I taking turns staying back with Samantha until our frustrations were too much.

Max was a trooper. He'd been backpacking in the Dolly Sods Wilderness several times though this was a new trail for him. After setting up the tent in a dry area near the rocks, he'd wanted to go fishing. He'd brought along a hook on some string that he wrapped around a stick and planned to eat what he could catch. The nearest stream was really too small for fish of that type but it did allow him to take off his shoes and splash around in the cold water a bit. Peggy and I got our feet wet too. Samantha was content to watch. The cold water hurt until our feet got numb and overall it felt good!

We cooked dinner on the cliff edge and had the rocks to ourselves while we ate. Only after we ate did some other campers and hikers come through.

For an encore, we sat on the rocks again to watch the stars. Mars and Jupiter were prominent. The view wasn't as good as I'd hoped for since there was a cloudy haze over most of the sky. Other campers were visible far away from their headlamps. There were some thunderheads to the west. We saw them flash with lightening and saw a few good bolts but they were too far away to hear the thunder. Peggy, then Max got concerned about watching it all and wanted to get back to get ready for the long night in the tent. I enjoyed it a while longer.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to Folkstone Rd., with Samantha on her trail-a-bike. In one hand on this outbound trip, I carried Max's trumpet in a hard case--that was challenging. Max rode a bit ahead of Samantha and I since I was slow holding his dc, then back towing the trail-a-bike without her, and holding on to Max's bicycle riding one-handed. On the return trip, Max had no idea how he'd be able to ride carrying his trumpet and books. I ended up riding my bike with Samantha's trail-a-bike, and holding/towing Max's bike. I got a lot of stares going both directions from the teens at a bus stop and various outdoor workers such as those always around building additions to the houses.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. I continued carrying things on my commute. I had my work laptop in addition to my change of clothes in a backpack. Before I got started and as I was getting ready, my neck started hurting high and toward the back. I arched backward a bit to stretch it and proceeded with the hurt slowly going away. I left the house just before 8am and rode into some traffic getting out of Bethesda. Once on the CCT, there were relatively few riders. I caught one guy and rode behind him for a while before moving ahead. There were some headwinds along the water after Georgetown. It was 75 F by the time I got to my office, and more humid than earlier this week.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C., to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. It was like summer; mid-80s F and a little humid. I had a slight tailwind. With the holiday weekend exodus from the city started earlier, it was not too hard to get out. I was through Georgetown in 13 minutes. I'd passed a guy on a track bike entering Georgetown and a mile out of it, I was hearing sounds like my bike was out of tune. A little later after the track bike rider passed me, I realized it was his bike making the noise. I rode behind him until just after Dalecarlia. After that I pulled him to Falls Rd. Before I got Bradley Blvd. I heard another tell-tale sign and pulled over at 35 minutes to fix a flat. I cruised in from there and felt that I was already much stronger than last week.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Northfield Rd. I was pretty tired and carried both my running clothes and my work laptop.

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 Goddard Rd./York Ln., to Overhill Rd., to Hampden Ln., to Wilson Ln., to Aberdeen Rd., to Aberdeen Pl., to Northfield Rd. I worked late so instead of running from the office, I ran closer to home. I was still tired from the weekend, and my ride on Tuesday. I set out to only do 2 miles, but I added on, making a figure 8 loop, with the hillier part at the end. I plodded along the whole way. It was about 72 F when I finished and I was sweating a lot, despite it not being humid.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was 56 F and damp out this morning after the drenching rains yesterday. If it were earlier in the year, I might not have ridden but it promises to be a nicer sunny day this afternoon. The wetness wasn't so bad as to kick-up a lot of water. I had what was mostly a tailwind though there was no wind along the river and that's the place that is most likely to have any. I felt okay after a rest day, though I probably ate too much on Monday. I caught a guy on the CCT and we traded pulls equally getting into Georgetown. I moved on ahead from there with only a bit of headwind rounding the Jefferson Memorial.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C., to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I had mixed winds going home but it was sunny and warmer. I ran into some traffic getting across 15th Street and in Georgetown. On the trail, I cruised up the trail slowly catching a young group of Rock Creek cyclists who were spread out. As I got closer to the head of that group, I was climbing and catching people more slowly. I wasn't sure I'd pass a group of teenage girls but eventually did. I finally caught one of the group wearing a spotted jersey like the Tour de France climb leader wears. This young guy passed me back after tailing me for a while. He pulled ahead at the bridge climb over River Rd. but I caught him again.

It was rainy and my legs were sore from running yesterday.

Event: QOC Fountainhead
 

Bull Run Marina, Fairfax, VA. From the marina parking lot, I headed out to go to the start of QOC's meet on the western peninsula of the Fountainhead map. Part-way there, I realized I'd forgotten my compass. I jogged back, then realized that a bathroom stop would be best. That was down the road on the other side. After that I ran to the start. It was 53 F and raining lightly. I walked up the steeper and longer hills so that I wouldn't get too tired. It seemed a long way there.

From the finish of QOC's meet on the western peninsula of the Fountainhead map to the Bull Run Marina, parking lot. It was still raining and I felt that for both reasons of potentially getting cold, and training for the upcoming DVOA mini-rogaine, that I should jog back. I ran most of the way; on all except the steepest and longest uphills. By the end of this I was really feeling how much weaker my right leg is. My heel arch area hurt just walking around afterward and that is the remaining pain that I feel in the mornings and on other longer runs since my back woes and operation last year.

QOC: Fountainhead West. I had difficulties. My result was bad again, but there were many good things for me to take back from this. The main issue I had was not reading carefully. This was hampered by the steady rain, foggy glasses and fatigue. Additionally, the layout of the course got me a few times with there being loops and classic leg numbering hazards. For instance, and for the worst error of the day, I ran from control #3 to #14. I was thinking I was going to control #4 which actually happened to be only 120m away, and which doubled as control #13. Control #14 on the other hand was about 900m away. I spiked that control and only then when checking the code, did I realize that I had gone correctly to the wrong control. With the long run to the start and a run back, I wondered whether or not I should give-up and just make my own course. With the rain and hills, I was worried about finishing before 3pm. I did the right thing sucking it up and navigating back to #4 I made an error coming back that cost me 2 minutes though AP shows my whole error on leg #4 for 20 minutes even. Other similar numbering hazards that got me again were with legs #6 and #9 being parallel close together and going in opposite directions--going to #9 I passed #9 and climbed most of the way toward an upside down #6. That got me muttering to myself. I also had made the error of heading toward #5 when I was going to #15. The leg line for #15 went through #5 so that going close to #5, I incurred extra climb which was not an efficient way of getting to #15. These are problems that were detectable and I missed them. I have had trouble with following the correct leg line since going to the Troll Cup earlier this year. However, today, others had trouble with following the course layout too, including at least one other who went to #14 when he should have gone to #4. There were many DNFs across most courses but that could have been due to the rain and distance getting to the courses, as much as the layout problems.

On leg #1, I thought to take it safe and get into reading the map. While on the run out to the start, I wasn't entirely sure where I was since the beginning of the trail run wasn't on my printed map. I was surprised when we'd gotten to the actual start since the trails didn't seem to make much sense with what I was seeing. The fog on my eye glasses actually made things more difficult than it was helping. I cleared them off just before starting but they were fogged right away. I went down the trail to the right, across the reentrant, and I was looking for the mapped trail intersection. I didn't see it so I went on up the other side before realizing I was making an error. I corrected by going down to the reentrant and attacking over the ridge that I then had to climb.

On leg #2, I went straightish. I caught some others who were also going this way. I crossed the first 2 reentrants where they merged. As I was going up the other side, I saw Ted Good headed my way. He seemed to be going away from the control so I asked him if he was running Blue. Hew was. We continued to cross paths. I corrected a bit and so did he. With Ted on my left and higher, I saw the control down on my right and went right to it. Perhaps going around on the trail would have been faster but I did hit the control well.

On the way to #3, I went straight. I was still having trouble seeing through the foggy eyeglasses. Initially I saw Ted again but we diverged. He kept left. Had I been seeing better, I would have done that too--I'd been course setter here in 2015 so I knew the ridge pretty well. I got too low and started seeing more reentrants than expected. I corrected going higher and went one reentrant past where I thought it'd be to hit the control well. I was just too hesitant and slow running on the hillside through small reentrants.

As mentioned already, I went to #4 via #14. That was done going straight. Though I lost contact for a while, I picked-up where I was well enough crossing the last big reentrant. I also read the reentrant south of #14 well to not go down it. I was there in 9:13. My trip back was easier since I was able to use side reentrants for running in and stay right on track up until the 2 cairns west of #3. From there however, I missed going too high and passing #4. I got to a cairn in between #12 and #4--a control site I'd used for the 2015 US Ultralong Champs, so I knew how to recover. For #4, I turned a control that should have taken me a minute into a 21 minute leg :(

As I'd been coming into #4, Vido was leaving. He'd been re-attacking #4 too. He left before I got there and drank. Encouraged by his going straight instead of a bit more to the right to come down to #5, I did too. I read my way across well. I ended up hooking into the control from the larger reentrant to the south. As I was getting there, I could see Vido climbing away toward #6.

For #6, I climbed too but I was not strong. I ran on the hillside to reduce climb, and I crossed the first big reentrant eventually. I kept climbing, reading reentrants to my left. Seeing some other runners, I picked-up speed going downhill. I passed Don Fish. I descended down the final ditch to spike the control.

For #7, I descended a little too much at first but did get over to the right so I wouldn't have to cross the marshy part of the stream going into the inlet. I went a little more straight from there but did have to cut further to the right than expected at the end.

For #8, I was pretty slow climbing (already about 2k further into the run than others on Blue). A woman was climbing in the reentrant on my left. I spiked it.

For #9, as mentioned earlier, I was anticipating going further, having read an upside down 6 as a 9. I climbed at least 3 contours past #9 before realizing this and coming back.

For #10, I climbed the same hill I had earlier and used the saddle SW of #6. I attacked from high and spiked it unseen as I was coming over the curve of the ridge.

For #11, I went straight but lost contact. At the trail crossing I wasn't sure I was on target but I went on and hit it after some hesitation.

For #12, I started out to confidently run the ridge but got cocky with familiarity. I didn't check off features as it was getting hard for me to read again. I drifted off to the left too soon, getting on the wrong side of a reentrant well north of #12. I knew it was wrong because I was too close to the water (still high up) I ran around it to the next reentrant and then realized how far off I'd been. The rest was easy but I'd lost more than the 34 seconds that AP says I had.

I hit #4/#13 well on this short leg, though I drifted a bit to the right.

After a water break, I set out to replicate my earlier run to #14. I had a similar result but was moving slower. I also had avoided the deadfall by staying lower to the left. I again recognized my position in the last big reentrant before the trail and control by the steepness of the climb out. This let me correct to the right just enough. I crossed the ridge coming due west into the control.

For #15, I didn't pause long enough to read the full leg. I saw #5 and thought it was #15. At least I started out going to the right to avoid the worst of the first 2 reentrants. I dropped down into the big reentrant system south of #5 and realized my error. I thought about staying low from there but I'd run the west side of the peninsula before when scouting for US Ultralong Champs control sites, and I knew some of it was too steeply sloped to stay low. I went just south of #5 and didn't even bother to look over toward it as I kept climbing. I went straight across the next big reentrant and across the top of the next small reentrant south of #15. This let me have a nice little drop running into #15, albeit a spike from a poor route choice.

For #16, I ran pretty much straight. I got a little left at the end but kept cutting over that direction. Dan Tam Do got there a little bit before I did.

For #17, I again went fairly straight. I followed the reentrant pointing to the control at the end. I also saw Dan Quinn and Tom Wells ahead. I closed-in and passed Tom, and almost caught Dan Quinn.

Dan Quinn and I have had many sprint finishes to controls and finishes before. He was reading the map as a told him there's one more, and I took off. I moved well at first but stuck closer in the reentrant than he did. Before long, I needed to walk, and Dan had enough left to keep running longer. He finished several seconds ahead of me.

What was good about this race was that when I was headed to a control, I got there with few errors, including some relatively technical controls. I felt that my endurance and running had improved too. I ran through the whole race except where it was really steep--given my weight which won't seem to go away just yet, that was pretty good for where I'm at physically. I still need to work on taking the time for proper the leg planning--a beginner/intermediate skill that I skipped over long ago. I hope my eyes don't keep getting worse. The foggy glasses really made this harder for me.

Blue - Splits

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. Today is Bike to Work Day and it was the best day for riding in several weeks! It was around 60 F, nice and sunny with almost no wind. I went to the pit stop in Bethesda to sign my registration, and pickup my t-shirt and towel but I didn't stick around to grab more schwag. I already had my work laptop to carry under my backpack and the laptop was a heavier one on loan while my regular one gets fixed. I cruised down the trail which was being used heavily by both cyclists and pedestrians. One older rider who was riding slowly side by side with someone got upset when I passed and the guy drafting off of me yelled back for him to stay to the right. However, most people were very pleasant and enjoying the day. I was less tired than earlier in the week, but still my quads were weak. I'm looking forward to the ride home.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C., to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. It was nice going home. There were some tailwinds but I still was breaking the air when I rode. The traffic in Georgetown was about the worst that I've seen when bicycling. Gridlocked with cars, cyclist were riding on the yellow line between the center lanes of opposing traffic. I made it home in pretty good time considering that. I never got passed probably because I was riding that much better though it was still a little surprising.

From Northfield Rd., to the intersection of Norflolk Ave. and Del Ray Ave. via Battery Ln. Park, the back more directly. I was teleworking today and went to town for lunch.

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 overcast, and in the low 60s F. I'm still tired from Sunday and Monday. I took it easy starting out but I was feeling not so good before the first mile. I hit that at about 8:30. I lumbered along feeling weak and sometimes sleepy. I was about 17 minutes at the second mile. I've felt the sleepiness earlier this year during runs. I guess it's more about being out of shape than actual sleepiness. I did have some trouble getting to sleep last night.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was 48 F starting out but the rain and forecasts for rain had finally stopped! I had some headwinds though overall, the NW winds should have been aiding me. I didn't feel very strong and was probably tired from the long run yesterday. On the CCT, I wisely stayed behind a guy whom I'd just caught. He took off very soon afterward. Passing others, I had another person draft on me all the way to Georgetown but one other guy passed us.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C., to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I had some headwinds but was surprised to find more often than not, that I was riding with the winds. I was weak and several cyclists passed. I passed others but kept my effort steady. There was a little bit of initial traffic on roads in D.C., though it wasn't bad overall. The trail got busier near Bethesda too.

Event: QOC Combat Village
 

QOC: Combat Village, Quantico Marine Base. It was a pretty nice day to be out--sunny and in the 60s F. Excellent even, compared to the 2 1/2 weeks of rain days we've had. I had an awful day navigating but at least I got a good run in.

I knew right away after glancing at the map before running, that it was going to be hard for me to read it. The contours were printed very thin. That would have been okay but they were also very light. A darker brown was needed to show up over the green. Even with contours on white woods, just looking while at my desk writing this, I have trouble reading them. The problem was that this is a very old map and it was scanned. No one was at fault for this--we're lucky to be able to run here and areas are being re-mapped. Sitting at home wiith a magnifier I can see not a solid contour line, but a raster (dots). What I was thinking were form lines were just contours. That is even more remarkable in a way because the terrain was more subtle than the map made it appear to me. One other problem with the map, which wasn't evident until later, was that the point features and ditches were small--like what a 1:10,000 map that's been shrinked-down to 1:15,000 map might have looked.

I took the safer route over toward #1 but already started feeling weak on the run. That got better but it took much longer before finding any controls was easier for me. For #1, attacking from the road bend, I thought I hit the correct reentrant. Others attacking from a water stop on the road, to a pit, to a ridge, to an added rootstock, found #1. When I'd gotten there it seemed a flat area, not a reentrant like I had hit further out. After my run, I compared a Red course map with my Blue course map. Both were the same scale but the rootstock added to the map was not in the same place.

For #2, I had more trouble. I followed a stream until it started curving away from the control. I ran over a spur. I crossed a marsh stream, climbed a ridge with a sort of spur forming a reentrant on my left. All of this looked correct to me. Once over the ridge, I found a nice reentrant on the other side matching the feature, but no control. I did a loop, then a wider one, then got into an unmapped logged area. The logging was old so it was somewhat more like a scattered open area. I took a trip up to the road through these scattered trees, and on an indistinct trail to relocate. Successful at that, I attacked again missing it. Eventually back at the marshy stream between #1 and #2, I tried to find a side stream in a side reentrant that I couldn't see before on my first attack at #2. I never found any of the mapped un-crossable ponds along that stream; just some marshy bits. If I found the side reentrant, it was much less distinct than it was mapped. Assuming I was in the side reentrant anyway, I found the control, but not where it would have been in relation to the side reentrant--was this another dumb luck find? I read the contour that the control was placed on as a form-line but again looking at the map while writing this, I can't be sure it was a formline. The "reentrant" the control was in, was again, a somewhat flat area.

Going straight on a short leg toward #3, I went out quickly since someone was behind me (he would have missed #2 if I hadn't given it away). I couldn't make sense of the contours on this leg. With a magnifier at my desk, I think I'm seeing 2 formlines within the same contour interval. I ended up passing the control, hitting the road, relocating and following a stream a little way back to spike it on my second attack. If #2 was in the wrong place, it'd explain why I missed #3.

Things got better for a while after this. I was not too tired. The contours were steeper though still not easy to read. I stayed on-track to spike #4, #5, #6, #7, and #8. I was careful on leg #4. I went around the hill to the left on #5 and almost didn't correct enough--a pit near the stream helped me correct.

After #8, I thought it silly not to take the long straight trail toward #9, at the north of the map. I could have imagined going straight first and probably should have. As it was, I came off #8 badly, turning left along the stream that was due north. I corrected quickly enough. On the trail, I wasn't that fast. I was too tired on the steeper climbs so I walked. Less than half-way there (2.6K leg), it had gotten flatter. I ran the last half fairly strong. I came off the long straight trail at a stream crossing, then got onto a ridge. I didn't find a mapped intermittent trail at first. However, I was able to read reentrants left and right of the ridge that told me I was on-track. I came off the ridge soon afterward, to find the long skinny reentrant that the control was to be in. All of the shapes were as I'd have expected, but I didn't see a control again. :( I knew I was running out of time. I went on over a saddle and dropped into another skinny reentrant. This only further confirmed to me that I'd been in the right place. I turned back but when I still didn't find it, I figured I'd just better head in so that I wouldn't be out past course closing time. It was a sad choice--perhaps my first DNF ever? Everything else that I technically didn't finish was a mispunch.

I ran well going back, just enjoying the woods and feeling the movement. I got on an intermittent trail SW of #11, then on roads. I figured I had time so I stopped-off at #14 and #13. To reiterate, it was a bad navigation day for me but not a bad day for a much needed good workout. I am disappointed in my performance, especially with this being 3 bad races in a row.

C • :( 2

Blue - Splits

Seven Locks Park, Cabin John, MD. From Palisades to Seven Locks Rd., to MacArthur Blvd. to 79th St. to Riverside Dr., to the C&O Towpath at Lock 8, south to the Glen Echo bridge, to MacArthur Blvd., to the Cabin John Trail, to Seven Locks Rd., to Palisades and Seven Locks Park. I had some unexpected time so after dropping Max and his friend Miles off to soccer practice, I went for a run as Peggy suggested. I mixed part of an old loop I'd explored in the 90s. Still being tired from running the Billygoat on poor training, I took it easy. It was pretty much downhill or flat for almost 2 miles. I used my new Solomon trail shoes and my right big toe was seeming cramped. I found a nice clean portable toilet at the trailhead leading to the C&O Trail. After leaving the canal, the uphill hills began. Climbing up to the Washington Aqueduct Bridge wasn't too bad but the Cabin John Trail was really slow for me. I hadn't run that section in a long time since I remembered it being too hilly to run on well. Even though the trail seemed to have been rerouted since my last try here, it went up and down a lot. Coupled with damp rocks and a bit of mud I crawled along. One low section was really rocky for 200-300m.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station. My legs felt okay after the short Billygoat yesterday. I hit some traffic and it was dry. I started out catching one of my neighbors who was to ride-in all the way (just past where I work). It was probably a good decision for me not to do that too, especially since it's now raining again.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Northfield Rd. I was tired and a little sore from the Billygoat.

Event: QOC Morven Park
 

Event: Billygoat 2016
 

NEOC Billygoat: I accomplished my main goal which was to get through the event running but other goals of navigating well and finishing not too far back didn't happen. I should have been more confident of my navigation. Given my many past problems in New England terrain, I felt that I should stay with others and did that the first third of the race.

I went with the crowd toward #1 and was moving too fast to really keep a good track of where I was. I did pickup the trail turns and had a good idea where we were departing the last trail. I thought we were getting past #1 when I believed that I recognized the hill and soon saw Pia going over it. However, I kept following Joe Brautigam as he pulled further ahead. About 40m past the control, I paused and turned around going directly to the control.

Going toward #2, I was behind Tim Parsons and Ernst Linder. We all hit #11 on the way. At that point it would have been good to just go to #3 but I was thinking that it was still better to stay with the mob since one moves faster that way.

After #2, I was falling off the pace. However I was reading the map more carefully, feeling confident of where I was, and I could see Pia ahead.

Going to #4, I continued to slowly fall behind others. I felt pretty good about where I was and hit it.

For leg #5, I was only catching glimpses of people ahead. Some people behind me were catching-up. I heard David Onkst coming-up. I got to the control pretty well but I don't think I was alone.

I led the way to #6 once in a while seeing some people ahead of me. Upon climbing the ridge, I thought I was more to the SW. I hesitatingly turned left toward some rocks I could see. Meanwhile JJ Cote and David Onkst turned right and got to the control before me.

Going to #7 was straightforward. JJ got there first, the me, then David.

Going to #8, I was half inclined to use the trail, but when JJ crossed it I went with him. I figured he's the better navigator and since he lives nearby, he should know this park really well. As we ran I knew we were getting to the left of the control. I could later see Ken Walker Sr. and some others going a more direct route. After crossing the stream and second trail, JJ cut up the hill and I recognized the rocky reentrant leading to the control.

Going to #9, JJ took off and I was trying to keep up. Again, I felt we were going too far left. When we ended up at #2, I cut down. David Onkst was close by too. Ken W. Sr. got there much sooner.

I figured I'd better move so without thinking I headed toward #10, missing the last best skip. I caught up to Jimmy Burnham and got slowed as we snaked our way across the streams and through the thicker vegetation. Once through that I felt I knew where we were and so I moved around the green to the left, then cut back right to spike the control. Jimmy and David got there behind me.

I headed off to #11 but got a little to the left. I spotted the control to correct without losing much time, though once again, I was a little worried when I could again see Ken Walker Sr. taking a straighter route. David Onkst was with me still, and got there right behind me. Comparing to what JJ did in skipping #10, I lost 5 minutes to him. Later on my skip of #17, I gained the 5 minutes back.

Worried about others catching up, I headed out toward #12. Initially, things were going okay. I matched-up some rock features over the half way point and thin I was just east of the leg line. David Onkst started asking about what control would be best to skip and it struck me then that we should have skipped #10. We talked and picked #17 since we could use the trail for #18 and #19. During all of this I was looking at the map too much and drifted east. The walking also allowed my glasses to fog (I noticed fog forming on my glasses when walking in my last race at Patapsco too). As we started climbing a steep spur of a hill, I knew it as wrong and told David. However with my glasses fogged, I couldn't see where this hill was on the map. I could see a bit of marsh near the control, and once over the spur David and I could see a marsh further east. I let myself get convinced to check it out rather than go up higher to the fence (at the time I thought that black line was a power line because I couldn't read it any better than that). I knew the marsh we could see in the forest was too big, but I couldn't read it on the map--we were actually east of #4. After a loop of the marsh, I did head up to the fence, relocated instantly and went directly to the control. This was a loss of around 12 minutes.

David and I had ground to make up so we rushed of to #13, staying high and hitting it easily. We did the same for #14 and found John Baker there. I headed off down the trail to #15 and attacked a little after the sharp bend. David started going too far south and down the hill. I curved up and found a sort of beaten path that took me to the control. John Baker came in more directly, and David was right with us too.

I enjoyed #16, as it was the best for running on the whole course. I went fairly straight. At the second trail, I ran to the bend for a better attack and kept moving. I almost pulled-up a little early but on the earlier knoll, I could see the control ahead. David and John were close by though John dropped off the pace a little.

Moving directly toward #18, to skip #17, I ran to the trail. I wasn't reading it that well, and came off the correct bend a little early. This took me to the hill just north of the control. We corrected and found Kristin Hall and Peggy running together also approaching, but coming from #17.

I got out of #18 quickly but hugged the hill too much, almost missing the trail. David pointed us over to Kristin who got to the trail and was moving better. I'm sort of happy that she got ahead because she knew just where to jump back into the woods. She spiked #19 with me, David, and Peggy nearby.

I debated internally taking the direct route to #20. At the time, I thought it'd be faster but in retrospect I probably would have been slower. The deciding factor for me was that by going straight, I would not necessarily have a good attack point. I slowly passed Peggy and Kristin on the trail, with David right behind me. We took the shortest trails, and caught up with some others including Jimmy Burnham. My shoelace became untied so I stopped while David and Jimmy went on, with my encouragement. I got going soon enough for Kristin and Peggy to see me, and soon enough for me to see where David and Jimmy left the trail. I would have left the trail further north, past the obvious bend but with David and Jimmy going straight, I felt the odds were better to keep in pace with them that way. I recognized where I was by 2 mapped boulders close together about a third of the way into the attack but after that it got fuzzy. David and Jimmy were not in sight but I saw others including Tom Smot. I was about to pass the control when David Onkst came from the west and told me it was behind him. I was then about 30-40 seconds behind David.

I ran on to #21 and spiked it, but got passed by Jimmy.

Leaving for #22, I was only navigating on bearing so I hit the trail a little low. Kristin came in right behind me, having made up distance. Since she wasn't running that hard and was with Peggy, I took off. I wasn't clearly picking up the trail bends, but was glad that Tom pulled off the trail in sight ahead of me. I went in a little past him, never seeing him at the control, and spiked it.

On the trail run to #23, I could see that I was gaining on people. That's surprising given how out of shape I am but the flat terrain helped. What also helped as I learned later was that Tom was injured. He started stretching at the control and left before I got there.

I caught Tom at the trail intersection and he was limping badly--I felt sorry for him. I have bad memories of that kind of thing, and was glad that it wasn't me this time. I might have been gaining on Jimmy too but realized he would be able to out sprint me. After the control (#24) I ran in okay, seeing Jimmy finish just ahead.

It was a disappointing race for not trusting my own navigation early enough, and for getting distracted on the way to #12, making a big error. However, given my training, I felt I ran pretty well and enjoyed the event.

Billygoat - Splits

Manhattan, NY. Walking from a parking garage near the intersection of Anne St. and William St., halfway + across the Brooklyn Bridge, then back. Before going, Max was whiny about walking "so far," and Samantha was being Samantha. Both said they enjoyed it afterward with Max even saying it was cool. It was rather crowded with locals and tourists and cyclists all moving at different paces forming waves. The views were nice despite being overcast. Even overcast was a welcome respite from the rainy week we'd had.

My lower back on the right side has been a little sore. It might be just all of the rainy and cool weather. I had enough to do so I didn't run.

From the Tenleytown Metro Station, to River Rd., to the Capital Crescent Trail (CCT), to Bethesda Ave./Woodmont Ave., to Edgemore Ln. I felt like I started well for the first mile or so but each hill, I labored to get up. A rain storm had just passed and it was around 70 F. In parts where the sun came out and I was headed west, I heated up quickly. Turning more northward on the CCT, a breezy headwind and tree shade kept me more comfortable. It's going to take me a long time to get in significantly better shape, however on an unplanned day off due to heavy rains, I had felt springy just walking around.

From Carderock, to the C&O Towpath, to Berma Rd. Trail near , to the Ol Angler's Inn, to the C&O Towpath on the north end of the Berma Rd. Trail, to the Aqueduct Overlook (above Lock 20), then back to Carderock on the C&O Towpath. This was about the longest run that I've done this year (as pitiful as that may seem), and it represented about 10% of the mileage that I'd done to date. The weather was good for me. Rains from overnight and the morning had stopped and the surfaces were dry with some puddles. It was 57 F and humid still, with a tailwind going out, and a refreshing breeze to run into going back. I paced myself right from the beginning. I was tired from the last week of running, including the orienteering the day before. I didn't start feeling very slow until about 2.5 miles out and the little climb to the Berma Rd. Trail. I was also running on a full tummy, having started after a big lunch with my mom and sister. Though still tired, I was feeling better that last 2 miles. The forest and bits of detailed rock in the Marsden Tract looked nice and I'd like to map that someday.