Training Log Archive: Nadim

The day got filled with some shopping, cleaning, and getting/monitoring Max a play date with his best friend Miles. With the continued cold windy weather outside, I just spun again. I used a better gear and kept a better cadence than the night before.

After celebrating my dad's birthday (and Max's again since my parents hadn't been able to earlier), the day was about finished. It was also getting cold and windy out with some ice here and there. I got my bicycle setup in our new addition and watched a movie. I probably was pedaling in too hard a gear though by the end it was feeling easier.

After a mixed weather night and a colder morning, I needed to clear the driveway and walkway for expected guests. There was a lot of scraping of frozen slush.

Here are some of my totals for 2009. It was a better year all around than in 2008 when I was injured much of the time.

I biked nearly as much as in 2008 while not counting miles for any indoor trainer sessions (there were a lot in the early part of the year and many misssed days due to rains & cold). Almost all of my miles were for commuting. I miss riding lighter and long for fun on open roads.

I orienteered nearly the same hours as in 2008 but much less of 2009 was invlolved with field checking. I also covered more miles. Overall my ranking results got better but my improved speed also led to more sloppiness in many races. My overall accuracy (76%) dropped which meant I didn't meet a goal that I'd set for the year. Bright spots were the US Champs and the Hudson Highlander. I hope to reign-in the sloppiness in 2010, continue to bring my running back up to par (if I can devote the time), and try a full rogaine again.

My running was sporadic but I gained a lot of confidence and met a late year mileage goal which was much more than in 2008. The running miles helped a lot but came with the opportunity cost of missing cycling days. That was a good trade-off and I gained confidence in being able to handle more running volume. I still have to watch out for stress on my left knee and sometimes on my right knee. I hope to put-in more time running in 2010 and keep my weight lower.

Activity Time Miles
Orienteering 121:37:23 305.18
Bicycling 108:01:21 1346.59
Running 66:34:32 502.39

From Northfield Rd., I ran up to Custer Rd., Huntington Pkwy., to Maple Ridge Rd. to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to Glenbrook Rd. to Exeter Ln. to to Wilson Ln. to Custer Rd. to Northfield Rd. I was kind of tired but got out around 11pm so that I could mail a letter. My legs felt sluggish.

Washington, D.C. From 14th & Independence Ave. SW, to Memorial Bridge via 17th St. and the Reflecting Pool, to the Mt. Vernon Trail, to the 14th St. Bridge, to Ohio Dr. to Main Ave. to Maryland Ave. via the Portals complex, to 12th St. to D St. to 13th St. to C St. I did a version of what I call the Memorial Tour . It was around 31F but with 22mph winds that were reported to be gusting to 36mph. The water in the Reflecting Pool was frozen most of the way across. I felt tired and awkward at not having run much lately but despite the wind, I was at about 7:14 at the first mile (Lincoln Memorial). The first 1.5 miles were into the wind. Turning with the wind at my back after the Memorial Bridge was nice and I eventually caught another guy who I had sighted a long way off. The winds hit me from the side a lot on the 14th St. Bridge. I was slower coming up the stairs to the Portals complex. My new Nike microfiber sweatpants worked well--light and easy to run in like my old 1980's style nylon wind pants that went swish-swoosh and apparantly can't be bought any more.

With the run today, I cleared 500 miles of running (not including my orienteereing miles) for the year. It was much more than last year but behind my totals in 2007 and 2006. I did however cycle more miles in 2009 than in 2007 and 2006 while being just a bit behind my total for 2008.

Bloomington, MN. While Peggy visited old friends from her high school days, Max and I got into the hotel swiminig pool again. Initially, we had the pool to ourselves. The water was warm and Max tried again to make himself swim. He was more open to taking tips and getting some help but still flailed-around in a dog-paddle type motion a lot. Eventually, after keeping at it a long while, he got more consistent in making forward motion. I would swim away a bit but didn't get too far least he got himself into water over his nose--I could get to him quickly but I also didn't want him to have a bad experience that would quell his desire. The pool started getting other visitors and before long there were around 30 people in and outside of the water. Max observed one boy just older than him jumping in from the edge so he tried it with me there to catch his arms and steady him. He liked it a lot so he did that over and over and over. He surprised me when he soon got his shorts filled with a little air and decided to float on his back as I'd been trying to get him to do earlier. He did this a few more times and his confidence increased.