Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: 2010 US Team Trials for WOC
 

Harriman State Park, NY. Warm-up from the Lake Welch parking lot to the start of the US Team Trials on the Rockhouse map.

US Team Trials on the Rockhouse map at Harriman State Park. For this middle distance race, I once again started slowly. I used the trail to get a feel for the terrain but when the vegetation started looking high, I cut over and ended low on the first control. I would have to have been in white woods to have done that from the map but the mouthain laurel looked green to me. I got drawn-off going to #2 by a Blue course runner and a trail through the blueberries. It took some circling before I turned back and got to the control. For #3, I got very near the control, saw another person go to a rock and leave without punching, and then I ran further. I got back to the initial rock after much flailing. My way to #4 was navigated okay but through a lot of bad vegetation. I got to it just as Peter Gagarin came in from behind. I hit #5 a bit too far to the left and perhaps drew Peter off. Going to #6, I hesitated a long while once again to come-in behind Peter. Going to #7, I ran well and pulled ahead of Peter. Another woman whom I'd seen at #3 got to that boulder ahead of me and gave it away. Going to #8, I contoured around the hillside and recognized a flat area after crossing the power lines. As I got near, I again saw the woman at #8 punch but a lot of other people didn't see the control until I got there. I ran up the stream to #9, and hit #10 and #11 pretty well. On the way to #12, I followed the more flat runnable terrain until I got to the ridge where the control was, then I climbed along the ridge. Unfortunately, I pulled-up short and didn't figure it out until just long enough to get there in front of Peter Gagarin, who'd come from a reentrant rather than up the ridge. I got to #13 over a ridge pretty well. I was a bit to the right on #14 and Peter caught me to give it away. At #15, I started to the right but when I heard Peter yell it sounded like left to me. He was probably just yelling at himself but I went left only to waste time on a rocky ridge. I went back higher but past where I was before and had to come back. Peter and another guy got it before me. I closed the distance on them going to #16 and again going to #17 as they hesitated looking left before the control when I knew it to be further. It was downhill from there and more runnable than the rest of the course had been. I opened it up and got ahead but I got distracted after crossing a stream and seeing a Blue control. Peter passed me and I didn't catch him until he'd punched #18. On the run-in, I hesitated, looking at the map and fogetting it was streamered. I gave chase to Peter and closed the distance. It was too narrow to pass though I'm not sure I would have done that anyway. After the race, I jogged a little but walked most of the way back. My right quad was aching a bit and I thought it might be some new muscle injury. I eventually found that I'd only abraised it pretty well on what probably was some vegetation.

US Team Trials: Sprint. Lake Welch in Harriman State Park. I was the last starter so I'd seen some people running through a spectator control and at the finish. When I started, I ran up the trail but mistook an uncrossable fence as a black line to be the trail. It extended well past the start triangle on the so I figured I'd already past that and needed to navigate over a small knoll before crossing a field. I set a bearing and soon saw a control on the other side of the field, while still being careful about my bearing. The problem was that I'd come from the knoll and not the start triangle. After punching the wrong control, I ambled back in the woods and found the right one. This cost me about 1:30 but again was a bad way to start. I got to #2 just fine. I was good going to #3, the specatator control that I'd seen others go to--a big sign and tree gave it away. I hesitated just before arriving at #4. I was too high going to #5; I'd trusted my bearing across the grassy forest, instead of reading the contours. Since the course was fairly flat until this point, I hadn't adjusted to the 2.5m interval. I hit #6 well and saw #7 from far off. #8 was a bit further down than expected. I stayed high going to #9 reasoning that the field was better to run and more direct. I used the mapped trees to know how far to go before plunging down but it also gave me time enough to read the small trail dropping down. I ran on it and through what was mapped as green but never really bad, to the wall feature. I was fine on #10 though at speed, I hadn't seen the building on the map in the green. I ran straight toward #11 but pulled-up short at a Blue course control. Continuing straight, I ran to the control through what was again mapped as solid green and really very passable. I got on the road going to #12 and angled up when I saw the first wall. I didn't realize there were 2 walls but I knew I just needed to cross the road and I was also closing-in on Charlie Deweese as he punched. Going to #13, I used the road. Charlie was ahead still but I cut-in to use the little corridor of white between the green and I got to the control ahead of him. I was thinking that I'd need to hook left to the control at the end of the corridor but the control was right in front of me at the end of the corridor. I was on the road a bit to #14--I again enjoyed knowing that it was downhill toward the finish. I saw #14 from far off. I got my picture taken again going straight to #15 and spiking it. Going to #16, I would have liked to hop the fence but with it marked as uncrossable I didn't know if I'd get disqualified or not. I rounded the corner like everyone else. I didn't go all out to finish #16 nor the run-in but I did push. It was nice to have run better in this race. The error on #1 cost me a few places but I was mostly clean after that. I think it helped that with this being a sprint map, just about all the features I would have mapped in Rock Creek were mapped. The 1:4,000 scale did through me a bit too.

My feet felt pretty bruised after these 2 races. I had to use my thin worn out shoes since the new ones I had ordered had not arrived before I had to travel. At least some of the pain is due to my arches which seem to be shifting somewhat.

Red Middle - Splits

Red Sprint - Splits

Bethesda, MD. With poor weather, poor performances, and lots to do at work, I'm not so motivated to train. I do think some time off is probably good too since something is going on with tendons in my right leg. I feel some renewed calf and achilles aches but my right foot is now similarly pained. The pain runs from my heel across the arch and to just before the right-most toes. I was training pretty well in the worst of the winter and had hopes after the improvements last summer and fall so this round of injury is rather discouraging.

Huntington State Park. Warm-up jog to the start of WCOC A-Meet, Day 2.

WCOC A-Meet at Huntington State Park. Overall, I had a better day but I still had far too much trouble with some controls. I planned to settle into the map by using a trail to get to #1. However, when I intersected it at an odd angle, I wasn't sure which way to go. I compassed my way across going roughly straight but losing track of just where I was. I came up a reentrant and upon a control that I knew wasn't mine so I passed it. A second thought made me think it was my 4th control and others who looked like they might be on the Red course were punching it. I doubled back about 100m to check and sure enough it was my 4th control. I attacked from there, missed, got too low, then went to the control. Jeff Shapiro had started close behind me and had made-up the stagger to punch right behind me. I ran off a bit quick and got to the corner of the marsh as planned. From there, things didn't make sense. I was looking for a reentrant when in fact, the control was on a long spur ridge. I went right by it on the other side and scratched my head. I'd gotten far enough past it eventually to hit a trail and some stone walls. None of what I saw made sense with other walls that I saw on the map. I was really at the edge of the in-bounds and the walls I was seeing were covered by out-of-bounds stripes on the map. I eventually doubled back to the marsh and was successful. I over shot #3 and finally started hitting controls correctly on #4 and #5. In the process, I pulled ahead of David Yee. Like some others I ran to the upper bare rock dome at #6 and lost some time. It was just enough for David to catch-up. I took trails on the right to get to #7 ahead of David, who went straight. I enjoyed the long leg for #8. With the steeper and more broadly contoured terrain, I tracked my way across pretty well. Only at the end of the leg did I flub by attacking the wrong ridge. I'd attacked from the stream bend while thinking I was attacking from the spur behind it. Going to #9, I was doing well but lost concentration and started reading the line for #12. In my tired state, I knew the marsh I was seeing was much too big for the marsh at #12 but I rounded it anyway to get to the side where the control for #12 would have been. I figured this out soon but it was sad. I ran well going to #10 but ran high when attacking. #11 was fine--I basically spiked it. I ran the trails on the right toward #12 but stayed on too long and ended-up using the main trail. I hit #13 a bit high but like #6, I learned enough to go down to the end of small ridge and find the control. I followed a reentrant down toward #14 and figured I knew my position. I figured I'd need to go a little left but a more straight attack would have gotten me to the control. I hit #15 well and was surprised to catch back-up to Jeff Shapiro. While he used trails more than I to #16, I spiked it and got ahead. I got through the fence for #17 in what probably was not the right place but there was a partial gap there. I wasn't pushing all out to finish. My right foot was hurting--more bruising or tendon troubles. I conclude from this mess that I'm not seeing the map well enough and need more practice concentrating in technical terrain--perhaps it's time for eyewear too. Having not made as big an error as the day before was encouraging but making so many errors still left me not feeling so good.

Warm-down run from Huntington State Park, CT to catch-up to Peggy and Max, and catch the bus. Running uphill with my loaded backpack, I just made it.

Red Day 2: Long - Splits