Training Log Archive: Nadim

Muddy Branch Park, Gaithersburg, MD. I started field checking a new map today. Timing hadn't worked for me to do much field checking so far this year but I managed it today. As usual, I had high hopes of covering a great swath of this narrow park in one fell swoop. As usual, I did less than half of what I'd wanted to do. I started with some easy school and recreational sports park grounds that I thought might make a good place to meet for a Summer Short Series training event. Moving between suburbia, I made my way into the wider Muddy Branch section that has the really nice open Great Falls-like woods. I was hampered by not having all of the trails already on the map. This made it harder to pinpoint some features. I found a lot more features and trails than I'd seen before when running the long Muddy Branch Trail. The woods were just as beautiful as I remembered them--perhaps more so. Some deadfall from the derecho storm (almost exactly a year ago), made following straight lines harder but this actually added some nice complexity to navigating the area. It also took me longer to record. I only mapped the largest root stocks. There were some nice ditch complexes and a few rock features. I stayed on the southeast side of the main stream but I did cover a lot of ground. I was pretty tired from cycling a lot this week, but also from not having any water or food with me. When trying to take a downhill few strides, I could run slowly; my pulled muscle fiber near my hamstring still hurt. I wondered how I'd get through a ROGAINE feeling like that. It was in the upper 80s with a strong sun by the time I left. I'd like to use this area for a training event this summer but I'll need to get back for at least one more day of checking before I'll have enough. One negative and part of what attracted me to the area was that I hadn't earlier seen any wavy-leaf basket grass but I did see some areas today where it's already starting to take over. In another 2 years, it could cover the area completely; it grows wherever the soil gets enough moisture and it doesn't need a lot.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 12th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. I gambled against storms forecasts as I'd done almost all week and rode it, still tired. There weren't a lot of cyclists out. There were some vehicles on the CCT. I rode alone. There were some headwinds along the water after Georgetown.

From 12th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I rushed everything all day at work, skipping lunch and cutting out meetings but I was still late leaving at this earlier than usual hour. I was hurrying to get home so that Peggy and I could go pickup Max from camp where he's been all week. Peggy had to leave w/o me so that she wouldn't be late. I ended up driving separately and getting there a little after Peggy did; we had a nice evening in Annapolis afterward. On my bicycle ride, I rushed too but I had to pace myself. It was hot. I at least had favorable winds sometimes pretty nice, for most of the way. Few people were out in the middle of the day but those that were tended to be bunches of recreational riders who were slower than commuters and less aware of trail etiquettes. I left my cycle computer at work by mistake and timed manually.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 12th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was a quiet ride with few people on the trail. The construction and one way traffic on the trestle bridge has ended. I was tired. I kept a steady pace and rode through some strong headwinds after Georgetown.

From C St., SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. One would have thought that a holiday was coming up given all of the traffic leaving town. After the stoplight at Main Ave., I was pacing a guy toward the Jefferson Memorial. Cars and a van ahead were preventing us from riding forward much but the other guy who was on my left snuck between lanes to get around the van that had been held up by other cars. As he went around traffic started moving so he cut off the van. I had waited but while doing so, I could see that it was a police van. The van moved out jerkily as soon as it could and I thought he was trying to catch up to the cyclist to give him a ticket. Nothing happened. I had some later traffic but chased a bus for half of Ohio Dr. This cut down on some headwinds getting to Georgetown, but after Georgetown, the winds were at my back. I still managed to ride more slowly, not being in shape to ride well all week yet.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 12th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It started out cooler than yesterday, due to the rains last night. My legs were a little tired starting out so I took it easier the first mile and a half. I rode alone most of the way before picking up a rider in my draft when approaching the flats. He stayed w/me until Georgetown. There were a few times when there were slight headwinds but mostly the winds were neutral.

From C St., SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I left work only a little bit past putting in my time so that I could both beat the storms and get home in time for a farewell dinner with neighbors who are moving. It was a pretty quiet ride with not as much traffic as the later hours when I usually ride. There were some headwinds and feeling tired, I didn't push the pace much.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 12th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. I felt a little more tired compared to my ride yesterday; I had to work harder. Perhaps it was because the southern headwind was more prominent. It was a relatively quiet ride with fewer people and more of DC's humidity. Going over a speed hump on Glenbrook Rd. I had stood up on the pedals but with my knees bent and my legs absorbing the shock, it was enough to sharply remind me that my left ham was injured.

From C St., SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I left work feeling tired. There were headwinds up until I reached the Kennedy Center, then again in a few places. Turning past Dalecarlia however I had a tailwind. I led a group of riders out of Georgetown for over a mile before one passed in a hurry and took two others with him. I just kept my pace, not wanting to push too hard. There were a lot of cyclist out and I caught the 3 who'd passed. I took a long turn leading again before one zoomed up the hill at River Rd. He slowed again so I passed again. For the last half mile, I caught up to and rode home easy with a neighbor who rides a very similar commute route. There are a lot of cyclists in my neighborhood. My next door neighbor just completed a double century riding with 5 other from close by, and there were about 30 others from the general neighborhood who rode it too.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 12th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. With Max off to overnight summer camp, I got to go straight to work. I did have to take it easy. I found that when I tried to push, the muscle fiber that I pulled on Saturday would hurt sharply--most injuries that I've had from running hadn't carried over into cycling. I tried to keep a fairly steady pace, accelerating slowly and dropping the pace on uphill grades. Despite this, I got moving pretty well (23-24mph down the grade), and I passed and pulled several cyclist along the busy trail. I got a little help on the flats after Fletcher's Boathouse; that rider dropped off afterward. I got some more help from a guy kicking it up to 23mph for almost the last mile into Georgetown. There were some headwinds out of the south afterward, along the water.

From C St., SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. Storms passed north and south of DC with only a little dampness where I was starting from. However the air was much cooler than the 90 F with bright sun and humidity that there was at lunch time (I'd walked at lunch along The Mall watching the preparations go up for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and they looked pretty interesting). Starting out, winds from the west seemed to make me work a bit. I kept a good cadence and geared down on steeper grades. There was a bit of a tailwind after Dalecarlia. A fairly steady number of cyclists were out but the number and city in general seemed to clearly be in vacation mode.