Training Log Archive: Nadim

Summer Short Series at Great Falls, MD. Kenny Walker set a nice line-o through the west half of the park. The terrain was good. It really required focus to keep on the line and to not trip on things. The woods were good as Kenny had announced before the training. I ran in shorts and gaiters with no o-pants. I felt I did okay and was very close to the line the whole way. I got off once as the route curved along on a vague and open hillside, and then took us through a light green area to a reentrant. I realized I was too low but corrected enough to get it right at the reentrant crossing--I hit the trail on the other side of it in the right place. Kenny kept us guessing. I only found 3 streamers but that was all I was to find on the long route.

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. With my bicycle out of commission, I didn't want to let the day go to waste. I got out after dinner, still feeling a little full. I started very slowly going up the hill, and then picked it up a little as the route got flatter. My legs were tired. I hit the first mile in 8:48. It was warm and humid out. I was seeing flashes in the sky so I thought it might be heat lightening or nearby fireworks, but there was no accompanying sound. I could later see that it was 2 storms, one over Silver Spring, and one over Potomac. I also got to see lightning bugs (or fireflies as Peggy prefers to call them).

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. I dropped the kids off for an overnight outing by car so I got to ride in directly. That got me started late but it was still cool out like yesterday. There was a bit of traffic. I rode alone, but still passed a lot of other riders. I caught one string just as it was entering Georgetown. There were some headwinds from there up to the Jefferson Memorial. Police have begun diverting auto traffic off of Ohio Dr., which was nice for me, but that road isn't that busy until after the Jefferson Memorial anyway.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C., to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I had a tailwind initially. There was a lot of frenzied traffic--foot, bicycle, and auto. I guess everyone was leaving early for the holiday weekend. I moved okay but in the morning I'd noticed a bit of a wobble in my rear gear cassette. I wondered about the axle being bent. I started having more shifting problems too. I made it home by sticking to some gears that wouldn't rattle. Later I discovered that a needed spacer was missing. The old cassette was for 8 gears and I had bought a 9 gear hub. As I played with the cogs on a stand, there was significant friction so I must have been riding with it going home. Like 2 years ago, I need a nearly complete drive train replacement (front cogs, rear cassette, and chain). My bike is out of commission for a week.

From Northfield Rd. to Bethesda Elementary School, towing Samantha, with Max riding along on his bike, then to 13th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. I was getting rushed starting out. I got a block away when I realized that I'd left my helmet so back down the hill I went to put it on. My legs were a little sore but loosened up after dropping the kids off. It was much cooler; in the 60s F with low humidity. That energized me. For the first few miles on the trail, I rode like in years past, flying down the trail and past other riders. About when I hit the flats, one of the riders I'd passed, passed me back. He was riding a clunker without clip-in pedals but he was strong. We were probably going about 24mph for a while. I dropped off that pace and lost contact. He got ahead a good bit but by the time we got to Georgetown, I was again only 3 seconds behind him. The tailwind we had kept up as I went further down river, but with less effort. Preparations in the parks were underway for the 4th of July weekend.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C., to Bethesda Elementary School, Bethesda, MD, then to Northfield Rd. I had headwinds getting to Georgetown, then once again it was relatively calm. I kept a steady though saner pace. I took it more easily on the last mile after picking up Samantha's trail-a-bike.

From Northfield Rd. to Bethesda Elementary School, towing Samantha, with Max riding along on his bike, then to 13th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was a sticky morning with warm temperatures and dampness from the light rain yesterday. After dropping off the kids and locking up their bikes, I move easily for a while. I slowly picked up the pace but I didn't feel as strong as on Monday. At the trestle bridge, I passed a guy who drafted off of me into Georgetown. I slowed after that and felt a hint of a headwind.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C., to Bethesda Elementary School, Bethesda, MD, then to Northfield Rd. I had to stop off to pickup Samantha's trail-a-bike. The ride back was okay. I had nice tailwinds getting to Georgetown again. I didn't feel much help from them after getting to the CCT. I rode alone. My right leg was feeling weaker than my left during the daytime at work. Both were a little sore. My time is estimated but I was about 41 or 42 minutes getting to the school. I made it home just before some thunderstorms let loose.

From Northfield Rd. to Bethesda Elementary School, towing Samantha, with Max riding along on his bike, then back. I had to drop off the kids to catch a bus to summer camp. I was planning on riding downtown straight from the school but I realized I'd forgotten to take a lock along. It's forecast to thunderstorm later so it was probably best that I went home anyway.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. I rode comfortably, and felt I was moving well. It was in the 70s F and that felt cool. I still need to make some adjustments for shifting, as the chain was automatically moving to a higher gear when I climbed a few times. Otherwise, the bike rode and looked well (besides a new wheel and tire, I had new shoes and I'd cleaned up the bike over the weekend too). I steadily passed other riders and runners the whole way. I thought I was moving faster but I was riding into headwinds from the south and they might have slowed me. My legs felt a little sore from running yesterday too. I need to do that more often.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C., to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. It was lightly sprinkling the whole way home. I had a pretty good tailwind getting to Georgetown and after that I didn't feel it any more. I rode alone. There weren't so many people riding. I kept an honest pace without pushing too hard. The new shoes and pedals felt pretty good and were convenient for walking to and from my bike at work.

Lake Frank, MD. From Muncaster Mill Rd., It was about 83 F. I'd done a lot of cleaning through the day so I was a little weary of being on my feet at the start. I ran trails first on the east side of the North Branch of Rock Creek, then I crossed over going through the Lathrop E. Smith Center trails. I was moving pretty slowly. I wanted to check how the trails looked to get an idea of how much field checking I'll need to do for QOC to use the area next Winter. I'd mapped this area in 2007. There was a lot of green then, and about the same now, accounting for summer growth. The trails however, seemed to be used less than before. Many were overgrown or intermittent at best. Parts of the ones used more often were puddled. I didn't run with a map so I kind of wandered with a general route in mind. I had a couple of very small sections that I ran off trail to connect trails and cover more ground. It was interesting running through the area and not feeling familiar with a lot of it after having mapped it--I have a good memory for places that I've mapped but my memory of this area had certainly faded. The summer growth probably made it easier to not remember so much. I'll need to adjust a bunch of trails and change the way some of the rock was mapped. I could recognized a few areas having been changed over the years from heavy equipment--probably pipe work. I'd like to get areas north of Muncaster Mill mapped too. That had always been in my plans but I had been waiting for the Intercounty Connector to finish getting built. I have till February to get this done which will be challenging since I have other areas I'd like to update or expand too.