Training Log Archive: Nadim

From Watkins Mill Rd. to Huntmaster Rd. and back on the Greenway Trail. Peggy and I started out together. It was about 79 F and not humid, but the sun was strong. Neither of us felt energetic. My memory of the big ridge we crossed was that the woods were more open than they appeared today. I was thinking of having a Summer Short Series event here but now I'm not sure. I'd have to explore the side trails again. Other parts of the Greenway Trail had been shifted to keep it off the wetter areas. I felt sore in my quadriceps.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. The threat of rain stopped so I finally rode today. I had a kicker of a tailwind almost all the way to work. I zipped around like I used to. At Bradley Blvd., a younger guy took off. I eventually caught him and passed him. I did get caught myself at around the trestle bridge by a guy who'd been passing me on other commutes earlier in the year. Though I didn't give chase, this time, he stayed in sight a long while. I did have a slowdown going up 15th St., SW when going into the wind. I'd pushed to make the light and then almost stopped when I thought I should wait. I had time so I tried to get going again and was tired.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I had headwinds getting to Georgetown and a little traffic. I took that part easy and was over a minute slow getting out of Georgetown. Trees protected the trail pretty well for a while and the curve in the Capital Crescent Trail eventually led to what seemed like tailwinds. I never got passed but one guy whom I'd caught up to at the Palisades, accelerated and I couldn't keep up. he eventually slowed and I caught him at the Bradley Rd. traffic light. I got the faster start there and he drafted me up to Wilson Ln. where we split. Overall, I felt stronger and made up time from my slow start.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, Wisconsin Ave/Rockville Pike to W. Cedar Lane, to Old Georgetown Rd. to Edgemoor Ln, to the Bethesda Metro Station. It felt hotter than the day before. I started with a small rain shower; the edge of another thunderstorm that went south. Once I got moving, I felt better than I thought I would. Maybe it was being lighter or my training finally starting to kick-in. I wasn't moving that fast but it was encouraging. In Bethesda, the excavation of the new Marriott Headquarters was in full view--the vast pit took out almost all the buildings and parking lots for a block behind the old Bethesda Diner--interesting that the diner survived. Another block further north that had gotten taken out was further along with a tower frame and concrete flooring all visible. As I got to leaving downtown Bethesda, I saw a very nice double rainbow. I ran along a ways until I could line it up with the Bethesda Naval Medical tower and fortunately, it lasted. Though I slowed, going up the hill on W. Cedar wasn't so bad--that was encouraging too. I tried to run with better form on the stretch back, and was glad about it being gently downhill.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, Woodmont Ave. to Wisconsin Ave., to Norwood Park, to the Little Falls Trail, to Dorset Rd., to Falls Rd., to Glenbrook Rd., to Edgemoor Ln. and into to the Bethesda Metro Station. It was 85 F and humid. There were supposed to be thunderstorms and that's why I didn't bicycle to work. I moved okay and was a little sore. I did push in the last kilometer. I weight-out at 193.5 lbs.

From Takoma Park Metro Station, Carol St., to 4th St. to Aspen St. NW. to Sherill Dr. to Beach Dr. to the Pinehurst Trail, to Western Ave. to Cummings La. to Turner La. to Brookeville Rd. to Taylor St. to Connecticutt Ave. to Thornapple St. to Leeland St. to Woodmont Ave. to Edgemoor Ln. It had been years since I'd run from Takoma Park to Bethesda. Most of the year I leave work too late and it gets too dark to cross Rock Creek Park without lighting. I've had other similar options too such as from Silver Spring to Bethesda, until the Purple Line construction took away the Georgetown Branch Trail. Another prevalent reason was that I hadn't been all that ready to run this distance across the hills. Leaving Takoma Park, the route was hillier than I remembered it, getting to the park. The old Walter Reed complex had been partly replaced by condo construction (in the $400K range). Other parts of it looked like it'd have made a great o-sprint campus. What I recall earlier running past there in years past was a delusional vet who was probably getting treatment, yelling at me as I ran past. Today it was raining lightly--just the edge of a thunderstorm. It still got me wet. The dirt trails in the park had some slippery parts. The narrow west end thread of the Pinehurst Trail would sometime disappear, and I'd have to cross the creek to find it again. The climb up through Chevy Chase wasn't so hard and that was good. It gave me confidence to run harder finishing up. Altogether it was an enjoyable run.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd. I got home before the rains started again. I decided to take it easy and get some stuff done inside.

Wolf Gap on the Virginia and West Virginia border (west of Woodstock, VA), For our anniversary, Peggy and I hiked from the gap to Big Schloss and back. I probably hadn't been there is +20 years. The first part of the trail is about a steep 600ft. climb in half a mile. My memory of it was that it was easier. After that it was a rocky trail on a narrow ridge for a while. We were lucky to have escaped rain which had come through before we parked and made the rocky trail a little slippery. I was glad to see that the area was not overly crowded. Several groups of campers had been hiking back on the trail as we headed out. The ridge widened out before getting to Big Schloss (German for castle). The old bridge (think Monty Python, Bridge of Death) that gets one onto the rocky knob, used to be made from natural logs--it had been replaced by thick lumber with concrete footings. It was hard to get a 360 degree view from the top like before. The Schloss rocks were much more tree covered than they used to be but there were still great views and it was still fun. Seeing the deathly steepness on all sides had me thinking about the risks I took when younger.

From Northfield Rd., Custer Rd. to Wilson Ln. to Glenbrook Rd., to the Capital Crescent Trail, to Bethesda Ave. at Woodmont Ave., to Old Georgetown Rd. to Wilson Ln. to Battery Ln. to Park St. to Custer Rd., to Northfield Rd. After a nice day of hiking, celebrating our wedding anniversary, and celebrating Father's Day, Max and I needed to run. It was a good Father's Day activity and a nearly full moon was out. I was worried that I'd be too slow for Max. It was a couple of hours after dinner but I was still feeling undigested. It was also much more humid than it had been earlier in the day. We started out pretty slowly but picked-up the pace a little. I think Max was worn out too. He'd often run a little behind me. Mostly, I think he's not as used to running without stopping more frequently. We stopped for a drink on the CCT. After getting home we found that it was 78 F and we were a sweaty mess. After cooling down, both of us got to bed relatively quickly.

C • Happy Father's Day 4