Training Log Archive: Nadim

Wheaton Regional Park, MD. Starting from the Dog Park, I went down toward the pond, over toward the Nature Center, and to the Northwest Branch Trail across Kemp Mill Rd. From there I went out and back to the cutoff for the newer trail, just past the second rock outcropping. On the return, I went around the pond up to the train tracks and finished-up on the paved trail to the park road. I felt okay for the first mile, but after that I was just moving slowly. The trails were good except for one spot where new dirt (for erosion control?) had been put down on the trail near Brookside Garden. It was slick but not very long. It was 40 F starting out.

Hoyles Mill Conservation Park, MD. From Hoyles Mill Rd. I started out going down Hoyles Mill Rd. and eventually crossed the creek. I went a little further northward parallel to the road. There were plenty of things to map from boulders to some man made knolls and pits. I focused more on vegetation today too. I did make sure I got to most of the boulders I'd mapped earlier so that I could check and correct the mapped alignments. It was getting dark again as I was rushing to finish-up so I crossed the creek to get back to Hoyles Mill Rd. That wasn't bad. I weighed 192.5 after finishing.

From Northfield Rd., Custer Rd. to Wilson Ln. to Glenbrook Rd., to Bradley Blvd., to Kennedy Dr., to Dorset Ave., to the Little Falls Trail, to Hillandale Rd., to Bradley Blvd., to Arlington Rd., to Old Georgetown Rd., to Huntington Pkwy., to Custer Rd., to Northfield Rd. I was grinding through much of this, getting tired early, then feeling better after slowing down. It was raining lightly in the last mile and in the upper 40s F.

From Northfield Rd to Norfolk Ave to pick-up lunch, then back. It was about 50 F with a slight headwind on the return. I hadn't ridden in so long that it felt awkward getting ready. However, once started, muscle memory took over as I steered around bumps, cars and people.

From Northfield Rd., Custer Rd., to Huntington Pkwy., to Old Georgetown Rd. to Beech Dr. to Singleton Dr. to Bulls Run Pkwy., to the trail along the middle school to Bradmore Dr. to Ewing Dr./Roosevelt Rd., to Grant St. to Northfield Rd. I didn't feel nearly as good as I had yesterday. My stomach was as little unsettled. It was in the mid 40s F and I improvised this route.

20 situps.

From Northfield Rd., Custer Rd. to Wilson Ln. to Glenbrook Rd., to the county pool parking lot to the trail into Norwood Park, to Wisconsin Ave., to Woodmont Ave., to Battery Ln. to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to Maple Ridge Rd. to Old Georgetown Rd., to Huntington Pkwy., to Custer Rd., to Northfield Rd. After sleeping much better, I felt better for running too. It was in the mid 40s F, calm and relatively quiet outside, even in downtown Bethesda.

20 situps.

From Northfield Rd. to Old Georgetown Rd. via Greenwich Park, to Ipswich Rd. to Fleming Ave. to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to Old Georgetown Rd. to Huntington Pkwy., to Custer Rd., to Northfield Rd. I was feeling bloated and definitely felt slow on this run. It was 43 F, calm winds, and very few people were outside. My legs felt like lead most of the time.

20 situps.

Washington, D.C. After an evening visit, I ran the extended version of what I've called the Memorial Tour, but I started it from Ohio Dr. this time. From Ohio Dr. in West Potomac Park, near Independence Ave. I went along the Potomac River, past the Tidal Basin, to the Jefferson Memorial, over 14th St. Bridge to the Mt. Vernon Trail, around Lady Bird Johnson Memorial looping under the George Washington Pkwy., to the footbridge over the Boundary Channel into Virginia, along the North Pentagon Parking lot, to the trail along S. Washington Blvd., to the Mount Vernon Trail, to Memorial Bridge, and Lincoln Circle, then down along the Reflecting Pool, past the World War II Memorial to 17th St., NW, over to Independence Ave., past the MLK Memorial. to Ohio Drive, NW. It was 37 F with no winds. The monuments reflected well off of the Reflecting Pool. It was quiet. Few people were out except for those preparing for the January 20th Inauguration. I saw many preparing for security, others setting up around lighted tents, and even some securing sewers. I ate dinner late and probably shouldn't have at all.

Rock Creek Park, Wasington, D.C. I started with Peggy at the intersection of Oregon Ave., and Beach St., NW (at the Pinhurst Branch stream valley. We split right away on our separate loops. The first hill seemed to wear me down, and I headed up to Wise Rd., NW on the paved Rock Creek Trail. From there I connected to the Western Ridge Trail and took that down to the DC/MD border. Using the Valley Trail, I stayed on the east side of Rock Creek. There were lots of people hiking so I kept putting up my mask that I was carrying in my hand--I can't breath through it when running. That seemed to tire me out more since I couldn't balance running over the rocks as well, and I was getting out of breath breathing through it. I crossed the creek to the west side and got on the grass next to Beach Dr., for a while as I headed south further. In retrospect, I would have preferred to stay on the Valley Trail longer and crossed when the road crossed the creek. I left the road and climbed west out of the valley on the trail just north of Milkhouse Ford. I took the Western RIdge Trail north from there. Just after a faster runner passed me (running like I used to), I got on a connector to the paved Rock Creek Trail by mistake. As I was finishing up, I saw Peggy joining-in from the Pinhurst Trail, where I would have preferred to come up. I caught-up and finished right behind her as she did. It was a nice sunny morning with the temperatures at about 40 F starting out.

Hoyles Mill Conservation Park, MD. From Hoyles Mill Rd. I started out going down Hoyles Mill Rd. I corrected some drafting errors along the road to start out. However as I did this I was perplexed for while. The compass I'd used last year to map the park south of Little Seneca Creek, was showing the map to be almost 90 degrees off! I knew I'd checked the alignment previously so I didn't know what was going on. Fortunately, I did have my spare compass, one with a bubble in it. Using it, the map aligned just fine. Both compasses were reading north to be different directions. I wondered if some metal nearby, like my jacket zipper was distorting things, but that wasn't the problem. I have no idea what might have changed the compass without the bubble. Even at home now while writing this, it still reads north to be in the wrong direction. It appears that it might be demagnetized. It keeps pointing in a direction when I turn it but that direction seems to depend on how I start it out when turning it over.

After working that out, I crossed the bridge onto the north side of Little Seneca Creek, and headed east. I focused on areas near the creek but followed the features. There were some small marshes to map, but a good amount of scattered boulders too. Sometimes they followed a line, and sometimes they were clustered. The forest was more open than I'd expected it to be, though there were also places with thorny bushes to run around. The area is pretty flat and that made navigation difficult. I lost place of where I was as I was tracking the edge of the largest green forest that I found with my GPS. I saw the sun set after that. I'm eager to find out what the rest of this area is like. With the lines of sight not being very open, and the many subtle knolls and spurs, it's likely to prove a difficult place to navigate (and map), like some of the areas south of the creek that I'd already mapped. I just hope it doesn't get too green further north. Like areas further downstream, the creek is largely crossable if one doesn't mind getting wet. Wintertime will be the best time to use this area.