Training Log Archive: Nadim

Marin Headlands. Conzelman Rd., to Battery Spencer, to overlook the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco, CA. We only had a short while for this because we had to get into the city to catch our boat to Alcatraz. The views were great and it was the first time on our trip that we could actually see the full bridge. Each time earlier, it had been partly obscured in clouds or fog.

From Pier 31 to Pier 33 to catch our boat to Alcatraz Island, walking around to be island and the jailhouse, the walking up to Beach St. And Hyde St. To catch the trolley cars for some rides, then walking back to Pier 31 where we parked. We had a windy but sunny day to see Alcatraz. This adds to our vacation time jail tours in Laramie, WY and Boise, ID. When we were in San Francisco city earlier, the trolley cars were not open to the public (COVID-19 pandemic social distancing reasons) but this time they were running and free! Max and I hung on from the side as we went to and from Chinatown. We rushed back after all of this to make sure we’d be able to get our rental car out of the parking lot before it closed. We drove across the Bay Bridge leaving the city to wind down our vacation.

Alcatraz Island, CA. Peggy, Max, Samantha, and I toured parts of the island that were open, including the prison. The prison brought fame to this place but was only a relatively short, ~30 year period. The army had used this to protect CA during the gold rush, and housed WWII prisoners there. American Indians had briefly taken-back the island in protest in the late 1960s too. The place was windy and somewhat cold. The prison period ended in the early 1960s and it was amazing how dilapidated the buildings had become from the weather.

BAOC Relay. This was in Burton Creek State Park, but it started from North Tahoe High School. Though this event was much delayed, it was still enjoyable. I ran on a fully QOC Male Masters team with Jon Torrance leading off. I took the second leg, and Vitalin Aleksiev finished. There were so many categories to compete in that various groups had to break themselves up to fit in the best races with many considered to run-up. Our team, QOC Over the Hill, won Male Masters. QOC people did well. Max ran with Kevin Fisher and Joseph Barrett to get 4th in the Men Elite division. Sidney Fisher, Diana Aleksieva, and Anna Campbell got first in the Women Elite class. The terrain was tricky, with not a lot to relocate to when one missed. Maps were being printed the morning of the event and one person speculated that the older map had gotten used.

I had chased an RMOC team on my first leg, pulled up short and a little low. I went back to some boulders to relocate, then hit the control well. On my second leg, I spiked it but I just felt slow going up a rather gradual hill. It was advertised as a 5m contour map but intermediate 2.5m contours were show everywhere across the map, making it seem much steeper. Though dashed, it wasn't easy to see that when on the run. On my short 3rd leg, I dropped into the correct stream reentrant (dry) but didn't get out of it quickly enough; I had to come back a short way to a dot knoll. My 4th leg was the worst. I chose to go straight--the road route seemed too far out of the way but in retrospect it wasn't a bad option. I started well crossing the first and second trails where I expected to. I went awry when I interpreted a bit of pine trees as a mapped green area. I adjusted my route based on it like I had in the Long event the day before, and then things didn't make sense. I never should have thought I was at the green area since I hadn't yet crossed the 3rd trail. I walked a bit and wandered a little. Going on to the trail and stream I recovered from what could have been a bigger error, but I easily lost 4-5 minutes. I took the road to #5 and got to the boulder without losing time, but I did check a boulder or 2 just before getting there. The rest was just about running speed. The 6th control was kind of a spectator control just outside the event stadium and the next 2 were at trail intersections. Neither Jon nor Vido had runs that they were proud about either, but we somehow managed to make smaller errors than our competitors.

Little Truckee Summit, CA. From the parking area off Rte. 89, Max and I walked Holcombs Rd. to what is called Rte. 11. That's where the US Orienteering Long Championship was to start.

Walking a little further along Rte. 11 to the start of the US Orienteering Long Championship.

BAOC US Orienteering Long Championship on the Sagehen map, Little Truckee Summit. I had troubles today.

S-1 - Starting out, I did okay getting up the big hill and veering left to where the running/walking was easier (to some mapped rocky ground at the crest of a change in contour). I adjusted my bearing from there and spiked it.

1-2 - For this long leg, my plan was to use the contours more than the mapped rides. I stayed in the reentrant, then along the hillside to my left, at the edge of trees and field. I was hard to figure out what was what in the greener areas and areas mapped as marsh. However, I felt that I was right of the line as I crossed the marsh and began climbing. Contours were supporting that, but there wasn't a lot to go on. I adjusted left, no seeing any boulders. I didn't try to locate the mapped trail just north of the control. Greg Alswede passed me but I kept my route. Figuring from the change in slope angle, that I'd gone far enough, I cut left some more. Not seeing anything for a while, I figured it best to suck it up and relocate. My GPS track shows that I was probably 10m from the control when I decided to relocate. I chose the change in contour west of the control. Practice doing field checking gave me good confidence so I turned around and attacked. I was successful and happy about that! I'd probably lost about 3 minutes.

2-3 - I tried to run straight but the vegetation pushed me right. I adjusted and spiked the control!

3-4 - I hadn't considered using the road since it seemed to far away, and I had to climb anyway. I again used contours more than any of the mapped rides. Getting to the south (right) side of the hilltop, I located a cliff and thought it was the mapped blob. I came to the north of the control, dropped down, went north from below, then climbed back up. Next I went hunting slopes further south. I probably came thought the mapped green but it was low vegetation (Manzenita or Juniper?). I couldn't see any cliffs. The rock that the control was on was small compared to other mapped rock I'd seen. I thought it was placed incorrectly. Later people who'd come from the road and below told me that the mapped cliffs were visible and that the control was placed correctly. My GPS track shows I'd lost 4:30 minutes.

4-5 - I contoured out of #4 to get across the reentrant. I thought this would have put me significantly to the left (west) of the control. Walking up the steep slope but not quite to the top, I even thought I might have been rounding the NW side of the hilltop. After crossing the trail, I cut to the right and descended. I saw nothing below me but the weather station, and that wasn't mapped. The contours there told me I needed to go left some more. After committing to doing that, I saw the stony ground. It seemed I had to go a long way. I estimate that I lost 2-3 minutes.

5-6 - I ran straight. Though I knew I was going a little to the right to reduce climb, the contour wasn't making a lot of sense as I got to the saddle climbing for what seemed like a long time. From there I tried to set a bearing but ended up a little high. Recognizing the change in contour, I dropped toward and around the green to hit the control well. If I lost any time it was about 10-15 seconds.

6-7 - I went straight. At the road crossing, my exact position was inconclusive. At the hilltop, I found myself on the right side, when I should have been on the left. It seemed odd since I felt I was following the bearing well, with not a lot of obstacles to pull me off. I adjusted to the left and that turned out to be wrong (had I gone on my bearing I would have spiked the control, and it makes me think there was some distortion in the LiDAR here, since it was a flattish knoll). There weren't any catching features nearby. Another runner was to my right but I think my presence pulled him off his line, to mine. I tried to use the slope and tree line to determine how far to go. I did a big loop, walking much of the time. Finally climbing back, a woman asked me if I was hunting for the same control. I said I was. Shortly afterward, I spotted it. My GPS track shows that I lost 5:45 minutes.

7-8 - I took off after this but drifted left. The woman who was behind me at #7 had gotten to the control a bit ahead of me.

8-9 - I was being careful with setting my bearing. This was a short leg and I didn't catch the woman who'd gotten to #8 ahead of me.

9-10 - I didn't use the road initially. The woman who was ahead of me did. I got the the road just behind her, then sprinted ahead to punch #10 first.

10-F - I pushed the last half of this and felt pretty good after coming down the hill from #7.

As I count it, I lost 14-15 minutes. I had trouble inside the circle and outside of it. I didn't expect to place 2nd in my age group but others had worse problems. Still others hadn't competed. I would have liked to do this over, using some different routes. My GPS track indicates 7.065 Km and 465m climb! I'd come downhill on some descents, especially near the end, that my foot was hurting. My Integrator shoes, both of them, had actually broken apart at the heal. I'd never seen this happen before. I had to throw them away :(

Little Truckee Summit, CA. Walking back from the US Championships event center on Rte 11., to the parking area on Rte. 89. Max had gone ahead without me knowing it. I caught and passed Peggy and Samantha.

C6 - Splits

Walking to and from our hotel on North Lake Dr. in Tahoe, CA, with a detour to the lake at Moon Dunes. The smoke was much less today. Air quality was down from 500 to 264, which is still considered hazardous. Samantha followed behind. I was rather unhappy with her behavior earlier this morning. The air quality had improved but US Orienteering Championships had been delayed until the afternoon.

From the Eagle Ridge parking area off Hwy. 89 near Truckee, CA, Bear Valley Rd. to the arena area of the US Middle Distance Orienteering Championships, near Cottonwood Rd. I walked this with Samantha who was struggling with fear and perceived tiredness. I had to keep moving thinking I might miss my start. Samantha wanted to stop and wasn’t comfortable with going straight and catching up.

NW of Little Truckee Summit, off of Cottonwood Rd. US Orienteering Middle Distance Championships.

Middle Distance generally hasn't been my best event. However, I was encouraged that I had been running well in the Sprint the previous day. This event almost got cancelled. Earlier this day, the air quality at Lake Tahoe was 500! Air quality index values over 100 are considered hazardous. It was affecting some people, but not others. Instead of getting cancelled, the event was only delayed by 4:30 hours.

S-1 - After running to the start triangle, like others I ran down the hill and was moving quickly. I tried going straight. At the road, I noted from the cliff, being just to the left of where I should be. The boulders I saw afterward seemed large enough to map but most of them didn't seem to be on the map. From 100m out, I saw a control ahead at what seemed to be the mapped stream (dry) and was drawn to it. It turned out not to be mine. Looking upstream, I saw rock and it was what I needed. I'd lost 1:20 minutes, per my GPS track.

1-2 - I went straight. Seeing that I was parallel to the dry stream bend confirmed I was doing okay. I saw the big boulder ahead and ran toward it to spike the depression. The control couldn't be seen until I was on top of it.

2-3 - I went straight, and picked-up the shape of the spur ahead. I came around the correct boulder from the right side and was happy to have spiked this.

3-4 - I aimed off to the left to reduce climb. This brought me to a set of rock before the control. There seemed to be a lot more rock there than was mapped. I contoured over and saw the control on the much smaller rock.

4-5 - I felt tired, especially climbing. I don't recall seeing the boulder or dot knoll along the way but looked for and found the distinct tree with the control by continuing straight.

5-6 - I got to the road and then the road bend before attacking successfully.

6-7 - I went straight but wasn't sure that I was seeing all of the mapped boulders along the way. I noted being at a dry stream bend on the mapped stream, so just a little north and left of straight. A former QOC runner was ahead and to my right. I kept my line, eventually passing him, until I saw control to my right. I didn't think it was mine but I went to it to be sure since it was close. I think it was in the ditch/reentrant and so I attacked from there and was successful.

7-8 - I went straight but drifted left. At the drop-off, I didn't see the control so I cut right. I could see 3 people there. Two turned out to be Forest Service people and the other was perhaps a course official. They were at the control and helped give it away, but I had seen the rock well before seeing the control. A more direct line might have saved me 20-30 seconds.

8-9 - I ran straight, but used the southern of the 3 large cliffs to confirm. After that I read the reentrants and boulders to spike the control. I'd attacked off of a mapped boulder right next to the trail at the end, to spike it. Janet Tryson was coming into the control from just south and got there behind me.

9-10 - I'd seen the spectator control before going out. After walking away from #9, I was mostly trying to keep myself running, since I knew the road was a catching feature.

10-11 - I went straight but paused to read the control description when I hadn't seen the control at some earlier rock. I was taking my time so as not to make a mistake too.

11-12 - This was an easy short leg and I went straight.

12-13 - I went to the high side (right/east) to spike the control. I was moving a little slower to be careful.

13-14 - I saw the foot trail to my left but wasn't sure if it was the mapped one. I kept straight climbing a little, but then dropping back to the foot trail. I decided to use it after that. I read the area before the control as a clearing and hadn't picked-up the mapped scattered trees (in light green). However I interpreted the area correctly, and eventually ran through it to spike the control.

14-F - I was tired. I'd been winded through much of this course.
After downloading, I discovered that I was in the lead. I didn't know how many had gone out before me but it turned out that my start was rather late. Other age group competitors had unexpected troubles, ran other age groups, or hadn't come. Still, it was a happy thing to have won the race and get the M60+ Middle Distance Champion title! I'd lost less than 2 minutes over the course.

C • Gold! 6

Truckee, CA. From the arena area of the US Middle Distance Orienteering Championships near Cottonwood Rd., Bear Valley Rd. To Eagle Ridge parking area off Hwy. 89. I felt pretty tired. Not recorded is the walking around that I did trying to get pictures of competitors on the courses.

C6 - Splits

Event: 2021 Orienteering USA Nationals
 

US Sprint Orienteering Championships at Sierra Community College in Rocklin CA. I had no expectations for this since I'd been injured and not training well since March.

S-1 - I moved okay and spiked it. The 1:3,000 map helped! I wasn't thrown off by the distances.

1-2 - I went up what seemed to be the main corridor. With the excitement, I lost track of exactly where I was. An unmapped double railing on one sidewalk confused me. However, I recognized the diagonal sidewalk in time to cut right at the right time, and move on to spike the control.

2-3 - I chose to take the southern route, but in retrospect, some seconds might have been saved going around to the left/west side of the pool. I still spiked the control.

3-4 - Straight.

4-5 - Through the canopy, then across the parking lot, to approach the control from the south. I had read the clue to be underneath and went right to it.

5-6 - Straight, but hesitantly.

6-7 - I went counter-clockwise around the first building, then clockwise around the next. I spiked it. Joe Barret had passed me after the stairs.

7-8 - With 3 main routes, my execution of going north, south, then north again was probably not optimal. I got to the ramp before the control from the east. However, I lost not time getting mixed-up on where I was.

8-9 - I went clockwise around the construction and approached the control from the north. This may not have been optimal but it seemed to reduce climb and was not hard to execute.

9-10 - While flipping the map about I think I got confused between controls 6 and 9. I ran north then east and got stopped by construction fencing. Going around that, I got into the main campus corridor before turning around. After that and relocating, I hit the control just fine. Based on my GPS track, I estimate losing at least 90 seconds. Winsplits had me in first place in my age group up until this control.

10-11 - I went back the way I'd come, between the large and small buildings. Going through the start was an option I didn't see but I don't think I'd have saved any time doing that.

11-12 - Around the building, being sure not to step in the gardens.

12-F - Pushing okay into the finish.

I got 4th overall in my age group. I think everyone in M60+ made some errors but I stood a good chance of placing without my error on the way to #10. That was surprising since I'd been injured and not training well since March.

US Orienteering Championships Model event off of Rte. 89, at Little Truckee Summit. Though the terrain had areas mapped open, it was very green with low vegetation. It helped doing this to refamiliarize myself with this terrain. I hit all of the controls well but I was slow and had to walk a lot, when I didn't want to. I wondered how slow I'd be in the upcoming races.

Sprint 5 - Splits

Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park, Chico, CA. With our planned hikes at Lassen National Park cancelled. The Dixie fire had entered the park this day and the whole park was closed. Since we had a long drive ahead we went about it and tried to locate something else to do. The Bidwell Mansion wasn't much but it was interesting. Unfortunately it was closed to the public on this day (open other days of the week). We walked around it and along a stream. We learned some history and saw the edge of the California State campus which bordered the park. There was traffic getting to and from this place. It was hot so we didn't have enough motivation to do other things.

We could see the plums from the Dixie fire. Eddie Bergeron had put together an interesting video from the GOES satellite imagery showing it from above.
https://i.imgur.com/Rv9yLX1.mp4

Sacramento CA. I swam a couple lengths of our small pool while talking with Max, Samantha, and some Californians who live near the coast that we'd passed through earlier on this trip. The mother was from the wine country that we'd passed through north of San Francisco. She seemed to acknowledge global warming without being positive about man causing it.

Butte Lake, Lassen National Park, CA. Peggy, Max, Samantha, and I hiked from Butte Lake to the Cinder Cone in this eastern end of the park. The air was bad from the nearby Dixie fire. Ash could be seen accumulating on the car. My camera meter showed me that the light was more like evening twighlight--it's not normally safe to take a picture directly into the sun but in some direct pictures the sun could barely be seen. There was plenty of smoke. Visibility was down, but we could see some things over a quarter mile away with ease. Samantha's fears made our hiking progress slow.

We hiked a trail to get close to an old Cinder Cone and went past the Fantastic Lava Beds on our left to get there. On our right was some very open pine forest that would be good for orienteering. Our progress hiking was slow, but with enough breaks for Samantha, we made it. The smoky and dark sky was fitting for seeing the cinder cone. Had we had more time, Max and I might have gone up it 700 ft. in a half mile. It was start and had a few trees growing on it. From where we were, we got some smoke obscured glimpses of the famed Painted Sand Dunes (what seemed to be rhyolite-like formations) from the eruption which happened only around the year 1650. Max and I went a little further than Samantha and Peggy; just past the saddle, to see the other side of the cinder cone. An earlier hiker had left 10 pine cones on the trail and in the cinder sand, had them inside a rectangle made by dragging a foot. This was a bowling alley. Max and I used small rocks to knock them down. We reset the lane before we left. Our hike back was fast. It was gently downhill and were trying to catch-up with Peggy and Samantha. Our walking fast became competitive, with Max edging me out at the end. Of course, he wasn't carrying my 20 lbs. of camera gear. :)

Lassen National Park, CA, at Manzanita Lake. Max and I set off to jog around the lake while Peggy waited with Samantha. We'd moved west from our hike earlier this morning and the sky was completely different. It was blue. Max and I had taken our phones with us and we stopped several times to snap pictures of the Lassen volcano reflected in the lake. The trails around the lake forked a lot. Max was running faster and we probably diverged routes. This was my first running in a while.