Training Log Archive: Nadim

Cunningham Falls State Park. Peggy and I walked from the parking lot to the start which was a climb along the Bob's Hill Trail.

QOC: Cunningham Falls State Park, MD. Overall, my map contact was good. I didn't climb so well, but I was steady. I ran 5.311K and 222M of climb on the 4.8K 225M climb course. Leaves were on the trees and there was plenty of deadfall, rocky ground or thick vegetation.

S-1 - I started 2 minutes behind a guy on Green, and another Green runner started 2 minutes behind me. Peggy had also started before me by a few minutes. I aimed higher than straight, but with the hillside and some vegetation pushing me, I wasn't much off the line. At the big reentrant with the stream, I'd caught the guy who started ahead of me--he was below me. I angled more easterly after that. I came in a little lower than expected, even though I was still climbing. I ended up at the bottom of the ditch with the control, and went up to it. Somehow the other guy who'd started 2 minute before me had run up the hill and had gotten to the control ahead of me.

1-2 - I had to go a little to the left to get through the green. I passed the other guy for the last time as he was on my left and had paused. I hit the first depression, but with the circle and contour line there, I hadn't initially seen that there were 3 on the map. I kept going but then I saw another depression. I stopped to read more carefull and then read 3 depressions.
From there I knew which bearing to use to get to the 3rd.

2-3 - I ran straight but vegetation pushed me to the flat area below the rocks. I saw it from there.

3-4 - I aimed to the NW so that I wouldn't have to drop too far when crossing the reentrant. Crossing the mapped ditches, I knew where to go and was on target.

4-5 - I went straight initially. As I neared the big reentrant, I went more westerly to avoid the really steep area past the stream. After getting up partway after the stream, my bearing check helped to get me to turn more to the right, and I soon after saw the control.

5-6 - I went a little west of straight getting to the big reentrant. After crossing it, I followed the ditch up until it ended. I kept the bearing until I could see the rootstock.

6-7 - I aimed off to the left to try to hit the second set of ditches. Seeing rocks and no ditches, I realized I was lower, and about on the leg line. It seemed like there were more rocks than were mapped. I trusted my bearing and the shape of the contours long enough to see the control. When I got there, I wasn't sure whether or not it was in the right location but I didn't stop to check.

7-8 - I started straight and crossed the 2 ditches. Soon after I' caught and passed a junior. When I hit the first stream, I went due south so as to aim off. At the second stream, I crossed and followed it to reach the multiple depressions. Attacking from there, I got into the correct area. At a running/walking speed, I didn't see much of a saddle, but the contours show that there is a broad and shallow one. I didn't see the control until I was close to it.

8-9 - I tried to climb early and to the west of the leg line, but my GPS track shows that I wasn't far off of it. After getting to where the slope flattened a little, I followed the change in slope until I hit the cliff. This route kept me out of the rocks until reaching the control, and I didn't have to drop much. I paused a little before reaching the control to talk to 2 Yellow course runners who were lost and looking for something like #119. I told them to go down and that they were far off course--I was going to #116. I felt a little bad about not helping them more but they were half a contour below me and I was on the clock. Results show they didn't finish but at least they got back. The control was in the right place, but on my 1:10,000 map, I was expecting it to be between 2 cliffs that were each at different elevations. Reading Peggy's Brown map at 1:7,500, I could see the break in the cliffs.

9-10 - I dropped immediately and got out of the rocks. For a short way, there was an unmapped ride to run freely on. That got me to the stream and some thicker vegetation. I went below the vegetation and across more rocks. If my GPS track is correct, I wasn't reading the rocks correctly. I kept going expecting to see the trail that goes into the rocks; my memory of it is not good, but I may have crossed that trail without seeing it. I kept going not clear how high up I was. I felt that I'd be lower, just above the place where medic aid/search & rescue people were waiting. However emerging onto the trail, I could almost reach over and punch :)

10-11 - I could have contoured more, but I played it safer by trying to go straight. My hope was to hit the slope change, and drop to the control. When I hit the slope change, I couldn't see the control below me. I dropped down at an angle and soon did see it--I was right on target.

11-12 - I went to the right of the mapped green, hit the right contour/elevation, and cut left to the control. Another guy (Jeff) was coming up to it from below as I punched.

12-13 - Jeff looked faster than me so I tried to get out quickly--usually not a good idea even though it's instinctual. I hit the ride a the bend. From there I dropped. I had been reading the ride incorrectly, or perhaps I'd started reading the leg from 11-12 again. I got to the creek where there were rocks and a cliff, but no control. I figured out where I was, then ran along the creek until I could see the control. As I was moving toward it, Jeff came in from my left, and punched. I'd probably lost 30 seconds.

12-13 - I ran the trail along the stream until I could see the parking lot. From there, I cut left to the lot. As I was running up the paved road to the finish, Jeff was walking down it, on the way to download. My left leg was hurting on the thigh as I climbed. After finishing I saw Jeff again and he'd unfortunately cleared his SI card instead of having downloaded it--his result was made a mispunch.

Overall, I was glad that my navigation was good. I had good concentration for most of the way too. Physically, I was slow, but not painfully so. The green course had a lot of climb--4.7%. Alex had set a nice course. It would have been good to have had a longer leg too.

Green - Splits

From Northfield Rd., to Norfolk Ave. for lunch, then back.

From Northfield Rd., to Norfolk Ave. for lunch.

From Norfolk Ave., to Northfield Rd. I had a tailwind.

From Nortfhfield Rd., Custer Rd., to Wilson Ln. to MacArthur Blvd., to Sangmore Rd., to the Capital Crescent Trail to Woodmont Ave., to Wisconsin Ave., to Jones Bridge Rd., to Jones Mill Rd., to Beach Dr., to Grosvenor Rd., to Fleming Ave., to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to Beech Ave., to Old Georgetown Rd., to Huntington Pkwy., to Custer Rd., to Northfield Rd. Starting out I was feeling winded for a few miles. It was around 70 F and there were mixed winds that were sometimes significant and sometimes not present. I got stuck in some traffic at times, including several stops to get through the busier parts of Bethesda. It was getting dark as I finished and I felt better most of the ride.

Cabin John Regional Park, MD. From the Group Picnic Area on Tuckerman Ln., I went to the west side of the creek and ran north, crossed over on the hill with the windy trail, then went along the east side of the park back to Tuckerman Ln. At one point, I saw a multi-pointed stag on the hill in the north. He saw me approaching from below and when the trail took me to him, he just stepped aside and let me run past. There was a doe along the trail just a little later. The park still looks thick. Maybe the falling leaves will improve it. I felt like I was running better. I ran down the hills faster.

Bigelow State Park, CT. Max and I walked quickly together from the Boat Lauch area of Mashapaugh Pond (near where the US Orienteering Masters Championship finish was. We got down to the north end of Bigelow Pond, before heading west on a trail to the start area.

2022 US Orienteering Masters Championship, Bigelow Hollow State Park, CT

Day 2.

S-1 - The nice voluneer start people were just getting going (I started at 9:08am) and probably forgot to warn me about needing to go to the start triangle. I just ran up the trail. After messing-up at the start on Day 1, I should have been thinking about being careful, especially on such a short leg. I guess the excitement got me. I did 180 with the map. I climbed instead of cut back towards where we got our maps. I got twice as far away as the control was because I was running towards some green. I got to the ridge in the green, then headed back, realizing what I did. I didn't go back to where I got my map, but left the trail at a bend and found the control almost right away. I lost over 8 minutes. :( Sergey Velichco had also missed and was in the area.

1-2 - After getting #1, I headed straight towards #2, but decided to climb higher to avoid dropping across the reentrant. Sergey Velichco soon passed me as did a junior cadet. I got too high and saw the large reentrant ahead. That prompted me to drop back down to the cliff. I lost about 90 seconds.

2-3 - I started straight but soon cut left to avoid the uncrossable cliffs ahead. Vadim M. and later Alex Jospe passed me but I got to the control pretty quickly near them.

3-4 - I threaded the way through the green using the most of the white forest. I hit the correct knoll and looked around without seeing the control. I then went on to the next knoll and saw the trail there. Looking back to the knoll I'd been on and moving closer, I then eyed the control in the green. Vadim came in behind me. I probably lost about 75 seconds.

4-5 - I got on the trail for a little while, and hit the creek. Stopping, I saw the large boulder behind me. Ioana Fleming had seen the boulder too, but she didn't have to come back like I did.

5-6 - I got on the trail as was having a difficult time seeing because my glasses were all fogged-up. I stopped to clear them but it didn't help much. At the trail intersection, I went east along the edge of the green. Eventually, I cut right across the open marsh and hit the hillside. Some juniors were leaving so I kept going and found it.

6-7 - Since I was having a difficult time seeing, I couldn't see the trail through the green. I might not have taken it anyway since there was still green forest in the way. I took the road heading southeast. I turned north on the jeep track, to climb the ridge. I thought to turn right on the next trail but decided against it realizing that it dropped down, and I'd have to climb again. I cut off in a vague area but quickly got to the west side of a stone wall with white course controls on it. I still couldn't see well due to my foggy glasses and I couldn't read where the stone wall was. I ran along it and got north of the green before cutting right. As I headed east, southeast, I passes some knolls and gained confidence in where I was. The quicker that I ran, the clearer my glasses got. I recognized a slight reentrant ahead and cut right. I stopped at a rock just south of the big boulder that was just south of the control. Recognizing the boulder, I went north to the control. I may have lost 15-20 seconds.

7-8 - I took a straight line that had me climb. I could see the control and the reentrant from 50m away but lost sight of it as I dropped to get closer, and to go around the green.

8-9 - I went straight, but wasn't reading the area well. I had to go further after hesitating past the trail.

9-10 - Over to the trail, then left a bit to go around the green. I passed the boulder on the spur, then threaded my way through the green to come out right at a trail bend. I went to the next bend 50m away, then cut west down ot the marsh. I went a little longer to go around the ridge, then followed the marsh until I could see the green ahead on the left. I went through the green and dropped right into the reentrant.

10-11 - I went straight. Ioana Fleming was in the area. I kept going with her behind me and spiked the control.

11-12 - I went straight again--this is how poorly I was reading the map, I didn't think of the trail options. I was hard to see the one on the left. My straight route eventually went through the green and got me to the formline reentrant SW of the control. I paused to read the map more carefully, again clearing my eyeglasses, then knew to keep going to the control just 15m away.

12-13 - I went north to the smaller trail and turned right. Taking trails I crossed the bridge, then kept straight as I could. I heard my son Max lament his performance on the course behind me, but I didn't look back. He pulled ahead of me just before I got to the control.

13-14 - I chased Max going straight and we spiked the control. Someone else was behind me.

14 - 15 - Max led the way on the trail toward the bridge. I next heard Greg Balter's voice behind asking to pass. He did almost right way as the forest opened before the bridge, and he then passed Max too. We left the trail at a bend and ran quickly. There seemed to be more going on than was on the map and I was losing contact but we reached the control soon enough.

15 - F - I still chased Max, who was chasing Greg Balter. Another person passed me and looked like he might have been in my age group, only I didn't know who he was. We ran along the shore on the trails to the finish. It was nice to finish quickly with people to push me. I hadn't been running quickly much since my right knee started to bother me (it was not hurting today).

GreenX - Splits