Training Log Archive: Nadim

Prince William Forest, Turkey Run Ridge. Matt Smith set good courses for those who came. As we were driving-in a lot of new treefall from what looked like straight-line winds could be seen the whole way from the park entrance. There was even a road sign noting that the administration was still cleaning it up. This wasn't too bad for the courses we ran but there was enough unmapped deadfall that visual observation and route planning helped a lot. The deadfall was worse at the tops of hills and ridges so it was often beneficial to drop lower. I ran the shortest course though I had thought about adding-on, using a control from the longer course. The heat/humidity and moving slowly through the brush made me think better of it. I did not take water with me, and it might have helped.

S-45 - I ran the trail and left the trail from a bend. Some deadfall was in my way. Going on the right side of it ended up meaning that I had to cut back a little. Helen Dougherty was in the area.

45-37 - I ran high along ridge until crossing the trail, and then I angled down to the valley. I stayed away from the stream where there was less grass but I went into it in time to see the stream confluence. Going in-between the streams up a ridge, visibility was not optimal but I knew where I was from changes in steepness. Dennis Dougherty was coming down the ridge and asked if I'd seen the control. I told him it was still ahead and I went to it with him behind me.

37-32 - I wanted to stay more to the left but ended up cutting to the right because the map showed climb and vegetation ahead. Dennis passed me after I'd cut right but he was still to the left of me. I got up to the trail and ran along it briefly before cutting in and following the reentrant to the control.

32-40 - I went along the right side of the creek to the road, the through the fields. I went up the right fork a little bit until I could see the end of the mapped green vegetation. From there I mostly went straight and spiked it.

40-47 - After crossing the trail and stream, vegetation pushed me left and right but I was able to count the reentrants off to my right. When I got close to the correct reentrant, I angled left and uip to see the top of it, then came down it. I saw the control when I paused but running to it I lost it again. I stopped just beyond it and saw it hanging on a tree bow that partly obscured it from higher up the reentrant.

47-33 - I cut through the green bits, finding ways that were not bad. Hitting the trail, I decided it made sense to stay on the trails. The verge at the edges of the semi-open areas looked messy. There was even some dead brush along side of the trail that looked like it had been moved there after the big storm. I left from a bend, arriving between reentrants but not seeing the control. I interpreted correctly that the one to the left was too deep to be the one with the control.

33-804 - My initial thought was to use the trail but then I saw how much the trail descended. I crossed the reentrant system and got to the ridge. Since the higher parts of the ridge looked to have both mapped and unmapped deadfall, I went to the right where it was much clearer. After crossing a side reentrant I went back up to spike the control.

804-36 - I angled down to the trail, cut left at the end of the ridge on my left, used the next trail for a little way, then cut across and up the next ridge to the control.

36-F - I tried to keep running the whole way. There was less deadfall and the climb was gradual enough. I did have to stop briefly in places. After passing the amphitheater, I dropped to the trail. I had to run through the set of tents that an extended southeast Asian family was setting up, since they were putting up one tent on the trail. I was first to finish.

I'd mowed the lawn and done some yardwork before I went out to run. I went from Carderock, MD, on the C&O Canal Towpath to Mile Marker 12 and back. I was surprised not to feel right knee pain starting out. Running felt a little awkward and forced since I hadn't run other than when orienteering, for a long time. However, I ran with the least pain in a long while--getting my legs stronger from bicycling seemed to have helped (though it contributed to less fluid motion for running). It was warm and humid outside. I hadn't ridden my bicycle because a storm had been approaching (it never materialized where I was).. Initially almost no one was around on the towpath. I'd almost done 2 miles and for people, I'd seen only an older couple looking at an overgrown part of the canal near Carderock. Where the water was wider a red-winged blackbird was hopping on a cattail, geese were moving single file through heavy duckweed and some were walking on the towpath; and a Great Blue Heron lifted off the canal edge as I ran past. It was all very summery since I'd been there last.

From Northfield Rd. to Norfolk Ave. with Max to eat lunch; then back.

From Northfield Rd., Moorland Ln. to Glenwood Rd., to Old Georgetown Rd., to Kingswood Rd. to Hurst St., to Grosvenor Rd., to Beach Dr. to Jones Mill Rd. to Jones Bridge Rd., to Rockville PIke/Wisconsin Ave., to Woodmont Ave., to Battery Ln. to Park St. to Custer Rd. I got going late so I kept this to be a shorter ride. My left foot was feeling better today and the swelling had gone down. At a traffic light, I got caught by a guy I'd seen earlier. On his red bike, he's always pulling out his cell phone, riding with no hands for a while and slowing up for a little while, and then putting it away. He used to pull away much more easily, but today I was pacing much closer to him. I didn't feel strong nor up to my old speeds, but I might be getting stronger.

I had already been thinking of taking a rest day from cycling, or to try a little running. After my ride the day before, I'd nodded off at my desk and woke to find my left foot hurting. On this day it was swollen and still hurting when walking. It got itchy too. I'm not sure what caused the pain. The pain was centered on the bone leading to the toe next to my little toe. A day or 2 earlier, I had noticed a small bump on the left foot ankle towards my front. I got busy with working late this day so I just decided it'd be best to make it a full rest day.

From Northfield Rd., Huntington Pkwy., to Bradley Rd., to Persimmon Tree Rd., to Persimmon Tree Ln. to MacArthur Blvd., to Sangmore Rd., to the Little Falls Trail, to the Capital Crescent Trail, to Falls Rd., to Glenbrook Rd., to Wilson Ln., to Custer Rd., to Northfield Rd. Like 2 weeks ago, I was sore starting out. This time it was from consecutive rides. I felt like I was struggling too much. It was a great low humidity day in the low 80s F. I had some modest headwinds. My time was 42 seconds slower.

From Nortfhfield Rd., Custer Rd., to Wilson Ln. to MacArthur Blvd., to Sangmore Rd., to the Capital Crescent Trail to Woodmont Ave. to Battery Ln. to Wisconsin Ave./Rockville Pike, 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. I was a bit sore starting out. That improved after about 25 minutes. I didn't push the pace. The weather was comfortable for riding.

I used a guide book that I've been using since the 1990s to do some good rides. I picked-out the "Back by Noon" ride from Chuck and Gail's Favorite Bike Rides book. The problem was that I didn't even get started until after 1pm. Starting out it was humid, sunny, and around 89 F. It probably got hotter. I was feeling the early hills and not recovering so well from them. The ride starts next to the Potomac River and heads north. I extended it by taking a portion of other rides in the book. I generally climbed for the first +13 miles. The wind was with me on this but that meant I wasn't getting a cooling breeze. After hitting Comus Rd. I then hit some rolling hills as I crossed ridges getting to the base of Sugarloaf Mountain. Some of these from the beginning were steep. I took a much needed break at 20 miles, in Dickerson, getting a cold drink and an energy bar. Clouds started moving in and the route became less severe regarding the hills. Traffic got lighter too. There was some rather nice farm country and a few facilities tucked away so that few would see them (power plant, NIH Animal Testing center, and a county police gun range). I missed a turn (using cue sheets) and had to turn around at one point, after the road had turned to dirt and had shifted northward, where I'd come from. I was going slow enough (by necessity) that the winds didn't bother me much--when riding into them or hitting them from the side they were cooling. Though I was nearly done, I took a break at 40 miles, with 5 miles to go. I guess I looked decrepit sitting in the grass since a passing car stopped to see if I was okay. I judged the clouds in the distance and figured correctly that I could beat the coming rain. Finishing-up going down the first big hill that I climbed, I hit the top speed of the route--a little over 30mph, and had to take a sharp right at the bottom. Back at Riley's Lock there were people riding the C&O towpath. I stopped in Potomac, MD to bring home some pizza and groceries. With knee pain, I walked kind of funny there. I was rained on while driving home, but I got ahead of it again and got everything out of the van before it fell.