Training Log: Nadim

Event: QOC PWF Pine Grove
 

QOC: Prince William Forest at Pine Grove, VA. It was a nice sunny day with generally open forest with really good visibility. Though some legs natually had similarity, Course Setter Gary Smith set a nice variation from past courses here too. I ran the Blue course for the first time since January 5th, 2020. I'd been working my way back up to Blue very slowly since injuries last spring. There had also been fewer opportunities under it being a pandemic year. Taking an easy day and resting my knee helped me keep running through the course, but I was stumbling and falling more toward the end.

S-1 - I went wide to the right and got a little too far, being on the left side of the reentrant leading down. The control was visible from far off. When glancing at it at the start, I thought the feature was going to be a dot knoll but I went right to it based on location.

1-2 - I got on trails and read ahead on the course prior to reaching the swing bridge over Quantico Creek. The rest of this leg was the exact leg from an earlier course. I reasoned it'd be best to save energy using the trails to the left, even though I suspected the trail route to be slower. I spiked the control (I'd mapped the feature, weak though it was, so I had better have!).

2-3 - My route took me through more green than I'd expected. The deadfall seemed to have expanded since I had updated it on the map a few years back. I reached the road north of the bend, went across 2 of the 3 reentrants, and descended to the control.

3-4 - I started going somewhat straight. I wove my way through the green before reaching the road, but apparently I drifted more left than I thought. Hitting the road at a bend, I thought I was at a southern bend, not the one just north of it. Seeing white forest on the other side, I'd presumed the map to be out-of-date, instead of being too far north. I hit the first creek and turned north but realized it wasn't right; I had to go to the next. The sizeable ridge in my way told me I was too far north. After crossing it, I was having trouble distinguishing the streams but I got there by continuing on.

4-5 - I went straight. The mapped green was out of date. It was light green at worst, and even mappable as white in places. I was on target, but I hesitated not being sure. The drop off to my left queued me in.

5-6 - I ran up the left side of the first reentrant, crossed over before it ended, without dropping much, climbed out a little before the reentrant ended, and crossed the road. I intended to go down to the creek from there, but it seemed I could save some distance without adding much climb by going more directly. Because I was higher than intended when made my last turn, I crossed more reentrants than expected. The old camp roads clued me in to keep going to the next reentrant. I dropped into the control from the SW at the end.

6-7 - I climbed early, walking mostly, then ran the flatter ground left of the big reentrant to the control.

7-8 - Straight the whole way. Near the end I saw someone and almost caught-up to him. He had a dog.

8-9 - I'd done this leg a few times (mostly in reverse), set it for a course I had done, and even mapped the cliffs. I went straight at it, then ran down the reentrant at the end. I gained on the guy ahead with the dog. A ranger had driven his jeep on the vehicle track and was parked to my right. Using his loudspeaker, he had told the other guy to hold his dog on the leash, and I passed him.

9-10 - I went fairly straight to the road junction, then turned up the road heading more north. Before the reentrant to the left ran out, I left the road and cut over to cross near the saddle. I ran down the reentrant on the other side, and angled a climb to the control with the reentrant. Someone from my right was converging at the end. Both of us turned out to be higher than needed and I got there first.

10-11 - I ran down the big rentrant to the trail along Quantico Creek. After the next trail intersection, I climbed past a cliff and up a reentrant to the road, hitting it at a bend that let me keep going straight. Leaving the road when it bent, I kept straight to the control. I don't remember doing a similar leg here before.

11-12 - I ran down the right side of the reentrant at first. Stepping in another hole hidden by leaves, I tumbled this time. I continued on to the road, ran it to the second intersection, and ran straight to the spur. Somewhere on the road my watch beeped to indicate saving my GPS track. It had stopped tracking back near #7 when I brushed up against a tree. I restarted it.

12-13 - I reduced climb by going a little north as I went east. Hitting the campground road intersection, I went past cabins and used the fire circle trail. Where that ended, I attacked over the ridge and hit the control well.

13-14 - I ran down the reentrant and the left side of the creek. Getting on the trail, I cut through at the bend, and attacked from the second bend. It was visible far off.

14-15 - I used the trail along the creek, cut over at the bend before the reentrant, then crossed it minimizing climb well to get to the control.

15-16 - I ran straight but signaling that I was getting tired, I fell again. This time as a stick tripped me.

16-17 - Straight, but I used the trail for a short way to get past the rocks. I was lower at the end than expected but I could see the control further up the reentrant to my right.

17-18 - I went straight but cut right to avoid the deadfall. I intendeds to climb through the saddle. It seemed that there was one where I crossed the trail but not the right one. I knew to cut left and soon was at the control.

18-19 - I ran left of straight to use the trail, then left from a bend. I cut across the first ridge by being below the knoll. I could see the control on the next knoll/ridge after rounding that first knoll.

I ran briefly, then needed to walk the climb. I misread the the finish a bit so I headed toward the start. I corrected as I didn't see the finish and realized I was looking at the wrong parking lot. I lost a little time; maybe 10-15 seconds.

It was good to have run Blue and completed 10.3K under 2 hours. I navigated pretty well and I think I made pretty good route choices. It's fun to run in the open woods!

Blue - Splits

Hoyles Mill Conservation Park, MD. From Hoyles Mill Rd., I decided not to do much running today, to help my knee from getting worse, and so that I won't have to stop running. I jogged northward half a mile on Hoyles Mill Rd. until I got to the Little Seneca Creek bridges. Staying south of the creek, I went through the greener parts of the area that I hadn't spent much time in. I found some new features, and made some corrections to older ones. I had concerns about what I'd mapped earlier not reflecting the vegetation well enough. Most of what I'd mapped was about right. Seeing it at this time of the year let me see it better than when things were starting to grow last spring. Being in the greener areas meant working my way through thorns and deadfall a lot of the time. Some areas that I'd mapped green will be changed to being light green, and a few others will be dark green or fight.

Great Falls, MD. From the Angler's Inn parking lot, I ran up the Berma Rd. to the trail on the right just before the bridge to the towpath. After the short but steep/rocky climb that I walked parts of, I headed left to the Upland Loop Trail and Overlook Trail. Staying high, I climbed again to the Trolley Loop, then back down to the Tavern. I went south to the towpath at Lock 19, then north on the towpath to Lock 20 and the Tavern. Going to and looping the entrance traffic circle I returned behind the restrooms, down to Lock 19 again, then on the towpath to the Angler's Inn parking area. As I was getting started, the sun had already gone under the ridge on the Virginia side of the Potomac River. It was in the upper 30s F with some wind. Running on the upland trails wasn't too bad with the poor lighting but if I'd have been any later it would have been. The Tavern area had been almost devoid of people and it's unusual to see it like that. Even the traffic circle had no cars. There were a few people on the towpath. The actual Angler's Inn at the start/finish was hopping and festive with lights and heating burners. My left knee was hurting a little again. I hope the softer ground was easier on it but the small bumps and dips in the trail/towpath in the dark didn't make it so. I ran more on my toes than usual.

30 sit-ups.

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. It was windy today. As I ran into it the first 2 miles, I was slower than usual. Though easier when I returned, I wasn't really faster than usual. My left knee hurt a little and I needed a bathroom near the end.

30 sit-ups.

Washington, D.C. After an evening visit, I again ran the extended version of what I've called the Memorial Tour, but I started it from Ohio Dr. From the John Ericsson Memorial circle and Ohio Dr. in West Potomac Park, and Independence Ave. I went up Independence Ave. to the Kutz Bridge, around the Tidal Basin to Ohio Dr., past 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, to and around the outside part of Lincoln Circle, to Daniel French Dr., SW, to Independence Ave., to Ohio Drive, NW. It was 46 F with no winds, and a nice moon. I had sweat bottoms but midway at a convenient and still open bathroom stop, I took off my sweat jacket. There were several other runners on the trails and walkways. I saw a few police but no large preparatory force. My lower back has been a little achy but didn't bother me when running.

From Northfield Rd., Moorland Ln., to McKinley St. to Old Georgetown Rd., to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, around the south side of NIH, to Jones Bridge Rd., to Maryland Ave., to Fairfield Dr., to Lynbrook Dr., to Chestnut St., to Kentbury Dr., to Chelton Rd., to East-West Hwy., to Old Georgetown Rd., to Huntington Pkwy., to Custer Rd., to Northfield Rd. I got a late start. It was in the upper 30s F. All through the run, I felt my stride was clunky; just not smooth. I didn't feel strong but it could have been worse. I thought the distance was a little farter too.

30 sit-ups.

From Northfield Rd., Greenwich Park, to Old Georgetown Rd. to Alta Vista Rd., to Linden Ave., to Pooks Hill Rd., to Rockville Pike. and the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to Maple Ridge Rd., to Old Georgetown Rd., to Huntington Pkwy., to Custer Rd., to Northfield Rd. I was tight or stiff from the orienteering race yesterday. I didn't push the pace. Sometimes I felt like I was going slower than I was. It was about 48 F with a bit of a wind.

30 sit-ups.