Training Log Archive: Nadim

I carried Max and our sleds back almost the whole way from sledding at NIH. Walking up the hill so many times in all his winter clothes tuckered him out.

After taking Max sledding, I put a replacement metal shovel to use to scrape off the ice on the road in front of our house. I just wanted to make it easier to get in and out as well as help clear our still unplowed road. The 1-3" thick ice was wet and heavy. I got sweaty.

Rock Creek Park. I had wanted to do a longer run all weekend so I built-on to Peggy's route from earlier this morning. From the Washington, D.C./Maryland border, I ran south on Beach Dr. to Broad Branch Rd. and got on the Rock Creek Trail to Tilden Rd. at the Pierce Mill parking area. From there I returned the same route past the DC/MD border, staying on Beach Dr. and crossing the foot bridge to Candy Cane Park. From there, I reversed the route back to the DC/MD border.

A light snow had just stopped when I started. Instead, there was a light drizzle which as darkness eventually came, gave way to some light fog. Starting out, my legs felt tight and slow; I was unsure about making this a 10 mile run but eventually got into a rhythm. Beach Dr. was plowed to the pavement. Though there were a few slippery parts, it had been the best running surface that I'd had used since before the first snow storm this month. After Broad Branch Rd., I had gone on trying to get to a total of 10 miles for this run. The trail had not been plowed so I ran on a snowy foot trail out and back a half mile, slowing my pace accordingly. Past Tilden Rd., it appeared that the foot trail through the snow had ended so I returned. I had intended on using several side roads in Rock Creek Park but none of these had been plowed except for ones busy with cars.

The park was very beautiful, still with heavy snow covering everything up but the creek. Even the picnic tables looked like they could have been boulders with the side accumulation just about reaching the table top. I saw a few other hearty runners, XC skiers and a hungry herd of deer. I probably would have enjoyed the XC skiing too but I believe the run would do me more good. I had more left knee pain and again used the ball of my foot more to land on to make that feel better. The last mile that I added on was in the dark and open to car traffic. With ice walls along the sides, I had to dodge cars on what otherwise had been a rather quiet peacful run. It was 33 F as I finished and parts of my wet legs were starting to get cold at the end.