Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: QOC: Prince William Forest
 

McFarlan Woods, Cincinnati, OH. Warm-up for the Flying Pig Long event. I jogged over to the start with Mike Eglinski and then jogged back and forth on a trail till it was my turn to go.

McFarlan Woods, Cincinnati, OH. OCIN: Flying Pig Long. This was really a classic course distance with 3 long legs and a few to test raw power on repeated hill climbs. Overall it was pretty fun but I could have enjoyed it with less climbing. I started 4 minutes after Michael Eglinski and a minute ahead of the eventual M20 and Red course winner. I was caught by the latter person a little before finishing the long leg to #1. After #1 I'd caught sight of and ran either in front of or behind Tori Borish for many controls. I was moving a little faster but would make a small mistake or less optimal route and we'd be back together again. On the way to #11, I saw Vadim Masalkov chasing Michael Eglinski. Tori dropped off, Vadim pulled ahead and I chased Michael to #12. We ran parallel to #13 but I pulled ahead going down the last bit. I was struggling with the climb out to the Go control and saw not only Michael Eglinski closing in while on a steep climb, but also Greg Balter who was running Blue. Overall, I finished 5th in a fairly tough M45+ field. I was well behind Mark Voit's leading M45+ 63 minute Red course finish but only a little over 2 minutes out of third place (Ted Good was third and Eric Buckley was second in 67 minutes. A Canadian was not far off Ted's time). I feel it's a good result for me given the shape that I'm in. The courses were not very technically difficult but they were physical.

A negative to take back is that with 2 3-day orienteering weekends in a row my left knee, the one operated on last summer, is feeling the toll. It doesn't recover as quickly as this amount of orienteering puts wear and tear on it. It was throbbing after the meet similar to the warning signs I had before the disasterous QOC Wheaton meet over a year ago when I pretty much had to stop running for several months. I took some Motrin that my orthopedist perscribed but that I hadn't touched since last summer when I had the operation--it was fortunate for me that Peggy had brought it along. At least I'll have a break for the next two weeks from orienteering racing. The orienteering racing seems to put the most stress on my knee.

Sunday Long Red - Splits

McFarlan Woods, Cincinnati, OH. OCIN. Warm-up for the Flying Pig US Relay Champs. I jogged around the start area watching other runners. I ran the fourth leg.

McFarlan Woods, Cincinnati, OH. OCIN: Flying Pig US Relay Championships - Red Variation 3 (BB). Most of QOC seems to have been in a need of a break after having hosted the Ran-it Granite last weekend. We didn't have enough to run a legal team. Luckily our team, led off by Ted Good and third leg runner David Onkst, was supported by steady and very capable Sharon Crawford. I anchored. We were in the lead for other 8 point teams with Ted Good running Orange. Stiff competition from OK (Peggy's team mate John Rogers) had us in second after the the second leg Yellow course. Dave faced even more stiff competition but we were still near the front when it was my turn.

I was passed pretty quickly by Sergei Szech on a 4 point DVOA team. The initial hills winded me a bunch but I was able to take more gradual routes on most legs. Eric Bone passed and was probably on a 4 point team too. Unbeknownst to me, Michael Lyons had started pretty close behind me. With the forking I didn't see him until around the 8th control. We ran near each other the rest of the way. He got ahead briefly going to #13 but made a slight error enabling me to pass again. I took about 3 steps in the wrong direction leaving #15--I hadn't oriented my map correctly but was headed in the right direction soon after that. I was expecting Michael to be able to pass me near the end. At #17, I was using the vegetation to try to attack from and ended up a bit too low. Michael made up some ground by being higher. I got out fast and got to #18 where his son was waiting. The rest of his family was cheering too (Peggy had to take Max for a toilet break at the time) so I felt a bit bad running hard to the end. Perhaps he was taking it easy on me. I stayed ahead but think my official time put me a few seconds behind him.

It was a much more fun day for me. With more rest I felt stronger. I enjoyed running in the warmer and sunnier wheather. The hills felt easier than they did on the day before too.

Saturday Red_8pt - Splits

Event: OCIN 25th Anniversary / Flying Pig XIII / Relay Champs
 

McFarlan Woods, Cincinnati, OH. OCIN: Flying Pig The Short - After arriving at the meet site at about 4:40pm because of delayed baggage on our flight out, I got ready as quickly as I could and headed over to the start in a rush. The last starts were supposed to be at 5pm.

McFarlan Woods, Cincinnati, OH. OCIN: Flying Pig The Short: Red. After about a minute after the warm-up run I took off. The hills on the early part of the course were not so fun and I didn't feel very energetic. I was pretty good with most controls but lost at least 10 minutes on leg #10. I pulled up short at another control and had difficulty relocating. Having been out longer, I ran slower after that but liked I the last half of the course. Hopefully I've had my last big error for a while.

Friday Middle Red - Splits

From Northfield Rd. to Old Georgetown Rd. via Greenwich Park, to W. Cedar Ln. to Rockville Pike, to the Bethesda Trolley Trail to Maple Ave. to Old Georgetown Rd. to Huntington Pkwy. to Custer Rd. to Northfield Rd. I probably shouldn't have run this distance before racing with heavy competition in the M45+ category at the Flying Pig but it was a nice enough day. I saw Pat Zerfas along the way and stopped to talk as she was headed out on her run.

With poor weather and not a lot of time. I got on my bike indoors again and watched a movie. I spinned pretty well. An exciting movie usually helps with that. My legs had felt tired earlier.

Washington, D.C. From 12th & Independence Ave. to the WWII Memorial, to the north side of the Reflecting Pool and south side of Constitution Gardens Lake, to the Lincoln Memorial, to Parkway Dr. NW., to the Rock Creek Trail to 24th St. NW, and the Woodley Park-Zoo Metro Station. The weather was perfect for running (upper 50's F and sunny) and the Cherry Blossoms were great too--they are in full bloom. Despite the winds few petals were being blown away. I left work after 6pm and felt okay starting out. I had to weave through the crowds until I got to the Reflecting Pool but there were still lots of people out after that. There was an inordinate number of women runners. I worked on getting back to an efficient stride and was pretty smooth. My arms were dead. By the time I got to the climb up to Woodley Park, I was fairly tired all around. I trudged up steadily but not very fast and ensured lots of personal space by sweating on the metro trains trying to cool off going home.

From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. with Max in his trailer, then to the Bethesda Metro Station via the Georgetown Branch tunnel. It was windy but most of it was coming from behind. I was glad to be able to ride-in again even if it's only to the metro station. My legs felt a bit tired from the weekend racing.

From the Bethesda Metro station to Maple Ave., then to Northfield Rd. via the Georgetown Branch Trail. As I pulled in to Max's day care, Peggy was there just getting ready to take him home. Instead, Max rode with me. We had to stop off at a playground of course. After that we fought the winds and I struggled on the modest grades. To make it harder, my tires started exhibiting the mushiness of what is perhaps a slow leak. To make it more urgent, Max indicated needing a toilet. The traffic slowed us but we made it home without incident.