Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: QOC Manassas
 

Manassas Battlefield Park, VA at Stuart Hill. I did a warm-up jog or 2 loops around the parking area for the QOC meet.

Manassas Battlefield Park, VA. QOC at Stuart Hill. I wasn't sure what to expect physically today but I had anticipated doing better navigationally. My bearing was a bit to the left on most of the controls where I was a bit off. I was running pretty good and perhaps ran too fast. I underestimated control #9 which was a depression 20m off of a main road. Though the map was lacking some features along the road, the big part of my error was reading a ridge to be a reentrant. I ran well past the control, to a reentrant and found a nice unmapped depression about 20m off the road, then figured out that I had to go back. That mishap cost me about 5 minutes. I made another serious error going to #11. At least this one was a parallel error. I got to the wrong ridge and took a while to realize it. That error cost me another 3 minutes. There were various issues with the map, like at #2 where the control was on what appeared to be an unmapped dot knoll. Not having read the control description, I got distracted by another control in the area and when I approached it, two unleashed dogs came up to me threateningly thus further distracting me (another 20-30 seconds or error). What had happened is that the map we raced on with hadn't included various corrections which course setter Tim Good had made and used. However, I can't really blame the map on my errors I think I was just going too fast in places where I should have slowed and read the map more. The one nice thing that I can take away from the day is that I ran solidly and had some speed at times. I need to evaluate routes better, adjust strategies, and thus stop making these big errors at our local meets.

Red - Splits

From Northfield Rd., Max and I rode with his trail-a-bike for lunch in Bethesda, for a mailbox and to a playground.

From Northfield Rd., through Grenwich Park to Old Georgetown Rd. to W. Cedar Ln. to the Elmhirst Trail, to Cedar Ln. to the Rock Creek Trail, to the Matthew Henson Trail, and to the parking lot. I started running about 2 1/2 hours after eating lunch with Max and felt pretty awful. The cycling that I'd done this week, short though it was, was very evident in my tired quads. I struggled through the first mile. I was happy to know that it was on-par with other recent splits and that the next mile was downhill to Rock Creek. Once on the paved Rock Creek Trail, I cruised along better. It's basically flat though there's a gradual climb to it. I felt like I'd slowed down and needed to to keep from pushing too hard. I mostly couldn't read my watch as I ran but I did pick-up on one mile split that again was encouraging. It just seemed like I was exerting more effort than I had been doing at this pace. I felt a bit better better after a while but getting up past Randolph Rd. from Cedar Ln. always seems farther to me than I think it is. I was happy to have a break for traffic at Garrett Park Rd. and again at Randolph Rd. I was only on the Matthew Henson Trail for about 100m. Peggy and Max were waiting for me--it was Max's 3rd playground of the day. My available mile splits were: 15:59 (for 2.24 miles or 7:08 pace), 7:10, 7:03, 7:10, 7:00.

From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. via the Georgetown Branch Trail with Max in his trailer, then after dropping them off I rode to the Bethesda Metro Station via the Air Rights Building tunnel. In great contrast to last night, it was bright and sunny this morning but still warm. I felt tired so I took it easy.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Maple Ave. to pickup Max's trailer, then to Northfield Rd. via the Air Rights Building tunnel. There was a good bit of traffic and I was tired again. I had intended to go running afterward but I fell asleep.

From Northfield Rd., Custer Rd. to Wilson Ln. to Glenbrook Rd. to Bradley Blvd. to Kennedy Dr. to Dorset Dr. to the Capital Crescent Trail to the Little Falls Trail, to Massachusetts Ave. to the Capital Crescent Trail to Bradley Blvd. to Glenbrook Rd. to Wilson Ln. to Custer Rd. to Northfield Rd. I was all ready mentally to run home after work but I forgot to bring my shoes. I went home on the metro system and ran into an old neighbor from Greenbelt who I was happy to see again after such a long time. I finally got motivated again and on the road running at 10:42pm. Within 5 minutes, frequent lightning and increasing rain was giving me more trepidation than I already had for going out late. The heavier volume of rain that came with it was steady and held up until the last two miles. I saw two cyclists also getting wet in the dark on the CCT. I ran into some big puddles myself and was soaked. The saving grace of it all was that it was right around 60 F. My run was steady. I've been eating too much for the last day or so but I think some of my weight gain is from shifting to more cycling this week. I felt better mentally and physically for having run tonight.

From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. via the Georgetown Branch Trail with Max in his trailer, then after dropping them off I rode to the Bethesda Metro Station via the Air Rights Building tunnel. I felt a bit stiff and slow.

Having assessed my current standings, I see that I need about 7 more rides all the way to work and back between now and the end of the year if I'm to get to the same number of miles bicycled last year. In 2009, I've already exceeded my orienteering and running miles from 2008. However, I'll need about 80 more miles of running to reach the modest goal of 500 miles for the year. It's not likely at my current rate and even the cycling will be difficult to achieve with the weather and travel days.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Maple Ave. to pickup Max's trailer, then to Northfield Rd. via the Air Rights Building tunnel. There was a bit of traffic here and there as is often the case. However interestingly enough, the time it took me to get from Maple Ave. to Northfield Rd. was exactly 10 minutes to the second not only today but yesterday too. My chain slipped a bit more despite it having been worked on professionally last week. I was going to run after this but after enjoying re-watching Barton Fink till 11pm, I thought some rest would be better.

From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. with Max in his trailer, then to C St., SW, Washington, D.C. via the Capital Crescent Trail and Ohio Dr. I didn't sleep well last night. It was colder this morning; about 42F. The winds came from the NE so they were often more often headwinds than tailwinds. A few of us more or less formed a trio and took turns. I felt tired and at times rode harder than I would have but staying together was better. I slowed a lot after Georgetown.

From C St . SW, Washington, D.C. to Maple Ave., then to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. It's either that my slower speed matches up better with other people right now or that the cyclists willing to ride in the dark are more cooperative. I was fairly tired riding home but kept spinning with a pace that slowly and steadily kept me passing people. One of the guys I passed (there are still plenty of women riders too) drafted along for a while but he did take a short turn pulling at a nice time. I got us to Bethesda the last few miles and was 40:39 at Maple Ave. That was much faster than I felt that I was riding. My adjustments to my headlamp were pretty good too. Temperatures were in the low 50s F. I was a bit overdressed with a jacket and long tights appropriate for the morning but I rolled up my sleeves and unzipped too. That let the sweat keep me cool. I was surprised to be passing the long skinny parking lots otherwise known as roads--there seems to be a lot of traffic lately and I'm glad not to be in it.

From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. with Max in his trailer, then to C St., SW, Washington, D.C. via the Capital Crescent Trail and Ohio Dr. My thought was to take advantage of the nice weather and cycle in to work. My left foot had some aches and pains (arch and ball) from the races yesterday so the idea of a no impact workout sealed the decision. I hadn't been able ride last week when my bike was in for repairs and later when it was so rainy. It took a while this morning to get going. It was our turn to bring the week load of snacks for Max's class so I had an extra +25 pounds in the back of his trailer. After the bike repair job there were still some issues (though less) with chain slippage and my bike computer sensor was loose. The sensor occasionally would bang the spokes. I timed with my watch for part of the way but overall I had to estimate the time.

From C St . SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I hadn't ridden home since daylight savings time started; it was completely dark right from the start. I brought my light charger to work but was missing a crucial piece. I was happy to make it home with full light. The ride was busy along the whole way. I suspect the warmth brought out a lot of people who wouldn't be dissuaded by the darkness. I need to work on the angle of my headlamp which mostly points down as I ride whether I'm tucked or not. I'd come up on cyclists fast and with the leaves (they were wet in the morning) across the trail it was hard for all to share the trail riding a bit under 20mph. At one calmer moment a scene from Blade Runner came to mind in which a trio of in-line cyclists riding close together passed quietly through the night. I did pickup several drafters and one of them shared the load. I was happy not to have to pickup Max's trailer. Peggy rode over and retrieved Max with it earlier.