Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: QOC Lake Needwood
 

QOC: Lake Needwood Park, MD. After coming here for many runs and mapping efforts, we were finally able to have an official orienteering meet in this nice but steep park. Dave Onkst set the courses. With the tropical storm rains for 5 days through last weekednd, he had to make major changes to cross Rock Creek only at designated bridges. The result was that courses were a bit easier than expected. Dave had trouble with my mapping which admittedly could use improvement. The mapping in the far south was started around 2006/2007 and I learned a lot as I went along here and at other parks. I think the mapping in the north was much better.

From my run, it sunk-in how poor my reading while racing is. Of course I knew the whole park pretty well. For most of the control features used, I could conjur-up a visual memory of the feature or at least of the area around the feature. I set off to the very easy first couple controls this way, running far too fast. By the 4th control, I had overrrun a point where I should have started climbing and subsequently lost time. I also had glanced at the map and the control and was thinking it was going to be much higher so I lost more time by climbing too high. Dave had set a lot of controls and the park is narrow already. This meant that many of the leg lines were close together. Glancing again, I ran to the 11th control, a little out of my way and on my run to #6. For #8, the control circle covered some of a contour so I mistakenly had thought the control was going to be much lower--I was running along the way to it, thinking about not remembering a cairn that low... On leg 12, I contoured, then dropped down as I should have, yet I climbed back up too early--I was rushing and not reading the features. On #14, a ditch feature, control #29 was nearby but at a legal distance on another ditch. I went to #29 first because I was just glancing at the map. With #17 and #18 close together, I was recalling my glance of the map backwards, thinking of the terrain around #17 while approaching #18. Perhaps the worst error was going from #18 to #19 by way of #23. #23 was almost along the straight line path but much higher than I needed to go. My map reading was just very poor and it wasn't just because I had confidence that comes with having mapped the area.

I had some slight errors on #25 and #27. At #25, the control circle obscured the trail so I ran past the trail bend thinking the control was ahead when I'd just passed it. The fence drafting (a small rectangular enclosure) was also not appropriate for 1:10,000--in the year that I'd mapped it, I was starting to get convinced to print everything at 1:7,500 so I drafted accordingly before later switching. For #25, the control was probably on an unmapped root stock but I could have mis-mapped it too. My slight time lost at #30 was from running up slope too early again.

The one thing that worked pretty well for me was being able to run fairly strong the whole distance. My return to a weight that I didn't see much over the last 2 years probably explains much of that. I guess I've stayed healthy enough months in a row by cycling for that to happen. My strength running was more surprising with having been dehydrated in the morning. The lack of water and a drippy head cold were combining to give me a very rare headache. It made me wonder if I should go out before the race but this all faded when I got started. I even had drank enough right before the start to seriously think about stopping along the way but I didn't.

I did hurt myself when approaching #20. I don't think it'll take long to get better, and it only slowed me down for a little while. I was contouring a slope on a deer trail and at least trying to focus on my map. I stepped on a flat rock that was probably covering a burrowing animal's hole. When the rock shifted, I went down hard on my good right knee. It was bruised pretty badly but didn't show any discernable swelling compared to my left knee.

I had fun getting to run Dave's course through this park in some nice weather. When having used it previously for training events it was generally very hot and humid and I usually set the courses.

QOC: Lake Needwood. Since it was National Orienteering Day, I had setup a Super String-O for the club. It had 30 controls. I used the trees around Shelter A mostly, trying to keep people off balance by making changes in direction, placing some controls so that they were visible and some that were out of sight behind trees, by making bends around trees without having controls, by varying distances between controls, and by varying the heights. I got to try my own torture and enjoyed it. There must have been +100 other runners young and old doing it too. I was fairly smooth but not moving too fast either. I got tired a bit over half way through. Maybe I would have been better doing it before the Blue course but in this order, I didn't start the much longer Blue course by being tired. My time was 3 seconds off of the 3-way tie for the lead.

Lake Frank Park, MD. Ted Good drove us south of Lake Needwood to shorten our control pickup. I tried to checkout a +2 years old report of a second depression near what used to be called the Mark Twain School grounds. I only found one. There were 2 control stands to pickup and they felt surprisingly light. Finishing-up, I walked a steep slope with Ted Good to the parking lot. There was a lot of stilt grass there which had not been there in the winter 2 years back. Ted told me that he's working on a special symbol for it for his maps since it's becoming so prevalent in the summertime. Since it's not there in the winter, he can just hide the symbol as needed.

Blue - Splits

45 situps. It was a busy day. I wanted to workout more than this.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to Arlington Rd. with Max on his trail-a-bike, then to the Bethesda Metro Station. It was much cooler this morning but otherwise uneventful.

From Northfield Rd. to the Bethesda Metro Station. Since Peggy and I had an adoption errand during the day, I had come home and had to run over to the station to get my bicycle. I was a bit full from a late lunch.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Arlington Rd. alone, then back to the station with Max on his trail-a-bike, and Peggy on her bike. After dinner, we all rode an ambling route back home in the dark.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to Arlington Rd. to 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. I used my road bike. I was moving pretty good but got caught after Mass. Ave. by another commuter that I hadn't seen in a while. He remembered me from years when I used to pull Max in his trailer. He was moving down the trail averaging 24mph most of the time. I pulled for him this fast on the flats for a while after Fletcher's Boathouse but I quickly tired and he moved-up to ride parallel for a while. We split after Georgetown. There were a lot of cranes dropping in things for the MLK dedication along Ohio Dr. It seemed like more than earlier. They erected what I presume to be two temporary restroom buildings on both ends of one field and were busy building bleachers, etc...

From 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. A cold front was passing through just as it was time to leave work. I brought light rain as well as the cooler weather. That wasn't bad but I also had strong headwinds up to Georgetown. Coming out of a bridge overpass, I almost got blown over. After reaching Georgetown, shelter from buildings and then trees on the CCT reduced the wind impact but still it still rained and slowed me down all the way home. It probably was not so good for the light head cold that I seemed to have picked-up on Monday from Peggy or Max.

Earlier this morning, I had thought I was seeing the MLK dedication infrastructure going up along Ohio Drive because it was in the same place that it had been setup a few weeks ago. With more of the structures having gotten setup, I saw that it was really the Solar Decathlon that was being setup. In the past the Solar Decathlon was setup closer to where I work, in the heart of the National Mall. This year it's between the Potomac River and the Tidal Basin, near the Roosevelt Memorial. It was somewhat ironic with it being a cloudy day.

From the Silver Spring Metro Station, to 2nd Ave. to Grace Church Rd., and following the Georgetown Branch Trail over the road portion, (Talbot Ave. Pennsylvania Ave., Kansas Ave. and Stewart Ave.) to the unpaved portion, to Woodmont Ave. in Bethesda, to Edgemore Ln. at the Bethesda Metro Station. I felt a bit better in the 3rd and 4th miles and just so so the rest of the time. Looking to finish the last half mile, being a little tired upon emerging from the Georgetown Branch Trail tunnel at Bethesda Ave. and Woodmont Ave., I saw a limousine backing up ahead blocking some bicycles ahead of me and blocking my way too. I moved to go around the shorter side behind the limo as I usually would when things get in the way in this sometimes busy area. I then noticed a second limo, then a few men with ear pieces. One moved in front of me and I was then directed to go around the longer way. It was probably the President's motorcade. I didn't wait as a crowd started to form.

C • President's motorcade 1

Greenbelt Park, MD. Working in the area today, I stopped here afterward for a run. I ran the Perimeter Trail by myself from the Sweetgum parking lot. There was a little bit of erosion visible in an area near the intersection of the Baltimore Washington Pkwy. and Greenbelt Rd. but the rest of the trail was in good shape. The recent hurricane and rains hadn't hurt much. I saw plenty of thick woods and deadfall from earlier storms but not much that was new. Oddly enough, I saw some large areas that may have been cleaned-up in the south and southwest. There was no undergrowth in these areas and even the low branches seemed to have been cleared. Perhaps the park was eradicating an invasive species but the areas affected were pretty large. I never felt that good but neither did I struggle too hard. My quads were tired from riding hard the day before.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to Arlington Rd. to 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. I used my road bike. It was in the mid 60s F but humid. I was moving well, passing a lot of people along the way. The winds were calm. If it weren't for traffic at the end, I would have been under 36 minutes.

From 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. Leaving work, the guards had just closed the gates of the courtyard where I lockup but they opened them to let me out. There was a bit of traffic getting out of DC including tourists and workers starting to rebuild the MLK memorial dedication infrastructure. It seems only a short while ago that they were taking it apart and the dedication is not until October 16th. Despite this and carrying a laptop computer along with my regular change of clothes/shoes, I moved quickly to Georgetown. Leaving Georgetown, one guy followed me out. We traded some pulls. I was the stronger rider even carrying all of the extra stuff so I did the most pulling but his help came in good places and was much appreciated. We were pretty much together until Wilson Ln. My arm were tired afterward and I was rather sweaty.