Training Log Archive: Nadim

From Northfield Rd. to Arlington Rd. with Max, then back. Max was game to ride in today so we did. It was in upper 30s F with a slight breeze. I initially left his backpack at home so I had to circle back a short way.

Wheaton Regional Park, MD. Having added new contours, I attempted to fix some troublesome areas of the map. It was interesting seeing how the map was before, and after. In an area where some low cairns were mapped, I got distracted with some gullies and new rootstocks. I figured one rootstock was right where one of the mapped cairns should have been and I discovered it just about where it was mapped previously. I think the older contours had been throwing everyone off. For the second cairn, I had more trouble. It wasn't where it was supposed to be. I found it further east and downhill from where it was mapped. I spent a bit of time picking up the stones to get better visibility on the cairns. I discovered two more and found one more that had been mis-mapped just off a paved trail. That one was probably not mapped where it should have been because with a GPS, I got the trail bends more accurate, and I also had house positions, visible at the edge of the park that confirmed my location. There was enough new stuff that I found as it was getting dark that I'll have to go back and confirm locations.

Wheaton Regional Park, MD. After finishing the field checking, I jogged back to the parking lot on a paved trail.

Event: QOC Patapsco McKeldin
 

QOC: Patapsco State Park, MD, McKeldin. I wasn't really looking forward to the event today. Much of it was my slow running (tired quads) lately and the steep hills in the park. I figured I'd look at the day as good endurance training. It was a nice enough day but I felt cold starting on the windy ridge. Almost immediately after starting, I felt fine about the weather and I was feeling not so bad about running. I stumbled a lot initially, falling twice before 3 controls. My navigation was mostly good. A lapse of concentration leaving #3 had me taking what was a shorter route to the creek below instead of going over a hill and using a trail to get there. I had been thinking from memory that it wasn't so bad going this way but I was remembering a parallel feature. I lost about 2 minutes picking my way down the steep hillside with loose deadfall.

On my route to #5 I ran right past #6, then came back. On my way to #7, I went under the bridge and misinterpreted the clue description showing the control to be on the north side of a ruin--I went to the north side rounding the greenish South and West first and didn't see the control so I lost more time figuring it out. I hit #8 fine but wonder if staying low along the water and following the stream in would have been better. I took trails back toward #9 but got confused when I got near the road. I found an unmapped boulder in some green and misinterpreted the contours there before going up higher to the correct boulder group. I saw #10 from far off but was slow climbing. Going to #11, I took the trail so there was no problem other than the wavy footing (removed rail ties?).

My first inclination was to use the road to get to #12. I had never used the higher dirt road/trail, I figured it wouldn't lose me much time and might have a better attack point so I decided to check it out. The mud and ups and downs made a slower route. I came off the trail at a reentrant crossing. I saw some mounds that I thought I could recognize as contours on the map but when I saw two stony ground areas and only one mapped, I got confused. I figured it out quickly and only lost time pausing for this. Going to #13, I had to stop for a nature break and lost at least a minute for this. I attacked the control a bit too early and couldn't see the ruin from above. It was really tucked into the unmapped green there but being so close to the road and trail, it wasn't really that hard to find.

I ran the trails going to #14 but had to run across the dead grass and some marsh when I saw two horses coming at me from the other direction. I hit the rocks well and contemplated going back this way to get to #15, avoiding the steep climb. In the I decided to go straight toward #15. The terraing pushed me more left than I anticipated it would but I corrected easily. I had some hesitation on picking a route to #16. The end was easy enough but my choices left, straight and right were hard to weigh. I went straight but think left might have been better.

I hesitated again leaving #16 for #17, thinking to go straight, and low along the river. My experience going to #4 lead me away from that along wtih another orienteer going for the higher ground. I hit the control well but think that the lower route would have been better Lacho agreed. I ran high, angling up on a deer trail to get to better running on the way to #18. I turned around and ran almost right back up the same way going to #19. When I got to the road, I cut left and right at the intersection for better running. The control was lower than I had been anticipating but was in the correct place. I ran out angling to the road to get to #20. I did cross the field to hit it at the end. My run in was not done very hard.

Patapsco State Park, Mckeldin Area. Warm-up jog to the restrooms for the QOC meet.

C • 6-7-8-9 2

Blue - Splits

Rock Creek Park. From the DC/MD Border Parking lot off Beach Dr., I ran up the Western Ridge Trail to an unammed trail before Bingham Dr. that brought me down to the Pinehurst Trail. I then paralleled Beach Dr. going northward on the west side, but in the valley. Crossing Beach, I headed south on the Valley Trail. Turning up, I took the Holly Knoll Trail back northward to the Valley Trail, continuing northward almost to the border parking lot. I was going to be short of 5 miles so I continued along the creek until hitting the paved Rock Creek Trail and looping back to the parking lot. I felt pretty awful for much of this run, right from the beginning. My quads are rather tired so going up is slow. Going downhill was okay until it was steep. There were lots of people and dogs out. The trails were pretty good except for the part I added on at the end along the creek which was fairly muddy. It was in the low 40s F.

From Northfield Rd. I ran up to Custer Rd., to Wilson La., to Exeter Rd. to Glenbrook Rd. to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to the NIH grounds, to Maple Ridge Rd. to Georgetown Pike, to Huntington Pkwy., to Custer Rd. to Northfield Rd. I had good plans to run trails in the dark with my headlamp but working late threw that all off. I worked a lot on Wheaton map updates after getting Max to bed and eating dinner so it was pretty late when I finally went out to run. My right calff was a bit tight starting out.

45 situps.

From 14th & Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C. Independence Ave. to the Reflecting Pool, to the Lincoln Memorial, to the Rock Creek Trail, to Tilden St., to Connecticutt Ave. to the Van Ness/UDC Metro Station. Leaving in the dark with my electric flashy jacket, it was 33 F but the winds were calm. I forgot to bring my belt pouch so I had to carry essentials in my hands. There were several runners and riders getting to Georgetown but I only saw two other riders and 2 other runners while going up along Rock Creek. I had intended to have an option of going directly to the Woodley Park Metro Station or adding on by going through the National Zoo and seeing the lights display. I felt well enough to I went for the Zoo but the gates were closed. I had to run through the tunnel. A cyclist had passed me just before this and went through before me which is a trick all by itself. The tunnel walkway is very narrow. The paved trail is uneven. Usually it wouldn't bother me, even in the dark but I was more tired than usual. I had to slow going downhill and a few times when car headlights were directed towards me. I climbed comfortably but not quickly up Tilden St. - 210 ft. in under a half mile. I stretched for a while afterward.

My totals from 2012 were pretty good compared to earlier years. It started well with running training for the Greenway Trail 50K. The opportunity cost of running was reduced cycling mileage and when the orienteering season and warmer weather came, my running dropped off too much. I had some good cycling activity in the summer but it came in spurts spaced apart too much to get a cummulative training gain. I also road a lot of shorter commutes to the metro station instead of work. I did get a few more longer runs in in the fall but again there were gaps, mainly due to more focus and time spent on work changes. Weekend warrior activity kept me going until the return of achilles tendon/calf issues (this time on my right leg). That set me back more. I managed to pull together a decent finish in December to catch-up in cycling miles, and at least get my running miles to a level closer to 10 years ago than it was to the last few years. Overall, I kept my weight lower but I slept less, somewhat making up for the lack of sleep on weekends. Here are my totals for 2012. I far exceeded running, and did more orienteering. My cycling miles just barely exceded 2011 and my overall hours cycling were just short of the previous year--probably due to less time spent on rollers where I don't count miles rather than being faster.

My navigation accuracy was significantly improved with 79% of controls spiked instead of 71% in 2011--my goal target for 2012 had been to improve it. I probably did so by being calmer (not worrying about placing higher) and going slower on average--my competition place results were improved:

Activity Time Miles
Orienteering 139:01:02 371
Running 105:42:24 750
Bicycling 99:11:18 1,452
Hiking 5:07:13 10
Calisthenics 1:00:00
Skating 55:00
Rowing 25:00 1

Totals: 351:21:57 2,585
Average sleep: 6.2 hrs
Average weight: 174.8lbs
Average Resting Heart Rate: 52 (few data points on this)

Another way of looking at the above was that for each and every day of the year on average, rain or shine, I orienteered 1.6K in under 23 minutes, then ran 2 miles in 17 minutes, then rode about 4 miles in 16 minutes; working out 56 minutes a day. The orienteering sounds slow but includes field checking. The cycling is primarily commuting and includes riding with Max at his pace.

Over the next year, I'll try to keep my running mileage up and try to avoid long gaps in training with cycle commuting.

From Northfield Rd. I ran up to Custer Rd., to Wilson La., to Exeter Rd. to Glenbrook Rd. to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to the NIH grounds, to Maple Ridge Rd. to Georgetown Pike, to Huntington Pkwy., to Custer Rd. to Northfield Rd. Now that I have achieved my training totals for last year, I need a little easier workout. I was kind of full from a luncheon with my mom, sisters, Max and Peggy.