Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: 34th Annual Turkey Chase
 

YMCA, 34th Annual Turkey Chase in Bethesda, MD. I was happy to run fairly well through this. It seemed to go quickly. I started toward the back of the 3rd wave with expected finish times from 7:30/mile to 8:00 minutes per mile. Unknown to me Ted Good and Tom Nolan started in the wave ahead of me. David Onkst ran with Peggy in a wave or 2 behind me. I kept my own pace running without others that I knew.

Self-timing myself and guessing where the start and finish actually were (there were several mats to cross), I had myself finishing in 46:32--slower than my official time.

My first mile was 7:03 (more downhill than up, but with some climb). I had moved-up steadily in that time. I eased back a little for the second mile. That seemed to be a lot more downhill but also had some climb. I didn't see the actual marker but seemed to cross a line after a water stop at 14:26, or a 7:24 mile.

The next 2 miles were generally uphill. I backed-off more to pace myself and worked on running form. I passed others but some younger woman whom I'd been trading leads with (on up and down hills) had started to move ahead more. though passed others. I completely missed the 3 mile marker but at mile 4 I was 30:07, or a 15:41 2 mile (7:40.5 pace).

Mentally, I was going through the motions saving myself those last two miles. After rounding the corner leaving Wisconsin Ave., I could feel the end getting close so I pushed a little more. It being flatter helped. I passed others slowly in spurts with changes in grade. I was 37:45 at mile 5, a 7:38 mile.

Mile 5 was at about the closest point to home. I run the stretch toward the finish often so I felt good about continuing to push and gauging my energy. After getting past the hospital, I was passing others more regularly, including a very few who'd passed me in mile 5. After passing the hilltop at W. Cedar Ln., I put it into a grinding sprint toward the finish passing a bunch including one of the woman whom I'd seen in the first 2 miles. My kick at the end wasn't that strong but it was steadily increasing. I was happy to get through it all without too much pain. I finished 242nd; 8th of 120 in my age group. I was 6 minutes faster than in 2015, when I had been recovering from back injury. I was 2 minutes slower than in 2013, and 4 minutes slower than in 2012. If I focus on running, I think I could beat my 2016 race time in 2017--we'll see.

My legs had been somewhat rested for this but that was because I was both busy at work, and busy at home getting ready for hosting a Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner went pretty well--good times seeing friends and hanging out!

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Northfield Rd.

After a good bit of house cleaning, I did more field checking along the North Branch Rock Creek. I started this from Muncaster Mill Rd., but on the way in just before I parked my van, I saw 20 wild turkeys just 40m off the road. I guess there is safety in numbers or in parks where few people go. The wind was howling a lot but unlike yesterday, I didn't see any branches coming down. It was in the 40's F but I felt comfortable, being well dressed. I covered areas east of the creek and northward. It was better than expected. The trail that I I had run before was note as close to the water as I though. The flood plane had some gentle contours nearby. Some of that had stone features. There were ditches, a sewer ride, and a trail that I hadn't known about. There were many places where tall grasses had been growing which were mostly flattened now. Very unusual for areas I've mapped in Montgomery County before were areas of barberry. These were pretty but best avoided for the thorns. Fortunately, the barberry thorns were mostly light; they pushed away easily before drawing blood. The barberry should make route planning more difficult, as well as making it harder to find point features. The point features I found and mapped in barberry growth were not where it grew thick. I covered more ground than the day before, but have a lot more to go. This park is seeming larger than I was thinking. I may have to take a day off to get ready in time. Overall, I had a very nice time in the forest.

From Muncaster Mill Rd., I started some serious field checking along the North Branch Rock Creek to get ready for a QOC event here in February. Like my earlier but shorter foray last week, I found the area to be feature dense. Being there in stronger light it seemed less green, but maybe more leaves dropped away. There were some rough open areas with thorns but most of this was rather nice and open; the forested areas were almost wide open. I found, or rather mapped, a lot of boulders, boulder groups, and stony ground. I'd been through the off-trail areas years before and knew there were interesting bits. There just were more than I had remembered or had seen. None of this will be very difficult because it's rather narrow near Muncaster Mill Rd., but it's technical enough for advanced runners to make errors going to the right point feature. Besides boulders, there were some ditches and a few contour features. I didn't cover much area because there was so much to map.

The temperature hit in the low 70s again and in my long sleeve shirt I felt over dressed. I said hello to a tortoise who was sunning itself on a rock. I knew a front was heading in and saw the leading clouds very high up, before reaching the park. When the winds hit the temperature dropped and I didn't feel overdressed any more. It was in the mid to low 40s by the time I ended. I stopped when it was getting too dark to see, and as it turns out, just before some showers came.

In areas where I was mapping that borders private yards, 2 people stopped me at separate times, coming out of their houses and into the forest. One was concerned that what I was doing would have park permission. I explained that we get permits for events and we're not planning one until February. The other neighbor was concerned that I might be planning relocation of a trail again. The last relocation had moved it closer to his yard but that was still 92m away and well down a hill. This person was a biologist. I assured him that our club doesn't make trails, nor like a lot of them. Both people seemed satisfied that I wasn't doing any harm.

C • Homeowner curiosity 2