Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: QOC Hemlock Overlook
 

Letchworth State Park, NY, from the assembly areas to the start area. With some uncertain directions, we'd arrived a little later than hoped for so I was rushed getting ready. However, I got there with almost 7 minutes to my call-up.

Rochester Orienteering Club, Falls Classic - Letchworth State Park (West), Day 2. While disappointing to mispunch, I did take away some good things.

S-1 - I ran the trails calmly, then dropped down the earth bank--it wasn't bad and I spiked the control.

1-2 - This was as steep climb. I got confused about how high I'd been. Seeing others coming up the spur to my right, I wondered if I'd passed the control, when it was far too early. I cut back to the right for the benefit of certainty, so that I wouldn't have to climb again if I was passing the control. I lost 30-45 seconds doing this before going on to hit the control.

2-3 - I went straight and was doing fine until just short of the control. I cut right toward the rough open areas. I looked to the road for evidence of where I was and realized I needed to go way left. I lost about a minute.

3-4 - I ran the trail, over the knoll, then after aiming off, along the edge of the drop-off. I spiked it.

4-5 - I didn't plan ahead a lot. I crossed the first reentrant thinking I was on the second. Then after crossing the trail, I realized I'd climbed unnecessarily. I continued on and dropped quickly. At the bottom I only used the trail a short way before cutting in and reading my way there. I didn't lose time navigating, but I lamented not going around the steep hill.

5-6 - I was catching and then passed a younger guy. I just didn't see the higher route past the building. I used the parking lot to guage my distance and height.

6-7 - I ran straight but I was slow climbing. I thought it'd be one reentrant earlier, but I didn't lose any time when I found it in the next.

7-8 - I angled left a bit and crossed the creek. Cutting back right, I was on target but not seeing it ahead in the reentrant, I cut over to the one to my right. A control was there. I punched but it was the wrong one. I recovered quickly but still lost about 45 seconds.

8-9 - I went over the top and through the start. Taking trails, I rounded the lake and cut through some open forest to get on trails. After climbing enough, I left one trail at a bend and crossed a reentrant. I hadn't read an intermittent trail in between where I was coming from, and to the trail I was going to. Seeing the trail on the ground, I cut left for a short way, then doubled-back and corrected. Once on the right trail I got there quickly.

9-10 - I saw Kim Jepsen from QOC drinking. With not a lot of the course left, I decided not to drink. I ran on bearing, then down the reentrant. Getting around the deadfall, I spiked it with Kim right behind me.

10-11 - I got out quickly and Kim was trailing. Kim took a slightly lower route and got ahead. I think I punched first but Kim was right there w/me.

11-12 - I rushed out too quickly and didn't see the trail route. I ran up the hill and across deadfall. Kim passed me staying more to the left, but he missed the trail too. I got across the gravel lot and because my route was straighter, I almost got to the control ahead of Kim, making-up ground at the end.

12-13 - This is where I mispunched. Things were going great. After crossing a big trail in the forest, I could see across a large flattish reentrant and felt I had a good bearing. Unfortunately, I and Kim got drawn to another control on a knoll. I punched and ran out. Kim was behind me and took the time to check the code--something I'd been doing earlier. I didn't stick with that discipline in the heat of racing Kim. I was probably only 60m from the actual control and it'd have been easy/fast for me to have gone there. The whole time I was with Kim, I figured he was running Red, the course he usually runs for local QOC events. I didn't think much of him not being close any more since I thought he had a different control to go to.

13-14 - I ran out of the wrong control and got on the trails in the field. I missed seeing an intersection and wondered why I my trail was getting so close to the large building. I went with it. It was only slightly longer. At the end, I could see the control 150m away.

14-15-F - I rushed out of #14, down the hill and onto the trail. I had it in my head that there were 14 controls. Not looking closely enough, I also didn't see the control circle touching the finish circle. I ran past control #15 and into the chute. After stopping, I got something to drink. Kim came by a little bit later and explained what had happened.

I felt the difference between day 2 and the first day was that I rushed too much on day 2. If I'd have been calmer, I could have avoided several errors and might not have mispunched. Otherwise, my navigation was okay.

Day 2 - Green X - Splits

Event: Falls Classic - Letchworth State Park
 

Letchworth State Park, NY in the eastern half at the Parade Grounds.

Rochester Orienteering Club, Falls Classic - Letchworth State Park, Day 1. It had been a while since I'd been to this park so I was having trouble remembering the terrain. We started on a steep and angled climb. I felt I was reading it pretty well but I was off to the right at #1. I hit the road, and to be certain I didn't pass the control, I cut back to the right before turning around. I realized where I was on the road by some subtle bends. I probably lost 30-40 seconds on #1.

1-2 - I felt behind so I didn't read the leg very carefully. I took off with a general plan to go straight and should have taken longer to see the lower route linking ponds together. As it was, I thought I was reading features okay, but I mistook one spur for one that was further ahead and lower. It seemed the easiest way around it was up and over. I was then surprised going higher to find myself on the ridge. I also briefly had trouble telling which side of the ridge the control was on--I was rushing again. I ended up climbing to an unmistakable hilltop and then descending about 4-5 contours to the control. I felt I lost 4 minutes.

2-3 - I felt I was losing the race but held out hope since it was difficult to navigate and run in the area. I planned a route pretty well and was encouraged that it went along the hill that I'd climbed unnecessarily on the way to #2. This was a longer route to the right, and mostly around the green along a long rib/spur. I spiked it.

3-4 - I headed for the dirt road through the woods mapped white, but part of what I went through was light green. I never saw the trail intersection that I was going to use for an attackpoint. Realizing it from the road bends, I plunged down at a formline knoll and a spur, ran along the stream reading the bends, and got to the large reentrant northeast of #4. I spiked it.

4-5 - I mostly stayed along the south side of the marsh reading the contours and vegetation along the way. I caught and passed one guy and spiked it.

5-6 - I got onto the road to the west, and ran to the water stop. It was warm and there was a lot more to go, so I drank. I went down the side trail a little before a dropping attack (north) right to the control.

6-7 - I thought I'd see the boulder by going high, but never did. I just read the curving change in steepness until it got me to the stream, then I descended that to the control.

7-8 - I ran low where it was flatter, then after crossing the stream, I climbed back up and spiked it.

8-9 - I'm not sure why I lost time on this other than it being green and steep. I was right on the bearing.

9-10 - I went a little left/higher to reduce time lost crossing the streams. I passed one guy and after passing the last stream, I saw a control. I changed direction to run to it. It wasn't mine and was a dot knoll that I couldn't find on the map. After the race I realized the notes had indicated something about the feature actually being a dot knoll but mapped as a boulder. Fortunately, I didn't lose much time. I adjusted my bearing and went on to spike it. I probably only lost 15-20 seconds.

10-11 - I thought of heading straight to the road, but with that being steep, I angled over. Hitting the steep reentrants at an intersection, I doubled back a little along the edge to save myself from dropping into it--going around was best. I got to the road soon enough on an almost intermittent trail. Along the road, I read the side reentrant and the vegetation. I pulled off in just the right place to allow me to run to the reentrant system that the control was in. I ran along the gully like streams to spike it. I saw Barb Briant ahead leaving the control as I was approaching.

11-12 - Dropping back to the road, I got very hung up in thick vegetation. It was probably mapped as white marsh. Unknowingly, my legs got covered in scratchy stick-em seeds. I passed Barb on the road and went around the bend to attack from the SE. I came down the spur and took a twisting semi-controlled spill, but I was right on target for the control.

12-13 - I dropped low early and ran on bearing. I was confused seeing the hillside continue to drop when I thought I should be in flat ground. I saw a cabin in a field off to the right so I presumed myself to be close to the out of bounds area. Really, I was higher. I caught a younger runner near a stream. I should have known were I was at that point but I was more in race mode. I figured it out soon after and I angled toward the control. Andy Hall came along from behind on my left. I kept right of where he was going and then lost sight of him. I turned out to be too far right but I corrected after climbing.

13-14 - I saw Andy move away to the left of where I was headed. I figured he was on Red, and had another control. I ran straight to the edge of the marsh along the road. Once on the road, I could see Andy Hall ahead. Another younger runner was around too. The finish was pretty obvious, but I chased the younger runner to it.

14-F - I was tired so I didn't sprint hard.

Despite my early errors, I think I did pretty well against the competition, and that it was due to being pretty calm and not rushing. That's a hard balance to find and hold onto.

Day 1 - Green X - Splits

Prince William Forest, VA. From the Pine Grove parking lot, I checked control locations and made some map updates. It was nice to have the day off. I had forgotten to print out a 1:5,000 scale map; I had a 1:10,000 scale printout with control locations to go by. With my eyes these days, that made it hard to do the field checking and to make updates. I was able to make a good many updates to the Pine Grove area. I'll have to get to other locations later.

From Northfield Rd. to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, Wisconsin Ave. to Norwood Dr., through Norwood Park on the trail to the Capital Crescent Trail (CCT), to Woodmont Ave., to the Bethesda Metro Station. It was a warmer day than it had been. I felt pretty sluggish.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Northfield Rd. I had a lot of stops and starts.

It had been rainy the last 2 days and I was working late. I was less motivated to go out.

From Northfield Rd., to Del Ray Ave., and back. I went into town for lunch and had to rush back for a conference call.