Training Log Archive: Nadim

Hoyles Mill Conservation Park, MD - Starting from Broken Oak Rd. Initially, I went down to the creek floodplain to check on areas that I had seen but wasn't sure I'd covered adequately. For the most part, I had gotten the mapping of those areas correct. As I passed other areas, a second pass let me refine the mapping and catch a few errors. I found and marked some good creek crossing points. The creek is crossable throughout the mapped area but some parts get deep enough to be uncomfortable. The water was not cold and I had wool socks. Crossing the creek got me to the edge of the large field in the NE of the map that was too green when it was warmer. There were lots of thorns at the edges of the field. Some could be pushed through whereas others were true fight. The nice thing was that there were corridors between the greens. I was able to map them adequately though I was a bit rushed in the extreme north where there is fencing for livestock/horses off the map--not a place people should need to go close to when orienteering. I finished crossing the ridge and then the creek again as it was getting dark. My right knee was hurting.

I ate dinner and saw the new Ghost Buster's movie with Peggy and Samantha afterward. In the theater, my right foot started hurting again right where the cellulitis had been worst.

From Northfield Rd., Greenwich Park, to Old Georgetown Rd. to Cordell Ave., to Wilson Ln. to Custer Rd., to Northfield Rd. It was a cooler day (42 F) and I was rushed for time after work, by a dinner invitation that was coming-up. I ran a little faster, making-up the route as I ran. Like yesterday, my right knee and Achilles tendon were hurting and my left leg was tired before finishing, probably due to overcompensation.

From Northfield Rd., Greenwich Park, to Old Georgetown Rd. to Johnson Ave./Hempstead Ave. to McKinley St. to Garfield St., to Roosevelt St., to the trail at Jefferson St. to Northfield Rd. I felt that it was time to start trying to run again. It had been a wonderful sunny and warm day earlier. Just as I got started I felt the first rain sprinkles. It rained lightly the rest of the way. The last time I did running that wasn't orienteering was a warm-up for the Hudson Lowlander on 9/26/21. Before that the last true training run I did was 8/18/21. Even that run had been an anomaly since regular running basically stopped for me last June. The lack of training really shows. I'm also the heaviest I've ever been. I started with short choppy steps to ease into this and I wore my older heavier Nike's, that have more support. I really felt like I was crawling. before the end of the run, my left leg felt like it was getting more tired than my right leg. I think this is a compensation since I've had most of my recent troubles on my right leg and foot. My right knee and right Achilles tendon was also starting to hurt when finishing the last half mile.

Starting from King's Crossing park, I went down one of the long reentrants on the east side of the Little Seneca Creek, into Hoyles Mill Conservation Park. I covered areas along the main creek floodplain, and returned in a reentrant that I'd started fieldchecking earlier. It was getting dark near the end. I jogged neighborhood trails to wrap-up. The woods were mostly good, though not too difficult navigationally. My right knee was hurting going up and down hills.

Event: QOC Fountainhead Central
 

QOC: Fountainhead, VA (Central). I'm doing much better but my right foot is still a little swollen and weak (this week, though it didn't affect my orienteering, I starting getting something else on my arm that looks like shingles). Having done nothing real for training for months, I'm in the worst shape I've ever been.

S-1 - I went fairly straight and spiked it.

1-2 - Running past the start, I cut in near the end of the parking lot. The map is really hard to read with the vertical slash--the trails need to be made more bold if the vertical slash symbol for low vegetation is still to be used. I started down a trail and turned right. It wasn't until after the slash after leaving the trail, that I located myself on a spur. I kept moving and hit the valley SW of the control. I went right to it.

2-3 - It seemed to me when leaving the valley going up a reentrant that I knew to be correct, that I should have seen another reentrant before this one. It was just a slight hesitation. After the dry waterfall, I climbed out on the left side and kept moving as well as I could on the ridge to the open area, then to the reentrant.

3-4 - I saw Peggy going into the control that I'd just left. I kept to the left side of a reentrant on the way down then went right to the control.

4-5 - I remembered losing time climbing out from this area before. I decided to cut right along the stream to get around the first spur. I came up the next reentrant, went over the ridge where it ended, then spiked the control in the next reentrant.

5-6 - I went for the ride powerline trail after getting around a reentrant. I cut off some of the main trail in the area east of #8, then use the trail to get to the power lines again. I noted the new green boxes and that they weren't on the map--they'd have helped. Going just past the bend, I cut in too early. I saw the reentrant and made sure to go around it, back towards the power line. Reaching the ridge I descend slowly. Patrick Field (ran Blue) passed me, and I was glad to have the assurance of someone who navigates pretty well heading the same way.

6-7 - I tried to avoid more of the deadfall by staying to the left initially. Once at the power lines, I went straight across, but descended afterward going a little to the right to avoid climb. I passed a couple discussing the taking of bearings at the bottom of the reentrant, then slowly climbed out to the left side of the flat hilltop. I spiked the control from there.

7-8 - I kept a bit to the right to avoid dropping down unnecessarily. I got a bit too far right and had to cut left after the larger reentrant.

8-9 - Keeping the reentrant on my right, I climbed out slowly to reach the power lines. I kept straight and a below the deadfall to reach the ditch going to the spur. I stayed to the right of the small hilltop, then on top of the ridge to the saddle. From there I was on the left side of the formline knoll.

9-10 - I descended to the creek and came-up a forking reentrant on the other side. Following the ridge where I'd set a key control for an Ultralong course here in 2015 (just before my back troubles began), I crossed the trail and didn't start running on it until I reached it again over a small ridge. I cut off parts of the trail again as I made my way toward the creeks south of #4 and west of #10. There were a lot of people on the trail including small kids. I was already having trouble reading while moving better downhill, and I'd thought at the beginning of this leg that the control was across the small bridge, so I just focused on getting around the people and across the bridge. I ran a ways up the trail on the other side only to realize that I'd passed the control. I doubled back across the bridge, climbed and went along the earthbank before getting to the reentrant with the control. Mike Dvorsky was there when I punched I might have passed him on the busy trail I'd descended. AP says I lost only 1:17 minutes but it felt like more.

10-11 - I dropped to the valley, and ran along the trail until crossing the creek on a bridge. I was torn between staying in the valley and climbing early. I ultimately climbed but probably should have climbed earlier. I rounded the fence and crossed 2 reentrants before spiking the control. My right achilles tendon was feeling stressed.

11-F. To the trail, to the road, and through the parking lot. I was not moving that fast.

After the orienteering, I spent a couple of hours blowing and raking leaves. The hard part was haling tarp loads of them to the front of the house. I got sweaty and it was cool/breezy outside. My back was feeling some strain. More leaves are still in the trees but the next time this should not be as difficult.

Green - Splits