Training Log Archive: NadimIn the 30 days ending Sep 30, 2007:
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Sunday Sep 30, 2007 #
Orienteering race (Foot) 1:10:27 [4] ***** 5.82 km (12:06 / km) +140m 10:48 / km
spiked:10/16c slept:8.0
Day 2 of the Boulderdash at Nottingcook Forest near Bow, NH. I started better but by #2, things were starting to feel like the day before. A misplaced water stop on a trail that I left, threw me (and Sergiy Gnatiouk who started 2 minutes behind me) off for a 7:30 early error. Sergiy found it just before I did but I was headed there already. I was shakey on #3 and #4 after that. On the day before with my confidence bad, I had dreaded the prospect of crossing a stretch of forest on a long leg and was glad to have a nice trail option. Today, going the opposite direction across the same stretch, a trail run didn't make sense. I navigated my way across smoothly to spike #6. With some elation, I moved through #7 and most of the way to #8 before making a bobble. Then leaving #8, I somehow thought I was leaving #9, correcting within 100m, I still felt out of place and unsure where I was. An animal track going in my direction got me in-step with Ksenya Popovich who popped out in front of me (she'd made-up the distance of a 12 minute head start on me). Mostly chasing her to #9, we ran near each other until just before #11 where I pulled-up short for 10 second before finding it further ahead 30 seconds later. I didn't see Ksenya anymore until I'd finished so I may have thrown her off. As I got to #11, Ted Good appeared in front of me. Leaving close together, I got ahead to our common next control. I liked the flatter ground toward the finish and find it easier for me to navigate in such areas. Approaching #15, I got to the road intersection and found Sergiy again. He and Clint Morris had been in and out again. Sergiy asked where we were. I pointed but kept moving. We went fast to the pond, then going off memory rather than reading the map, I cut right. I cut left soon enough but not without visiting another control on a rootstock. From there I knew what to do but got there seconds behind Sergiy. Fortunately, I had a better line to the road on the next control (Go). I didn't flub it this time, despite it being the same as the last time and mapped incorrectly. I felt much better about this race despite the early errors. Physically, I felt better too; I could run up hills and through the bad footing like the old days. My 2 day total got me 3rd in M45+ behind Peter Gagarin and Daniel Schaublin. JJ Cote had the best M45+ time (other than Peter Gagarin who was running down), about 3 minutes ahead of me.
Running warm up/down (Trail) 5:00 [2] 0.5 mi (10:00 / mi)
Warm-up at Nottingcook Forest, near Bow, NH for the Boulder Dash.
Saturday Sep 29, 2007 #
Event: Boulder Dash 2007
Running warm up/down (Trail) 5:00 [2] 0.5 mi (10:00 / mi)
slept:7.0
Bow, NH. Warm-up at Nottingcook Forest for the Boulder Dash. It was a nice field with views toward the mountains.
Orienteering race (Foot) 1:15:03 [4] ***** 5.82 km (12:54 / km) +105m 11:50 / km
spiked:5/15c
Boulderdash at Nottingcook Forest near Bow, NH. Things started poorly and kept that way. Out of Peggy, Joe & Pavalina Brautigam, and Peter Gagarin all starting behind me, I only saw Peggy while I was going to #2. The navigation through the thick forest was difficult. With it being a difficult place to map, some adaptation to orienteering styles seems to be needed only I never figured it out. I had a lot of trouble understanding why many large boulders were not mapped and others were. Contours helped me the most but lots of little ups and downs weren't there. Trail angles didn't even line-up at many times. The vegation threw me off most of the time and lastly, I didn't feel that strong physically--like I had to keep pushing to keep a decent pace. My confidence improved along the way and the errors got smaller. However, I still made errors including a 1:15 error within sight (30-40m) of the finish. It turns out that the finish was actually placed incorrectly. Instead of being further back in a reentrant as mapped, it was just off a road. When I approached the Go control which was on the other side of a copse that looked like a single tree, I thought I must have passed it and couldn't understand why there was no ruin as seemed to be shown. The 4 dots I saw on the 1:10,000 map were intended to be a small circular vegetation boundary and instead of a green blob, it was shown with white. I finished the day 4th in M45+. I was near some other M45+'s except for Peter Gagarin who was just over an hour. Despite being tired in the middle of the race at times, I finished with a lot to spare.
Friday Sep 28, 2007 #
Calisthenics (General) 2:00 [3]
slept:5.0 weight:171.5lbs (rest day)
45 situps at a hotel in Manchester. It was a travel day with an average flight up. I was an orienteer flight. Besides myself, Peggy and Max were: Kris Beecroft with her sons Tanner and Graham; Heidi and Dave Onkst, Tim and Ted Good. It turned out that Eddie Bergeron was on the next flight too.
Thursday Sep 27, 2007 #
Running (Street & Trail) 27:35 [3] 3.77 mi (7:19 / mi)
slept:6.0 weight:171.5lbs (injured)
From Rosedale Ave., Maryland Ave. to Jones Bridge Rd. to the NIH/Trolley Trail, to Old Georgetown Rd. to W. Cedar La. to Rockville Pike, to Jones Bridge Rd. to Maryland Ave., to Rosedale Ave. I wanted to take it easy. It was in the mid-80's F but running in a tank shirt, I felt cooled sweating it out. It is getting somewhat rare for me to run from home or run at all these days--less than 30 miles running for the month!. Peggy and Max were later than usual due to a stop at the library.
Wednesday Sep 26, 2007 #
Running (Street & Trail) 45:37 [3] 5.83 mi (7:49 / mi)
slept:7.0 weight:172lbs (injured)
From Takoma Park Metro Station, Carol St., to Maple Ave. to Aspen St. NW. to Sherill Dr. to Beach Dr. to the Pinehurst Trail, to Western Ave. to Cummings La. to Turner La. to Brookeville Rd. to Taylor St. to Connecticutt Ave. to Thornapple St. to Leeland St. to 46th St. to the Georgetown Branch Trail to Pearl St,/Maryland Ave., to Cheltenham Dr. I last did a variation of this route on 6/19/07 and it seems I ran the same pace. It's a nice route--12:30 of city running, 13:30 crossing Rock Creek Park and another ~19:30 home through suburban streets. My knee hurt initially. It was at the upper end of the mid 80's F when starting and a little humid--slightly better conditions than before but I was probably more tired. I felt like I was running faster. I was a bit woozy after this and weighed out at 170lbs.
Tuesday Sep 25, 2007 #
Bicycling (Commute) 42:05 12.75 mi (3:18 / mi)
slept:5.0 weight:173.5lbs (injured)
From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to C. St. SW, Washington, D.C. As I started out with Max in tow, a new neighbor, Alejandro, called from behind and asked if I was going to the bike path. After introductions, he told me of his own 2 year old daughter and he was interested in Max's school. We rode together with Alejandro's bicycle rattling badly. We rode slowly at his pace until I stopped to drop-off Max at his day care school (we got there a little less than a minute slower than usual). After that, I moved along the trail comfortably in the low 60F air but not feeling particularly strong. At one point, there were two trucks driving down the trail that I had to get around. I passed a lot of people then caught-up with Alejandro again just after crossing the trestle bridge over the canal (around 7 miles out). Though he's biked to Georgetown for work before, he hadn't seemed to grasp the minutia of commuting and the trail etiquette yet. As I came up fast behind him and shouted his name to say hello, he moved from the right lane to the left and almost ran into me. Avoiding the wreck mostly by luck, I moved along the flats solidly at 20-21mph. After Georgetown, I could feel the headwinds along the water.
Bicycling (Commute) 42:05 [4] 12.05 mi (3:30 / mi)
(injured)
From C. St., NW, Washington, D.C. to Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD. It was warmish but not humid. After a nice tailwind most of the way to Thompson Boathouse, I converged with several other cyclists headed to the trail. I passed them then a couple miles up on the flats as I got lazy, I got passed. 4-5 of us rode a pace line. Initially, one guy was left doing the work. Most of the time, he was going too fast up the hill for me move ahead--I was already tired from the last couple of days and had extra weight from a second set of clothes in my panniers. Another guy who hadn't done any pulling was behind him having the same problem. As our pace line broke-up at a pause when trying to get around some slower cyclists, I was able to close the gap again. After the water treatment plant, the leader slowed deliberately to let us pass. After only a short spell, I went ahead to lead, on up to River Rd. where the other cyclists passed me--I'm find that I'm often getting dropped there, unable to climb as fast. Though I fell back, I caught back up and then led to downtown Bethesda. I was just over 37 minutes at the day care where I picked up the trailer.
Monday Sep 24, 2007 #
Running (Street & Trail) 31:50 4.47 mi (7:07 / mi)
slept:5.0 weight:176.5lbs (injured)
Washington, D.C. Just as I thought I might have left the knee injury behind, I felt pains starting out that had me considering whether to stop or not. Fortunately, they subsided within the first mile. I left work going down along Independence Ave. to run between the Reflecting Pools, then rounded the Lincoln Memorial to the trail along the river (my bicycle commute route). With the sun reflecting off the water and it already in the mid 80's F, it felt hot. I kept a steady pace passing people as I got onto the Rock Creek Trail--they finally started repaving some of it. It was cooler in the shade of the steep valley. I climbed out at Woodley Park and took the metro home. This was above a 3 and closer but not all they way to a 4 in intensity.
Sunday Sep 23, 2007 #
Orienteering (Foot) 57:47 [4] *** 4.5 mi (12:50 / mi) +250m 10:57 / mi
spiked:13/17c slept:7.0 (injured)
Osborndale Park in Derby, CT. US Relay Championships. I ran on a 4 point team with Dave Onkst leading off, Tim Good, myself and Ted Good anchoring. We didn't get off to a good start as Dave's contact lens got dislodged during his course. Tim had an okay run but I had several troubles. Ted ran okay too. I started out fine, spiking the first 2 controls. Seeing Dave Onkst's map after he finished helped me plan leg 2. Someone approached from behind as I was leaving so I rushed a little leaving toward #3. I knew better so I tried to focus on where I was going rather than running away. I got too high and confused with a parallel reentrant that was much too soon. It took a while to relocate and I lost 5 minutes. On a short leg to #4, I ran out well reading the big features then got confused as I navigated to where I thought I'd seen the control and didn't find it. It turned out that I had gotten to the correct rock group but hadn't looked at the bottom side of it. I had wandered back and forth, climbing and dropping again a few times before figuring it out. It was another 5:30 lost. I spiked #5, took a safe but slow route to #6, got #7 well, then stopped too early on #8 for a 1 minute error. I got the next ones just fine until #13. I left #12 confident that I could find a control in a reentrant out in the open field. I got to the reentrant and didn't see it. I looked ahead, ran back almost to #12, then back in the field as another competitor ran out--she kept going, never punching. By this time, I had gotten almost to the park entrance road so when I looked back, I could see the control up higher than where I had been. A sort of lip on the reentrant had just obsucred it when I came in too low. Poohey! I felt bad about letting the team down again. It's not unusual for me to screw-up in Connecticut. My knee didn't bother me during this.
Running warm up/down (Street & Trail) 5:00 [3] 0.5 mi (10:00 / mi)
(injured)
Warm-up for the US Relay Championships in Osbornedale Park, CT.
Saturday Sep 22, 2007 #
Orienteering race (Foot) 16:47 [4] 2.2 km (7:38 / km) +51m 6:50 / km
13c slept:7.0 (injured)
Cranbury Park, near Milford, CT. WCOC A-Meet Sprint A. The footing was tricky with lots of small boulders spread around the often light green woods. I started poorly by getting confused at #1. was ready for the 1:4,000 scale but didn't read the notes or anticipate the 1.5m contour interval. I was looking for a reentrant indicated by 3m contours. I'm not sure why I was so slow going to #2 after that--probably just recovering confidence. I gathered speed but made a big boo boo at #6. I got to the wall, then climbed on it to see on both sides. Somehow I walked past the control with out seeing it or the well/pit. Dumfounded, I eventually circled back and read the map more carefully but it was a whole minute lost. Things clicked together a little better afterwards. I caught up to Kristaps Tamuzs(?) and ran a few controls with him before getting away as he made a bad route choice to the pond. I started getting tired and struggled to catch Gayle Ryan at one point. On the run-in, I had to push to stay ahead of Jeff Saeger--I had almost accidentally tripped him earlier as I turned in front of him expecting the control to be on my right after entering a field. Overall, my result was not bad compared to the field. I was second in M45+ behind Daniel Schaublin by 4 seconds; JJ Cote was behind me by only 14 seconds. My knee didn't bother me during this.
Orienteering (Foot) 15:27 [3] 2.2 mi (7:01 / mi) +51m 6:33 / mi
13c (injured)
Cranbury Park, near Milford, CT. WCOC A-Meet Sprint B. I started about 30 seconds behind Mike Eglinski and ran straight to the first set of trail intersections. Forgetting the 1.5m contour interval again, I thought not to climb so I cut right a bit. This confused me approaching #1 since I had to cut left along the marsh a long way before finding it. Going to #2, I should have looked at the map more. I thought going just left of the marsh would be better than going around on the right but hadn't noticed that a trail would have taken me right there. I got hung-up in the marsh a bit. I got on-track better after the first two controls and started passing people. I felt a bit more tired than the first sprint but the woods were a little more clear. On the leg to #8 I caught a crowd, that eventually keyed off of Mike Eglinski. I had originally thought to use the trails but with a train going, I went straight at it. I kept going too high and wasn't sure how high I was. As we all stopped at the reentrant, Mike went down and I went up--seeing nothing, I started down and saw Mike going up. I still didn't see anything so I ran back up again as Mike was going down with others. I finally realized it was much lower--splits seem to show a loss of about 1 minute though we weren't wandering that long. I eventually got ahead of the pack on a climb. I had a slight bobble at the Go control. I initially looked in the right direction but didn't see the control so I circled right. The long run in was a struggle. Once again, I did okay compared to others runners but in M45+, JJ Cote's consistency won out over Daniel and myself. My combined time got me 2nd over Daniel by only 7 seconds. My knee didn't bother me during this.
Running (Warm-Up) 8:00 [1] 0.5 mi (16:00 / mi)
(injured)
Cranbury Park, near Milford, CT. I ran around and underneath an unusual copse so I could still watch Max as Peggy was racing. The copse was a weeping beech hybrid/graft. The canopy formed a natural umbrella as leaves hit the ground on all sides and several trunks held it up. The trunks were twisted and even were even grown together so that branchs from one trunk grew into another. Course setter for the day, Joe Brautigaum, could still find his initials carved high up back in 1978.
Friday Sep 21, 2007 #
Calisthenics (General) 2:00 [3]
slept:5.0 weight:174.5lbs (injured) (rest day)
45 situps in a hotel in Milford, CT after a long night driving.
Thursday Sep 20, 2007 #
Bicycling (Commute) 43:59 [3] 12.79 mi (3:26 / mi)
slept:6.0 weight:176lbs (injured)
From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to C. St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was about 55F and since I had been on travel, my load was a little bigger than usual. I carried my laptop on my back. At first, I felt pretty strong. I hadn't tried pushing yet I was moving at good paces. There were several slow areas while passing other cyclists and a few lawn mowers on the trail. I was doing about 20.5mph on the flats. After getting to Georgetown and negotiating more traffic, I slowed. My back had started hurting and I could feel it more in my legs. Cycling didn't bother my knee at all but there was a lot of downhill riding.
Bicycling (Commute) 41:28 12.05 mi (3:26 / mi)
(injured)
From C. St., NW, Washington, D.C. to Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD. During they day, I noticed some delayed agrivation that the morning commute had I had generated. Starting out, I had a nice tailwind going to Georgetown. I kept a steady pace sometimes into a slight wind on the flats, then climbed the hill between 17 and 18mph. I caught a guy after River Rd. who picked up his pace. I stayed behind him until he took off the last quarter mile on the trail. Peggy walked Max home again so I didn't need to route to Max's day care to retrieve the trailer. I rode the more direct route through Bethesda, passing the old apartments we lived at for a short time (37:00). I detoured to pickup dinner at Chipotle before finishing up.
Wednesday Sep 19, 2007 #
Calisthenics (General) 2:00 [3]
(injured)
45 situps back at home. After meetings in Kansas City in the morning, it was mainly a travel day. Once home, since Max and Peggy were out walking, I did get to do a little gardening. My knee is still getting better but is not yet 100%. My toe feels good now.
Tuesday Sep 18, 2007 #
Running (Street & Trail) 51:40 [2] ** 4.0 mi (12:55 / mi)
slept:5.0 (injured)
Shawnee Mission Park, KS. I had another enjoyable run with Mike Eglinski and this time Dick Neuburger joined us. With it pouring rain an hour before the run, I wasn't sure if we'd be doing it but the sky cleared sufficiently. From the marina/tennis court area, we ran past the dam and turned right. From there we ran through the network of trails which was a mix of the old trails and the newly rerouted ones. Immediately, our shoes started picking-up the muddy silt that had deposited on the trail. Mike noticed that the newer trail was muddier than the old one and that this was probably due to the older trail having been packed down better. With the rocks and mud, we made a slow sloppy progress. I read along the map which Dick had given us. I didn't have a compass so it was a little harder to follow along through the curves at times. Dick has been updating this map a little at a time. Altogether it was a fun outing with dinner at Jose Pepper's again.
Monday Sep 17, 2007 #
Note
slept:4.5 weight:177lbs
I found a new way to injur myself. While having a bad dream, and sleeping on my side, I let out a forceful high kick, thinking I was standing. It landed hard on the closet door frame next to my bed. Fortunately, I curled my toes up and didn't break any. I hit a wooden corner right at where the big toe joins the foot. The ensuing pain woke me up easily and served as a training opportunity in detaching my mind from the pain.
Calisthenics (General) 2:00 [3]
weight:177lbs (injured)
Overland Park, KS. 45 situps. I had intended to run. The evening was nice. The problem was that I didn't pack my running short. I used the time to buy some. It was probably good to rest my toe too.
Sunday Sep 16, 2007 #
Orienteering (Field Checking) 1:00:00 [1]
slept:6.0 weight:175.5lbs (injured)
Prince William Forest (PWF). Field checking various controls. My knee didn't hurt but I spent a lot of time walking.
Orienteering (Field Checking) 2:00:00 [1]
(injured)
PWF. Field checking various controls and some radio testing. We had finally gotten word from the park on various no-go areas and had to make some adjustments.
Saturday Sep 15, 2007 #
Orienteering (Score-O) 1:21:04 [4]
slept:7.0 weight:175.5lbs (injured)
QOC at Lake Accotink, VA. I ran Sid Sach's inventive Score-o. All controls were worth 1 or 2 points. The value depended upon whether you came to the control from a lower number or a higher number. Lower to higher was worth 2 points. Higher to lower was worth 1. I started off poorly. Reading ahead as I ran down the trail, I figured I'd be able to look up and instantly know where I was. However, I had forgotten or only just realized how inadequately the main trail was mapped. The map didn't capture the subtle bends very well. I overshot #1 by being in completely the wrong reentrant. Coming back, I read the map well but I believe the control was placed wrong. It was either that or the map was not right. I had troubles like this the whole way. When I should have turned back, I went on. I could have gotten to all the controls (The minum distance was 4.9K) but trying to maximize points, I couldn't do the 9.1k with so many errors and problems. I was 6 minutes over the 75 minute maximum time. There were a couple of bright spots. The longer I was out, the better I ran. My knee didn't give me much trouble during this event but did hurt afterward a bit as I walked on stairs.
Friday Sep 14, 2007 #
Calisthenics (General) 2:00 [3]
slept:5.0 weight:174lbs (injured)
45 situps. I wanted to bicycle but needed to carry some gifts in to work and carry my laptop back home so I could be ready for my trip to Kansas City next week. My knee is still not healed.
Thursday Sep 13, 2007 #
Running (Street & Trail Commute) 34:07 [3] 4.59 mi (7:26 / mi)
slept:5.0 weight:175lbs (injured)
From 12th and Independence Ave., I ran past the reflecting pools on The Mall to the trail along the water, then up the Rock Creek Trail to the Woodley Park Metro Station. Starting out, my right knee felt like it was twisted and there was some pain. It increased enough to cause me to think I'd have to abort the run but before I got the Lincoln Memorial it got much better. Along Rock Creek I didn't feel it at all. The loss of pain wasn't to last. I felt a need to be careful going down the escalator to the trains. During the run I felt slowish. It was around 80F.
Wednesday Sep 12, 2007 #
Calisthenics (General) 2:00 [3]
(injured)
45 situps. I had planned to run after work but with a call from school to pickup Max because he was sick again, my schedule got thrown off. Peggy eventually got Max from school. I had already left work when I got through to her to let her know so I turned back and worked more.
Tuesday Sep 11, 2007 #
Calisthenics (General) 2:00 [3]
weight:176lbs (injured)
45 situps. Max was sick the previous night so I stayed home with him. During his nap I got a few things done.
Monday Sep 10, 2007 #
Calisthenics (General) 2:00 [3]
slept:5.0 (injured) (rest day)
45 situps. Being tired, busy and injured was enough to have a rest day.
Sunday Sep 9, 2007 #
Event: QOC McKeldin
Orienteering (Foot) 1:31:00 [4] 9.0 km (10:07 / km) +360m 8:26 / km
slept:6.0 weight:176lbs (injured)
QOC at McKeldin. Since Peggy was out of town, I was very fortunate to be able to switch-off child care duties with the Merka's. I went out first but it was already getting warm. At first I felt okay but not particularly strong. I kept hoping for a restroom to be on a course leg and finally had to make a stop in the woods going to #9 for at least about a 1:00 loss. Leaving #10, I read the map wrong and headed as if from #11 to #12. Looking at splits this only lost me about 3:40 but I would have estimated 4:00. I ran conservatively on long legs opting to go longer or stay on trails because it was getting hotter and I was getting more tired. I think I saw Ted Good catching up on the way to #15 but by #17 where he actually did pass me, he seemed to be going to #1. I lost about a minute at #17 by running over top of it--I must have misread the map a bit because I was expecting it to be right of where it was. Finishing-up I was just struggling to keep moving. I ran the Go leg straight and was a little motivated to climb anaerobically on the steep grade by a group of people that I'd just passed. Had I read the leg closer I might have gone to the right more. Most of my navigation was okay during this race but the area is relatively easy and I've been here a bunch. I somehow managed to injur my right knee and didn't know it until I'd gotten home. Lateral movement is affected and it's felt on the right side below then knee when going down stairs--probably ligament related.
Saturday Sep 8, 2007 #
Orienteering (Vettin) 1:00:00 [1]
slept:6.0 weight:175.5lbs
Prince William Forest. Vetting some areas with Max. He started out okay but I had to carry him on a somewhat more difficult to traverse leg. He didn't like the spiderwebs which are common for August in the D.C. area.
Friday Sep 7, 2007 #
Calisthenics (General) 2:00 [3]
slept:5.3 weight:175.5lbs (rest day)
45 situps. With Peggy on a quilting retreat, I only had time to get back from work to pickup Max from the day care. He and I walked around Bethesda a bit visiting the fountains and some stores--quite far I think for his age.
Thursday Sep 6, 2007 #
Bicycling (Commute) 43:10 [3] 12.74 mi (3:23 / mi)
slept:6.0 weight:175lbs
From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to C. St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was warmer, more humid and I had headwinds. I decided to dog it in (22mph down the hill and about 20mph on the flats) and luckily wasn't tempted to push harder by anyone passing me. I still was surprised that I got in as quickly as I did. I've biked 816 miles so far this year and feel good about it because it's more than I did all of last year--another sign of how times have changed. Around 1997, I did over 800 miles in just 8 days over the hardest mountains around here that I could find, and thought I could have done more.
Bicycling (Commute) 39:45 [3] 11.89 mi (3:21 / mi)
From C. St., NW, Washington, D.C. to Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD. I had the happy winds of fortune to ride home with again however the angle wasn't quite as beneficial; sometimes I felt like I was fighting it. I did try to take it easier too. Since Peggy was to walk Max home, I didn't need to take the now usual route to his day care. Instead I rode my old usual and more direct route through Bethesda at the end. Though I took it relatively easy compared with yesterday, I still had to work at times. Finishing just under 40 minutes on this more direct route used to be automatically achievable two years ago, especially with a tailwind.
Wednesday Sep 5, 2007 #
Bicycling (Commute) 39:15 [4] 12.73 mi (3:05 / mi)
slept:5.0 weight:175lbs
From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to C. St. SW, Washington, D.C. I could feel the cooler air getting to Max's daycare. On the CCT I had fast company after catching-up to some other guys. Three or so of us traded pulls to Georgetown doing 24-26mph down the hill and 22-23mph on the flats. At one point on the hill we almost came to a too sudden stop as we came to a fallen branch blocking most of the trail. After Georgetown I kept a steady but a little slower ride the rest of the way and noted a slight tailwind along the water.
Bicycling (Commute) 41:43 [4] 12.47 mi (3:21 / mi)
From C. St., NW, Washington, D.C. to Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD. My lunchtime walk across The Mall brought a smile. The flags on the Washington Monument were standing on end showing that the winds had changed since the morning and were blowing north fairly strongly. As I got off work and headed home, the wind and direction was just fine. On Ohio Dr. my eye caught some bright movement over the Potomac River. It was sort of the beginnings of a small water spout--spray was funneling upward for about 10 seconds. On the CCT, I picked up a drafter as I went up the hill at around 18mph. I passed a guy on a track bike who eventually passed me on the River Rd. overpass; I caught him again just before he pulled off at Falls Rd. I reached the daycare at 36:40, surely one of my fastest times this year. On the last leg home with the empty trailer in tow I finished in just over 5 minutes. This was despite having to come to almost a complete stop on the trail. I saw a small blond boy and a mother who looked to be Max and Peggy from far away. It wasn't them. The boy's mother was on cell phone absent mindedly pushing a stroller as her son walked in the middle of the trail well behind her even though bikes were coming in both directions. Lately, a lot of people either enter the trail without looking or like the woman with her son, seem oblivious that others are sharing the trail too.
Tuesday Sep 4, 2007 #
Bicycling (Commute) 40:44 12.72 mi (3:12 / mi)
slept:4.5 weight:174lbs
From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to C. St. SW, Washington, D.C. I was up late doing some paperwork and almost decided not to ride in when I woke up late. I cruised to Fletchertown Boathouse but it felt like slight headwinds getting to Georgetown. Later along the water I had a slight tailwind.
Bicycling (Commute) 43:27 12.47 mi (3:29 / mi)
From C. St., NW, Washington, D.C. to Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD. As is often the case lately, I had some steady head winds getting to Georgetown. Before I got there, I merged right behind another rider and tailed him somewhat slowly to Water Street. We traded some drafts until past the trestle bridge but he was too fast for me and perhaps carrying less more aerodynamically than my panniers. We had been going up to 23mph on the flats. I didn't feel like pushing hard all the way back just to keep up. I kept up a decent pace after letting him and one other guy go ahead but cooled it a bit toward the end and after picking up Max's trailer.
Monday Sep 3, 2007 #
Bicycling (Trailer) 1:16:00 [2] 14.35 mi (5:18 / mi)
From Rosedale Ave., the Georgetown Branch Trail to Beach Dr., into Washington D.C. to the famed Boulder Bridge, and back. Winds were from the south. It was odd that going downhill to the south took more work than returning uphill did. Max's trailer catches a lot of wind but Peggy felt it too. It was nice and cool in the shade. On the way back we stopped for lunch at Einstein's Bagels and by sheer luck we were able to join Mary Beth from MCRRC.
Sunday Sep 2, 2007 #
Calisthenics (General) 2:00 [3]
slept:7.0 weight:175.5lbs
I did 45 situps late in the evening. It was after visiting family in the morning digging a garden in the hot afternoon and getting some other work done. I'm not counting this gardening (+2 hours) as a workout. It had tired me out a bit but not as much as the side garden which I dug in July (that garden looks good and is flowering now). The garden I dug out today had been taken over by an invasive flowering weed that choked out everything else. After digging, I bent down over and over again to try to filter out the many tangled roots. My back was a little sore afterward.
Saturday Sep 1, 2007 #
Orienteering (Field Checking) 3:00:00 [1]
Prince William Forest, VA. After a planning meeting, I wandered about with Dave Onkst checking things. There were some new rootstocks.