Training Log Archive: Nadim

From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was a little cooler than over the weekend. After dropping off Max and while getting ready to hop on my bike without the trailer, several other cyclists went past on the trail. I caught a few of them soon but didn't catch the faster ones until trailing them all the way well past Fletcher's Boathouse. This got me winded at times so once I did catch up, I sat on them until reaching Georgetown and took over on the streets. There was probably a slight tailwind most of the way which turned into a slight headwind on Ohio Dr. All together, I made good speed considering that I was carrying my laptop along with the regular things.

Bethesda, MD. From Rosedale Ave., Maryland Ave. to Jones Bridge Rd. to Rockville Pike, to Cedar La. and Elmhirst Rd. to Beach Dr. in Rock Creek Park, to Tuckerman La. to the Bethesda, Trolley Trail to Executive Blvd. to Federal Plaza. There Peggy, Max and I had brunch with our running club. We then returned via Old Georgetown Rd. and the Bethesda Trolley Trail to Rosedale Ave. After all this, I added on with a ride to the movie theatre on Wisconsin Ave. to meet some friends and see Walle. The movie was great! Max and Peggy had seen it on opening day.

C • Wall-E 3

San Francisco, CA. From Mason St. & California St. down to Chinatown, up to the Coit Tower, then down to Pier 39 on The Warf. After my conference and presentation was over I did a self-guided walking tour based upon a co-worker's recommendation. It's steep and hilly city! I enjoyed all the sights and got a way for the many different ways people live in San Francisco. I think the one think they all had in common is that they successfully live in a place where others would be vertically challenged. The views were great. After this I hopped a cab to Japan Center and had dinner. Almost all the cabbies have a zest for gunning it up and down, then relying heavily on brakes. Like cab riding in New York, it's one of the attractions.

San Francisco, CA. Leaving at about 7pm from Hyde St. at The Warf, I rode a tandem bicycle along the bay coastline to Fort Point, then up to and over the Golden Gate Bridge. Turning around after getting squarely over land on the other side, I came back along the bay coastline again to Hyde St. Having rode and hung on to the cable cars the last two evenings after conference sessions, I made the effort to break from the crowds, avoid shopping and put off dinner for a while. A co-worker had caught me on the way out so she tagged along. She's much heavier than I and has knee problems too so she was a bit reluctant after finding out the motorized cycles we'd seen earlier weren't available. As we were about to give up on the venture, a tandem returned and eventually we signed up with the idea that I'd be able to do a lot of the work. The bike rental shop we were at reminded me of the people who walk up to you in Amsterdam to try to get you to go to their hostel. They were hard selling with smiles and various foreign accents and making themselves sound more shady than legitimate despite being the only such store around. They sold my coworker on this being a flat ride but we hit a tough hill less than a half mile out. It was all the more tougher not having perfected the required tandem coordination up to that point. My hurt knee ached for a while. Most of the ride was flat after that except the much bigger climb up to the Golden Gate Bridge. We stopped and took pictures (kind of hazy out) several times. I definately got a workout whenever climbing but kept the pace slow and steady enough elsewhere that I could do a lot of the work. It was a fun and memorable ride; much better than going shopping as did some other co-workers. The clam chowder at The Warf afterward was a nice way to finish the day.

C • Sounds like a hard ride you... 3

From Norbeck Rd. (Rte. 28) I did some more field checking in Rock Creek Park. I always seem to have big plans to cover a lot of ground and inevitably don't get as far as I think I can. Today was no exception to that routine but made more true by a round of delays getting started. It was still nice to be out. I have essentially finished field checking a unit on the east side of Rock Creek, between Rte. 28 and Lake Frank. The hard parts now are making sense of my chicken scrawl, GPS tracks, and waypoints. I'll probably have to go back for some verification too.

C • I suggest 3

From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD, to 12th & C. St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was another nice day. I kept an honest pace but clearly was a bit more tired than earlier this week. It was cool again but just ever so slightly warmer and more humid than yesterday. I wonder how long before normal summer comes back. I have been enjoying a lot more activity lately. There seems to be a pretty good correlation with the amount of sunlight in a day and my productivity. However, my working out will drop off next week while I'm on travel for work.

From 12th & C. St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD. Since I'm going to San Francisco next week for work, I had to bring my laptop home. This added 8-10 lbs. on my back. I rode easier. There weren't as many people out on the trail but one managed to blow by me before diverging at Fletcher's Boathouse. A tailwind seemed to help me along or perhaps it was just going slower and encountering less wind resistance. I was 40:40 at Max's day care.

From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was a delightfully cool morning. After dropping off Max I rode by myself and had a tailwind much of the time.

From 12th & C. St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD. I rode home feeling a bit tired and kept a steady pace. One cyclist caught and past me. He seemed a bit older. I quickly lost him as we encountered other cyclist traffic. Much later, another caught me again. The younger rider on the mountain bike helped me along till Bethesda. I was under 40 minutes at Max's day care. Some other kids were still there and asked me the usual funny questions about riding and Max's trailer. As I was getting hitched, I saw Jon Torrance zooming along going the other way headed into the tunnel.

Rock Creek Park, MD. From Norbeck Rd. (Rte. 28) I walked around field checking the eastern most parts of Rock Creek Park, east of Mark Twain School. This area is greeener than stuff which I'd been mapping lately. There was a large area of fallen trees on the east side of the ridge which was passable at a slow pace and it has some features in it. I traced the edges by walking with a GPS. Just west of this are some great woods with ocassional boulders and small ruined cairns. I fould various other point features on the way toward an from Lake Frank. There was an old 1950s car near a former stream dam that was kind of cool. A man living nearby thought I was kid whom he'd been trying to catch drinking there and tossing bottles. I didn't see any. Cleared of being a threat after explaining to him why I was mapping (It seemed that he had heard of adventure racing), the man went on to warn me about some aggressive bucks deer in the area who were getting ready to charge his kids when they tried to see some fawns. I traced the edges of the downfall, ditches and other things until it was nearly dark. I'll have to go back to finish field checking this area but it is mostly nicer woods that remain.

From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. Some guy caught me on the trail near Massachusetts Ave. He was going 24-26mph and I hung on to him. He had a slower cadence and heavier build. It didn't seem like he was pushing. After the construction detour where he slowed down, I could see that he looked a little tired. I took over for a few miles at a slower pace and then he launched into it again doing 24-25mph on the flats. I guess it was the refreshing air. Western winds were slowing me at the Kennedy Center and then were neutral on Ohio Dr. I felt more tired but finished pretty good.

From 12th & C. St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD. As I left work I looked west, up river, and knew I had a challenge. I could see distant rain showers falling from different clouds. I wondered if I could ride my usual route home toward the clouds and then turn the corner on the Capital Crescent Trail before the rain got me. I rode a more moderate pace than the ride this morning. I figured the wind would slow me. It did initially and I thought it'd be worse after Georgetown. In fact, it seemed to aid me after Georgetown. Maybe the clouds were sucking up air. By the WSSC bridge, there were a few sprinkles but I thought I would make it. By River Rd. it was getting worse again. I saw flashes and heard thunder. By the time I got Max's trailer hooked up in Bethesda (39:58), it opened up on me. It was over less than 5 minutes later and sunny when I got home.

From C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD, via Rock Creek Park and Tennyson Rd. I had left my bike at work yesterday due to both the raging thunderstorm and it being my wedding anniversary. So, when I left work today, it was like a little gift to go ride home. Unlike last Friday, after rounding the Jefferson Memorial, I had unusually strong headwinds. I opted to go through the protected Rock Creek valley. I also felt weak for a while like I was slightly hypogylcemic. If only I could immitate my workouts from a few years ago like some people can immitate my AP log writing style :).

C • Happy Anniversary! 2

From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was a humid morning but not very hot. I caught a guy and then stayed behind him until Fletcher's Boathouse. I intended to take over and give him a rest but lost him immediately. I kept a good pace except where the headwinds from the southwest were causing too much effort. I reached a new all time highest weight. :( Eating a nice lunch for Fathers's Day with Peggy, Max and my parents was part of it but the giant cookie cake that Peggy got me contributed to my delinquency.

QOC Summer Short Series (SSS) at Fort Hunt Park, VA. I walked around setting out controls and 3 streamers. I used streamers in the more visible places. Not long after starting out, I wished that I had brought along a pencil to record some map changes. There were mostly minor vegetation features which could have been better laid out on the map but at one control I realized that I had made a drafting error by having an extra copse in an area where there were several. In another area I could have captured the trails better as they were just a slight bit off. In two other areas, some very large picnics were going on but fortunately I didn't have to skip putting out these controls. The SSS was run by 7 people and I think it was successful. The orienteering was pretty fast. When people returned I learned of a few places needing some map review but mostly the map seemed to be on target and people seemed to have fun. A thunderstorm rolled through and cleared out most of the park.

C • No SS for me... 8

Fort Hunt Park, VA. After the thunderstorm, I jogged along picking up controls. This went pretty quickly. Along the way I ran into Keg Good. She had been stuck out in the rain while going through her course. We stopped a short while and she then helped me pickup a few controls. While headed to the last one, I ran into Patti Mace and then Mark Mace; both had helped after they finished their courses so it was pretty quick to clean up.

From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. via Independence Ave. I rode in at a moderate pace. I hadn't been sleeping much since I've been staying up late to get the Fort Hunt Park map finished. This and the lack of doing much other training made me feel rather weak. I was also late and I took Independence Ave. to cut off some distance. It was less busy than normal. I rode on the sidewalk but it was still dangerous crossing through the Main Ave. intersection.

C • Was that in downtown DC? i... 2

From C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD. After rounding the Jefferson Memorial, I had nice strong tailwinds much of the way home. While queuing through Georgetown, I got hooked up with another rider who was willing to go faster than I. I hung on, once again reasoning that it'd be easier for me in the long run but we were moving along pretty fast. How fast, I don't know since I left my cycle computer at work. All together it was at a faster pace than my downhill ride to work this morning. The trail was about as busy as I remember seeing it. As the other rider and I moved along, it was like passing one long continuous pace line. Not since a July 4th holiday had I seen so many on the trail at the same time. I noticed seeing a lot of cyclists over the last week in Bethesda, even at night. I think it's related to the $4/gallon price of gas. The crowd thinned out a bit before Fletcher's Boathouse. Eventually the other guy pulled aside and let/made me lead. I went a bit slower but made a good effort of it. We repeated our switching leads until Bethesda. A few times I thought I'd have to let him go. I was getting cramps in my calf. The last few miles on the Capital Crescent Trail climbing into Bethesda were more than likely to be exceeding the newly posted 15mph speed limit (Massachusetts Ave. to Woodmont Ave.) which a newspaper article indicated the police plan to enforce. I was 37:06 reaching Max's day care which is the fastest in a long while. Perhaps I should take time off and match my heaviest weight ever, more often.

Fort Hunt Park, VA. I drove out after work to try to record the shade of green in some areas of the map I'm making and to go through some areas which I rushed through last time. The problem was that I didn't get into the field until close to 7pm so I was a bit rushed again. I was surprised a little bit by how some of the field edges had changed since my last visit. There were some newly fallen trees and at least one that had fallen had been cut up and removed. Fortunately the mapped root stock for that one remained. I mapped some of the vegetation transitions with GPS but for the changes from light green to green, and green to fight I was more apt to use dead reckoning. I was able to locate and map additional copses, locate and map some old fire rings and make some corrections to a few items. The grass was well mowed but in some places, I did step into hidden holes in the fields. The walking felt good since I hadn't done much lately. I should be able to get the updates into the map and be ready for the 4pm training session tomorrow but it looks like there will only be a handful of people able to come.

C • Saturday 2

Event: QOC Jug Bay
 

QOC: The Chase at Jug Bay. I was on travel for work earlier this week so I didn't do much. Since the US Team Trials (and a little before perhaps from the cycling) I had been feeling more pain in my knee. I hoped some of the time off would help but it hadn't. I've been feeling some slight pain even when sitting. I decided before the race that I wouldn't run. Pulling my back slightly the day before while holding Max and trying to open a store door that was locked, sealed it. I walked around carrying a camera backpack with lenses and video but I only used the DSLR. While walking, in the +95F heat and humidity, I was constantly acosted by mosquitos. I had to slap at them about every 5 seconds, even timing my photos of people running between the slaps. I hope I got some good shots. However, it was fun seeing the runners come through. After getting back to the finish area, it was much cooler and without mosquitos. A breeze off the water kept it nice on land but the fun was in splashing around in the cool water with the kids. Many runners took the plunge after finishing. It was high tide when Eddie finished (first by a long way) but near the end, the later runners had significantly less water to wade in and more mud. Despite the heat of the day, people stayed long (in the microclimate along the water) and had fun. A surprise for me was getting the 2008 QOC Volunteer of the Year Award. The club had so many people do spectacular things (new maps, club uniforms, Junior training programs, club license plates, string-O, and more) throughout this year so it was quite an honor. Tom Strat, a previous winner, gave me a very generous prelude in describing my accomplishments however much of my success was the result of the hard work of so many others in the club during the 2007 US Champs. The leadership and dedication that the Lennon's provided for all was quite a big part of everyone's success. Having been a past winner, I don't think I should have gotten the award again but it was a very nice thanks.

I had an appointment with my orthopedist to review the MRI set of my knee taken earlier last week. After waiting over two months for this I had to wait about an hour more past my appointment time for the 10-15 minute session. The doctor confirmed a tear in the meniscus on my left knee (just as my general practitioner expected 2 months ago) though a technician whom the doctor didn't respect, was less sure and suggested cortizone. The tear showed up as a white streak on several images. The pain when squatting, twisting, bending, on stairs and sometimes when walking is probably caused by the torn flap flopping under pressure. My options are to wait more to see if it'll get better, cortizone, physical therapy or orthoscopic surgery. As for waiting, I'm told that things which will heal on their own, usually will do so within 6-8 weeks--I'm past that timeframe and still having the pain. Cortizone might stop the pain and give it a chance to heal but it won't directly heal it. Having PT could help with flexibility but not heal the problem (and pain?) either. Surgery involves removing the torn flap of cartilage. Blood clots, and infection are among the risks but the chances of these are low. I'm told that one can lose up to a third of the width of the meniscus cartilage without the risk of arthritis like my dad is going through. If I do it, I'll be on crutches for a few days and I'll be told not run for 2 months. I should be able to bicycle soon after getting on my feet. The prognosis for surgery sounds like a full recovery.

After all this, I spent time in Rock Creek Park, MD to do some field checking and to do something satisfying. I do rather like field checking work but like a lot of things, it is time intensive and I don't get much time to do it. From Avery Rd. and the west parking lot for Lake Frank, I did some field checking of the areas west and south of the lake. There was a mix of woods but most of what I looked at was nice. I traced vegetation boundaries, ditches and sometimes cliffs with a GPS. I took waypoints of various point features. A lot of it was steep and I went up and down a lot. I found an interesting rock and cliff area near the dam as well as scattered cliffs, boulders and cairns in other areas too. In the greener areas I kept coming across fawns sitting as still as a stone. I photographed two of them and nearly stepped on a third that I didn't see until the last second. Even after that one moved, it didn't go very far, not yet having properly learned how to fear man and keep a distance. I wondered where the fawn's parent(s) were while Peggy wondered where I was. It seems I stayed too long without calling and raised concern and ire.