Training Log Archive: Nadim

45 situps. Though I did almost nothing today, I could tell that my legs were tired and needed a rest day.

Event: QOC Patapsco-Rockburn Branch
 

Rockburn Park, MD. Warm-up around the start area, and a jog to the remote start on Landing Rd.

QOC: Rockburn (and Patapsco Avalon). I started pacing myself, not sure how I'd hold-up after a lot of training the last couple of days. The unmapped green woods contributed to me running easy, not hard, through it early. Things were going okay through the first part of the course. I spiked all of the first 7 controls.

I saw and ran right past #8; I could see the earth bank that it was supposed to be on ahead. Not seeing the control where I thought it'd be on the earth bank, I went back to the stream and punched. It was only slightly off--about 10-15m and I don't count this as a miss for me.

Going to #9, I took the low route initially and was going to go that way to a trail. The unmapped green low slowed me so I after counting reentrants, I decided to cut a corner to the trail. The contours were not clearly lining-up for me. When I hit the trail, I crossed it, then attacked to a spur that I could see. Not finding the control, I did a counter-clockwise loop, returning to the trail but higher. I was wasting time so I decided to climbed to the hilltop north of #9. I thought things were making sense again but when I attacked to another spur, I didn't see the control. I again set out to go to the hilltop but along the way, I saw the other spur, higher. The control was behind a tree and I punched. I must have lost 6 minutes :(

I hit the next few controls okay. I paused at the stream just before #10 expecting to see it amongst rocks there but when people coming the other direction from above made noise, I saw the control up the hill. I cut across the field to #11 and spiked that well. Gary Smith was coming in from my right just after I saw it. I crossed more fields and forest, going fairly straight to #12. I spiked it, finding it behind the tree near the saddle.

I left #12 but came back to eat a Gu and have more water before leaving for good. I came right in to #13, seeing the bushy stuff before the control but I couldn't see a root stock there. The map only showed field and white woods so it was not easy to figure out what was going on. I passed the fields, knew I was too close to the out of bounds area, and came back. Some wandering in the small clearings took me behind the bush that I'd seen earlier and there tucked-in too tight was the mapped root stock. I think with the mapping that this feature probably shouldn't have been used; the edge of the clearing would have been more appropriate. I did however, count this as a miss.

I bounced off the trail bend going to #14, then ran across the forest not using the trails and a little right of the leg line. I used reentrants to keep close to the line, going to the top of a northerly pointing one to use that as an attack point. This worked well and I spiked #15. I went fairly straight to #16, spiking it. I went east out of #16 to get around a spur, then gradually dropped to the trail to get to the reentrant junction. I had to walk a lot of the last bit up to the small reentrant at #17. I used the trail to get to the second field before #18, then followed the man made stuff to the control. I used the trails to get the the fields; an older orienteer whom I will not name stopped me and asked for a location and I obliged while at the same time teasing that this was a no-no. I enjoyed the run across the field later to the control. It was rather green (and unmapped) on the straight routes to #20 and #21; I took trails spiking them. After crossing the creek leaving #21, I debated whether or not to use the trail. my bearing must have been off. I didn't hit it until the top of the hill. I left it soon after to cut across forest and spike the control.

I got across the road w/o waiting, then kept to trails mostly. I spiked #23 and #24 that way. I'd taken the road to the finish. When I got to the intersection, there was a decoration control flag to the left side of it so I ran there. There was no punch so I read the map more carefully and found it on the other side of the road; there was no flag, just the saw horse--that cost me 20-30 seconds. Had I known it would also cost me a place, I would have run harder getting there and been more careful.

I held up okay physically today but the errors were costly. It was good training for later.

C • Rootstock 2

QOC: Rockburn Park, MD. Peggy dropped John Baker and I off at different places north of Landing Rd. We picked up controls on the old Avalon map, then made our way back. Maryland parks are nice. I was able to drop off recycling from a water stop when I passed some ball fields. After finishing, Max was keen on showing me his new skills in the cycling skills area--a technical collection of mounds and sharp banked curves. He'd only fallen once where he hurt himself earlier--an elbow scrape.

Blue - Splits

Event: West Point A-meet
 

From Northfield Rd. to Heampstead Ave., back to Northfield Rd. then to Del Ray Ave. and back to Northfield Rd. I rode to Max's soccer game. Peggy and Max had gotten a head start. At the game one parent backed up from an approaching ball and tripped over my bike. After the game I rode home with them and went on to get some lunch at Cafe X. On the return trip, I noticed being unable to shift my rear derailer; probably the result of the parent at the soccer game who fell over it. It was a nice day out.

From Rte. 28 at Dufief Dr. south on the Muddy Branch Trail to the second trail head at Query Mill Rd., then back to a trail fork that went to Dufief Mill Rd., then back on the Muddy Branch Trail to Rte. 28. David Onkst ran with me on this nice 70 F day. The trail was pretty empty except for a cyclist and another runner. It was dry too. I saw a few new trail forks. David and I explored the little branch to Dufief Mill Rd. for the first time. It was kind of narrow but had some rock in it. The terrain was very open and pretty. The callus on my right foot was bothering me especially on the last mile.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to Arlington Rd. with Max on his bike, then to 12th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was warmer, in the low 50s so I only had on a t-shirt. The winds seemed neutral but once past the Jefferson Memorial, I detected some winds from the NE. I passed a lot of other cyclists. The Chipotle burrito dinner was sticking to me.

From C St., SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd. in Bethesda, MD. It was busy getting out of D.C. I whipped around the Tidal Basin after som initial traffic, and I drafted off bus headed up Ohio Dr. along the river. Things were slow in Geoegetown. Once on the trail I set a decent pace. Slowing down to wait to pass, I got passed before I could speed up. A pace line formed behind me and eventually I caught the guy when going up the initial hill. Two more passed as I paced myself. I almost caught them before they turned off. I towed one more all the way to Falls Rd. My ride after picking up Max's bike was a nice warm-down.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station. Max was off with Peggy on Bring Your Child to Work Day.

Washington, D.C. From 12th & Independence Ave., SW, onto The Mall, past the Washington Monument and down between the Reflecting pool and the Vietnam War Memorial to Lincoln Circle. to Ohio Dr. to the Rock Creek Trail, to Calvert St., NW to the Woodley Park/Zoo Metro Station. This was the same as my April 4th run. Today the winds were calm instead of pushing me along, and I finished in close to the same time. Mile splits were 7:18, 7:09, 7:18, 7:30, then much slower up the last big hill. Starting out, the first 100m felt really good. After that I was getting winded but the temperatures and seeing other runners kept me moving well. I had planned a longer run but Max set me on a mission to bring home dinner. The timing of that also motivated me to keep moving quickly.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Northfield Rd. I carried Chipotle dinners home in a hand bag.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to Arlington Rd. with Max on his bike, then to 12th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was cold feeling, in the 40s so I wore a jacket. After leaving Max, I moved calmly down Arlington Rd. There were headwinds from the SSW and they continued to slow me the whole way. I got a little sweaty in-town.

From C St., SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd. in Bethesda, MD. It was windy! As I waited at a traffic light starting out, winds bouncing off the buildings pushed me enough to make me catch my standing balance. I mostly had tailwinds but there were swirling areas. I pushed a little to get back in time for Max's soccer practice. There was a good bit of bicycle and auto traffic. Even with the tailwinds, being heavy, I wasn't that swift.

From Northfield Rd., to Arlington Rd. with Max on his bike, then to the Bethesda Metro Station. Max was pretty reluctant to ride today. He'd ridden 12 miles with the Lennon family on Sunday, while Peggy, Greg Lennon, and I were at the Billygoat. He was also up late and thus cranky in the morning. I don't think the physical part of riding bothers him much though the initial hill takes some work. He likes having more time to play before school when we drive, a 5 minute difference. I pressed him and we went slowly. He was angry and didn't say hello to his friend whom we passed on the street. I was more tired than I thought I'd be from the Billygoat on Sunday.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Arlington Rd. From there I rode in the twighlight towing Max's bicycle to Northfield Rd.

Event: The 35th annual Billygoat Run
 

Jog to the start of The 35th annual Billygoat Run.

NEOC: The 35th annual Billygoat Run on the Earl’s Trails map in the Holyoke Range in Western Massachusetts. Going into this for the last couple of days, I had big concerns about feeling worn out and about some painful callus on my right foot. I got two good days of rest and did an lot of callus removal. I also used new O-shoes, never worn before. The combination helped a lot as most of the soreness from my Thursday run went away.
The start was confusing for everyone going different ways. I went with the crowd, going on the right side of the mountaintop but I was not keeping up very well. Eventually I found myself in the company of several West Point cadets who suddenly stopped when trails ran out and we had a good look at a hillside ahead. I could tell where we were so I led from there. I was coming into the trail just right but dropped down right before it when I saw others shuffling along. I had to come back up a contour but had an easy attack to #1. I saw Ted Good ahead of me by 15-20 seconds but when I left #1, I never saw him again until the finish. I led the cadets most of the way to #2 until Alex Jospe passed us. I drifted off my line with her ahead and we came in low where there were some unmapped cliffs. We lost 30 seconds to a minute. Alex pulled the group along mostly. I took a few different lines up to #5 but didn't get ahead and couldn't break away. I was running too fast and not reading carefully. I was going to drop going to #5, to avoid a spur but went a parallel path with Alex across the spur instead. Not thinking well, I started reading the leg for #6 and kept adjusting my bearing to the right. I stopped this later but was off-line at that point. I ended up a few contours high at the right distance and looked over to see the cadets punching where Alex had been. I was concerned about keeping with the group to make time and didn't read leg #6 very well. About 1/3 of the way up the climb, I moaned realizing that this would have been a great skip for me--I like to avoid hills when possible. I walked on up the hill, committed to #6 and disraught about there not being a good skip for the next several legs.

I was in the midst of the cadets getting to #6, then started catching the leaders. Going to #8, I considered a skip bud didn't see it being worth it. The cadets were faster on the initial trails, As they got ahead, I chose a lower route to stay on trails. I got there right at the same time as the cadet leaders. I jumped in the woods early going to #9, so as not to make an easy mistake and the cadets did the same. Going to #10, the cadets got ahead and I was getting tired. I didn't want to go straight but did anyway. I should have read the trails more carefully. There seemed to be extra unmapped knolls so the contours weren't making sense. I dropped a little eventually following a trail that took me to the controls but it was a little out of the way for a loss of time.

Going to #11, I got ahead of the cadets but they were trailing me. I was doing well but got distracted when seeing others below me one reentrant too early--the control circle on the map obscured the reentrant I was in. After a drop and climb back up, I hit the control-another minute lost. I took the trail to #12 and some others were too. For #13, I gained and caught a group of younger people but they punched before me. When leaving behind the crowd, I decided climbinb right away made sense--they were all going either across or down and up to the left for some reason. Once up, I made good time in the open flatter terrain with one cadet in pursuit. I left #14 and started catching others who perhaps were doing the Minigoat. On the approach, I decided climbing and attacking #15 high was best. I did but lost concentration and went right over the control (about 10m to my left) when I crossed a reentrant. I did a slow circle, coming back and wondering why I hadn't seen it from below even. Another group of orienteers including Jeff Saeger led me in but I'd figured it out at that point. I chased Jeff, eventually passing him. Another cadet followed me when I left the trail early and we got to #16 first. I ran too quickly going to #17 and ended up to the left. David Onkst was close behind. We corrected for a 30-40 second loss. When asked, I told David that I was skipping #18. I moved out fast and used the trails to the left, spiking #19 easily but losing David inadvertently. I ran past the finish and back into the woods going to #20. I felt bad for a cadet who'd lost his epunch in the leaves; another cadet stopped but I was feeling I wanted to compete and catch others. I hit #20 well. I went straight toward #21 but pulled-up short by one spur. I relocated on the steam below but had to climb right back to where I was to get to the control. That cost me a minute or 2 and a bunch of cadets were then there. I chased and passed some, getting to #22 (my control "NA" from last year) well. I ran fast and straight to #23, spiking it, and passing most of the cadets. I ran on bearing and where the running was good going to #24; I hit the trail unexpectedly and then got stuck in the green behind some others. There was no way to catch and pass after punching as the run-in was short.

It was fun running this. I felt I navigated most of the course on my own and I incurred errors that I was disappointed with. The hillls weren't that bad but I'd much perfer a flatter Billygoat next year.

Billygoat - Splits

Event: QOC Rosaryville - MTBO Part Cancelled!!
 

From the Van Ness/UDC Metro Station in Washington, D.C. down Connecticutt Ave. to the Melvin-Hazen Trail, to the Rock Creek Trail to Broad Branch Rd., trails on the west side of the valley to Military Rd., then up the unpaved trail to the Western Ridge Trail, to Wise Rd. to Chestnut Rd. to Winnett Rd. to Brennon Ln. to Thornapple St. to Brookville Rd. to Underwood St. to Meadow Ln. to Thornapple St., to Leeland St. to 46th St. to the Georgetown Branch Trail, to Woodmont Ave. to Edgemoor Ln. and to the Bethesda Metro Station in Maryland. I was pretty slow early on this run. By the time I'd gotten to the bottom of Rock Creek, I figured I'd set out to do too much today with the Billygoat coming up. My quads were surprisingly sore and it must have been from riding home fast on Tuesday. Rock Creek is pretty hilly where I ran. I climbed out of the valley and across several big reentrants. There were some deer (and horses) in the park--the deer, surviving from recent culling, were not very afraid of me. I struggled up hills saved only by inspiration from the beautiful spring weather (it was in the low 70s F but a little bit humid). It was quite nice looking coming across Chevy Chase (best time of the year for the lawn and gardens there), but I was hurting too much by then. Besides tiredness, I had a lot of pain from callus on my right foot. It may have been making me run imbalanced so the ball of my right foot began to hurt a lot too. When I got stopped at a stop sign and started again, the pain would go away for a short while. Filing the callus doesn't seem to help much more than 2 days and leaves the skin underneath inflamed and sometimes sensitive in-between runs. Despite the pain and tiredness today, my overall time was only 3 minutes off my 2011 run which was slightly shorter.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to Arlington Rd. with Max on his bike, then to 12th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was in the low to mid 50s. After leaving Max, I moved well on Arlington Rd. but quickly got winded. There were headwinds from the south. I continued to move pretty well but slowed after the Lincoln Memorial.

From 12th St & Independence Ave., SW, in Washington, D.C. to Arlington Rd., Bethesda, MD to pick-up Max's bicycle, then to Northfield Rd. I left work late again so I first had to ride through the courtyard. Once outside I let loose aided by a nice tailwind. It's always fun if not a little crazy to be able to pass or ride pace with the cars that way. It was starting to get dark and I hadn't brought a headlamp so that added to my motivation. Overall, I was flying with the tailwind on the ride. I knew to gear appropriately especially when I hadn't been riding much. I was more disciplined about it once past Fletcher's Boathouse. I kept passing cyclists so that was fun too. After picking up Max's bike it was dark. I moved fast with it as a car was taking the same route behind me, falling behind at intersections and catching up on narrow streets. I used my stopwatch to time but it is more of an estimate with keeping it running when I was going up al elevator at work, and forgetting to start it after a stop at another place.

Event: QOC Combat Village
 

Quantico Marine Base, VA, on the Combat Village map. I circled the field at the start of QOC's event 5 times. Just before going out, I heard that Valerie Meyer had gotten hurt (injured or broken ankle?) and needed the help of an ambulance--ambulances are not usually waiting at QOC local events but because we were on the base, there was one waiting this time.

QOC: Combat Village on the Quantico Marine Base. This area was great terrain for orienteering. The woods were rather open with just a few exceptions. The hills were mostly moderate with several wide and flat areas of to be crossed. Though the map was old (US Championships were held here 1997) it was fairly accurate. The contours were just about spot on. The scale was 1:15,000. That threw me off for one leg--it was #6. It should have been short and easy with a road or direct option. Going directly, I pulled-up short circled back, got caught in some scary concertina wire w/o injuring myself much, then had to go to the road to relocate (about 2 minutes lost). In another area (I missed the map update that had been posted near the start so when I came off a small field that had been enlarged, I had to circle back to the control--I actually recovered from this very quickly, losing only between 1 and 2 minutes. I did blow 2 controls that others had trouble with too--I missed #2 and lost 3 minutes coming back to it, then I lost a minute by going right past #10, a pit on a hill top. The rest was good running. I was kind of tired, not feeling nearly as well as at Cabin John Regional Park last week, nor when at Little Bennett 2 weeks back. I made a smaller error trying to stay ahead of David Onkst; when i passed him at #18, went around unmapped green vegetation getting off-line and had to correct. Dave got to #19 before me but that got me riled in to running harder into the finish ahead of him again. It was a fun day.

Blue - Splits

From Northfield Rd. to Heampstead Ave., back to Northfield Rd., back to Heampstead Ave., and then back to Northfield Rd. I had rode with Max to his soccer game and realized that I hadn't brought a water bottle for him. Just before his game started, I went back home, and then back to the game. Finally, we rode together home. Max had scored 3 goals and gotten an assist that was practically a goal that bounced off his teammates shin guard and in. He was pretty happy.

From River Rd., out and back to Seven Locks Rd. via the Cabin John Trail. I had intended for a longer run and almost set out to do that when my old college roommate Ralph Keith had called to stop by in an hour. I was planning for a leisurely run but with being rushed to be back home, I only had a little time to do this. I felt a bit tired from recent running and the hills on this section of trail, though short, are often steep. The temperatures were around 70 F and it was sunny. That made for a beautiful day but the warmth may have affected me too. Going down the hills, I was not feeling so strong. I felt the need to slow to keep from losing balance and falling--with more strength, that wouldn't have been an issue. After the run, my left knee felt a bit bruised and that was perphaps something from going down a hill or two too fast. Callus on my right foot bothered me some too.

Bethesda, MD. After flying back home, I got out for a short run. I felt tired starting out--I'd been eating too much all week and. It was much warmer around 60 F, but also damp from an earlier rain. I picked-up the pace while heading into the end of the first mile (7:38). I also pushed it in at the end.

Lawrence, KS. On the West Campus of Kansas University, I joined the growing Orienteer Kansas club for some training. I had gotten out my work meetings late so I was late arriving. People had already done most of their workouts or were finishing up. Seeing Mary Jones on the way in, she directed me to the parking area. I got changed and went out in a rush (needing a bathroom but foregoing that). We were to do interval training on Ulrik's Hill. I hadn't done any interval training for years, having shied away from it to avoid injuries. I definately need to do that more. As I jogged down the hill I jogged with Ulrik himself, a student from Sweden who has been here temporarily. Ulrik started the actual interval behind me to get a longer length and said he was going to give me a head start. I needed it. Ulrik passed me not far after rounding a curve or two and just as we had really headed up the hill. I tried to keep him in sight and was mostly successful but he probably finished close to a minute ahead of me anyway. I had finished in 4:31.94. Ulrik was completing his 5th interval. I remember feeling like that long ago. Spike was recording all of this. I actually felt a bit more out of synch with not having warmed-up enough. It was windy and cool too. After the first interval, just about everyone else was done. One of the other OK guys thought he'd like to do another so I went with him (after a 5 minute rest). He was completing his 4th or 5th to my 2nd. After the jog down, we started together. I fell behind a bit but caught-up an passed the other guy. Interstingly enough, my second interval (both went to the stop sign where Ulrich had been stopping) was 4:31.67--I didn't do as many intervals as others but I was very consistent.

After the run, a few of us met downtown on the main drag in town and had a nice dinner with great company. It was kind of cosmopolitan with two unrelated Swedes, a guy from Kansas, a gal from NY, and me, a guy from DC.

In Overland Park, KS. From Dearbom Dr. and Indian Creek Dr., the Overland Park Trail to the Indian Creek Trail to Leawood City Park. There I did the loop around the pond then went basically back with a slight additional detour in Roe Park. I had started out feeling kind of funny and tight from sitting all day in a somewhat crowded office meeting. I thought I'd do 3-4 miles but at one mile out, I was surprised that it had passed so quickly. I felt fine after 2 so I set out to loop the pond. The trail followed the creeks slightly downhill on the way out but on the return, a slight breeze was at my back. Storms threatened to the west but they only made it a little more humid--it was around 62F. With the mostly flatish trail, I focused on running form and again this got me going quicker. I pushed in the last quarter mile.

It was a busy travel day but I planned for it to be a workout rest day too.

Event: QOC Cabin John
 

Cabin John Regional Park, MD. Warm-up near the train station with Dave Pruden. His helped shake-off the soreness from the run the day before.

QOC: Cabin John Regional Park, MD. QOC's first official meet in this park that I mapped was a good one. A lot of people's came; +250. That was despite a lot of regulars not racing here and, instead being at the Flying Pig. The 70F weather after some cold weeks, there not having been a local meet the week before, the close proximity to Washington D.C., and the new map all came together to bring the large turnout. Peggy set the courses and they were pretty good given the constraints of this stream valley park. I ran strongly despite my run on Saturday. At times I was overrunning my map reading aided by my knowledge of the park. I took one less than optimal route because of this (#10) and another time going to the pit at #18, I began to get it confused with another pit along the way. I had some fun running near Dave Pruden in the middle. Seeing him ahead at #10, I didn't pass and get out of sight from him until #19 or #20 and we took some separate routes. Control #15 was mis-hung. Knowing how I had mapped the boulder, I assumed right away that it had been stolen so I only paused for about 5 seconds whereas others may have lost a minute or more. Overall, it was a pretty good day!

QOC: Cabin John Regional Park, MD. I picked up a few controls across the creek, on the west side, and at Tuckerman Rd.

QOC: Cabin John Regional Park, MD. I went out to pickup a control that had gotten forgotten.

Blue - Splits

From Northfield Rd. to Bradley Hills Rd. with Max, on his bike. We were going to his soccer game; the first of the season. We were a little late after getting him new fancy cleats so we rushed.

From Bradley Hills Elementary School to Northfield Rd. with Max on his bicycle.

Greenway Trail: From Berryville Rd. north to Black Rock Mill Rd. and back. I was moving pretty well on a beautiful day (mid to upper 50s F and sunny). I worked at using proper form, and this kept me moving better. This part of the trail is relatively flat except for the last 1.5 mile nearing the mill. Callus on my right outer forefoot was especially painful during this stretch but it hurt at times elsewhere too. Going back I slowed despite it being a net drop. I saw a red fox. Despite slowing, I was within sight of the van when it would have been even out and back splits. I stretched afterward but I'll be sore tomorrow.

From Northfield Rd., to Arlington Rd. with Max on his bike, then to the Bethesda Metro Station. It was colder than I thought so I felt a bit guilty about making Max ride. What bothers him is really just missing out on some play time because he thinks it takes longer.

Washington, D.C. From 12th & Independence Ave., SW, onto The Mall, past the Washington Monument and down between the Reflecting pool and the Vietnam War Memorial to Lincoln Circle. to Ohio Dr. to the Rock Creek Trail, to Calvert St., NW to the Woodley Park/Zoo Metro Station. This was pretty much the same run that I did the day before. There were 3 things that made a difference. I sort of felt better having had one recent day of running under me, The temperature was a little bit warmer, and the wind was more in my favor than against me. The wind was just a small tailwind compared to the big headwind of yesterday. I still didn't know my pace and was surprised to see one 7:20 mile split. I was gaining on a woman who was running just a bit slower; I didn't catch her until she stopped running just before the big hill at the end. Like yesterday, I stretched pretty well afterward.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Arlington Rd. From there I rode in the twighlight towing Max's bicycle to Northfield Rd.

Washington, D.C. From 12th & Independence Ave., SW, onto The Mall, past the Washington Monument and down between the Reflecting pool and the Vietnam War Memorial to Lincoln Circle. to Ohio Dr. to the Rock Creek Trail, to Calvert St., NW to the Woodley Park/Zoo Metro Station. Once again purportedly 50 F when starting out, the winds made it feel otherwise. I had headwinds for the first couple of miles. The first mile felt pretty good as expected but the wind and lack or training quickly wore me down. By the time I was running along the river in the open I'd slowed to 8 minute miles. This improved climbing gradually up through the Rock Creek Valley.

45 situps.