Training Log Archive: Nadim

St. Paul, MN. My opportunity to run for this was only going to be in the morning. I didn't feel quite as eagar to do it and started off slowly. Staying at Peggy's friend's parent's house I began almost at the top of the town on W. Hillcrest Ave. I ran up to Snelling Ave., just below the old brick water tower. I proceeded clockwise around the golf course on the grass next to W. Highland Parkway, Hamline Ave., and Edgecumbe Rd.. Following lower St. Dennis Rd. to Snelling again, I descended the blind curves with no shoulders to 7th St. W. I had to jump up and stop a few times when cars came. Taking S. Springfield St. to W. Benson Ave. and S. Madison St. I got to Shepard Rd. Had I seen a descending trail and know of the connection, I would have dropped to the river from there. Instead, to get down I proceeded along the bluffs to cross over, then under the Rte 5. bridge on L. Hidden Falls Dr. I picked up the paved trail from there and ran along side of the Mississippi River. People on the opposite banks were running labradors along the sandy beach and tossing chase toys into the water. I eventually followed the trail up the north end of Hidden Falls Dr. to the hiker and biker trails along Mississippi River Blvd. The climb was steep with hidden sections around bends. There was a cyclist or runner just a bit behind me who had been running along the bluff that I climbed. He started to close in on me but I sped up as I recovered from the climb. Passing the big Ford plant where it looks like they make F-150's, I got onto Ford Pkwy. and finished at a shopping center just before Finn St. Once he saw me, Max came running up to me for a hug. He and Peggy had been having some breakfast outside at a bagel place. It was a nice run but I didn't feel very good. The morning and the hills took it out of me. I passed some blood in my urine afterward though I hope that might be more a reflection of losing some flab than a thing to worry about at this point.

The rest of the day was nice. We spent time with Peggy's family and got her niece a present for her upcoming graduation. We all saw the new movie Up together and enjoyed it. Peggy, Max and I also got some chocolate dipped soft ice cream that evening.

Most of this day was spent traveling from Bethesda, MD, to Minneapolis, MN. After arriving, we had just a short time before it was time to attend a party for Peggy's niece. Her niece is to graduate from high school in a few days. Once the party was over I felt like running but it was time to rest so that I could run better the next day. I also thought it safer to slow my ramp up to higher mileage.

Bethesda, MD. After flying home, I felt like I needed to run today since there's a good chance I won't get to tommorow. I did the same route that I did after my last flight back from Kansas City but got started much earlier; only a little while after Max's bedtime. A thunderstorm had passed through so things were damp and the air was humid. However, some cool air was descending. From Northfield Rd., I ran up to Custer Rd., to Wilson La., to Exeter Rd. to Glenbrook Rd. to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to the NIH grounds, to Maple Ridge Rd. to Georgetown Pike, to Huntington Pkwy., to Custer Rd. to Northfield Rd. I kept the pace comfortable.

Overland Park, KS. From W 119th St. to the Indian Creek Trail, toward Olathe to mile marker 14 and back. I hadn't run this section of the paved Indian Creek Trail for a long time. I enjoyed the tree cover and relative flatness (even though it gradually climbs going toward Olathe with a few rolls). I didn't feel like I wanted to run a whole lot starting out but with the cool of the evening approaching and the first sunshine to be felt in a few days I moved along well. A father and his two sons riding bicycles pulled onto the trail a bit ahead of me after the first half mile. The younger boy was riding about my running speed however with them in front of me, my splits show that I accelerated to just over a 7 minute mile pace as I caught and passed them over the next mile or so. When running it just felt like the younger boy was just moving slower than I was. Once moving faster, I was already primed to keep it up. I traded leads with another older hispanic man on bicycle too as he would have to stop sometimes. Some of the little hills going out slowed me up some but I kept a good pace until the turnaround. I was getting a little tired so I conciously took it easier after turning back. I felt somewhat better the further I got. Some of it was due to a perception of being lighter from having sweat a bunch and some of it was due to the gradual downhill return. Over the last two miles, I could better guage my strength and I accelerated to the finish. I took splits at what were marked half miles but the markers were poorly placed. Rather than list the distance and split for the irregular distances, the pace and distances between each recorded split is as follows: 7:25 (0.24), 7:07 (1.27), 7:04 (0.58), 7:16 (0.44), 7:17 (0.61), 7:37 (0.40), 7:36 (0.55), 7:34 (0.96), 7:38 (0.60), 7:18 (0.44), 7:25 (0.57), 7:29 (1.25), 6:48 (0.24).

Overland Park, KS. From Woodson Ave. to College Blvd. to El Monte St. to W. 109th St. to Roe Ave. to 110th St. to Woodson Ave. After work, I had just wanted to do a short run. I started well and didn't realize that besides a general downhill trend, I had a good breeze behind me. I was 7:30 at the first mile but thought I was going a bit faster. I found shortcut to the Indian Creek Trail on El Monte St. I probably would have gone a bit longer but I needed a bathroom.

Weston Bend State Park, KS. After my delayed plane flight out, I felt that I'd better run as soon as possible or risk missing it all together. The rains had stopped so I had that in my favor. I found my way to the park and picked-up a poor but good enough trail guide. Starting from the Vault parking area near the park entrance, I got onto the paved bike trail and went clockwise. I hit the unpaved Harpst Trail and climbed up the river bluff. I recalled passing through the same area during a Possum Trot several years ago. The river views this time were mostly obscured by the thick Spring growth but I branched out to the Overlook area, doing the tiny circle on the wooden platform where I got a good view. I ran on roads next, making my way to the North Ridge Trail. I moved much better on the road and most of it was downhill. Turning up the North Ridge Trail, I was glad that it was a gradual climb. The trail was a bit more sloppy wet from recent rains than the Harpst Trail was. I turned around at the top at a gas pipeline ride and got back to the road. I felt the humidity on the climb but the temperature was cool enough that it was't bad. I turned toward the Overlook again but turned left on a trail that took me back to the paved bicycle path to finish. This was a nice run. My stomach had been feeling gooey before running. With the sweating, I felt healthy and good afterward.

From Northfield Rd., Peggy, Max and I rode into downtown Bethesda for lunch, then finished by making it a loop around town. We went on the usual bike route to Max's day care school. While riding on a trail-a-bike, he was happy to point this out to Peggy on her still new hybrid. The Georgetown Branch Trail was bumpy from the recent construction. We saw several new homes in E. Bethesda, our old neighborhood. It made me feel a bit sad at not being able to change our old house like others had. Of finish route took us on the Bethesda Trolley Trail along side of NIH. My legs didn't feel tired from the run yesterday but that's because we were taking this pretty easy.

Event: SVO Michaux Memorial Day ROGAINE
 

SVO - Michaux Memorial Day ROGAINE. I talked Peggy into teaming up on this one. She came up with our team name, 7-Year Itch, which she pointed out was a continuation in a series of our other ROGAINE team names. The prior two were ?The Newlyweds,? and ?Still Married.? Fortunately we were able to get some child care help from a friend but because we didn't want to burden him for too long (he hadn't done any sitting for use previously), we only entered the 6 hour category. Given some questions about both our our 4 knees leading into the event, it was also probably a safe choice.

We started off from Pine Grove. Though we got there with over an hour before the start, we could have used a little more time for preparation. As it was, we'd just gotten our gear together, dressed and parked the van away from the start area. We only spent about 10 minutes doing route planning and this time, it wasn't enough. Like most of the 6 hour groups we knew of, we all headed west up Rte. 233. Peggy and I didn't want to push too fast too early. Tracey Olafsen and her partner passed us but once in the woods, we'd gotten to the control ahead of them. We headed to #75 next which was the choice of most groups and we went at it in a standard orienteering fashion. In hind sight, this was not the right thing to do. Another easy control, #23, was not far off Rte. 233 and could have been quick. It was a bit unappealing since it meant going back down a bit and then further up a road that we?d already been on for 20 minutes. It would have also given us a relatively safer attack to #75. Going at it more directly, we had trouble adjusting to the scale (1:30,000), contours (20ft. and 40ft.) and missing map detail (unmapped fields, roads, trails, etc..). We climbed a bit early and crossed a pretty blueberry area. There was only one trail on the map in the vicinity so when we found a trail, we followed it a ways to see if it was the one we thought it was. It curved right and up too much. Eventually getting off it, we found ourselves in a more recently logged area with lots of unmapped trails and little of the contour detail that the map was showing to help us relocate. Eventually we hit a road, relocated, used an unmapped trail to get back, and missed again. Peggy was getting a bit frustrated with this but we stuck it out and got there with a half hour to 40 minute loss of time.

This loss so early in the race and a subsequent big climb to the next two controls didn't give us a good sense of our pace across the whole of the map. Leaving #85, we found ourselves near an Adventure Racing Team of 3 named Armed. More unmapped trails and rushing to get away from Armed lead us to a road intersection about a mile off from where we expected to be. At least we were moving faster. It was okay to be where we were if we were going to go to #70 like most of the other 6 hour teams did. However, we were thinking about how to make a better point total for our loop. Given the pace so far, in my mind the other 6 hour groups would be doing a very similar route. There were only just so many logical choices. There was a need for differentiation. Peggy spotted a road run to #61 and I signed on to it. There was water there too. I started having second thoughts after the first mile because it started seeming too far out of the way and we?d have to backtrack it later. We stuck it out eventually seeing Armed going to #61 on our way back. Afterward, we continued to move well and spike the controls. We handled more unmapped trails and vagaries much more easily. We were just running out of time.

Close to the end, we climbed out of a valley at an indistinguishable place going from #21 to #22. We were able to assess our location from a road crossing but following a long bearing from there, we almost gave up when an unmapped trail had us thinking we might have passed the control when in fact it was still ahead past the next trail. We had 11 minutes left after punching and ran swiftly all the way to the end. We made it with just 4 minutes left. Our overall route was: 53, 75, 24, 85, 61, 70, 45, 21, 22. The distance is from a GPS track.

I enjoyed getting out and think I would have enjoyed it more if I were out longer. It was a triumph for me, a confidence builder, to be out for this long and far after having had knee surgery less than a year ago. I felt a little pain during the race but it subsided. Peggy and I made good partners but others adjusted better to the different style of orienteering needed for ROGAINEs. We were 3rd overall in points against other 6 hour teams. Sam Listwak and a friend won. We'd entered in the coed category and came in second behind Tracey Olafsen and her partner. I sure would like to do it again and do it better.

From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. with Max in his trailer, then to the Bethesda Metro Station via the Georgetown Branch tunnel. It was rather unusual at the station when I pulled up to the same bicycle rack as usual and found that I was the only one using it.

From the Bethesda Metro station to Maple Ave., then to Northfield Rd. via the Georgetown Branch Trail. I was trying to take it easy so that I didn't sweat in my work clothes but it was a lost cause. Getting through town was fairly easy with light traffic. It was probably due to the upcomming holiday weekend.

From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. with Max in his trailer, then to the Bethesda Metro Station via the Georgetown Branch tunnel. Though there's going to be great weather today, I thought that a little easier workout than riding all the way into work woud be better and would set me up for a chance to do a short run after work.

From the Bethesda Metro station to Maple Ave., then to Northfield Rd. via the Georgetown Branch Trail. It's been getting warmer and with it the roads are getting crazier. Nearly every day in downtown Bethesda there is either someone stopping their car in the middle of the road for some personal reason or otherwise driving erratically. Parking properly when stopping seems optional.

From Northfield Rd. counter-clockwise around NIH via Custer Rd. Maple Ridge Rd. the Bethesda Trolley Trail, W. Cedar Ln., Old Georgetown Rd., and Greenwich Park. I expected to be more tired when running but it worked okay. Even climbing W. Cedar Ln. was fine and in the past, I had often avoided this long hill. In Greewick Park, a kids school party was going on with lots of people but Max and Peggy had already returned home.

From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. with Max in his trailer, then to C St., SW, Washington, D.C. via the Capital Crescent Trail and Ohio Dr. It was around 50F this morning so I work some extra clothes. I took it easy trying to be careful to avoid stressing my knees. I was doing about 20.5mph down the grade when I got passed by another guy doing 23mph. As I was tucked behind him, we cruised 21mph to 22mph into Georgetown. I pulled up along side of him on Water St. and we talked a bit. He didn't press the point much but indicated that I could have pulled too. I felt a little guilty about it but in my present shape I would have had to push too hard to pull him at those speeds. It was just right coming in behind him and he was going a much shorter distance overall. I didn't have any knee problems the whole way. It was a good day for riding in.

From the intersection of 12th St . SW and Independence Ave., S.W, Washington, D.C. to Maple Ave., then to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I left work after a late meeting so my usual bicycling exit from the building was locked. I rode through the basement halls to the other end of the (two block long) building then headed home. I was able to beat the traffic most of the way on Independence Ave. to Ohio Dr., partly aided by the draft of some big tour buses that I'd caught and passed at lights. Like in the morning, the Rock Creek Trail between the Watergate complex and Thompson Boathouse was blocked for construction so I had to use the busy main road. Georgetown was busy along the river but okay once on Water St. There seemed to be some slight headwinds or else I was just feeling the weight of carrying home two sets of clothes, one from Monday when I did a train/run/train commute. Nearing Bethesda, the trail was quite busy with foot traffic. I took care to keep the pace easy enough throughout the ride but my legs got tired anyway. In the office meeting that caused me to be late and was held after normal east coast business hours, one guy had to leave early to catch his daughter's softball game. I think many of the workaholics on the conference call didn't know what to make of it as there was a short pause. Like many before me, I spent much of the ride home trying to make-up new names fitting the acronym for my organization (ITS). This time it was with a theme fitting the meeting situation. "T" was the most difficult letter.

Washington, D.C. From the Woodley Park Metro Station, I ran down into Rock Creek Park, crossed through Dumbarton Oaks to Glover Archbold Park via the Dumbarton Oaks Trail and the Wesley Heights Trail. From there, I ran up the Glover Archbold Trail and out to the Tenleytown Metro Station via Van Ness St. and Wisconsin Ave. I couldn't get to sleep the night before so all day I was dragging. This kept up as I went to run after work so right away I just planned on not pushing it. The hills along the way were still enough to get me breathing hard at times. It was in the low 60s F. I saw a solitary full grown deer just a few feet away from me high up in the Dumbarton Oaks dell if you can call it that. It was just before hitting Whitehaven St., not far from the very busy Wisconsin Ave.

When climbing hills, I had a little discomfort a few times on my right leg on the right side, below and to the knee. This was different and less severe from last week when I felt sharp pain on the left side of the right knee when encountering resistance moving forward. After the run, I had to work on my big toenail on my right foot, removing a bit more than the northwest quarter of it. Somehow it had cracked horizontally and was starting to tear somewhat vertically.

Event: QOC: Balls Bluff
 

Balls Bluff Park, VA (Near Leesburg, VA). After Peggy got back from her run it was getting very close to the last start times. I had been sitting down watching Max for most of the time before this. I ran at a nice pace to the remote start, passing some scouts headed there too.

QOC: Balls Bluff Park, VA. Don Davis set this course. The woods were pretty nice for most of it but the map came-up short in a few places. There were some point features not shown and others perhaps out of alignment. Serveral trails weren't shown either. I didn't feel like I was navigating with confidence until headed toward #6. After that things were clicking better up until #16 where I lost 3-4 minutes. The two best things from today were:

1. Being able to go through the course with no knee pain in either leg.
2. Actually feeling like I had some leg speed at times with an ability to power over some good hills.

Both made me happy. The first was good because if I start having more knee troubles in my right knee, it fairs well for my chances at being able to at least continue running. The second was good because I take it as evidence that the increased volume of recent workouts was starting to show some dividend. See the Split List.

After the race, Peggy and I hurried off to visit my parents and one of my sisters. Because we were at the Billygoat last weekend, we missed Mother's Day so this was sort of a makeup day. To make it even better, my mom was willing to accompany my dad, Peggy and I to see the new Star Trek movie. Both Peggy and my mom are not really fans but they both enjoyed it. There were even some parent-child themes in the plot too.

Red - Splits

After a nice dinner on Friday, I crashed early and slept in. On Saturday my right knee was sometimes feeling out of alignment with some slight pain so I figured it best to just take the day off. It was a bit discouraging but it's probably best for me to continue trying to ramp up more slowly. Otherwise I'd be eager to put in more time both running an riding.

The good thing that happened on Friday was finding a sitter for Max on the following Saturday. That allowed Peggy and I to register for the SVO ROGAINE. I hope we can hold-up physically. We would have liked to go for 24 hours but due to the child care situation and our physical well being, we're only in the 6 hour race.

From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. with Max in his trailer, then to Water St., NW, Washington, D.C. via the Capital Crescent Trail. It is Bike-to-Work Day in D.C. so even with it being damp outside and being worried about further aggravating my right knee, I made the effort to get out and ride. In Bethesda, I had to pass through the festivities at Woodmont and Bethesda Avenues twice. There was another gathering spot in Georgetown--I don't remember WABA having one here in previous years. I turned off the normal route from Water St. to try to make my way to Freedom Plaza. My route up K St. was a bit slow with lots of traffic and traffic lights. I cut off K St. at around 19th Street, rounded the southern ends of the White House and was feeling good about not having any knee pain up to this point. Just before getting into Freedom Plaza for the biggest Bike-to-Work celebration stop, I did feel the pangs that I felt the day before. Like yesterday it happened just as was pushing off and moving my leg forward on the down stroke; the resistance triggered it. In the plaza, I spotted 3 other USDA riders--they and I had on our new USDA cycling jerseys. Mine says "USDA Organic" on the back. I got a t-shirt from the Bike-to-Work Day WABA sponsors but didn't bother trying to get any of the other giveaways at the many booths. While I looked around the crowd was being serenaded by a group of women cyclists on a small stage singing made-up bicycling songs. They went to the tune of other songs like this one done in a reggae voice:

DaaaaaaaaeeOOOOhh. Daaaaaaaa--aaa--eeee-OO--oohh.
Metro, not... the only way to go home.....

I rode slowly up busy 14th St. to C. St. SW after that. Perhaps today was busier than most with cyclists everywhere, tourists and tour busses, and even a police escorted motorcade in the mix. The city streets were a mess and made me really appreciate having a nice trail to use for most of the way on my daily commute.

C • Bike to work day 2

From 12th St . SW, Washington, D.C. to Maple Ave., then to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I enjoyed the tailwind home again though it was a bit less than going home the day before. On the Capital Crescent Trail, though I didn't have the help of someone else blocking wind I was moving at a faster pace. Eventually, I passed a guy around MacArthur Blvd. and towed him up until Fall Rd. While he was thanking me and trying to explain how he was just hanging on, I slowed and then he took over for half a mile. I continued to feel knee pain in my right knee when pushing forward on the down stroke, if at the right (or perhaps more descriptively the wrong) angle. It was especially sharp when starting. Just short of home, I ran into Peggy and Max returning home from the local playground.

From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. with Max in his trailer, then to C St., SW, Washington, D.C. via the Capital Crescent Trail and Ohio Dr. I finally fixed the flat tire on my commuting bike. It was a nice cool 61F moring. There were a few sprinkles but it was essentially dry. However, I had strong headwinds most of the way. In the woods it wasn't bad. I spun pretty well, keeping it around 20mph down the grade. Just at Canal Dr., I got passed by a tall guy on a mountainbike who was carrying a large pack. It was hard to see around him so I knew I was getting a good draft. Unlike myself, he had obviously been riding all winter. For a while he towed me at 24mph on the flats into the wind but he slowed too. I pulled a couple more times. There were a few construction zones to get through and one small detour made to escape a fleet of trash trucks while I was still pulling Max. The bluestone Georgetown Branch Trail near Max's school was bumpy from the laying of a concrete ditch. The school hasn't rebuilt the old bridge going over the ditch the from the trail so it was a bit awkward there. Downtown past the Thompson Boathouse and through the Watergate complex area, construction crews were ripping up the Rock Creek Trail. It was closed. I hope they are getting ready to remove some of the nasty tree root bumps there but going home later today could problematic.

From 12th St . SW, Washington, D.C. to Maple Ave., then to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. When I pushed into my pedal to engage the clip and start my ride home, I immediately felt some sharp pain in my right knee, my good one. At first I thought it was just a slight thing like turning it the wrong way but going up the short ramp to get out of the building courtyard, it hurt in the same place again. I had to slow during the three pedal strokes and climb it with just my left leg. The pain was on the lower left side of the right knee but could be felt shooting upward a bit above it too. The rest of the way home I was more careful to keep spinning a high cadence. Fortunately I had a strong tailwind for most of the way and didn't have to stop much. A few of the times that I did have to stop and start at traffic intersections, I felt the sharp pain again. I slowed up enough for another guy who was taking it easy, to pass me. I drafted off of him while climbing the long grade to Bethesda and had a tailwind. I made it home okay. It's kind of scary to have potential problems with my right knee now given the unfortunate turn of events of what's happened to Kris Beecroft. At least with my left knee problems since last year, I was able to cycle without discomfort, even when I couldn't run.

From Northfield Rd., to Roosevelt St. via Jefferson St., to Garfield St. to McKinley St. to Hempstead Ave. to Hartsdale Ave. to Folkstone Rd. to Bradmor Dr. to Lindale Dr. into Ayrlawn Park to Johnson Ave. to OId Georgetown Rd. to Greenwich Park, to Northfield Rd. I would have liked to ride to work on bike this nice morning but I hadn't fixed my flat tire yet. On the way home I was feeling rather tired so it surprised me when I got out on the road that I felt okay. There was even a spring to my step at times. On Old Georgetown Rd., a younger runner was paralleling my route but on the other side of the road. I think we both picked up the pace but split at a traffic intersection.

Bethesda, MD. After flying home, I felt like running. It was just before midnight as I got started which is pretty good since my plane was scheduled to arrive at National Airport at 10:55 (it got in a bit early). The air was cool and crisp--probably in the upper 50's F. From Northfield Rd., I ran up to Custer Rd., to Wilson La., to Exeter Rd. to Glenbrook Rd. to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to the NIH grounds, to Maple Ridge Rd. to Georgetown Pike, to Huntington Pkwy., to Custer Rd. to Northfield Rd. I started fairly slow and was stiff but this improved.

Overland Park, KS. After flying home to Bethesda, MD from NH the night before, I went to work as usual, then caught another flight to Kansas. I got there late enough not to need to go to the office and enjoyed the chance to go for a run. Mike Eglinski and Mary Jones were not available since they had to pack up their house. I figured that I wouldn't get the chance to workout on Tuesday so I wanted to take advantage of the time I had by doing a longer run. If I were in better shape, I wouldn't have been concerned about it being right after the Billygoat race but I know that I'm not yet ready to take on a lot of miles yet. I had some good weather enthusiasm going for me along with not feeling so sore after the Billygoat. After I got started, it wasn't very long before I felt like I was slowing and actually feeling the effects of the race. I plodded along. From Woodson, I went to 110th St., to Nall Ave. to the Indian Creek Trail. The trail was disrupted at one point by a road bridge construction. I got off route there but knew enough of the route to get back on easily. I took the right path at all the forks so I covered most of the loop areas. I turned around right at the underpass for State Line Ave.; right on the Kansas/Missourri border. During the run, I felt somewhat stocky; strong on the few hills and not very smooth or efficient on the flatter grounds. Before I ran, I noted that my knee hurt sharply when I turned it a certain way. During the last 1.5 miles it hurt too but not very sharply. I was glad that I got in some distance training.

Event: Billygoat
 

The Billygoat. Nottingcook Forest, NH. I had prepared a bit by running a few longer runs in the last two weeks. I didn't feel quite prepared but was a little more confident. Fortunately this was to be a short race.

The Billygoat, Nottingcook Forest near Bow, NH. I started out feeling rather winded and used the crowd for the first few controls. Though I had no plans to stick with anyone in particular, I found myself around people more after that--through about two-thirds of the race. It wasn't until I let Kristin and another guy leave the aid station w/o me and decided to skip #15 that I was alone. Through much of the race I had not been very confident. I was concerned about the poor run I had on the same map when the first A-meet was held on it. I knew there were some light green areas where the map showed white woods. I also probably felt that I was running faster than I would have navigated on my own in places. I think being in better shape would have helped with that though I'd of probably run faster and beyond my navigation skill that way too. It's kind of natural for most of the people running the Billygoat. I ended up making pretty good choices most of the time, going on the left route choice to #4, the left fork at #5, not skipping #7, and skipping #15. I would have liked to have done the leg to #12 over again but a bright spot was some good navigation to #20. I got sloppy going to #21 figuring it was near the end and would be easy so I lost some time there. I finished 19th overall which is not bad for the physical shape that I'm in. See the Split List.

Billygoat - Splits

Derry, NH. After flying up with Peggy, Max, Dave Onkst and Ted Good, we didn't know what to do with our time. Peggy suggested seeing the Robert Frost Farm since it was not far from Manchester where we flew in. While she toured the farm house, I hiked a little path. Using a brochure given to use by the ranger, Ted and I separately walked and read about numbered features that were described by excerpts of Robert Frost's poems and other comentary. I walked very slowly while reading about the natural surroundings. Max was going to come with me but when I tried to explain to him about staying away from poison ivy that the ranger warned us about, Max got scared. Peggy said he was very patient and happy to tour with her in the farm house.

North Salem, NH. After the Frost Farm, we still had some time to explore. I used my car GPS and learned that America's Stonehenge was very nearby. I had heard of it before and was curious enough to check it out, while dragging everyone else with me. We only had a half hour to rush the hike or risk getting locked into the parking lot according to the teen who sold us our tickets. Max enthusiastically charged up and down the trails. At one point he started climbing a structure and we had to stop him. There were multiple pointer stones placed in an elongated oval shape on a forested hillside and in the middle were several stone structures including small chambers. From a central platform, one could see most of the pointer stones as the various astronomical alignments passed through the center. Some of the structures didn't look so old and were perhaps altered in the 1950's when the place was popularized. The pamphlet we got indicated that the construction was 4,000 years old--the oldest know in N. America. Dave Onkst, a Ph.D. candidate historian, doubted that very much. It was still fun for me to see it. Some of it reminded me of structures Peggy and I saw on our honeymoon in Ireland. At the end of the hike we passed some Alpacas in a pen.

Washington, D.C. From 12th & Independence Ave. SW, down The Mall past the Reflecting Pool to the Lincoln Memorial, Ohio Dr. to the Rock Creek Trail, to 24th St. NW, up to the Woodley Park-Zoo Metro Station. After 3 days of rains and busy work kept me spinning, a 4th day of working late and rains almost got me to skip the run again but the rains stopped as I was ready to leave work (because I have to carry a wallet and other things, then ride the trains the rest of the way home, I don't want to run in the rain). I dressed quick got going. It was humid out. I noticed more ducks on the puddles in the grasses than in the normal waters. Approaching Georgetown near the Kennedy Center while crossing under the T. Roosevelt Bridge, I could notice an air barrier. The temperature was cooler on the other side and the Potomac River had fog added to cover the flotsam. It was obscuring some of the view of Georgetown. Perhaps because I was passing other runners very quickly, I had the odd sensation that I was running fast without a lot of effort while at the same time being aware that I might not be going so fast. I did however, start to slow the last 1.5 miles. I was much stronger than before when climbing the steep hill at the end.

Once on the metro train after the run, stood and again was self concious about sweating. It was then that I also learned that my legs were still tired from the earlier longer runs--various muscles that I hadn't noticed no the run, then felt sore. At Bethesda, I charged up the escalator pretty good.

Another planned run was foiled by working late, some errands, tiredness and the rain storms. I just spinned late in the evening while watching a movie again.

With more rainy weather and working late, I did some spinning again. I felt stronger.

I just did some easy spinning while watching a movie.

Event: QOC: Lake Accotink, VA
 

From the Lake Frank parking lot off Avery Rd., I went over the dam and down to the paved Rock Creek Trail. Crossing the rain swollen stream to the west side on the bridge, I went south under Rte. 28 to Rockville Civic Center Park where I climbed up to the Woodland Trail. I stayed high on the north end of the park until the last bridge over the main stream, then reversed back down to Rock Creek using trails on the south side of the stream. I eventually crossed over Rock Creek on Baltimore Rd. and headed back up to Lake Frank on trails. Passing the lake, I stayed on the east side of North Branch until Muncaster Mill. I continued northward slightly on trails but soon got on the paved trail parallel to Muncaster Mill Rd. I ran the road shoulder on Avery Rd. to the Lake Needwood Park entrance. Once in the park, I got on trails and since I had my GPS watch on and plan to field check the area later, I tried to use trails which I hadn't been on before as I headed counter-clockwise around the lake. This had me going over several good hills late into the run. As I was headed back and about to cross Southlawn Ln., I found a small path going up parallel to it. The trail went to the back yard of a house but branched before ending, leaving what looks to be another decent trail to explore later. I descended back down to the paved Rock Creek Trail, and crossed Southlawn Ln. before climbing back up to the parking at Avery Rd. I did a bit extra in the parking lot until my watch registered 12.0 miles on the nose. Though probably the slowest 12 miles I remember running, this was a pretty good run for me; the longest this year. The trails were a bit muddy in places. It slowed me some. The hills certainly did and over 10 miles were were on dirt. The rain stopped while I was going. My goal had been to just keep moving at a decent pace for 90 to 120 minutes and having done that I'm fairly pleased. I had to work through more than one kind of discomfort along the way and felt at times like the way some people drive an old car. At least with being a biological system, there's always the hope of getting stronger again.

Cabin John Regional Park, MD. From the playground off Tuckerman Rd. I ran trails to Tuckerman Rd., turned left to cross Cabin John Creek, and after climbing a bit I found the unmarked trailhead of the new trail that mountain bikers seem to have started. It merged with, and I got to nearly the end of the Cabin John Trail before turning right. I got off trail for about 200m before eventually picking up other trails that got me to the campground. To finish, I crossed Tuckerman and ran a counterclockwise route staying near and almost encircling the kid's train tracks. Peggy had stayed and watched Max. When I returned, Peggy informed me of seeing Pat Zerfas run by but I never saw Pat. The trails and woods looked nice despite the leaves being almost fully out. Some of the trails were marked for the XC race that will be held in the park tommorow morning.

From Northfield Rd. to Maple Ave. with Max in his trailer, then to the Bethesda Metro Station. I was feeling a little sore from the run yesterday but it wasn't bad. Some light rain started to fall and I got a bit hot in my rain jacket. After getting through the Air Rights tunnel our way was blocked by construction machinery making a concrete ditch where there was just a dirt one. I turned us around and got Max to day care along sidewalks on Wisconsin Ave. and Maple Ave. The construction should help prevent the sogginess of the trail that's been there but the old bridge from the path into the day care has been removed for now.

From the Bethesda Metro station to Maple Ave., then to Northfield Rd. via the Georgetown Branch Trail. Upon getting to my bicycle which had been locked-up at the metro station, I discovered that my bicycle had a flat. It also looked like someone had ransacked my seat pack bag. They might have gotten a little bit of emergency money left over from an earlier ride but the pump and a few tools were still there. I had been worried about this when I left in the morning because a guy had pulled up on his own bike in the morning and then just stood around while I and others were going to the trains. Not finding much he might have been the cause for the flat tire too but that could have just been a coincidence; something had even made me check the tire before leaving the house in the morning. I had left work late and it was getting dark with a chance of rain so I gambled on just inflating the flat tire without fixing it. It worked enough to get me to Max's day care so I put some more air in and hitched the trailer before going on my usual route. The construction trucks had gone and I was able to make my way over the new concrete ditch to the trail with the bicycle and the trailer. Unfortunately, I had to stop several more times on the way home to put more air in the tire. I stood on the pedals and leaned weight on the handlebars to keep the weight off the flat rear tire. The tire is in good shape and I'm not sure why the Mr. Tuffy in it hasn't been keeping it from going flat.