Training Log Archive: Nadim

From the Ken-Gar parking lot, I ran the Rock Creek Trail to Cedar Ln. to the Elmhirst Trail, to Cedar Ln. to Rockville Pike, to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to Maple Ridge Rd. to Old Georgetown Rd. to Huntington Pkwy. to Custer Rd. to Northfield Rd. Unlike November 19th when I ran this last, I have been running more the last week and I've actually been feeling more tired and slow during the last few runs and I otherwise might have been. Of course, being 2.5lbs. heavier has something to do with that. Last November, it was a little breezy and 52F. Today, it was between 57 and 60 F while running.

45 situps. I worked much later than I should have and was lazy after dinner.

Bloomington, MN. From Killebrew Dr. across from the Mall of America, I ran the long way to 86th St., then down to Bass Ponds Park. I ran along Long Meadow Lake (Minnesota River), under Cedar Ave. (Rte. 77), to the old train trestle bridge, then a somewhat parallel but shorter route back to a hotel. This was a nice slowish run on a bright sunny day. The last time I ran here, there was snow covering most of the ground. I got on a few different trails this time. I was a bit overdressed.

C • Minnesota River 1

Buck Hill, MN. Peggy, Max, and I were able to get some easy morning ski runs down the beginner slopes with Max. Max did well getting down most of the time without falling. However the one time that he got out of control and fell harder, he hurt his thumb. We hadn't brought any proper ski clothes but we managed to stay comfortable.

Afton State Park, MN. Erin Binder showed Peggy and myself around the state park while her daughters fought Nerf gun wars with Max :). This was a treat. it was a bright sunny and warmish day for the season. We were on snowshoe trails for much of the time without any snow. The park had some deepish valleys and beautiful rough open areas. There were some ditches but not a lot of features in the valleys. The valleys were sometimes filled with saplings but other areas would have been fast for orienteering/terrain runs. Erin has a great place to do trail running and it was great to get to know her better as we ran along and afterward. We finished the run along the St. Croix river looking at the state of Wisconsin on the other side and boulders/cliffs in Minnesota. There was a short climb back up the bluff too.

Event: Christmas Day Joyful 5K (6th Annual)
 

Christmas Day - Joyful 5k - Saint Paul, MN. Warmup on the lake trail.

Christmas Day - Joyful 5k - Como Lake, Saint Paul, MN. Having flown up to MN yesterday and stayed up late getting ready for the big day, Peggy, Max, and Peggy's brother Paul got in our annual family exercise outing. This year, Peggy ran with Max, and I got to run free. Conditions were good in the low 30s F and almost no ice. I hoped to beat 20 minutes but given my training and lack of sleep, I did about as well as I probably could. I also ran in training flats. I started out too fast though only 6:20 for the first mile. It was flat but there was a little bit of headwind on the far side of the lake. I was 9:25 when I crossed the finish line area which was less than a full lap. I felt I had a chance to make my goal but soon into the second lap, I lost 2 places. My second mile was around 6:40. Hearing footsteps behind me I got passed on e back stretch before mile 3. I made a surge and gained but in the final stretch, I couldn't pull it off. On another day I might have been better but I felt okay running hard before Christmas party eating ensued.

Saint Paul, MN. From Forbes Ave. I took a bike trail to St. Clair Ave. The over the highway and into the woods for a bit before backing out, then up to Osceola Ave, then streets along the bluff to Grand Ave., and back to Forbes Ave. I ran pretty slowly just to loosen my legs and get them used to running again. I was feeling pretty tired from lack of sleep all week. The victorian houses I ran past were neat and though it wasn't dark yet, candles were set out in a whole lot of bags for an upcoming party.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, the Bethesda Metro Station. The road was damp but it was warm for this time of the year.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Arlington Rd.

From Arlington Rd. to Northfield Rd. pushing my bike and walking with Max as it was getting dark.

From Northfield Rd., to 12th and C Street, SW, Washington, D.C. I rode my road bike after taking Max to school. I was slightly overdressed again but I'm not really sure how warm it was. It was just warm enough to inspire me to ride in. The winds were calm. I passed other riders but rather slowly, keeping a steady pace and feeling tired from early-on.

From 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I had a nice ride home in the dark. There were a few other cyclists out but I saw only one runner the whole lenghth of the trail. It was nice not to have to wear my jacket. I was appropriately comfortable with the air still warmish for this time of year.

Washington, D.C. From 14th & Independence Ave., SW, down The Mall along Independence Ave. and the Reflecting Pool to the Lincoln Memorial, to Ohio Dr. to the Rock Creek Trail, to Calvert St., to the Woodley Park/Zoo Metro Station. I was taking it fairly easy and was overdressed for the mild weather--somewhere between 45 and 50F.

Event: QOC Wheaton
 

QOC: Wheaton Regional Park. Starting from the train station area Dann Quinn set a nice White course. I went out with Max after having convinced him to go. He may have been motivated by knowing that Alexis Merka was going out too. I thought they were already gone when we got to the start but Dasa, Alexis and a friend were waiting around at the start. Max and I went ahead of them. I helped him orient the map--he knows what to do but physically, he has trouble with it with his smaller arms, hand and with the thumb compassa and epunch. He asked what the black X was so I told him. As we neared, and he got distracted the by the rebuild playground, he did refocus and first see the totem pole. Shouting out that it was a man made object, and knowing the direction, he soon after saw the control!--success #1. Leaving #1, Max got anxious because Alexis and her friend were coming up behind us. I made him stop at a trail intersection. Hinting 3 times that he should check and orient the map, he'd gotten fixated on going up a maintenace road toward a building because he'd seen it first and knew that we needed a trail. I let him make the mistake. When we got to a gate where he could go no more, he turned around and started chasing Alexis. He ran down the hill really fast. I ran at a normal pace as was falling behind. I had to slow him down at the bottom to read the map but he was already getting out of breath. With Alexis ahead, he couldn't focus much but realized the control was along the lakeshore. I made him describe how to get there and then let him go to chase Alexis and her friend. We didn't catch them but almost did. I similarly made him plan routes on the next 2 legs and we got ahead. However, we went a slightly longer way around than Alexis had on the second and we got to #5 seconds after them. On the next leg, Max was wrapped-up in chasing Alexis and her friend but he did recognize needing to go to the field. He didn't know what the black line on the map was so I explained it to be a fence. We got there behind Alexis and her friend. The area had been changed with a new fence protrusion and the kids just kept going around following it. Max planned the next leg better with me so when Alexis stopped at the parking lot intersection, Max knew to go to the right. Alexis took off behind and passed us, much to Dasa's chagrin. The went to the wrong corner of the parking lot but they all figured it out. On the 8th leg, Max and I went toward the field corner and got ahead of Alexis and her friend. We found the trailhead we needed. Max was impatient but did know enough about the control being on trail. We took off just after Alexis and her friend passed us. We got there right behind them. Going to the finish, the kids paused when the reached the tracks. Alexis got ahead as Max was about to make a slower route choice. Max changed his mind and somehow we got ahead. I made Max pause at the bend in the tracks at the field. Max saw Alexis following the tracks, and knew enough to cut across the field. We got ahead and drama ensued behind us. Max was happy, saw the finish and went on to punch. Dasa and I were telling Alexis to go on as she stopped in tears, complaining that she was out of breath. Dasa and I knew this was more from dissapointment than fatigue. Alexis' friend looked uncomfortable and I wondered if she'd be coming to another event. Eventually, however Alexis got moving and finished. She hadn't known that since she started behind us, that she could still beat us. She and her friend did.

After race, Dasa and I talked about whether or not it was better to space them out more. Going farther apart they might learn more, however, I argued that with them being bunched up, they felt the excitement of a race. Alexis felt much better about the whole thing after learning that her time beat Max's time, and Max was happy just to have beaten Alexis at the end. I think that learning for orienteering to be fun is the more important thing to establish first since that might help them be more inclined to go orienteering again.

QOC: Red Bean Run, Wheaton Regional Park, MD. The event title came from some energy food given out to participants. Dann Quinn set another interesting course in this park where we've raced so many times. Starting from the train area helped him get some different legs and control locations early on. I moved okay on the first leg but by the 3rd, I was already feeling tired. I think the early stages of a cold were taking a toll on me. I had some hesitations but was fairly clean through #4. I was a bit wide going to #5 but map inconsistency led to that. I had a slow route to #6 and #7. Going to #9 was where I made my first real mistake and I was draw off by a nearby control for that. I think the control on #10 was mishung on an unmapped rootstock. Going to #11, I made another error but it was slight and there might have been some map distortion involved. I made the worst error going to #13. That was partly due to fatigue. The last quarter of the race, I hooked-up with David Onkst. The distraction, out of date map, David having already run 5 miles from his home, and a mishung control kept us close right to the end. See the Split List for more description.

I had wanted to reduce my errors today. The best orienteers deal with the kind of map and control errors we had today, better than others. I took some safer routes today but my error rate was still high enough that I conclude to need more work on planning routes to do this. I have to find the right mix of being safe and running a shorter distance. I ran 9.2K on this 7.5K course. Former US Team member Eddie Bergeron finished in 49 minutes. Former Canadian team member, John Torrance finished in 56 minutes. Though both are significantly younger and faster, AttackPoint's calculations show Ted Good having only 47 seconds of error compared to my 5:20 minutes by AttackPoint calculations, or my own +7 minutes error estimate.

Red - Splits

From Northfield Rd., Charlcote Rd. to Hampden Ln. to Wilson Rd. to Honeywell Ln. to Durbin Rd. to Bradley Rd. to up and back to Bradley Blvd. on Vernon Pl., to Brite Dr. to Radnor Rd. to Bradley Blvd. to Aberdeen Rd. to Aberdeen Rd. to Northfield Rd. I was off work early so I got a chance to run before dinner. I enjoyed seeing more light displays.

From Northfield Rd., to Old Georgetown Rd. to Johnson Ave. to Heamsteadt Ave. to McKinley Ave. to Garfield St. to Roosevelt. Ave. to Jefferson St. to Northfield Rd. I finally pushed myself out the door rather late. I got moving well and felt good for a while. I was 7:30 for the first mile but I felt like I slowed afer that. It was an nice enough night. I had hoped to see more light displays but there were few. Perhaps people had already turned theirs off for the night.

Cabin John Park, MD. From the Westlake Dr. parking lot near the power lines, I covered most of the remaining areas around power lines and the parts between it and Tuckerman Rd. I found substantial features though none are still very difficult with so many roads and trails carving-up the land. One unmapped feature was a complete deer skeleton. The temperature was around 40 F most of the time. The first time I crossed the creek, I got my drafting paper wet. Fortunately the breeze and sunshine dried it out again. On my return crossing, I had planned to use the bridge in the power lines but I discovered that the concrete bridge had been washed away. Hopping rocks I only got one foot wet. It was nice to have the day off.

Event: QOC PWF Happyland
 

QOC: Prince William Forest at Happyland. This was at the Day 1 sight of the 2007 US Championships that I was meet director for and which I had vetted courses. I still enjoy the area though there is some green to get around. Chuck Ferguson was the course setter and he'd gotten us over the creek without needing the bridge. This was a concern voiced before the start but it turned out not to be that bad for me; just thick in around the creek. I was running well and had good concentration on the first loop. Starting the second, in the areas west of the campground I had troubles. This side of the map is flatter and has some things I'd like fixed/updated on the map. I got a stick poked in my eye partway through this loop and it broke-off with me unable to get the piece out. However, my worst troubles were just fatigue related loss of concentration on the 15th control. I lost about 8 minutes pulling up short and making a parallel error. The rest was okay. It was fun getting to this park which unlike most of our areas requires much more technical ability and has fewer or less obvious catching features. See the Split List. I also would have enjoyed it if I had the opportunity to run the Possum Trot this year.

Warm-up run with David Onkst at Happyland (Camp 5) in Prince William Forest, VA. I was still a bit sleepy so this helped wake me up.

Blue - Splits

QOC: Prince William Forest at Happyland. Arriving late for training, and with Max already playing with the Lennon kids, I grabbed a map, went right out and did a short sprint. I hadn't even changed my clothes. I wore my jeans and my pyle jacket. I didn't take my compass. Most of the controls were on cabins or at trail intersections. The map was designed to be printed at 1:10,000 scale so some things on the 1:5,000 printing were askew and cabin sizes were not relatively correct in size. I shot past the third control after looking at the correct corner of the cabin but it was hung a bit on the side not visible to me. The rest were okay. I had been cold before starting but was well warmed up afterward. I finished at the start instead of at number 8 where the course stopped.

In the evening we had a potluck dinner and a game night. It was all quite fun. We retired to warm group cabins but the acoustics were such that every noise could be heard and was amplified by resonance off the concrete and wooden box\booth beds.

From Northfield Rd. to the Bethesda Metro Station. The temperature was in the low 40's or upper 30's F.

45 situps. I was a bit lazy after coming home from work late.

From Northfield Rd., to 12th and C Street, SW, Washington, D.C. I rode my road bike and let Max take the bus to school. The temperature was in the low 40s F. I wore a jacket for the first time this season. This was pretty good for a while but I never was sure if the added wind drag of the jacket going into a slight headwind, or my more tired than expected legs after orienteering yesterday kept me slower. I had chased a guy all the way from Bradley Blvd. catching him slowly but surely. I had to work at it much more than expected for going slower than usual. I slowed after Georgetown and was a little sweaty.

From 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I got out of work a little early. The Tidal Basin and the Potomac River had a glassy look reflecting the calm. I rode fairly steadily. I was slowly gaining on a guy while passing others up until we crossed MacArthur Blvd. After he slowly pulled away from me all the way on the climb to Bethesda.

Event: QOC Manassas
 

Manassas Battlefield Park at Stuart's Hill, VA. Warm-up around the parking lot twice.

QOC: Stuart's Hill, Manassas, VA. I like this park and enjoyed Victor Linn's course. I like to run in rolling but flatter areas more than other people do. I got off to a good start but had a series of troubles early on. I finally settled down and did better. Starting off, I hadn't felt as energetic as I would have liked but the longer I ran, the better I felt. In actuality, I was probably slowing to a more sustainable and accurate pace. My worst control was #5 where I went brain dead--it was probably a lack of oxygen. On the way to making an error on #6, I almost stepped on a wild turkey in the grass. It popped-up right in front of me when in the powerline field. I felt happy about running a fairly good pace but was dismayed when AttackPoint calculated a total of 6 minutes of error (after the race but prior to analysis, I expected about 4 minutes of error so seeing more made it all the worse). I continue to have one of the highest error rates on my courses. I seem to equally I make up for it or cause it with my running. See the Split List.

Red - Splits

There wasn't a lot of free time for working out with Max's birthday party and putting up holiday lights. I did however find time for ice cream :)

C • Ben & Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk! 2

Cabin John Park, MD. From the playground and picnic parking lot off Tuckerman Rd., I covered the slope below the train tracks and parts of the powerline break. It was nice to have the day off.

From Northfield Rd. to Old Georgetown Rd. via Greenwich Park, to W. Cedar Ln. to Rockville Pike, to the Bethesda Trolley Trail to Maple Ave. to Old Georgetown Rd. to Huntington Pkwy. to Custer Rd. to Northfield Rd. I ate a snack just before going out on this. My first mile was about 7:50. I felt tired and just plodded through.

From Northfield Rd., Greenwich Park, to Old Georgetown Rd. to Beech Dr. N. Bethesda Middle School to Bradmore Dr. to McKinley St. to Garfield St., to Roosevelt St., to the trail at Jefferson St. to Northfield Rd. It was the first night this fall that I wore gloves. It turned out only to be around 40F with no winds. I wore too much with a long sleeve shirt and regular nylon sweats but I was less intimidated about getting out in the cooler weather; that sets up a better pattern for later. I felt pretty good overall. That was surprising after another busy day at work and with Peggy and I having taken Max out to dinner for his 7th birthday. He's young but not so little any more.