Training Log Archive: Nadim

Riding and watching a movie. I felt better than I did when trying this out earlier. A good movie helps.

We got our kittens today. We'd set out to get 2 but we ended up taking 3.

I setup my new trainer and just gave it a test spin. I felt much weaker than I thought I should and it seemed like a bigger stretch to reach the handlebars. I guess I need to make some adjustments.

QOC: Little Bennett Regional Park, MD. While Peggy was out on a course, I stayed behind to look after Samantha (Max is well capable of watching himself at these events). I suggested going out on a course like we did last week. Samantha said "a little bit" would be okay. She uses the same term to ask to use my iPhone and get more than a little more often than not. I knew the course to be only 2.2K with only 50m climb, which was signify less than last week, and the weather this day was better. I figured it was fair to go for it and paid. I didn't realize that it was 450m just to get out to the start, and another +400m from the finish back to the lodge--oh well. From the lodge and amphitheater, I got us out the door before Samantha changed her mind but I wasn't going to let her get off that easy. I pointed toward the trailhead and Samantha ran the other way. I caught her and carried her out into the woods. She was okay with this and I was moving downhill on an off trail so it wasn't too bad for me. She's only about 40lbs and she was holding on too. I was distracted with all the reassuring and watching my own step so I wasn't looking at the map much. I got to the creek and started moving along it. Greg Lennon, who'd passed us on his way to the start, shouted down from above and got me to cross the creek at the right time. I had Samantha walk up the hillside with me but this was again out of her comfort zone. Once at the trail, I let her know that we'd need to finish to get back. We hadn't started yet.

QOC: Little Bennett Regional Park. Samantha and I got going on the White course. She refused to move at first so I started walking and didn't look back. I knew she was there and was okay from her protesting. She followed along ultimately. She was initially on the edge of cursing me out but fortunately she doesn't know how to do that yet. The best she could do (it wasn't the first time), was to tell me that "You bad daddy". At the first control, I gave her the epunch to use and she did. It was downhill or flattish for the next couple of controls which kept the mental friction down. Samantha calmed down seeing others running past, including some women which I think helps to re-shape her opinion about being in the woods.

The mud and ice was something that she stopped to worry and complain about a few times. Really, just the bottom of her hiking shoes were wet and there was one less than dime-size spot of mud on the ankle area of her pants. I made fun of the stomping through the mud by not really trying to avoid it much and emphasizing it with a vocal "squish-squish-squish-squish." Some stretching of Samantha's mental boundaries is more fun than other parts. Of course I had water-proof socks on. Samantha didn't complain about wet socks until several controls later. Surprisingly, my comment about how pretty things were in our surroundings, returned a "yes, pretty" today from her. Last week, it was a knee-jerk, "No!".

Samantha's next need was food. I didn't bring any but this was good since it motivated her to keep moving. As we climbed the hill from #4 to #5, others passed us. Some like Don Davis knew her and said "Hi". Samantha seemed a little surprised about that. One-time late in the course, we saw Valerie Meyer coming from the other direction and Valerie said "Hi Sam." Samantha corrected her and said "Samantha" (Samantha was known by her care givers to correct other children when in the orphanage). It was good for Samantha to see Alexis Merka come from the other way--young and on her own. Samantha did well climbing the long hill and didn't complain much. At each control after letting her punch, I oriented and had her look at the map by pointing to where we were. I then asked her which way to go. She got most of these questions right. She had wanted to go into the woods after #3 because it looked shorter than going to #4 first. She did the same after #5 but I convinced her that the trail was curving that way anyway. Only at the trail intersection to #8 did she pick the wrong turn. I corrected this. The correct way left the bigger road and to a novice, it might not look like a trail--more of a ride. Most of the time I'd let Samantha "find" the control before I did.

I'll call the outing a success not for the way it started, but for what Samantha said going from #6 to #7--"Next time", while pointing from herself to me and back again a few times. After the last control, I convinced Samantha to run to the finish and she happily did. I did fine with my back and all through this course, and jogged to the finish too.

QOC: Little Bennett Regional Park. I asked for just a short loop of controls to pickup. Sam Listwak split his with me. I drove out to a remote parking lot an got them off of a wide spur that the Red course used. I jogged the downhill parts of this and wore spikes. Earlier on the White course, I had been in trail shoes. It felt good to be in the forest and to run some.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station. It was about 26 F but mostly dry for a change. I moved slowly.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Northfield Rd. I rode in the dark slowly with a cold rain at first. It was good that I left when I did. As I got closer to home I could see frozen rain particles on the ground. My rear tire was pretty low on air too. The numbness on my left foot continued though most of the time it wasn't very noticeable.

Some numbness is starting to pop-up on my left foot. Previously, all of the numbness was on the right side.

QOC: Patapsco State Park, McKeldin Area. It was a cool (low 30s F) and damp day with lots of fog on the drive going and coming. I felt pretty good about going out. I had on rain gear and O'shoes. Luckily, the rain from earlier in the day had ended. The spikes helped me even though the ground was frozen everywhere; even where it looked like mud.

This was Samantha's 2nd outing on an orienteering course. Since both Peggy and I are on the injured list, we went together. This was a good thing since just as we were going to the start, we talked with Vido (Videlin Aleksiev) about taking his 6 or 7 year old daughter Nicole along. She was pretty good, knowing how to read the map and almost always cheerful. She did talk-up a storm as we went. Nicole would run along but we had to coax, cajole, and urge Samantha along. It was an alien environment that we were taking her into. We'd comment on how pretty it all was (visibility was great) and in what is a kneejerk reaction a resounding "No" would be the answer we'd hear back. It really is a long way for Samantha to stretch herself. In China and for a long time at home just months back she'd still walk down stairs using only one foot to lead. The idea of walking on wet grass or icy trails was anathema. Sometimes the contrast with Nicole would motivate Samantha but as before, the main thing was that Samantha had to keep going to get to the finish. There were plenty of times when she'd stop and look to us and say "finished" in a half question, half demand.

We went slowly though it didn't seem like we were really stopping a lot. I did feel some strain on my back, perhaps from having done field checking the day before. Afterward, my back was a little more easy to aggravate too.

C • Great photos! 1

Seneca Creek State Park, Lake Clopper Area, MD. From Garrett Dr., I covered the areas around the east end of the lake that I didn't get to last summer. It was much nicer going through these green areas in the winter. It was about 32 F with nice sunshine. I was just happy to be walking about and getting some exercise since I hadn't done so in a while. I hadn't been working out much for so long that I've been out of the routine of it. It's also still kind of weird to think to walk for exercise and plan to do it after work in the dark somewhere. Even the timing of when I get off of work is not so good. Perhaps I should do more of it at lunchtime during the week. I've certainly been eating too much as it is.

The field checking today wasn't that interesting. On the north part of the east end of the lake, I went through a pine area. This had a few open pockets and clearings amongst the otherwise green terrain of different shades. It is stuff that's not easy to map, yet also with hardly any features. On the south side of the east end of the lake, there was a lot of green with a few close together man-made objects at the top of a hill. I had rushed the field checking in this area earlier. The 2 manmade objects that I'd mapped before were off a little bit. It wasn't so evident last summer when the greenery obscured sight lines. I'm eager to get to the south side of the Great Seneca Highway and add onto the map there.

While just walking and exiting the Bethesda metro station, the turnstyle opened on one side but not the other (these on rare occasions have a delay on one side). My right leg ran into the blocked half and sent me lurching forward. This was very painful in my left shoulder. It felt like something snapped. I'd been having some odd pains in the left arm for several weeks, even before 11/23 when my back really took a turn for the worse. The pain just made my arm go limp. I'd felt similar pain (slightly less)without the snap earlier when lunging (catching something falling, grabbing at our neighbors dog, etc...). It's just one more part of me falling apart.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station. I've been walking around pretty well for a while now but I still have a lot of healing to do to be wholly recovered again. I still am pretty tight in my right leg (hamstring this morning when I woke-up) and can't bend over fully. It was in the upper 20s F when I rode in. I took it easy. I did feel some discomfort at the base of my spine for a little while. I went slowly and was okay. I've been eating too much and staying up too late through the holidays.

Over the last week, problems in my left arm/shoulder that had been around for a long while had been more prominent. Trying to get the full range of movement reaching back and up has been painful enought at the bicept to make me drop the arm completely and pause till the pain passes. I avoid the specific movement but sometimes when playing with the kids, the neighbor's dog, or moving things around the house I've felt it and perhaps aggrivated it.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd.