Training Log Archive: Nadim

Bethesda, MD. I had a few errands to do around town including picking up Max's trailer that I left at his school yesterday.

From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. Another nice morning. I was a bit stiff starting but steadily increased. After passing a bunch of people, someone caught me as we started the flats. After a spell, I took over and somehow dropped him. I was slower after Georgetown and encountered some mixed winds.

From C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Candy Cane Park in Rock Creek, MD. Since people were coming to see our house (to potentially buy it) at about the time that I usually come home from work, I met Peggy and Max at a playground. The ride through Rock Creek Park was nicest once I got onto the roads after Blagden Rd. and I made good speeds getting some push and pull from the vacuum the commuting cars make. Afterward we had a nice dinner in Silver Spring where it was rather more crowded than it has been.

From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was just a great morning to ride. I felt a little weaker. I dropped off Max and moved along okay. At Falls Rd., another commuter taller than me passed. He moved out for a while at up to 25mph while I struggled to get behind him. After getting into his wake, I sat until we reached Fletcher's Boathouse. I pulled on the flats until he turned off at Georgetown. It felt like headwinds the rest of the way. I was slow but since the weeping willows were hardly budging, I think it was just me being slow.

From C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD. I was fortunate to often have a tailwind most of the way home. Along the water to Georgetown, the tailwind helped me pace with a motor boat. That was kind of remincent with my high school runs when we used to pace with barges pushing up and down the river. I rode alone and took it easier on the flats averaging around 18mph and then about 16mph on the grade to Bethesda. I was at 38:48 at Max's day care school when picking up his trailer. I expected to be slower.

Fort Hunk Park, VA. I was off work this morning so that I could finally get a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) session on my knee. That went quickly and smoothly. There was only a moment or two when the loudness of the machine made me feel nervous (he gave me ear muffs before beginning). The technician said it'd take 15-20 minutes but it was over before I thought it would be. I was surprised that he didn't immobilize my leg during the scanning. I only reflex twitched once or twice but I wonder how the machine deals with such things. I was nearly asleep when he told me it was time to get up. The pictures look interesting but I don't know how to read them. I have another appointment with my orthopedist next week if I can squeeze it in before a trip to Kansas City.

I took the rest of the day off for some errands and a day of field checking. I mostly walked but sometimes set off on short jogs as I took GPS tracks of trails and vegetation boundaries. My tracks and cummulative time making tracks added up to a bit over 2 hours and a bit over 5 miles. The rest of the time I was either moving between points or hand drawing things. It was a lovely day to be out. Now that I've had a much more thorough tour of the park, I am surprised to discover how much has changed. A major trail has been completely over grown and is no longer really there--only traces remain for a discerning eye. In general, over the 25-30 years ago that I frequented the park, the vegetation has pushed out. It's the thick vine like stuff at the edges of forest that seems to keep encroaching onward into the fields. I could even see the difference between now and the more recent Google Earth aerials. Some of this is unfortunate since the old trails allowed for more course setting opportunities.

C • Fort Hunk Park?!? 11

C • Kansas City 2

From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. Since Peggy had taken Max to day care, I rode straight in. It was the warmest morning yet this year--in the 70s and a little humid but not like summer. I rode alone. There were some winds along Ohio Dr. as the warm air pumped in from the southwest.

From C St. SW, Washington, D.C, to Rosedale Ave. via Independence Ave. I left work late. Part of this ride includes a bit in the courtyard and through the inside halls of the basement of the building where I work. The bulding is two blocks long. I took it easy spinning mostly though I pushed in a few places. I had some tailwinds in places.

I started this without my head into it. We had gotten to the meet site rather late and though I got to the line with a few minutes to relax, my head was more focused on having gotten Max to child care. I ran Green Open because I felt I'd do too much damage to my knee by running longer. After some throbbing yesterday evening and aches in the morning, I think I made the right choice.

Going to #1, thought it'd be an easy control. It was a short leg. I aimed off to the left a bit to be safe, passed the control and crossed a trail without seeing it. At the next trail, I went on but I figured it was dropping and that I somehow passed it. By the time I found it, I was feeling a need to rush and make up time. In doing so, I missed a great route that Greg Lennon showed me using the road to get to #2. After climbing the hill and cutting off, I got confused on the trails, missing the correct turn. I realized this quickly because the trail was climbing. I stopped and headed down across some messy woods. I figured I'd just better take a pit stop that I should have done before the race if I'd been more focused on it. I fumbled my way to #2, not having seen the giant catching feature stone wall until very late. On the way to #3, I was more focused but I'm not if sure climbing to the road was the best route. I was a bit high on #4. I hit #5 well, then passed #6 somehow. I came off a squared contour attack point with only a few 10s of meters to go and didn't see it in a low ditch. I eventually found #7, went back to #6, then moved on. I ran better to 8, catching people whom I was with at #6. Finally getting more into the swing of things, I ran and read better the rest of the course. At #10, I found Dave Onkst and another rather tired Army Blue runner. I passed them going to the Go control. It was interesting racing here and I enjoyed getting out. I hurt my knee more so that it ached sitting down on the drive home.

Green X Long - Splits

Hickory Run State Park, PA. Warm up for the DVOA Chasing the Star/Team Trials event. I ran from the child care place where I'd dropped-off Max, to the start line. It was downhill. My knee felt about like it did the day before--this was better than I'd hoped.

DVOA Chasing the Star; Middle. This was the first woods running that I'd done since the A-meet at Lechworth. I kept nearly a steady effort. Despite the visibility and light green, I read the map fairly well through control 6. I crossed the reentrant going toward #7 and saw the fence so I was on line till there. I noticed Peggy behind me and probably should have been paying closer attention to my compass. I hit the ridge and wall of green that 7 was on without crossing a reentrant that I had intended to. Confused I turned left and went down a knoll. That was the right direction but I should have gone one more knoll down (I didn't see another) I reversed direction and found other controls. Fortunately the second was my #8. All of this cost me around 3 minutes. Coming back, I was overconfident and got off line, losing another 30 seconds. I screwed up #9 by not realizing that it was a road crossing control. My technique was not so good going to #10 but I managed to not lose any time on it. I fumbled a bit at #12. It seemed all of my errors were distraction related. As I neared the Go control, I could see Peggy ahead. I tried to catch her but she was too far up. However, it turned out that my effort saved me 4 seconds on the run in over Andras Revesz and secured me 3rd in M45+ by 3 seconds. This was the hardest that I've run in about 2 months. It did come with a price as my knee hurt more afterward.

RedX Middle - Splits