Training Log Archive: Nadim

I dug out two gardens to replace ones lost during the construction last summer. Max helped by helping till-in topsoil, sand, and peat moss. I did this quickly and got tired. There was a lot of chopping action to break-up the soil and I had to break through a layer of gravel in one area that was laid down during the construction. My right arm was a bit strained.

To ensure that Max got some more traditional fun today, we went for an ambling ride throught the neighborhood to a playground. Max rode on his Trail-a-Bike. I never know what to expect when he rides that since he makes it easy when he pedals but hard when he does not. I cut through a neighborhood south of North Bethesda Middle School and found what will make a nice location for a bike-o here one-day. Peggy met us at Arlawn Park and the 3 of us rode back together later.

From Northfield Rd., to Montgomery Ave. with Max in his trailer via the Georgetown Branch Trail tunnel, then to the Bethsda Metro Station. Like Wednesday, we once again we raced Peggy who was in her car (headed to a training class). Though we cycled about the same speed, this time Peggy got more ahead of us. We lost site of her after half a mile. I would have cycled all the way into work on this day that's expected to get to around 80 F. However, mechanical difficulties on my commuter bike and trailer incompatibility on my road bike made me abandon this idea. I still get bad chain skipping that stems from a derailer-freewheel width mismatch. After sitting on the train after this ride, my injured calf was kind of tight when walking down the metro station stairs.

On a lunchtime walk within the numerous crowds who'd come for the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin in D.C., Mark Mace and I sighted Dave Linthicum runnning!

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Montgomery Ave. to pickup Max's trailer, then to Northfield Rd. via the Air Rights Building tunnel. I was so sure that I'd get home before dark today that I rode with my helmet that does not have the light.

From Northfield Rd., to Montgomery Ave. with Max in his trailer via the Georgetown Branch Trail tunnel, then to the Bethsda Metro Station. I was tempted to ride all the way downtown but I was running late and want to ease into doing more cycling. As I rode, I wondered if I should try some runnning again too.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Montgomery Ave. to pickup Max's trailer, then to Northfield Rd. via the Air Rights Building tunnel. I made it home before the sunshine was gone and it was very comfortable without a jacket.

From Northfield Rd., to Montgomery Ave. with Max in his trailer via the Georgetown Branch Trail tunnel, then to the Bethsda Metro Station. We raced Peggy who was in her car (headed to a training class) and partly slowed-up by us, route choice and traffic. We were able to be even with her at about the 0.75 mile point and this pleased Max!

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Montgomery Ave. to pickup Max's trailer, then to Northfield Rd. via the Air Rights Building tunnel. I hadn't had to pickup Max's trailer in a long while. Since I'd worked rather late, this was in the dark. It was warm enough not to need a jacket!

From Northfield Rd., I did a late evening ride through the streets of Bethesda that included a trip through Kenwood and a trip to the grocery store. The cherry blossoms were out in Kenwood. Light rain was falling and it was very windy but I was dressed just right. Riding my mountain bike through the streets at night is fun--it's so heavy feeling but rides soft. The weight makes sure that I get a workout even at the lower speeds of the night.

I found an old Groucho Marx movie to watch while I pedaled late in the evening. I need to keep up the training somehow so as not to lose all the efforts over the winter. Running in the rain after the excursion yesterday was probably not a good idea so cycling was a decent alternative. I felt some discomfort in my calf while cycling but only when I paid close attention.

Event: QOC: Wheaton (venue change)
 

QOC: Wheaton Regional Park, MD. For warming-up Max and I had a long walk to find bathrooms and we eventually got lunch at the ice rink--I ate a hot dog and fries. Max had part of a hot dog and a big pretzel. We didn't see Peggy when we got back and Max was ready to do a course. He'd been fickle about a choice of doing the White course or the Streamer course. Knowing that Alexis Merka (slightly older than him) had done the Streamer course already, he chose that. I trailed along and needed to jog at times to keep up. I was worried about jogging it and injuring myself before going out but it worked out okay. Max was slower going up the hills. He was following the streamers but really did have a sense of what to do each time we paused to read the map. He mostly knew where we were based on which control we'd just punched at but took the correct turns at trail intersections. The controls themselves did not match the map in several places. Though they paralleled the placements on the map, some had been moved around to aid the kids in locating turns, etc... Max had run the same course 2 or 3 years back though he probably has no memory of it. I was pleasantly surprised to see him motivated to get up hills and run most of the way this time. He liked the stickers at the controls too! Since I'd locked the van before running, when we got back, Peggy was waiting cold and not so happy :(.

QOC: Wheaton Regional Park, MD. With Peggy back, I got a chance to go out and do the Brown course. The warm-up on the streamer course raised my confidence in being able to run so I started out doing so. I wore my trail shoes--something I wouldn't do if I were racing. They felt fine while running about at the slower speeds I was doing.

The last time I ran in this park, I had a similar first leg. It was short an involved going down to a stream, crossing it and going a little way past the next ridge top. I was so far left last time that I was thinking about being careful not to do it again. I even let myself drift right. Somehow, I still ended up to the left and above the control--not quite as bad as the last time but enough to be annoying. I don't know if I errored or if it was just another example why I think the map needs an update. On the second leg, I used a route through an area mapped with an ugly/scarry looking green but my visual inspection reavealed it to be not so bad; I even used a deer trail much of the way through the worst of it. The next couple legs were pretty easy with mostly trails to use. I knew from talking with course setter Mark Mace that he had to make undesired alterations (park concerns about going near the horse barns surfaced) to his original course and attribute the low level of difficulty to that. I developed a need to use a bathroom after #2 so my mind was distracted by that the rest of the way. On leg #6 following an accurate bearing was important and I executed this well, I shuffled along and as I dropped to a stream and trail crossing, I could see Dasa Merka choosing to go up the same reentrant that I was. I was surprised that I was gaining on her. Tthough she was doing a longer course, I though the hill and my injury were slowing me more than that. I did walk the steep part getting up to #6. I think our courses were the same for the next leg. I continued gaining on Dasa and eventually passed her on the left as I followe a bearing across and over a hilltop. I went right past a familiar area but was in too much of a rush to pause and make sure of my location. As I headed down the hill, I noticed a reentrant ahead and thought it would take me to the control. I should have been over one to the right. I think this only cost me about 15-20 seconds. I neglected to exit #7 on the best route but got on it soon enough. I spiked #8 with it being visible from a trail a long way off--the woods are at there best in this park right now. I also spiked the finish with my route across the woods NE of it. Of course, being able to see the large building near the start made it easier... I enjoyed getting out and being able to run on my legs. I took some ribbing from Peggy and others at the finish for being fool-hardy and taking risks while trying to recover from my injury.

QOC: Wheaton Regional Park, MD. Going out on this my calf/achilles was a litte more sore and stiff. I gathered 7 controls including one water stop in the hilliest part of the park and held-up okay. My navigation was good but I kept noticing areas of the map that I'd like updated/fixed.

Brown - Splits