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.