Training Log Archive: Nadim

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd. I carried back my laptop and running clothes that I didn't use the previous day.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. Right from the first hill, I felt kind tired on this ride. There was a headwind and I was probably overdressed with my jacket and tights but more than that, I just felt worn out from the last few days. With decent weather for today, bad weather and kid duties coming up later in the week, I again wanted to make sure about taking advantage of it. I had one guy I'd passed drafting off of me most of the way into Georgetown, and from the trestle bridge to the Jefferson Memorial, I was very slowly reeling-in another guy, making up only 100m or so on him over that 5 mile distance.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C., to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I started off easier, anticipating that I'd be tired like I was in the morning. There were mixed winds. Getting to Georgetown was relatively easy but I had headwinds getting to Fletcher's Boathouse and Falls Rd., intermittently broken up by calm or tailwinds. It all felt little slow. I was carrying my laptop and my jacket so I was heavier than usual.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. I had carried 2 boxes of controls (a SportIdent training kit) to hand it off to Mark Mace for a class he's doing at Gallaudet University. The extra load, which barely fit, along with being a little tired from racing yesterday, kept me slow. It is supposed to be the nicest day this week for riding so I didn't want to miss it. I wore full length tights and a cycling jacket. It was in the low 40s F starting out but around +50 F by the time I got to work. I had worked-up a sweat. There were a lot of other cyclist and I kept passing them steadily.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C., to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. Leaving just before 6pm, it was already dark. I had a very similar experience to 11/4 when I last rode all the way into the office. I kept passing people steadily until somewhere around the trestle bridge, when it tailed-off. The winds were calm. I was in my tights but I had bundled my jacket in my pack. It was supposedly around 63 F starting out but it felt cooler.

Rosaryville State Park, MD. I jogged over to the start of QOC's Mid-Atlantic Championships. I was short on time with about 80 minutes before the relay was to start.

QOC: Mid-Atlantic Championships. Returning to the park where Peggy and I got married (2002), I enjoyed the nice, nice weather and had a pretty good run. There was room for improvement for sure but my running is surprisingly continuing to improve without much training on my part. I guess the nerves are continuing to reconnect after my back problems. I still feel some back warnings like after this run and when I do some things around the house, but overall my back issues seems to be getting better.

S-1 Kathleen Lennon had started right before me and with the start out in the open, I saw her head off to the SW, knowing she was on the same Green course that I had chosen (I chose Green since I had a fair chance of scoring for QOC and I didn't feel I was strong enough to run well on both a Blue course and do the relay). When I looked at the leg, it seemed obvious to me to go SE and round the barn so I did confidently. I cut down from there and crossed the gullied stream at a distinct bend on a fairly straight route. I didn't seen the option that Adras showed me later to use the trail through the green, but it was probably best that I hadn't taken that route.

1-2 I went just left of straight to get around the fallen tree, and didn't use the trail initially. I got on the trail at the second crossing but only until I could see the reentrant on the other side. From there it was just getting across the creek and up, and I had to cut left out of the way a little to keep from slipping on a steep slope.

2-3 I climbed and got on trails to get through the green. I cut across at bends when the trails veered in the wrong directions. I had briefly lost contact with the map. In the power lines, I was loath to drop down to the nicer woods. Instead, I got hung up in the green till I got to the white woods. Once I saw the big reentrant on the other side, I crossed and spiked it in the next reentrant.

3-4 - I angled down to cross the creek, then up. I was lazy about running all the way up too the long straight trail, and instead ran on the lower one south of the large knoll. I continued straight through the light green and went left around the deadfall at the end. In retrospect, using the long straight trail and coming in from the right was better.

4-5 - I angled pretty much on the straight line until crossing the road and stream near the lake. I contoured a little getting around the broad spur south of the control. I was glad the control was visible but expected to see it on a rootstock instead of the stream.

5-6 - Straight for the most part. I passed an older guy who was walking on the climb.

6-7 - I was rushing too much and didn't plan routes through most of this race--something I need to work on more. I ran straight across, checking my progress at the forked trail intersection and adjusting when I crossed just below the fork. I spiked it in the end but I probably would have been faster if I'd used the trail.

7-8 - I had gotten to #7 just before Kefin Culberg had, coming from another direction. I led most of the way but slowed when I stumbled on some roots under the leaves. We'd gotten a little high and to the right. Kevin had just passed the control when I saw it and cut left. Kevin realized it quickly and still got there ahead of me.

8-9 - I really was rushing too much. I didn't visualize the contours correctly for the part after the road. I realized I had up and down incorrect but it took me time to adjust. I hugged the hillside and came in north of the line. Unfortunate for me, I hit a parallel ditch that I just couldn't read on the map while running. It was partly obscured by the 9-10 leg line. I almost hit the trail, and saw the rootstock SE of #9 before slowly coming back and finding the control back down the hill. I figured the second ditch hadn't been mapped when I got to the control.

9-10 I ran straight to the trail intersection. I didn't try to push too hard and was a little worried about the footing with leaves obscuring sticks and ruts. I spiked it but at one point, I thought I was on the parallel ride just to the south of the control.

10-11 - I followed the open ground NE, then cut down to the parallel path. I cut through the supposed fight easily. However, once through, I climbed on a bad bearing and found myself far north of the control. I thought I should have contoured around to the south but it seemed so far away that I got confused and kept climbing. On top, the terrain was mostly open except for a wall of green to the south. The map didn't show this change in vegetation but I plunged through it and dropped into the reentrant. The control was sitting in a small patch of white forest.

11-12 - I was not wanting to take risks after my effort getting to #11 so I climbed rather than try to punch through what was supposed to be fight on the straighter route. I crossed the trail and slowed getting across the reentrant to the next trail--it was the same trail and I would have saved time running around. I angled up (NE) and found a fairly easy way through the green--of course, sticking on the trail would have been fine too. I just thought it was going to drop too much which was an incorrect assessment. I went to the power line pylons and got on a small trail in the white woods. I cut across the rough open---they'd mowed a path which made it fairly easy. I punched through a small bit of green and was in a reentrant. I should have cut across it more instead of following it straight down. At least when I got to the gully, I knew which way to turn. I was going to cross it but once in the gully, I felt like I could run it to the control. It sort of worked but the walls were slippery and V-shaped like the symbol. I had a hard time staying out of the water and slipped and fell at one point. I almost gave up staying in the gully but then I could see the control or the gully bend ahead. It was slow going through this gully but I got there. My bigger error was not punching my way through the green at the beginning of this leg to the long trail.

12-13 - I was tired from climbing, running through green and running through the gully. I closed-in on a guy ahead by angling up to the ride more than him. I almost caught him at the control.

13-F - I was still feeling tired and the straighter way looked slower than the road. I cut NE to the road and ran on it well, increasing speed along the way. I was cautious not to run so hard that I risked pulling something, and I didn't want to wear myself out for the relay with a sprint. Had I run like Tori, or gone on the straighter route, I might have won the course. I did pickup control #13 and walked the straighter way to the finish. Still uncertain, there did seem enough with the steeper hill, weaving through the vegetation, and a missing formline or regular reentrant, that my chosen route might have been best for me.

Overall, I was happy about this race. It was the first time I'd broken 9 minutes per kilometer in a long while, and I didn't make many errors. Better route planning is still needed.

QOC: Mid-Atlantic Championships. I was on a 3 point relay team with Amber Tomas leading off (I think we were actually 5 points). Amber did pretty well I think. I caught 2-3 other teams on my portion. Jon Torrance was anchor and caught 2-3 more again. We finished just 2 seconds or so after the 2nd place team, the Campbell family. The 6 and 9 point teams had handicaps. The Riley family team, representing DVOA, won by several minutes. My course was like a Yellow course and I was happy about that.

S-1 I intended to go straight but couldn't see a good way through the edge of the forest. I cut around the right, but stayed off the trails.

1-2 I dog-legged back but was going too fast. I didn't read the trail that #2 was sitting on. Once to the open, I cut right into the woods again instead of taking the trail a very small distance around.

2-3 I left #2 but went back to double-check the control. After that, I passed a woman who was hesitating about taking the trail around. I went straight across both trail crossings. I had to cut left to the control a bit but was glad that I saw it.

3-4 - back up the way I'd come, I did use the trail for a short distance. I had already seen people at the spectator control earlier, so I went right to it.

4-5 - As I started-off, I could see several people ahead. I closed-in on them (I think 2 were Petya Aleksiev, and Keg Good) but there were more. I wanted to go straighter and punch through the green but as I looked at it, it looked like that'd be too slow. I hedged and ultimately cut through about 10m from the end. I angled down to spike it.

5-6 - I was still anticipating a longer race, not having looked ahead enough. I ran the hill but paced myself. I passed Petya and Keg along the way and hit the break in the trees well. I was hesitant with a line of trees inside the break that didn't appear to be mapped (it was actually there but mapped much thinner than reality now dictates). I also ran down the hill in an injury preventive kind of way and could see other guys leaving to my right.

6-7 - I came up the hill feeling slow. I angled over toward the power line pylon. I gained ground on those ahead and saw that some were going the longer way around through a break in the trees too early. I didn't catch them.

7-8 - I was surprised by how much sprint the other guys had. I ran well and perhaps gained more on them, but I didn't catch the 2 guys ahead.

QOC: Rosaryville State Park, MD. I picked-up 6 controls. 3 of them had control stands, and one was a water stop. I lugged back a full gallon for less than the last half and walked all of that. My heel/arch was hurting.

Green - Splits

Relay Leg 2 - Splits