Training Log Archive: Nadim

From Muncaster Mill Rd., I had only a little time so I mostly went over areas I'd already field checked and adjusted the alignments of point features. I feel much better about them now, especially on the flood plain. I also adjusted some ditches and trails, and I added more mapping of vegetation. I found a few new boulders too.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It wasn't that cold out. I felt a little overdressed but that seemed better than the alternative. There was a pretty good tailwind but I couldn't muster much speed. One guy went past me kind of slowly and I let him go.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C., to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. There were strong headwinds from the NW. I was slow getting to Georgetown but it was better after that. The wind would catch my puffy jacket which is warm and windproof--unlike the morning, I didn't feel overdressed at all. It felt nice to ride to and from work again. I paced myself and kept a good cadence but it was a lot harder than not long ago.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Northfield Rd. We went out to eat when I got home, to celebrate Max's 12th birthday. He picked Japanese steak and we got a little show.

Washington, D.C. From 12th & Independence Ave., SW, down The Mall along Independence Ave. and the Reflecting Pool to the Lincoln Memorial, to Ohio Dr. to the Rock Creek Trail, to Calvert St., to the Woodley Park/Zoo Metro Station. My quads were a little sore starting out but later and for most of the run, my calves were achy. I guess that was from the Turkey Chase but it was funny how it hadn't bothered me when I was field checking.

From Muncaster Mill Rd., David Onkst and I went out to scout areas he might use for the QOC Bumble event in February. I showed him some of the areas where I'd been field checking. We also got north of the ICC to see the state of things. I hadn't been running in that area in a few years and when I had, I'd mostly kept to the trails. This time, we forayed whimsically just to check things out. Our route was zig-zagged since I was kind of heading in one direction when leading, and David was going other directions when he led. We got off the printed map (I haven't even put contours in a large swath. What we found was mixed. There were areas of light green woods with scattered open forest, areas of open forest with more rock, and various ditches. The old trail network above the ICC had changed. Some of the trails had faded a lot. Disappointing was the discovery that much of the shrubbery in the big fields had grown up and was green, and that a new paved trail was under construction right in the middle of things. David and I took the trail for a while before the paving ran out. Some trails were so unrecognizable that I didn't realize we'd gotten very close back to the North Fork of Rock Creek. We bushwacked around and through some pretty green areas and came upon what was probably a cemetery. It had a Stonehenge quality with a circular but broken rock wall, and it was on a small hill less than 50m from the ICC. Eventually, we made our way south of the ICC again, going through a pedestrian or animal access tunnel next to a stream. On the south side of the ICC, we found a lot of features in varied forest.

David and I headed back trying to figure the best way to cross the North Fork Rock Creek. I got across almost dry, but David got a foot wet when he slipped off a log. David might not want to use the area west of the creek in February unless a better crossing can be identified.

As we got back to the bridge crossing of the creek just before the parking lot at the Kengla school house, we saw a wake in the still water below. It was an otter! I've never seen one in the wild in the DC area before. I hope it's a sign that they are coming back. It was really cool to watch and it spun and occasionally jumped above the water. I think it was fishing. It could also have been moving somewhere. I kept going downstream and disappeared. David headed home after that planning to run back +10 miles.

From Muncaster Mill Rd., I ran back up to the areas west of the North Fork Rock Creek, and south of the ICC. I mapped a lot of tricky stuff--tricky due to the vegetation. Most of the features wouldn't be that hard for an advanced orienteer to locate--they are harder to map. I was just happy that I'd found such a variety and abundance in close proximity. I'd wished that I had better Lidar data since there was a lot of detail. The area could make for part of a good middle distance course. The features found included more boulders, ruins, small hills with small cliffs, a few root stocks, and some distinct rides--remnants of old trails. It was fun to be out; the weather was nice and I had the company of a red fox that I'd seen a few times. Oddly enough, at home in the evening, I saw a coyote of all things! At first I thought it was a fox but it was grey and larger.