Training Log Archive: Nadim

East Fork State Park, OH. Warm-up for both the
Flying Pig US Sprint Course Championships. I ran with the model map reading vegetation, reentrants and manmade features to see how the mapper interpreted these.

Flying Pig US Sprint Course Championships, East Fork State Park, OH. I ran the Red/Blue Course 3 and got my April Fool's joke in early. I ran confidently toward the first control and somehow ran over top of it losing 30 seconds. Next, I flubbed an attack to #2 by attacking from the correct reentrant, but then crossing the next thinking it was a ditch. After at least a 1:45 minute loss there, fatigue from the hills or the general weakness I've been feeling kept me from doing much better. I had no leg speed, however, it was reasonably fun. The 1:5,000 scale map was nice to read. Despite my travails, I got second again to Peter Gagarin in +M45.

East Fork State Park, OH. Warm-up for the 2006 US Relay Championships. Some of this was to jog over to some food in between races and well before my run.

Flying Pig US Relay Championships, East Fork State Park, OH. I ran on QOC's 4pt. team with Dave Onkst leading (Green), Tim Good running second (Orange), and Ted Good (Red) running anchor. I ran a longish Green course. I really felt like I let my teamates down making a sophomorish mistake of almost 20 minutes in error on the way to #4. I had just passed other competitors when the crucial leg came up. I picked a sub-optimal route, executed it horrifically by going down the wrong giant reentrant, couldn't figure out what had happened for a long time (hunting for the control on the wrong ridge), then once I did, I still couldn't get to the control cleanly. I had just started feeling a little calmer when I wanted to put some distance between myself and a pursuer. The pressure of teamates depending on me to get back blew my focus even more after the mistake as things kept compounding. We were fortunate in that there weren't a lot of other strong 4pt. teams and the fact that my other teammates ran much better than I did. One good thing to come out of this besides our third place was that I was able to run much harder trying to make up for things than I had in the last month. Afterwards, I felt sore after the race very quickly.

Sprint-Blue - Splits

GreenB-4pt-BA - Splits

Event: Flying Pig X (OCIN)
 

East Fork State Park, OH. I jogged the soggy trail from meet HQ to the start of the Flying Pig Middle Distance event.

Flying Pig Middle Distance, East Fork State Park, OH. I ran the Red course. It had been raining only an hour earlier on an already soaked course. The steep reentrants were tough to get out of. I felt weak either from the morning drive across the state or getting over being sick still. Except for some less than optimal route choices, I navigated reasonably well except later in the race when I started trying to keep ahead of, then with, then behind Spike. I got second place to Peter Gagarin for my first +M45 A-Meet race.

Red Middle Distance - Splits

St. Claire, OH. With working in the morning and driving toward the Flying Pig in the afternoon, I didn't have a lot of time. I used the hotel fitness room starting slowly and finishing moderately with a 7:03 last mile. It still feels a bit awkward to use a treadmill but it's getting easier.

From Rosedale Ave. to the Capital Crescent Trail to Georgetown (under Key Bridge), back to Bethesda and Rosedale Ave. via Kentbury Way. As I was finishing working at home and Peggy and Max were out enjoying the pool, Bob Angell called me up for a ride. It being 64 F and sunny, I saw no reason to refuse. I could feel my lack or cycling on hills and on my bottom. I still have some residual soreness in my legs from Sunday.

45 situps. I got busy watching Max and doing other things. I felt some residual soreness in my legs from Sunday.

45 situps. I felt much better today and even thought about going for a short run but thought the rest would do me good.

Prince William Forest National Park, VA. As we've been doing, Max and I did QOC's White course while Peggy was out on her run. He was eager to get started and wanted to get in the backpack. We took approaches through the woods where it made sense and hit all those controls perfectly. I stubbed my toe once (my toe was already cramped from thicker than usual socks) and yelled out. Max either mocked me or felt my pain and mimicked me. Some controls were a little further off-trail than I thought appropriate for White. On a trail leg to #4 I convinced Max that we were getting past the correct trail bend and that the control could have been in a pit behind a root stock; consistent with some of the other almost hidden controls we'd already been to. Not being so confident yet, Max didn't fuss and let us double back as some other people seemed to be doing. It wasn't at the rootstock. There was an extra unmapped but small bend so we went on and got to the control after that. I guess the pace and some similar nearby features confused me and caused me to pull up short. Later after I punched at an early control also on the trail but not on our course, Max started to fuss. I gave him some sticks to further occupy himself with (navigation wasn't enough) and he let us go on. He enjoyed spotting controls ahead of us and finished with energy.

Prince William Forest National Park, VA. Can you say Bonk? For the first time, I now can. A bit tired from walking Max on the White course, last night's race and the training the day before, I started the Blue course late in the day. I probably hadn't eaten enough after the race the night before.

There were 9 common legs with the Red Night-O that I ran the night before, out of the 22 total. I only took 4 of the same routes. I started well taking a more difficult route to #1 and #2, beating my night-O paces. On the way to control #5, I'd already begun walking in places. By #9, I started making mistakes. From #11 on, I walked practically all the uphills to the finish. A Gu got me from #12 to #16 and my accuracy improved. The physical leg to #20 took what I had left out of me. I walked practically the rest of the way in. I thought I was hearing voices leaving #20 but a second noise indicated to me that it was my stomach growling. I ran my knee into the spike of a branch and was so tired, that I just registerd the experience and trudged on. I had to take a break walking up a hill to finish leg #21 and got there just as volunteers were picking up the control. I started staggering on the way to #22, sweating profusely, not thinking well but still able to navigate. It helped that I did the control the last night--I spiked it from perhaps a tougher but more direct approach. Walking across the field to the finish I was grateful after the effort that Mike Brooks and Valarie left out a finish punch for me well past the official close time. I was the last person on the course.

Max wanted to be held but that would have been dangerous as I staggered to the download and then the car. Peggy held water for me like she does feeding Max. A Smartzone bar (a QOC sponsor) I had at the car never tasted sooo good. I got some food in me as soon as we left. After a nap, I had a big dinner and kept getting hungry till 11pm. Leg cramps were bad afterward too (Peggy had to drive us home and it was a good thing that she did). I had wanted to do the runs this weekend partly to see how I'd hold up to the Flying Pig next weekend and found that I'm not there yet. At least the courses will be shorter.

C • Not a SmartZone Bar!! 2

Blue - Splits