Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: QOC McKeldin
 

QOC at McKeldin. Since Peggy was out of town, I was very fortunate to be able to switch-off child care duties with the Merka's. I went out first but it was already getting warm. At first I felt okay but not particularly strong. I kept hoping for a restroom to be on a course leg and finally had to make a stop in the woods going to #9 for at least about a 1:00 loss. Leaving #10, I read the map wrong and headed as if from #11 to #12. Looking at splits this only lost me about 3:40 but I would have estimated 4:00. I ran conservatively on long legs opting to go longer or stay on trails because it was getting hotter and I was getting more tired. I think I saw Ted Good catching up on the way to #15 but by #17 where he actually did pass me, he seemed to be going to #1. I lost about a minute at #17 by running over top of it--I must have misread the map a bit because I was expecting it to be right of where it was. Finishing-up I was just struggling to keep moving. I ran the Go leg straight and was a little motivated to climb anaerobically on the steep grade by a group of people that I'd just passed. Had I read the leg closer I might have gone to the right more. Most of my navigation was okay during this race but the area is relatively easy and I've been here a bunch. I somehow managed to injur my right knee and didn't know it until I'd gotten home. Lateral movement is affected and it's felt on the right side below then knee when going down stairs--probably ligament related.

Blue - Splits

Prince William Forest. Vetting some areas with Max. He started out okay but I had to carry him on a somewhat more difficult to traverse leg. He didn't like the spiderwebs which are common for August in the D.C. area.

45 situps. With Peggy on a quilting retreat, I only had time to get back from work to pickup Max from the day care. He and I walked around Bethesda a bit visiting the fountains and some stores--quite far I think for his age.

From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to C. St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was warmer, more humid and I had headwinds. I decided to dog it in (22mph down the hill and about 20mph on the flats) and luckily wasn't tempted to push harder by anyone passing me. I still was surprised that I got in as quickly as I did. I've biked 816 miles so far this year and feel good about it because it's more than I did all of last year--another sign of how times have changed. Around 1997, I did over 800 miles in just 8 days over the hardest mountains around here that I could find, and thought I could have done more.

From C. St., NW, Washington, D.C. to Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD. I had the happy winds of fortune to ride home with again however the angle wasn't quite as beneficial; sometimes I felt like I was fighting it. I did try to take it easier too. Since Peggy was to walk Max home, I didn't need to take the now usual route to his day care. Instead I rode my old usual and more direct route through Bethesda at the end. Though I took it relatively easy compared with yesterday, I still had to work at times. Finishing just under 40 minutes on this more direct route used to be automatically achievable two years ago, especially with a tailwind.

From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to C. St. SW, Washington, D.C. I could feel the cooler air getting to Max's daycare. On the CCT I had fast company after catching-up to some other guys. Three or so of us traded pulls to Georgetown doing 24-26mph down the hill and 22-23mph on the flats. At one point on the hill we almost came to a too sudden stop as we came to a fallen branch blocking most of the trail. After Georgetown I kept a steady but a little slower ride the rest of the way and noted a slight tailwind along the water.

From C. St., NW, Washington, D.C. to Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD. My lunchtime walk across The Mall brought a smile. The flags on the Washington Monument were standing on end showing that the winds had changed since the morning and were blowing north fairly strongly. As I got off work and headed home, the wind and direction was just fine. On Ohio Dr. my eye caught some bright movement over the Potomac River. It was sort of the beginnings of a small water spout--spray was funneling upward for about 10 seconds. On the CCT, I picked up a drafter as I went up the hill at around 18mph. I passed a guy on a track bike who eventually passed me on the River Rd. overpass; I caught him again just before he pulled off at Falls Rd. I reached the daycare at 36:40, surely one of my fastest times this year. On the last leg home with the empty trailer in tow I finished in just over 5 minutes. This was despite having to come to almost a complete stop on the trail. I saw a small blond boy and a mother who looked to be Max and Peggy from far away. It wasn't them. The boy's mother was on cell phone absent mindedly pushing a stroller as her son walked in the middle of the trail well behind her even though bikes were coming in both directions. Lately, a lot of people either enter the trail without looking or like the woman with her son, seem oblivious that others are sharing the trail too.

From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to C. St. SW, Washington, D.C. I was up late doing some paperwork and almost decided not to ride in when I woke up late. I cruised to Fletchertown Boathouse but it felt like slight headwinds getting to Georgetown. Later along the water I had a slight tailwind.

From C. St., NW, Washington, D.C. to Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD. As is often the case lately, I had some steady head winds getting to Georgetown. Before I got there, I merged right behind another rider and tailed him somewhat slowly to Water Street. We traded some drafts until past the trestle bridge but he was too fast for me and perhaps carrying less more aerodynamically than my panniers. We had been going up to 23mph on the flats. I didn't feel like pushing hard all the way back just to keep up. I kept up a decent pace after letting him and one other guy go ahead but cooled it a bit toward the end and after picking up Max's trailer.

From Rosedale Ave., the Georgetown Branch Trail to Beach Dr., into Washington D.C. to the famed Boulder Bridge, and back. Winds were from the south. It was odd that going downhill to the south took more work than returning uphill did. Max's trailer catches a lot of wind but Peggy felt it too. It was nice and cool in the shade. On the way back we stopped for lunch at Einstein's Bagels and by sheer luck we were able to join Mary Beth from MCRRC.

C • "Nana Beth" 1