Training Log Archive: Nadim

Chattahoochee Bend State Park, GA. Warm-up before the US Individual Middle Distance Championships.

US Individual Middle Orienteering Championships. Running late in the line-up, I had a chance to place in the M50+ category. However, I got off to a slow start and fumbled for a while. with 15-30 second errors. On #5, I came off the bare rock in the right area but turned downhill before going back up and finding hte control. That cost a minute and I still wasn't feeling confidence in my use of the map. I got lazy going to #6. My plan was to stay out of the rock by using the ridge above them. I was going to come off the top and follow rocks into the control. However, I ran on the side of the ridge to save distance. Thinking I could see the top, I came off the top too early. I hunted quickly in the wrong set of rocks after wondering why there was a reentrant after the last one in the first set. I was starting to get tired before I cut the loss by going back to the top, all the way, and getting into the right set. I found it from there without much trouble. AP tells me that I lost 7 minutes on this leg alone. After this, I was more cautious but the terrain was nicer too. I still made some smaller errors. I continue to need to work at route planning when in races--this much was clear after Saturday and today. It was a fun weekend of racing. There were good challenges all around from the M50+ crowd and we all had some bright spots.

Middle - Green X - Splits

Warmup for the US Individual Long Championships, Chattahoochee Bend State Park, GA, hosted by GOC. I looped the parking lot and ran out to the start twice.

US Individual Long Championships, Chattahoochee Bend State Park, GA, hosted by GAOC. I ran okay starting earlier than other competitors. I like running flat courses like this one but couldn't open up my running in a lot of places. The light green woods in the first loop kept me side stepping, stepping in holes that made me fall, getting caught up in vines, and some slow spots crossing marshes. If I'd taken the nicer routes that others saw, these troubles could have been avoided. I got too far to the right on #1 and lost close to 2 minutes correcting. On #5, I got drawn up one spur too early. For another minute or 2, after already getting caught up in the marsh. I paused a control too early on the way to #8. I missed seeing the nice trail route to #11 and at the same time, aimed off to the left too much. That probably cost me another minute. The rest were executed pretty well. I just would have liked to run faster across more open ground. I was the first M50+ finisher but about 2 minutes later Joe Brautigam finished injured and over 12 minutes faster than me. Overall, I finished 4th in the class with Andras Revesz 15 seconds ahead.

Long - Green X - Splits

Event: US Individual Championships (Sprint/Middle/Long/Trail)
 

US Individual Sprint Championships, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA, hosted by GAOC. Running steady through most of the race, I traded speed for fewer errors. I took a less risky route on the long 11-12 leg. I could of saved some seconds in more than one place where I didn't make errors too but this was mostly about safety and pacing. Besides making errors in races where I run too fast, I make some poor decisions too. Somehow, I managed to stay calm enough and place 3rd in M50+. See the Split List for leg comments. This was a nice campus and venue for a sprint. The GAOC did well hosting.

University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA. Warming up around the tennis courts near Love Valley, I thought I had about 12 more minutes before the US Individual Sprint Championships, hosted by Georgia Orienteering Club. As I finished a first slow loop not feeling so energetic, I heard Peggy calling my name. It turned out that my start time was 10 minutes earlier than I'd thought. I missed it by not much more than 30 seconds.

Sprint - Green - Splits

From Northfield Rd. To Bethesda Ave. and back. I rode into town for lunch. There was a headwind coming back and my gears need adjustment again.

From Northfield Rd. Charlcotte, Rd. to Hampden Ln., to Wilson Ln. to Radnr Rd. to Brite Rd. to Bradley Blvd. to Burling Rd. to Cornish Rd. to Glenbrook Rd. to Elm St. to Clarendon Rd. to Hampden Ln. to Beverly Rd. to Edgemoor Ln. to Arlington Rd. to Moorland Ln. Teleworking from home today after getting Max to work, I still managed to work late. I squeezed in this short run on the way to see Max play soccer again. It was supposed to be about 50 F but with a steady dry breeze it felt rather much colder. My legs felt pretty good with a mostly just being lazy extra day off. I had been at work late and later upgrading to Windows 7 late into the night.

From the Bethesda Metro station to Northfield Rd. There was a headwind.

From Northfield Rd. to the Bethesda Metro Station. There was a tailwind and it was in the 50s F. I would have liked to ride all the way to work but time constraints and predicted weather steered me away from that plan.