Training Log Archive: Nadim

From 12th and Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C. 15th Street to the Jefferson Memorial, across the 14th Street Bridge, up the Mt. Vernon Trail to the Key Bridge, down to the C&O Towpath, to the Capital Crescent Trail (CCT) at Fletcher's Boathouse, to Woodmont Ave. to Edgemoor Ln near the Bethesda Metro Station. I started today with a fair amount of trepidation. I had been avoiding the run back to Bethesda with all the recently bad weather but with it being a sunny, nice day (upper 40s F starting out) and needing some milege to make up my deficit from being sick, I set out on it. Since I needed miles, I decided to extend the more direct route by crossing into Virginia first; extending it was perhaps going overboard. I didn't feel very strong after the long orienteering race yesterday. I did feel that I was going a little slowly for the first few miles. The 14th Street Bridge and Mt. Vernon Trail were busy with cycling commuters. Once I got back over the river on the towpath, I took off my gloves and soon started feeling better. It may have just been the darkness setting in, and not seeing how slowly I was going. On the paved CCT, I moved better yet. Once again there were lots of cyclists coming in waves. My flashing orange jacket drew praise from one of the cyclists and I was going only marginally slower than him heading up the hill. After the MacArthur Blvd. tunnel and Dalecarlia, I started slowing more. It was getting colder and I was stiffening-up a lot. The last mile wasn't much fun; I felt like I was mashing my feet into the ground with each step. Upon finishing I stretched for a while and was still cold a while after getting home.

Event: QOC Turkey Run Ridge PWFP
 

QOC: Prince William Forest, at Turkey Run. I forced myself through a bit of a warm-up mostly doing loops around the group camping road. It helped but I did get a bit delayed afterward talking to people before I started to race.

QOC: Prince William Forest, at Turkey Run. I had some good hopes with the open woods and feeling physically better than most of the recent days. It all started right with spiking #1, a relatively easy control across a sizeable reentrant, and over the next ridge. I was a little willy-nilly leaving #1, angling toward the road wherever the running looked best. I thought a little about staying on the road longer but the green on the route going that way looked best to be avoided. I ran a good tempo pace and read my way across pretty well up to the end. I didn't commit or aim off so coming to the edge of the reentrant with the control, I went along it a short way before dropping. I expected to see the control and didn't. I went further down before pausing and coming back up for a 2 minute loss. "Well, ", I thought, "2 minutes isn't insurmountable. I'd just better plan attacks better." I went straightish toward #3, crossing a reentrant and going over a hill that didn't look worth going around. Hitting the creek, I knew instantly that the area hadn't been field checked on the other side. Okay, I figured the contours would be enough since I knew exactly where I was at a stream junction, and had only 200 more meters. I rounded what would have been a distinct vegetation boundary, and spiked #3.

Going straight toward #4, I hit the flat ground and had second thoughts. I decided to go around a hill and come up a reentrant. Instead, I somehow passed the reentrant and fumbled through some deadfall. I turned around when I hit a reentrant and didn't find the control where I thought it'd be. The reentrant wasn't aligning with where I thought I was, despite seeing a cliff in it like the one I thought I should be in. Correcting the error, I returned almost to the flat area, tried to go through the correct reentrant, was forced to climb, and eventually due to vegetation, I had to back-door the control. That was depressing.

Going to #5 was better. I went through the field which was the finish of Day 2 of the 2007 US Champs that I directed and was a vetter for--it was funny going through there since I hadn't been back in a long time. I used the road in the campground and spiked the relatively easy control. I took off straight without a good plan since there were some people sitting at #5, and I tried to figure out a plan as I ran. Seeing the shape of the green in front of me, I decided it being worth going around to the right. I crossed a couple of reentrants and campground areas, then ran along the main creek until I found a good crossing. Fortunately it was right at where the reentrant on the other side leading to #6 was. I climbed at a run most of the way and spiked it. It was starting to feel good spiking controls again and the last leg was not a simple one. I ran to #7 spiking it too. I had kept trying to stay high to avoid climb but deadfall there kept forcing me back down and giving me an S-curve route.

Going to #8, I went straight initially, planning to cross the paved road and leave the Burma Rd. from the creek crossing. I ended up keeping straight when I got to the Burma Rd. since I could see the creek crossing ahead. I crossed the creek and ran up a spur on the other side in what would otherwise be some vague terrain. Feeling on track, I got to a saddle and attacked. My attack must have been a hair short and off to the left. I kept going unsure of how far I'd gone and eventually got to where I could see the Blacktop Rd. I turned around from there, and went on the other side of a small patch of green, kept going a little more and found it--that was at least 2-3 more minutes lost. Going to #9, I ran left at first as the vegetation pushed me that way, then I corrected a bit. I hit the stream right at the knoll so I had only to climb the side of it to the control.

I was rather frustrated with myself on leg #10. I went straight, got through some thorny and light deadfall vegetation on a ridge. I was expecting a spur since the control circle was hiding a lot of the of the contour of the knoll the control was on. Having gotten to the end of the ridge, I returned the way I had come but a little lower on the north side. I still didn't see the control. I saw Victor Lin on the thorny ridge above doing what I had done. Eventually, still not having found the spur, I hit the road and relocated my position. I went back across the thorny ridge a 3rd time, saw the knoll on the map and in the field this time and punched. That was 10 minutes or so of lost time that I could have really done without.

The woods were more open the last 4 controls and I spiked all of them. I had also picked-up my pace. I went almost straight at #11. I went almost straight toward #12 but did adjust for the hills a little. After crossing the creek, I ran straight toward a wall of a ridge so I cut left, losing a slight amount of time--there was unmapped deadfall on this higher route that forced me back down toward the creek. I followed the right stream from the junction and walked in the last bit unsure if I'd gone far enough. After punching, I saw Tom Strat coming from higher in the reentrant--he'd made his only mistake on the course there. I again ran fairly straight toward #13. I crossed the reentrant near the end and went over the small ridge to save time. A younger guy had just left before I got there. Going to #14, I chased down the younger guy who seemed less sure of where he was going--we both chose to go around the first ridge by heading to the paved road. I passed the younger guy when he stopped just before the road. I ran across the flat and open woods, took the trail, climbed a reentrant, and dropped to the other side of the ridge onto the control. Some AR guy was just leaving before I got there. I chased him up the valley and up a steep reentrant. I gained ground but was just short of passing him to the finish.

I ran well today so I can take that back as a positive for the day that was otherwise disappointing. I probably should have slowed down to read the map more carefully at times. Unlike last week when I was calm and I spiked nearly everything, I felt like I needed to push on to make up for errors a lot today. As usual, that didn't help much and probably hurt me more.

C • interesting comments 13

Blue - Splits

From Carderock, the C&O Canal Towpath to Angler's Towpath (Berma Rd.), to the bridge at the start of the Billygoat Trail Section A, then back to Carderock on the C&O Towpath. I just wanted an easy run and remembered this scenic one that I did last November. I wasn't as fast and was a little sore in my quads from the run the previous evening. At the first bridge over the canal, I was 5:27--slower than last fall, and I knew it. I wasn't pushing. Rain from last night and this morning made a few damp and slightly muddy spots. My knees didn't bother me on the softer ground. I thought I was slowing-up the last few miles but I was actually speeding up. I wasn't going that fast which can be judged by the splits as much as the fact that the mud splash pattern only got up to my calves, but not my butt or hamstring area. The temperature was in the mid-40s F and I was overdressed. I sweat a lot.

From Northfield Rd., to Charlcotte Rd., to Moorland Ln., to Lambeth Rd., to Custer Rd. to Wilson Ln. to Glenbrook Rd. to Bradley Blvd. to Kennedy Dr. to Dorset Dr. to the Capital Crescent Trail to the Little Falls Trail, to Massachusetts Ave. to the Capital Crescent Trail to Bradley Blvd. to Glenbrook Rd. to Wilson Ln. to Custer Rd. to Huntington Pkwy., to Moorland Ln, to Charlcotte Rd., to Moorland Ln., to Custer Rd., to Northfield Rd. I practiced a new sort of eat, run, socializing. Immediately after dinner, Max and I ran over to a friend's house where Max stayed to work on a science project. I continued running from there. It was a gloomy night; in the mid to low 30s F with some mist and damp pavement. At least the rain had stopped. I felt the best I had while running for several days. my quads were still a little sore. After retuning for Max, we ran home. He wanted to beat me there just as he. Had tried in the way over. Max can run pretty quickly for a short while. I slowed when he ran out of breath but Max pushed on.

45 Situps. I felt stronger during the daytime just walking around--the sinus illness bothering me earlier in the week mus have abated. I was a bit tired after work at home. Since it was cold and rainy, and since my knee were aching, I decided that rest would be better than a planned run.

From 14th & Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C. Independence Ave. to the Reflecting Pool, to the Lincoln Memorial, to the Rock Creek Trail, through the tunnel near the zoo, to Tilden St., to Connecticutt Ave. to the Van Ness/UDC Metro Station. I had hopes of running back to Bethesda today but still feeling weak (rare sinus pain all morning today) and with difficult weather outside, I knew before starting that I'd need to do something else. My legs were tired and sore from the run on Sunday. However the wind was the bigger impediment. It was steadily blowing from the NW (a headwind) at 20mph with more intense blow up to 30mph. I fel like I was running up a steep hill. It was cold too--28 F by the time I was done. I'm glad I had my Goretex jacket but even that wasn't necessarily enough. My pace was slow right from the beginning. One guy went crusing ahead of me after starting together at the traffic light at 17th Street. He was wearing shorts and got to the Lincoln Memorial a full minute ahead of me (only about half a mile) I figured he was doing intervals because he stopped. I was still a minute slower than usual after the first mile. The next mile was perhaps worse with stronger winds and little protection along the Potomac River. People running the other direction seemed lightly dressed and were flying along with a tailwind. Commuting cyclists going my way put their heads down. After passing the Kennedy Center, one young woman going the other direction rather surprised me. Not only was she in shorts but had on just a tank top and shear nylon stockings. She was running well. Well enough to have blown past me after she turned around probably at the Kennedy Center--that was deflating but then again, she hadn't struggled going into the wind for the 2 miles that I had. As I got into the shelter of the Rock Creek stream valley, my pace improved and I kept a closer pace to the woman who I could see far ahead. The rest was mostly a slog; a struggle to keep moving and not slow too much. The car lights were distracting but I did see my moon shadow some more. I was somewhat cold by the time I made it up the steep hill to UDC. I did some stretching but I was getting too cold in the wind (renewed once out of the valley) to do it well or for very long.

A run would have been okay but I'm having a relapse of being sick and it cold/wet outside I was tired and cold all day. Instead, I did some spinning and watched a movie. I geared down a bit.