Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: QOC Patuxent River Trail 10K
 

Event: Seneca Creek Greenway Trail Marathon & 50 k
 

Patuxent River Park, MD. I played photographer today for the QOC Patuxent River Trail 10K. In doing so, I took 727 images. It started out in the upper 20s or about 30 F so at one point it appeared that my battery ran dead. After a few minutes, I tried it again and was able to keep shooting with it; the warning signal just kept flashing but I finished. After photographing the race, I went and ran most of the course and did a little more. It was 35 F when I was done but I was cold starting out. During the first mile, I felt rather strong. My quads didn't hurt any more and my legs felt light. However, very suddenly at around the 1 mile point, the soreness in my quads came back. I kept running mostly though I did find some stray streamers (from the race) on the course and I pulled them. Dave Linthicum had also asked me to move a sign that had been left out from the NJROTC event a couple of weeks ago so that was another small detour. I was pretty slow on hills whether they be up or down. On the flat Riverside Field at the end, I added on, I ran well, and I scared the geese.

It was Bethesda Elementary day the the Cabin John Ice Rink. Max bounced around with his friends a lot but seemed to get cold. He doesn't seem to think he should admit such things. I didn't feel like skating and the first 5 minutes were just awkward. After some minor skate adjustments I felt much better. I got moving and sometimes sweaty; I took breaks. Peggy cruised around at a steadier pace. We saw Ken Walker, Jr. and his daughter Samantha. A surprise was seeing Diana Todd--she was there to play hockey after we left. She'd said she'd learned and joined a league 2 year ago. It could have been orienteer day at the ice rink.

From Northfield Rd. to Arlington Ave., with Max, then to the Bethesda Metro Station. I hadn't pumped my tires in a while and what rushed when I left. It felt like I was bottoming-out sometimes.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Northfield Rd. with Max's bicycle, then to Charlcotte Rd. to pickup Max from a friend's house. He rode his bicycle back with me in the dark.

From Northfield Rd., Hampden Ln., to Wilson Ln., to Honeywell Ln. to Elm St., to Beverly Rd., to Clarendon Rd., to Del Ray Ave., to Norfolk Ave., to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to Maple Ridge Rd., to Old Georgetown Rd., to Huntington Pkwy., to Custer Rd. I felt awful, from the start and only got marginally better. It was a long month but I made my 100 mile goal. This was despite 9 days of no running while sick and having a few rest days. I didn't count orienteering or other training.

Starting on the Rock Creek Trail near the synagogue parking lot near East-West Hwy., I ran up the Rock Creek Trail to Cedar Ln, then back. I was aiming for just 6 miles today but I knew Cedar Ln. wasn't far ahead after 3 on the way out. My quads continue to feel sore and shot but I have some easier days coming up. There was mud and standing water in places that was hard to see in the dark. It slowed me a few times. I saw no cyclists and only one other pedestrian walking his dogs. It was in the upper 40s F.

From Northfield Rd., Greenwich Park, to Old Georgetown Rd. to Beech Dr. to to Singleton Dr. to Bulls Run Pkwy., to the trail along the school to Bradmore Dr. to Folkstone Rd. to Hartsdale Ave. to Heampstead Ave. to McKinley St. to Garfield St., to Roosevelt St., to the trail at Jefferson St. to Northfield Rd. It was about 46 F; I went out after the heavy rain was finished but there was still a light and misty rain falling with some wind in places. I just went out for an easy run and was motivated to reach a mileage goal for the month--I'd gotten behind when I was sick. Running tonight will make it easier to reach the goal with just 2 days left. The rain was somewhat refreshing as it blew on my face. I moved okay but clearly was tired in my quads from the run yesterday. In my Goretex suit, I got fairly sweaty and my legs were sticking at the knees.

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.

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