Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: QOC Rosaryville
 

QOC: Rosaryville State Park, MD. It had been a while since I last ran at Rosaryville. It's the park where Peggy and I got married. I only ran the Green course today since I didn't want to further aggravate my pulled right calf. Overnight, the ball of my left foot was hurting but neither the ball of my foot nor my hurt calf were really bothering me today. I took it a little easier when going uphill and when pushing off for jumps. Getting to the meet site with only a few minutes before the starts closed, my only warm-up was about a 100m jog from the assembly area to the actual start. A big warm-up wasn't needed, unlike in Patapsco a few weeks back in cold rain; it was sunny and the temperature when I finished at Rosaryville was 84 F.

S-1 - I moved okay but didn't feel fast going over the first hill, and around the green on the left side. The second green seemed to me to have gotten extended but I went around it and right to the control. There was some mashed down grass much of the way.

1-2 - I ran the field to the trail, and saw the photographer. I didn't realize until after the event that it was course setter Kenny Walker, Jr. I kept going and soon caught Mark Mace. He cheered me on by also seemed to pickup the pace behind me. I slowed a little early but took off again when I saw the control on the rise ahead.

2-3 - I wanted to cross early since I figured it'd just get harder downstream. I ran along the stream, but not too close to it. I cut upward when I saw the hill contours ahead.

3-4 - I climbed to the trails but didn't cut left to the lower one; I probably should have gone lower but I didn't lose much time getting to the power lines. I dropped to the creek in the powerline ride but cut right before crossing it. I saw the trail cutting across the stream and used that. Peggy was in the area and coming from a different direction. I took the diagonal trail to the ridge, the dropped down to the gullied creek. I followed the spur up to the saddle. Jan Merka and his dog Benny were approaching it at about the same time.

4-5 - I reasoned that the woods weren't so fast so I left #4 heading west, not NW. It took a long time to find a trail and once on one, it didn't seem like the one I thought it'd be. When I came upon a horse jump, I couldn't find it on the map, but I guessed where I was and left the trail on bearing. I ended up on a spur but it was the one to the east of the spur with the actual control. Fortunately I figured this out w/o too much loss of time--perhaps 2 minutes.

Leaving #5 to get to #6, I ran straight and hit the trail intersection. After that, I followed the edge of the green to the control.

For #7, I ran the low route, left of the line, to the control. Doing this, I skirted the left side around a rootstock right next to the stream--I wasn't sure if it was mapped. Once to the road, I rounded the lake, hopping over the stream on the NE side, as close to the lake as I could. I angled up but realized I was too far left. Without seeing the control, I corrected and spiked it.

7-8 - I ran a little left of straight, going over the ridge and spiking the control.

8-9 - Initially I stayed low, off of the ridge, until I got around the green and the first trail. I followed the ridge and detoured a little left before the next hilltop. At the trail crossing, I realized that I needed to cut right, and did so to spike the control.

9-10 - I ran straight. I was a little hesitant at the trail intersections but I read them correctly and soon saw the control.

10-11 - I thought the low rout to the left would take me up and down more so I went straight initially. After hitting the trail at the bend I followed it as it curved to an intersection. Cutting left, I stayed on it until the woods opened up enough for me to go over the ridge. After that, I cut into the field and ran diagonally across that. As I was approaching the Go control on the horse jump, 3 horse riders were hovering off to the right, apparently waiting for me to go past. Gary Smith was coming to the control from the south.

11-F - I could see Peggy ahead but I wasn't able to catch her. I also didn't think it would be good to try since I'd be likely to injure myself more. Ken Walker Jr. was taking pictures again though I still didn't recognize him.

Green - Splits

I was out doing course planning and streamering for an event. Like last weekend, the woods were open and enjoyable. Before I got out, I got rather frustrated with some false starts. I kept forgetting things. I got to the park and got my o-shoes (running without them last week, I was slipping on leaves a lot) on only to discover that I'd left my streamer roll in another bag at home. To make the most of the day, I had to drive 20+ minutes away, to a Home Depot (making some unplanned detours along the way), and then come back. When I was ready again, I got down the first big hill and partway up the next before realizing that I'd left my glasses in the van. Back I went again, cursing but trying to be calm too. I think all of the lack of concentration had to do with lack of sleep this week and working too much.

Once finally out for good, I calmed down. I could actually run for a while. I had less in my hydration pack and the o-shoes helped. The hill climbs aggravated my right calf but I never wrenched it. It just got more sore as I got more tired so I walked a lot toward the end. Though the woods were good, eventually I did get into some areas with more green to navigate through. It was rather minimal compared to other places I've been and none of what I went through was thorny; usually just some areas of deadfall. The temperatures were in the 70s F. An ultra-marathon was going on and there were lots of faces with pain in them whenever I came across people on the trail. I cheered and they inspired me. Toward the end of my efforts, I came across 2 deer skulls and a turtle shell which was enough to clue me in to call it a day. At home, I weighed-out at 179 lbs.

Leawood, KS. From 119th St. the Tomohawk Trail southward to Hawthorne Park, and back. Work had been busy and I was working on presentations the last 2 evenings. I got to the park and felt okay for the first 0.3 miles. My right calf started feeling tighter again so I slowed for a while. As the paved trail along the creek and through the suburbs flattened a little, I moved my pace back up as I was getting around another runner, and the pain had gone. The calf does seem to hurt more when going uphill. As I turned around, I was spured on again as another runner whome I had just passed going the other way was, suddenly ahead of me. He was older looking and visually seemed to be running not so fast. It still took me some time to catch-up and pass him. I didn't really have a sense of my pace but the next mile I had completed was about a minute faster than the first. Near the end, the pain started returning so I slowed the last couple hundred meters. After finishing, I was back to limping around so going a little shorter would have been better.

Overland Park, KS. From Metcalf Frontage Rd., to 105th St., to Barkley, to 103rd St., and the Indian Creek Trail, to Antioch Rd., and back. The best way to shake off a 1,000 mile (almost exactly as the butterfly flies) trip is with a run. I'm glad I took the time away from work for it. It was partly cloudy and in the low 60's F--much better than the rain at home. I ran in shorts and a t-shirt. I started out feeling pretty good and running an 8:04 min/mile pace that wasn't challenging. There were some short steep hills on the route and some longer gradual ones. A little past 1.6 miles out, my calf started hurting more. I should have turned around there but wanted to get to a better landmark and also to go further on the trail. The last time I went up this part of the Indian Creek Trail, it was blocked-off for highway I-435 construction. I think it's the only part of the trail that I hadn't run fully because it didn't exist before. I didn't connect to the parts I'd run before but got close. On the return trip, I slowed more to avoid straining the pulled calf more. I favored my left leg on climbs and went downhill gingerly. I needed a bathroom for a ways, and I stretched at the end.