Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: QOC Balls Bluff
 

QOC: Balls Bluff, VA. I went out steadily and was reading the map well through the first 13 controls. I hadn't orienteered at this park in a long while. Starting at the southern end from Edwards Pavillion was nice. The contours had nice detail and the hills, though significant, weren't too big. The course was set very nicely. I had almost caught Charles Carrick at control #3 but mostly chased him through #8. He'd pause more than I did partly because he was ahead but I think I was reading the map better and deciding quicker too. I passed him on the way to #10. At the end of the butterfly loop at #11, I saw Peggy and asked her what course she was on since she came in from an unexpected way. It turned out that I was just catching her at #11. I led to #12 and #13, spiking these pretty much as all the rest (with about 2 times of being a little off target by 20-30m).

Going to #14 it seemed like I was pulling ahead of Peggy and Charles. I wasn't feeling strong at all. It turned out that they took a different route. After reaching the field using the trail on the right, I angled across but got confused by the edges. I also went pretty close to a cemetary with a wall around it and the wall wasn't on the map. I concluded that I needed to continue across and drop down. As I did, Peggy and Charles emerged running along a trail. I had half a thought to follow them but decided to stick to my navigation. I hit a reentrant that looked right but there were a lot of what I thought were unmapped cliffs there. It was very steep and slow to move along the sides so I dropped down to figure out if I was in one reentrant over. The bottom was green and wet and I kept seeing more cliffs. I climbed and dropped again, then made my way back to the field. When wandering, my energy gets sapped. I felt the warm air and the humidity. From the field, I finally figured out that the cemetary was mapped with open (not rough open) ground and that the wall there wasn't mapped. I proceeded from there directly to the control but lost a lot of time and energy.

Going to the next control feeling tired, I decided not to go up and then along the hillside. I tried contouring over but even that was steep and slow. The very bottom was too narrow, green, and wet. I thought I'd counted reentrants okay but I ended up turning up one reentrant too soon, to the wrong control. I must not have been thinking that well at that point, probably due to fatigue. I didn't check the code as I had been doing on most of the other controls so I didn't realize that I'd mis-punched #15.

My mispunch at #15 meant that I started from a place different from where I thought I was. I angled across the hillside, eventually dropping down to cross the reentrant. Other people were searching there and it had a shape similar to what I was expecting. I climbed the hill ran back along it, and searched without success. Because I'd seen unmapped trails in the butterfly loop, I didn't think much of the trails that I was seeing--I was kind of confident that I was on the right hill but I was wrong. I should have realized it when some younger teens appeared to be following the trails but I let that slide for a while. The climbing and searching further sapped my energy and I eventually left on the trail to proceed and spike the rest of the leg to #16 (with my big error), on the next hill.

Finishing-up the course, I was wish-washy going to #17. I didn't stick with my plan of going the the left. Instead, I took a straighter path that went over an extra hill or 2 and was closer to the neighborhood houses. I caught Gary Smith and Lydia, then some other younger kids. I was moving rather slowly but spiked the rest of the controls. I was surprised to see Lydia approaching the Go control as I was leaving it but that's how tired I was. AP shows errors for the last 2 controls but I was just moving slowly. I guess the bicycling to work for the first time this year, the field checking on Saturday, the errors, and the heat were just more than I was ready for. I still had fun.

Red - Splits

Seneca Creek State Park, Lake Clopper Area, MD. I started from Thurgood Marshall Elementary School. Most of the forest around that school is quite nice and not very hilly. Following the stream along the Smokey Glen Barbequers property, I started mapping some nice rocks. Unfortunately the bulk of the rock was just over the property boundary. I tried to make up for the loss by mapping the many rootstocks, and ditches, and maybe we'll get permission to use the Smokey Glen grounds.

Bike-to-Work-Day. From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to the corner of Bethesda Ave. and Woodmont Ave., then to 12th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was 55 F, still cooler than earlier in the week and the week before. With this being the first time I rode all the way into work since around November, and all of the things that had happened in between, I felt a need to pace myself. I did okay. I felt weak on my right leg. I steadily passed other riders, albeit much more slowly than I recall having done. Only one went past me and he didn't blow by. There were a lot of cyclist out; just about all of the time, someone was nearby. Even on Ohio Dr., where the bikes thinned-out, there was a lot of bus traffic. There were some headwinds too but with riding slower they overall weren't bad.

From 13th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C., to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I started out well and enjoyed the tailwind. There was a lot of traffic on Water St. in Georgetown. I steadily passed people though on the hill approaching River Rd., I got passed back by one guy. I kept the pace moderate and was surprised to ride as well as I did.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd. It was breezy. I was carrying dinner home and riding with one hand.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Northfield Rd. It was windy out.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Northfield Rd.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station. It was a nice morning but I wasn't ready to ride all the way into DC.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd.