Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: QOC Clopper Lake
 

West Point A-Meet at Harriman State Park, NY. I ran and sometimes walked from Lake Welch to the start on the Jackie Jones map. I was surprised to be able to see the Hudson River as I got near the end.

West Point A-Meet at Harriman State Park, NY. Racing on the Jackie Jones map, I did pretty well. I hit the crucial controls without losing much time. I guess I was moving slowly enough to be reading the map well. One error I did have was after leaving control #7. Early in that leg, I got to thinking I was running the leg to #7 again. I soon realized it, but I was shaky about knowing where I was at that point. Fortunately, my route correction allowed me to hit the reentrant before #8 very well. I stumbled a little more by taking time to get to the control--after checking the reentrant I got onto the spur and eventually found others on the far side. I left #8 a little wrong, so I got into some vegetation. Upon backing out, I ran to the big trail and ran along the bottom of the ridge before climbing. Had I been stronger, this would have been a great route for me, but I could only climb slowly. Others had faster splits going on an intermittent trail that I hadn't seen. Finishing-up, I had caught a young woman at #11. I got ahead of her and climbed the hill that was on the way. After descending I slowed, since I couldn't see the control. The young woman passed and led me around the fence. She was a few steps ahead after I punched. I gained on and passed her during the run-in on the sand. I guess I slowed again a little as she caught me. The West Point announcer made a big deal of it all, as he was doing for others, saying it was something like a photo finish. I was just happy to find out that I did pretty well on the course. I had set out the weekend to mostly have fun and I besides getting second in +M55, I accomplished that. It was all the more rewarding with the terrain being more technical than I usually get to race in--I've made so many large errors on trips up north before.

Sunday - Green Y - Splits

Event: West Point National Meet
 

West Point, NY, Camp Bruckner. After getting Max to the start of the White courses, I headed off toward the Advanced courses

West Point, NY, Camp Bruckner. I ran the Green course. A light rain fell part of the time. I was finding the controls pretty well. I made a slow route choice going high to #5 but I was able to catch David Yee on that leg. Catching him was what probably got me to making a terrible mistake on a very short leg to #6. I must have read the map upside down and didn't focus enough--instead of running a short way to a boulder near a saddle, I ran almost straight down. When I saw a road coming up, I stopped and realized what I'd done. I had cursed and found energy to run back up most of the way. I spiked #6 after this initial error. For #7, I was efficient and when I got there, I saw David Yee trying to figure out a route to #8. My route came back right past #6 and #5. I hit the road before the bend and cut across. As I kept going, I stayed on the road until a road intersection. I ran on the control side of the marsh from there and that running was rather nice. As I finished, I slowly gained on, and passed others.

Saturday - Green Y - Splits

Seneca Creek State Park, MD. From Riffleford Rd., I hauled water and a bunch of controls through a loop. It was heavy at first and it got warmer as I went on--it hit the 80s F. That just made me feel slower. I found some things that could be updated on the map, including some boulders in and along a powerline ride. I streamered part of a finish for the White course too, before running out of streamers.

Seneca Creek State Park, MD. From Riffleford Rd., I set a small loop on mostly flat land.

Seneca Creek State Park, MD. From Riffleford Rd., I set my last loop after drinking a bit. That made me feel better but what made me fee the best was an approaching thunderstorm. The storm kicked-up a breeze and dropped temperatures. I rushed to lay out the last controls before it caught me but there was no way to beat it. As thunderstorms go, it was relatively mild and didn't last long. The batter on my watch didn't last the whole time either since my daughter had unplugged the charger that I had connected it to. After this, and off the clock, I put out water.

Mark Mace had agreed to finsh-off the controls and water placement for me on the morning of the event. That allowed me to drive off to NY for the West Point A-meet.

From Northfield Rd., to Norfolk Ave. for lunch.

From Norfolk Ave., to Northfield Rd.