Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: SVO Susquehanna Stumble XIX
 

SVO: Susquehanna Stumble at Fair Hill, starting at the parking area off Appleton Rd. I was mostly over the relatively minor aches and pains from the Hudson Highlander but not having done any running all week, some doubts lingered. I still had some back pain and also wasn't watching what I ate quite so good the last 3 days. I didn't approach this with much commitment, figuring I'd end up being tired and would just train through it. Once I got going, I felt pretty well. There was light rain and it was around 70 F.

S-1 - I ran close to Michael Dickey, Victor Lin, and Vido Alexsiev on the road route to #1. I figured it would be fairly fast but that it'd also save energy for later. Vido and Michael got ahead a little near the control which was on a dead easy lone tree near the road. I was a little surprised to see people who'd gone straighter through the forest, get there before us. I wasn't reading the trails there that well, but I did try to read ahead on the course while running the road. I could see that the windows were few and small.

1-2 - I didn't understand why people were heading off to the right through the field for #2. Victor Lin and I took the road to the left bridge over the un-crossable creek, and then the trail. Tom Nolan had started to catch-up from behind. We all left the trail at a bend to spike the control.

2-3 - As we were leaving #2 and climbing a trail, I could see Vido coming up the hill from the other direction below--our way to #2 was probably faster. We got to the field and split a little. Michael went up left and toward the green line of trees, with Victor contouring further left. I got somewhat behind Michael and Tom was on my right. Michael, Victor and I got on the intermittent trail that was nicer than running through the clumpy longish and wet grass. Tom pulled in behind us. I followed Michael around the scattered trees, the up along the green line of trees that the control was in, but he pulled ahead. I didn't see where people were going through. I left my control description holder in the car since when I'd registered, they didn't have them out yet--I didn't think they were going to use them, like in the Highlander last week. I therefore didn't know that the control on a trail instead of a field edge on the other side. I started to plunge across where the trees seemed to break and it was looking like just tall grass. No one had gone through there and when I tried, I had to back out. 20m up I saw others popping through, some who'd passed this opening when they came across the scattered trees.

3-4 - I drank and the angled across the field thinking to stay in it. Michael D. was going that way. However I did get on the trail when I could see well enough that it went nearly all the way to the control. Victor missed the next turn and I yelled to him without him seeming to hear me.

4 to Window 1 (36-37-35-33) - My ability to read the map was diminishing rapidly with fogging glasses. I could not see that trails went the whole way to the window, so I went out into the field. Others were going on the trail. As I climbed into the field, I pulled 2 other younger less experienced navigators with me. Looking at the window ahead, for a little while, I was thinking the control coming out of the window was #6. At a line of green, I attempted to go through and got hung-up in 4-5ft tall thorns and hitchickers. I got through, losing time in the process. The other 2 guys climbed higher and got through a little faster than me. When I emerged, my left leg was covered in very scratchy hitchickers. My pants were tight to my legs and I didn't want them scratching me the rest of the race, so I pulled and scratched the worst of them off. I finally got to dual a trailhead at a field corner.

I went down the sketchy left fork headed toward #36. The trail was barely there but I reasoned that the map was rather old, and that it could have gotten overgrown. As it ran out, I cut right a bit and got on the actual trail. The one I'd been on had been unmapped, which really was the right thing to do. I think Michael Stasiowski or Mike Berry or both were nearby. I hit the control with no further issues.

36-37 - I ran the trail.

37-38 - My instinct was to go down the trail a little, then cut right but it looked like I could get through and I thought I'd be more accurate going straight. It was thorny going down. The 2 guys who ran the last field with me were behind me commenting on the scratchy course--they had no gaiters and one or both may not have had pants. I grabbed a thorny vine on my way day and started bleeding--I thought that might make my map hard to read. Once across the stream, I did hit the control on the rootstock well.

35-33 - I contoured to the trail, but I wasn't able to read the map well. I passed the control seeing others headed to #9, then I went back and hit it pretty well.

33-9 - I went straight and hit it well.

9-10 - I gained on a line of people going up the trail and into the field. Ted was ahead of several (Vido? Victor? and more). People started pulling right while Ted went straight on the left side of the trees. He later showed that something had rubbed the ink off a trailhead others were going to. I got on the trail and gained slowly. Victor's attack was a little left while others went more direct to the control. I got in just a little behind them.

10 - Window 2 (46, 47, 49, 48). My ability to see was really getting worse. I could barely see the creek crossing on the map. Ted led Vido, Victor, Tom Overbaugh and me toward it. Once across, I followed Tom and Michael Dickey on a direct climb up the grassy field spur. Confidence was high when we plunged into the wood SW of #46. I cut left on the trail but could not read it on the map. I felt I should drop, and even saw Vido, Tom and others dropping back in a change of direction. I had enough doubt that I ran to the next reentrant, in case the control was there and I hadn't seen them punch it. Then I came back like they had.

46-47 - I stupidly ran up the hill across the creek and slowed enough to see that the control was low

47-49 - I ran straight but paused once.

49-48 - I popped-up and over with 2 guys behind me or nearby whom I'd started the first window with. At the control, one was convinced that this should be #47, not #48. He probably had miss-oriented his map. His partner did the explaining.

48-15 - I had fallen behind the pack on the last window and not feeling so good about that, and my foggy glasses. I completely read the leg ahead wrong. I thought the control was on the left side of the creek so I ran there and climbed to a trail. Stopping, with a lot of green along the trail ahead, I realized my error, and backtracked partway to cross the creek again. Once across, I could see that Tom Nolan was close behind, and I got to the control with no further problem.

15-16 - I got to the ridge and ran the nice white woods with Tom close behind. At the top, I came down, wanting to take a trail across the creek, but on the SE side of the bulging green forest that's west of #16. It was foolish to try given my difficulty reading. I got to a point on one trail where I can now at my desk, see a red X--probably indicating that the trail ended and no longer exists. Going back looked like a long way. I did backtrack a little to where what looked like an animal track. That ran out at the creek so to get out, I crawled at least 10m under the green thorns. I emerged on the west side of the green bulge that I had wanted to avoid. I ran around that and got onto the road for a short while. I could see others (Tom? and the other 2 guys from the first 2 windows?) punching.

16-17 - I ran to the aid station to eat and drink. The weather had cleared a bit--breezy and warm still, but not as humid and not raining. I figured Tom was going to take off as I got there but then I realized he had run the Short Stumble. With drink/eat/rest, I looked forward to a better second loop. I often have a better second half than my competitors. I ran the road and started walking past half-way up the hill. I wanted to use the longer road route for faster/less effort running to get to #17. It also offered a pretty good attack. Besides, the single trees that were mapped, appeared to me to be light green along the straighter route. I left the road near a lone tree (with a control on it?) and went due north. Fortunately, there was a gap, south of where the #17 is printed. I almost passed it but once through I saw the control ahead.

17-Window 3 (67, 75, 76, 74) - I headed for the intermittent trails and followed them successfully to just south of #67. A bit of trampled grass led me across the small field on the spur, to where I was able to get through the green and into the forest. I could see control #67 once past the green. As I neared and punched it, I could see both Ted Good and Dave Pruden coming in from further away on my right. They had trouble getting through the green and had to go a far way around.

67-75 - I ran straight. Dave Pruden was close behind but Ted was a little further back.

75-76 - I popped over the hill and had a pretty good bearing. I couldn't see it from above so I went on a little more to the spur. I knew this was past the control but had enough doubt with not being able to see the map well, and with not having seen it where I thought it should be before the spur. From the spur, I could look back and so I ran to it from there. Dave Pruden had gone out of his way coming behind me, but did gain ground on the leg.

76-74 - I contoured out and got to the trail. It looked intermittent on my map but from creasing the map, some of the ink had worn off. I passed the reentrant and got asked about control #51 by two girls who were lost. Not having control descriptions except on my folded map, I scanned the printed control numbers in the window and concluded incorrectly that I didn't have it on my map. This didn't slow me a lot (I heard from Ted that he stopped to straighten them out--#51 was 750m ahead and away). I pulled off the trail early so as not to miss it--that did slow me enough that Dave was on my tail when I punched.

74-22 - Dave jumped out ahead of me on the forest trail, but I passed him back in the field. Once ahead, I slowed enough there to eat some endurance beans--something I'd tried in the previous Billygoat and Hudson Highlander. I can't say that they are super effective but eating jelly beans tasted good and is a nice change from Gu. However I did have trouble getting them out of the bag and eating them on the run. I took the trail through the woods instead of climbing and running the next grassy field. I had had enough green so I left the trail just before the green ahead and went around it on the right side. I found an unmapped wall and ran along that to the reentrant but didn't I see the control. I had seen Vido running below me but I figured he was leaving the control. I wondered further and hit the grassy clearing mapped as a trail, then went back without finding it again. I was too high and I think, without being 100% sure, that when I finally found it, the control was placed too low from what was shown on the map.

22-23 - I left #22 on bearing, almost contouring, until I hit a trail. It looked nasty ahead so I reversed direction using the trail to almost head back. Using trails, I got into the field that #23 is in, at the earliest opportunity. Instead of going all the way up the big knoll, I angled up on the east side and headed to the saddle. I was moving slowly and could see Dave Pruden about a minute ahead. The control wasn't too hard but he did lead me right to it.

23-24 - I enjoyed running down the grassy hill for a change. On guy ahead was going straight but Dave went for the trail on the north side of #24 to avoid climbing the ridge. I moved well, closing in on him. I did pause above what was mapped as a dot knoll with a trunk, and then went on. Dave was just ahead by the time I got there.

24-25 - Dave had dropped low and that made sense. I could see a straight trail and a fence, but on the run it was hard to be sure which I was on. The trail zig-zagged through the tall grasses around it but was good running the whole way. When we got across the side stream, I caught and passed Dave, right where we left the trail. It wasn't hard and I spiked it.

25-26 - I just didn't want to blow it, like I'd done at #22. I ran straight to the trail. I did have trouble seeing it with the side trails, the leg line covering some stuff, and my glasses, but I did read the contours. I dropped to the boulders that were hidden by the control circle, and I ran over one of them while checking the others. In a few more steps, I saw it thankfully.

26-27 - I ran straight at first but did climb across the reentrant to the trail. I read along trying to be careful not to miss I paused at one point since I was seeing a trail going down a spur, but on the trail I was on, I'd dropped before then. Getting to the intersection and seeing the field, I ran up and straight to the control.

27-28 - Taking the high route on trails to the left seemed silly so I ran down to the bridge area that I'd been to on the way to #2. I cut the corner and got on trails. Fortunately, my glasses were clearing with the weather that hadn't rained in a while. Like others, I was confused by the line of green where there should have been a copse. Vido was on the other side of the unmapped line of green and running to the right. I almost cut through, but decided going to the left, to the end of the green was safer. I did find the control there. Nearby behind Vido were Michael Dickey and Victor Lin.

28-29 - Having seen 3 familiar faces that I'd lost earlier lifted my spirits a bit. Cutting through the forest on the right, to the road seemed like it might take time and might have extra climb. I opted like Michael Dickey did to go left for the intermittent trail in the grasses to the left. Vido and Victor had gone to the right. I walked the climb, trailing Michael but once the slope got less steep, I started running. Michael had told me earlier that he'd ridden 45 miles the day before and had been feeling that today. To my plodding on, he said that I was going to make him run too; but he didn't seem to respond. I very gradually made my way to the intermittent trail, but not until half-way through the leg. The hill wasn't so steep so I pushed on moving well past the intersection and to the control on the thicket.

29-F - I ran the road. I think I saw Tom Overbaugh finishing ahead. On the road, I thought I heard footsteps closing in on me. I figured it was Michael since he's been running stronger than I have all last year. I pushed the last 100m and after finishing, I didn't see anyone finishing close behind.

With the last 2 legs, and probably most of the last loop in which I caught up to others, I felt I'd salvaged the run. However, I didn't feel good about my navigation for the 4rd race in a row--I lost too much time. The navigation wasn't hard today and I missed on about 1/4 of the controls. My GPS says I climbed 610m when 430m was optimal. Today, the problems experienced had a lot to do with my foggy and wet glasses but the excitement of a mass start was distracting for me too. I wasn't fast, but it was good to know that my endurance was holding up. To fix these problems, I probably need to:
1. Get some higher diopter eyeglasses (I've been using +1 for a few years).
2. Do some speed work.
3. Work on being calm and planning out my routes better.
4. Lose weight.
5. Sleep more.

StumbleLong - Splits

From Northfield Rd. to the Bethesda Metro Station. I ended up not coming back by bicycle since Samantha had afterschool activities that involved driving. I intended to run back to the station after getting home but rested for a while and got distracted.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, then to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, DC. I felt tired/weak starting out, but the further I went, that tended to be less of a factor. It had been about 51 F when starting. I passed a few people and some started drafting off of me. After passing Fletcher's Boathouse, I got some help. At Georgetown, we broke-up and I moved ahead. The winds were calm. My strength was ebbing and I finished-out smoothly.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. It was a little slow starting out. At first, that was due to traffic, and next it was headwinds on Ohio Dr. After Georgetown, I rode steadily and eventually caught the guy who'd lead for me earlier in the morning. He was talking to someone else about USB ports and other computer things, on his phone via a microphone. As I passed, he tucked in behind me. After reaching the Washington Palisades where I was slowing, he took over and led me all the way to Bradley Blvd. We split from there.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station. I was less sore than the day before, but still feeling it.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Northfield Rd.

I went from Nortfield Rd., to Wisconsin Ave. and back with Max, in the dark, so that we could get him some new shoes. His old ones were splitting and he didn't think it was worth mentioning earlier.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station. I was a bit sore but not so much. It was 47 F this morning.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, to Northfield Rd. I came up the metro stairs fairly well considering the run yesterday. I had my jacket on, on the ride but it was open. Overall my legs are sore and tired, and my back hurts a little too.