Training Log Archive: Nadim

From Rte. 193 near Great Falls, MD, Peggy and I ran the Difficult Run Trail to the parking lot near Rte. 7, then back. It was pleasant out, but still humid. I ran behind Peggy and was sometimes getting too close. In the 2nd mile, I fell twice because I missed seeing roots or stones. I was tired again, but this time it probably was due to running hard the day before.

After our run we hurried over to Oatlands Plantation, south of Leesburg, VA to see Max run in a major Cross Country invitational there. Counting teams by their jerseys on the starting line, from far off, I estimate Max's race had 50 different teams altogether. Max was not very articulate in describing his race, when he said it was okay. Peggy pressed him about different segments such as the in the woods section and the major hill at about the 2nd mile. His time was 22 minutes, which is a slower pace than his earlier races. The spectator friendly course was probably hillier too; a varsity race we saw seemed to be won in about 16 or 17 minutes. We didn't hear results how the Walt Whitman teams did. My sister Rubina got there too late to see Max's race but we were able to have lunch w/her.

From Ray's Meadow Park and the Ohr Kodesh Congregation parking lot (near East West Hwy in Rock Creek Park, MD), I ran up the Rock Creek Trail to Cedar Ln. and back. It was in the low 70s F and breezy outside of the valley--all-in-all a much nicer day than my longer run on Wednesday. Starting out I still felt tired from my run on Wednesday. The old trestle bridge for the Georgetown Branch Trail has been removed and grading for the new Purple Line bridge has begun next to the old alignment. Though it seemed like I was moving faster and working harder, my first mile was slow. I put more effort into it and did get faster. There's not much climb on the Rock Creek Trail but I felt it sometimes. I was 30:09 at the turnaround. I pushed more on the return and my strength held up mostly. The ball of my left foot hurt at times and I felt pain in my left knee more after finishing.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station. I felt sore from the run the day before.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd. I'd worked late and by the time I was home I felt it better to eat. I finally decided not to run at 10:30pm.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station. I still hit some traffic, but was faster.

From 12th and Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C. down Independence Ave. to 17th St., and the Reflecting Pool to Lincoln Circle, to the Rock Creek Trail, to the C&O Towpath, to the Capital Crescent Trail (CCT) at Fletcher's Boathouse, to Woodmont Ave. to the Bethesda Metro Station. It has gotten to 93 F earlier today and I was going to bail out on my plan to do this run. It'd been years since I ran from work all the way to Bethesda because of back problems. In 2012 I did this run a full 20 minutes faster. However as I was getting ready it got dark outside and storm warnings of large hail were issued. I waited but it hardly rained. Most of it went well south. I only got sprinkled on in the first 2 miles or so. It was humid but in the upper 80s F. I was not so strong and I measured my pace from the beginning. Even a woman ahead with her dog were running slightly faster than me. A water fountain on the towpath in Georgetown didn't work. I couldn't remember and hoped there would be a water fountain somewhere around the trail at Fletcher's Boathouse but I didn't see any. I trudged up the hill, not slowing too much at first. After the bridge at the water treatment plant, I stopped and drank a good bit. I splashed myself too. After that I was running slower. My feet started to make sloshing sounds in my shoes from the sweat gravitating downward. My left knee started hurting along with the ball of my left foot (still hurt since the 4th day of the Scottish 6 Days). That meant my weaker right leg (residual from back problems) was running stronger than my left. I slowed more the last 2 miles and didn't mind as much with it getting dark. I stopped one more time for water just before Bethesda Ave. On this run I played around with my stride sometimes getting a proper back kick and knee lift, while other times I shuffled or shortened my stride. That helped me use different muscles and made the long uphill grade seem easier at times.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd. Tired and sopping wet, starting off my right knee was hurting--it'd been my left knee hurting during the run but the cycling motion was different. It took a while to loosen up. It was dark but felt rather comfortable outside. Even after drinking water, I weighed out at 189 lbs.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station. I kept running into traffic.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd. I'd been feeling tired all day and my legs were still sore. With a school meeting in the evening, I planned to delay my run until late, but I decided to just rest.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. I think I had some headwinds but it wasn't much until riding along the Potomac. I wasn't feeling that strong. I did push on occasion. This was supposed to be a day to relax my legs a little.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I was a little sore. Without trying much, I got to and out of Georgetown pretty well. I had been holding off one guy part of the way. On the CCT, I moved slower and got passed eventually by another guy. I drafted him until he slowed; when I passed, I dropped him. Three other guys eventually passed me. One in the last mile might have been the guy I'd seen behind me before Georgetown. I thought my overall time would be slower. I carried double clothes, and there were headwinds on the last few miles going into Bethesda.

QOC: Cunningham Falls State Park. I walked up the hill to the start of QOC's Platform Palooza event. It was a good warm-up. The skies were sunny, the temperatures were in the 70s F, and the humidity was low.

QOC: Cunningham Falls State Park. Conditions were much better than the previous events held here. This time Sam Listwak set the course, giving Jon a chance to run. I enjoyed the day though not everyone did. I knew what to expect. I tripped a lot and had to walk a lot. We didn't have long legs like the Red course did. My only real errors were being distracted by other controls.

S-1 - as it would be for much of the day, running was done in stops and starts. There's enough debris on the ground so as to make it difficult to get into a rhythm. I spiked this going straight.

1-2 - I was being cautious not to drift off on the wrong ditch and for my footing. I went straight and spiked it.

2-3 - I loosely followed the ditch and spiked it.

3-4 - After a step or 2 of going toward #1 again to use it as an attack point, I went straight. I did see #1 off to my right and another person converging from that direction. I spiked it.

4-5 - I went straight, dropped down a little bit to use the cairn midway, then attacked from there to spike it.

5-6 - I saw at least 2 of the charcoal platforms on my way down. Once across the stream, I contoured and was reading my way into #6 well. However, I got distracted and decided to checkout #11 which was visible below me. I lost time but tried to run a bit uphill to makeup for it. I got to #6 from #11 just fine.

6-7 - Starting straight, I cut right to get around the green. I used the mapped vegetation to follow it around and into the control.

7-8 - I went a little to the right of the leg line. Up high, I was on target but got distracted with a different course control on the stream. I thought it was early and off to the left but like at #6, I ran to it anyway, just to make sure. From there I went in well.

8-9 - I ran straight and was able to checkoff things along the way. I spiked it.

9-10 - Sam warned me about the unmapped chunky rocks on this leg. There was a cow path for part of the way. I spiked it.

10-11 - I was able to run much of this since it was going downhill. I checked off charcoal platforms and some of the big feature contours to zero in and spike it. It didn't seem to help much that I'd already been to #11 once. I came in a little lower than planned but close enough to still say I spiked it.

11-12 - This was the trickiest control of the course. I started straight but seeing the green ahead, I went around to the right where it was clearer. Reading the contours and looking for an opening, I found one and came up right at the control.

12-13 - I recall a similar leg from a previous year. I used the reentrant align myself after getting through the green, and then spiked it. I was able to run once in a while.

13-14 - This felt physically hard after the earlier part of the course. I crossed the stream near the lower bend and then hit the notch reentrant on the line. Passing right between the double rootstocks, I got to the next platform and then to the control, spiking it.

14-15 - I was a bit cautious going down. The unexpected green wall wasn't that bad. I stayed on my line and emerged to spike the control.

15-16 - After crossing the ditch I decided it wasn't worth staying on it. I kept straight, using a few contour features to zero in. I passed above the rootstock for easier running.

16-17 - I started throwing caution to the wind as I sometimes get excited toward the end of a course. I really had a good way left but it seemed like things were winding up. I drifted right a bit but slowed as I did. Upon seeing that I was too close to the reentrant, I corrected and had to climb slightly to the control. I still consider this a spike.

17-18 - There were a few unmapped ditches along the way. I ignored the first 1 or 2 before seeing the mapped one. Seeing the rootstock zeroed me in on the control on the platform behind it. As I was coming in, it sounded like someone was ahead leaving the control.

18-19 - After descending to the streams, I wasn't sure if I'd drifted to the left. I continued my bearing, finding a lot of streams and some marshiness. I kept going and spiked the control.

19-20 - I ran straight and soon saw David Onkst ahead, just before we got to the control.

20-21 - Dave initially led but we diverged. I was on the right and he on the left. I started to pull ahead and lost sight of Dave. Emerging in a field of grasses and mile-a-minute vine, I found an elephant track. Taking a right fork, I stepped in a hole but escaped still running and uninjured. I hit the roads and punched.

21-F - Straight, I tried to run a little faster but didn't really manage a sprint.

QOC: Cunningham Falls State Park, MD. I picked up controls that I'd already been to during the Blue course. From #147 to #134, I was a little sloppy, relying more on the vegetation than bearing; I tried to keep the thicker vegetation close on my left. That leg was straight down to a flatter area and not a leg that I'd raced. The flatter area had more un-mapped stuff in it and was thicker, so I had trouble. Using the streams, I did manage to find #135 first. From there it was straight to #134, then back to the car.

After finishing up, David Onkst and I had a chance to grab a bite to eat and talk, and we don't get to do that much. We'll get another chance when we go up to the Hudson Highlander in October.

Blue - Splits