Training Log Archive: Nadim

From Northfield Rd to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From Bethesda Metro Station the Northfield Rd.

Event: Susquehanna Stumble @ Patuxent River Park (QOC)
 

SVO Susquehanna Stumble @ Patuxent River Park (managed by QOC). I think this was the 21st Stumble event and maybe my 6th. That seems odd since I usually try to run this even when I can. This event was pretty well attended. A few people flew in. The course was fine. This park can be tricky at times. I was so focused on trying not to make mistakes that I didn't think about the overall technical level much but Peggy pointed out that the navigation was relatively easy. It helped that I was following bearings well when attacking, and that I'm very familiar the area.

Starting out, I found myself in the middle of the pack. I've been getting distracted by others in big mass start events and it was starting to happen here. I keep having to fight the situation where I am aiming to get ahead of others, instead of getting into steadily reading the map. I too the first window in ABDBE, which had me cross the creek twice. I had originally planned ACBDE but the first wet ditch crossing was visibly easy. I got across dry both times which was good because it was about 40 F (I wore short sleeves and the wind at the start convinced me to wear gloves which was a good choice). I may have gotten a tad wet at the last control since it was marshy there.

Exiting this loop, I found myself on a trail behind Vido Aleksiev and his daughter. David Onkst was right behind me. Passing them we approached Ted Good but Ted was moving faster in the forest (something that would repeat often). Fortunately, Ted went wide left, to arc toward control #6 along the bluff. I led David on a straighter route. We gained on Ted but didn't get ahead. Vido popped up ahead too but Ted led. He overshot the control a little so Vido and I got there with Ted at about the same time. Angelica Riley was nearby and led on the way to #7. Ted attacked a little early as Angelica went around a reentrant to a trail bend. Ted and I corrected but were behind. Going to #8, Angelica took to the trail and road. Ted went straight. I led David Onkst angling off trail to the road and we popped out right behind Angelica, having gained ground. On the road David planned our next window and then I did the one after that. Michael Stasiowski caught David and I. Angelica cut in early while the 3 of us went across the creek on the bridge and up the hill before cutting over. When we got near the control, we saw Angelica not having gained any time on us, but Ted had beat us there. I led David and Michael toward #9 and we got ahead of Angelica and young guy she was running with. Using David's window choice, we took to the road where Ted had already headed. Ted walked some of the hills but managed to stay ahead of us anyway. I cut in toward G at a good place but probably because the window box covered-up a reentrant, I went to the first side reentrant. Ted had too but kept moving to the second where it was. Going to H, I went a bit higher than Ted because the running was better. Similar things happened going to I and J but we didn't catch him. As I was going toward F, it seemed like Ted was going to #15. I yelled over to him and he apparently corrected.

I went a little slower going over the hill to #15 but was on target. I paused a little high and Michael Stasiowski was able to see it just ahead. David O. got it step behind me as I used the trail most of the way to the road. I wasn't ready to trust the open ground along the stream. We saw Ted (apparently he used the open ground along the stream) hit the road ahead and go toward the bridge. I chose to go through the maintenance yard and led David and Michael through it. We crossed the stream w/o much trouble and went within sight of Q as we climbed to the top of the bluff along the big gully. As we approached #16, Ted came in from the right, again just ahead of us, but we'd made up distance from where we'd seen him on the road.

For the next window, I was starting to get tired and getting a little more sloppy navigating. We did it in order of LMPKON. Some of the Short Stumble people were there (Kris Beecroft and Kathleen Lennon). Ted stayed ahead of the pack, now myself, David Onkst, Michael Stasiowski, Angelica Riley and 1 or 2 others. There wasn't a lot of choice in routes but we had some micro route differences. We also chased Ted to #23 this way, but Angelica had taken a low route there which popped her up just ahead of David, Michael, and I. There wasn't much eventful going to #24 and #25. We used the trail going to #26 and gained some ground on Ted. Though #26 was very near the event registration pavilion, that pavilion would have been out of the way. I just ate a Gu and went on to #26 with Michael. David was just behind. Ted stopped.

I led going to #27 and spiked it, attacking from the edge of the medium green. I led again to R and S. I paused almost on top of S when I couldn't see the control from the rim of the reentrant. Michael Stasiowski came up and saw it. After punching I led to Q which we'd seen earlier. Leading to U, I went around some of the green and emerged on the trail with a control in front of me. I didn't think it was mine but checked it anyway. This broke the rhythm I'd been in. I wandered back to the trail looking for the trail intersection to prepare a better attack. As soon as I saw the intersection, Michael announced he'd spotted the control. Leaving U, I came out kind of funny and was avoiding crossing the reentrant where it was deepest. I got to the trail with Michael and David behind me. Cutting into the woods,we saw Peggy going the other way. I got away from the edge of the reentrant for better running and even went past a reentrant with a streamer. I overshot. Our trio agreed to go back. We converged on T with Angelica.

We used the road going to #33. I slowed to plan more and to keep from making silly mistakes. We used the road and trails getting to #34. I came over the hill after crossing the stream and #34 popped-up so quickly that I thought it was like back at U where another control was en route. As I paused, Angelica swooped in and punched.

Neither Dave, Michael nor I had planned our last window. We quickly decided to hit Y first, then come back for X, Z, W, and V. I led us to X using the trail but Angelica and others were right behind. I didn't think through the route to X and as David moved up straight toward it, I did too. In retrospect, going down the reentrant and south across the larger one would have been better (I heard from Ted that that way was marshy). After climbing out, I dropped down and had to cross 2 reentrants to get to the correct side for X. David perhaps wisely decided to go around. The first of those reentrants was steep and slippery with fallen leaves so that I kept falling back. I lunged for shrub trunks and made my way up. It took me more time to reorient and relax enough to navigate. I moved well and ended up getting to the control a little behind Angelica. I found out later that Michael, David and even Ted were not far behind. I gained ground on Angelica moving to Z and Michael gained ground on me. After W, we passed Angelica, hit V, and crossed the stream (Robley Branch).

Going to #40, I went around the big reentrants and ran straight. Michael was with me. I dropped down on the big spur and spiked #40. Leaving #40, and hearing Angelica right behind us, I decided to go around the hill, but I climbed a little first. There was a leafy deer or hunter trail which helped. We used the bridge, got on the trail and moved well. I had to walk up the other side of Meadow Swamp and left the trail on the climb. Having done the last bit in previous orienteering events, I ran the bluff only looking at the map 2 times until hitting the reentrant. I crossed it with Michael right behind me and punched #41 on the spur. The running from there was more open than I'd remembered it. I got on trails and went around to the left. It was slightly uphill but shorter. I think Michael didn't try to run in hard and I didn't really sprint. I finished only a few seconds ahead of him. If I'd have run a 50 miles trail race the week before, I wouldn't have been sprinting, nor running as fast as we had the whole race. Angelica finished about 4 minutes back. She said I was running fast and Wyatt explained that at the end, she'd just run out of energy (she'd also been healing from a broken rib). David Onkst finished not far after. It was fun running with David once again!

I finished in 8th place overall which I thought was pretty good considering the level of competition ahead and behind me. My running training since last March has been continuing to help me improve and get back to being closer to the form I was in before my back issues started. I look forward to continuing that and like the long winter runs coming up. Next however, there's the annual Turkey Chase to do.

C • Good write up. I enjoyed re... 2

Long - Splits

I thought I'd got out and do some field checking today, but I spent most of the day just getting more on the base map. I'd gotten so much data off of Karttapullautin that I figured I'd be saving time overall. I'm still having the trouble with Montgomery County, MD LiDAR. It's similar to the problem I encounter when OCAD converts the same LiDAR. The scale is all wrong. Karttapullautin thinks an area about a mile across is almost 10K long. OCAD converts it only being off by a factor of the ratio between a foot and a meter (checking the box to make the conversion doesn't change it). When OCAD converts the LiDAR it also gets the coordinate system wrong. I spent a lot of time getting the output from Karttapullautin to scale and be georeferenced correctly. Some of that was manual manipulation which could introduce opportunity for error but the results turned out well. With Karttapullautin, I seem to get a lot of the boulder locations, but only actual field checking will confirm that. I plan to use some upcoming time off at Serpentine Barrens to find out.

C • Lastools 2

From Northfield Rd to the Bethesda Metro Station. I had a little bit of a tailwind.

Washington, D.C. I repeated an extended version of what I've call the Memorial Tour from my office. I ran the same version a few weeks ago but ran easier this time. I was only about 40 seconds slower (From 12th St., SW and Independence Ave. SW, to Main Ave. SW., to Ohio Dr., past the Tidal Basin, and Jefferson Memorial, over 14th St. Bridge to the Mt. Vernon Trail, around Lady Bird Johnson Memorial looping under the George Washington Pkwy., to the footbridge over the Boundary Channel into Virginia, along the North Pentagon Parking lot, to the trail along S. Washington Blvd., to the Mount Vernon Trail, to Memorial Bridge, clockwise more than half way around the Lincoln Memorial Circle. to the Reflecting Pool, past the World War II Memorial., along Independence Ave. past the Washington Monument, to 12th St.)! It was cooler this time; upper 40s F with no winds. Few people were out and it was quiet. The monuments reflected well off of the Reflecting Pool. I speeded up finishing and that was aided by having to make random stops at some traffic lights. It felt like good interval training.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd. I had a little bit of a headwind and I was tired.

From Northfield Rd to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd. I forgot to bring my sweat jacket from home so I skipped a planned run after work. My left knee continued to hurt some so I rested it more. It was too bad because on a run in DC, I might have been able to see the lunar eclipse

From Northfield Rd to the Bethesda Metro Station. I worked late and with it suddenly cold motivation waned. My left knee had been hurting through most of the day too, from my run on Sunday, so I figured it best to just rest it.

From Bethesda Metro Station the Northfield Rd.

Washington, D.C. From 12th & Independence Ave., SW, down Independence Ave., to 17th St., along the Reflecting Pool to the Lincoln Memorial circle, to Ohio Dr. to the Rock Creek Trail, to P St., NW., to 20th St., NW., to the Dupont Circle Metro Station at Q St., NW. A touch of winter arrived early. It was in the 30s F and windy as I left work. I'd debated skipping this run but that would have been making excuses and really it wasn't bad out. The wind and the extra clothing I wore, did slow me down. Being a little sore from the Sunday run added to that too. Once I got into the Rock Creek valley, it was much easier to run. I ran hard enough to work up a nice sweat. My left knee hurt a little but overall that wasn't bad either.