Training Log Archive: Nadim

From Northfield Rd to the Bethesda Metro Station, then back to Northfield Rd., then back to the metro station. I'd ridden quickly to the station the first time and since I was distracted by having to get a spare key for Samantha (who'd lost her's), I forgot my work identification.

From Bethesda Metro Station the Northfield Rd.

Event: QOC Hemlock Overlook
 

QOC: Hemlock Overlook. I ran pretty consistently today. I just about spiked all the controls, except for maybe #13. However, I am not sure I used the fastest route choice. My overall result was pretty good. The course was set by new course setters and was physical. My climb registered at 130m above the course rating. Some of the control locations were in steep, precarious places where a badly timed slip could result in a bad fall.

S-1 - I thought to run back up the road since I was having a hard time reading the trail in front of me at the start. I took it anyway, then ran down a long reentrant.

1-2 - Rather than go low, I backtracked, then turned left up a side reentrant. Getting to a trail, I attacked from above and could see it when I was not far off the trail.

2-3 - Rather than drop down, I went just left of straight. This took me through the dark green but following a ditch, that way was only steep. I got to the trail and could see it from the field. Yuri was coming up as I approached.

3-4 - I went back to the field and was about to go past the lake when I noticed Yuri going up the power lines. That route looked better so after stopping, I chased. I caught Yuri at the road but got confused. I was thinking that the start area was where I'd parked, near the registration, and that the control should be before then. I realized what was what and went on to punch.

4-5 - I thought about not drinking but I was probably dehydrated starting this morning, so I did. I was able to leave before Yuri. I cut across using trails as much as possible, and being left of the line.

5-6 - I crossed the first trail and used the second. This kept my climb down but was longer. Attacking from the east, I spiked it.

6-7 - I went straight, but stayed out of the slash.

7-8 - I doubled back to the trail I'd attacked #6 from. At the trail I saw Yuri heading toward #7. I left the trail at the unmapped junction with the old ride. I crossed to a reentrant that took me to the creek, and I cut downward only to the next reentrant before climbing. From there I followed a side reentrant and went straight to spike it.

8-9 - I ran down the reentrants and as I approached the creek, I saw Michael Dickey ahead, but further downstream. I kept going straight from there and closed in on Michael. I was watching the ridgetop and saw Michael turn left going down the ridge. I saw a hint of the pit rim with some white stones and turned toward it. That spiked it for me and Michael was nowhere to be seen.

9-10 - I ran the ridge and enjoyed the open gently downhill sloping running. Not far after leaving #9, I saw Michael was already headed back. I had picked up my speed a little thinking he'd catch me but spiked #10 and didn't see him.

10-11 - I started out going right of straight and crossed the stream above the unmapped earthbank. Climbing, I corrected left a little, came over the top and stopped for a second. I set my bearing and turned to look and it was obvious. I spiked it.

11-12 - I angled up to the ride and ran it past the saddle and past the first knoll to the left. At the next reentrant to the left, I saw enough of an opening in the green to run through so I took it. Nearing the bottom I saw Michael Stasiowski coming up. I hesitated at the first reentrant but figued it to be the one mapped in dark green. Running the flats I remembered that someone said something about a control being in a lot of vegetation on the south end of the map (I didn't read the course notes before I started). I was happy to see the next reentrant and soon the control.

12-13 - I backtracked the flat ground, and most of my earlier route from the ride. Cutting left I realized the vegetation mapping here was out of date. I passed one dense area of green that I thought might have been the one with the control, so I turned left after it. I saw nothing and realized I hadn't crossed the ridge yet. Going across, I found the other green but the shape was feeling like the one that'd been mapped. I spiraled in going clockwise so I guess I didn't spike this one.

13 -14 - I ran left of the line since the running was best there. Climbing after the reentrant before the control, I got just above the vegetation but that turned out to be too high. I had to drop down. This was a somewhat dangerous place.

14-15 - I walked sometimes reaching out out to the base of trees at eye level ahead of me--very steep. Using the contours I hit the right area. On teh run I didn't realize that the reentrant I saw was one leading to the control so I attacked from above. I had to use the reentrant to get down low enough and then come over. Again, this control was in a dangerous location.

15-16 - I angled through the woods to the N/S trail. I left it past the trail intersection and dropped to a side reentrant. I crossed that side reentrant and climbed to cross it before reaching the creek at the bottom. Going up the creek on the right side, I left right at where the leg line crosses the creek on the map. I spiked it.

16 -17 - I angled right of straight to save climb and got on the trail north of the power line. I left just before the bottom. My feet were hurting already from sidehill running. I had to climb a little but could see the control 30m out.

17-18 - I went straight and had to cut right to the reentrant junction at the end (where the control was visible ahead on the left ditch).

18-F - I walked a lot but went as straight as possible, spiking it.

Blue - Splits

From Northfield Rd., to Old Georgetown Rd. via Greenwich Park, to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to Woodglen Dr., to Nicholson Ln., to Executive Blvd./Jefferson St. at Lorraine Dr. in Rockville. I hadn't run this in a while. It was around 40 starting out. My mile times varied with the climb. We met the old MCRRC crowd for breakfast at Panera Bread. At one point Peggy remarked "Dude, I wasn't even born when you graduated high school!" They are a good talkative subgroup from NASA who've done a lot for MCRRC.

Serpentine Barrens Conservation Park, MD. After doing some things at home, I got over to the park in time to beat the rain. It was about 40 F but felt colder. This was my first time actually trying to field check here as the outing Peggy and I did earlier was really scouting.

I got started from a fence corner and put a nearby dot knoll and rootstock on paper. Going to a visible rootstock further out, I didn't have anything to triangulate from. At first, I took a waypoint on my GPS and just estimated the distance on paper. That usually works for me in other places but with the area sloping so gently and evenly, I could't pin point it on paper as I would in places with more contour. After doing my best with that, I tried to place a boulder next but again, only had my last mapped feature that was visible and helpful. As this park is mostly point features, my notes were getting messy quickly. Before going out, I'd marked some areas that Karttapullautin picked out as boulders. I'd also used high resolution imagery and got many points between Karttapullautin and the imagery to line-up well. I thought it'd help me in the forest but it didn't turn out that way so far. I hope my GPS track and waypoints help enough. At least next time I'll have more to go on.

I did get to other places where I could triangulate later. However, this wasn't working so well. It turns out that magnetic north was off. I thought I'd adjusted for it already, but I think I turned it the wrong way and ended up 20 degrees off. That didn't help getting things onto paper any.

I was glad that the point features were abundant. I found more boulders looking randomly spaced as well as a nice amount of full looking rootstocks widely spread out. There were some areas of stony ground that I took GPS tracks for. The thorny areas seemed daunting but I'd pre-mapped what I could by reading it off of high resolution imagery. The results seemed to correlate pretty well.

I'll have to step up my skills to map this park correctly. If I can, it could become one of our most technical maps.

From Northfield Rd to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station, Woodmont Ave. to Wisconsin Ave., to Norwood Park, to the Little Falls Trail, to Dorset Rd., to Falls Rd., to Glenbrook Rd., to Edgemoor Ln. and into to the Bethesda Metro Station. I felt tired during this.

From Bethesda Metro Station the Northfield Rd.

From Northfield Rd to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From Bethesda Metro Station the Northfield Rd.