Training Log Archive: Nadim

From Ray's Meadow Park and the Ohr Kodesh Congregation parking lot (near East West Hwy in Rock Creek Park, MD), I ran down the Rock Creek Trail to the DC/MD border line parking lot, then back up the Rock Creek Trail to Ray's Meadow Park and the OHR Kodesh Congregation parking lot. Samantha rode along with me on her bicycle. She's getting too big for it. She was able to ride faster than I was running. While walking around the last few days, I'd hardly felt my injury, but in the first 200m, I was certainly able to confirm it not being healed. I ran slowly and with a reduced stride length. The distance was just right in that going further I would have been more likely to worsen the muscle pull. In the evening, I felt more sore where injured, than I'd been feeling.

From Northfield Rd., to Bethesda Ave., then to Arlington Rd. I went into town for a haircut, and then went to the hardware store.

From Arlington Rd., to Bradley Rd., to Durbin Rd., to Honeywell Ln., to Wilson Ln., to Hampden Ln., to Charlcotte Rd., to Northfield Rd.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. I had to go to my office today to packup things. My office is slated to move to another building in the complex. I wasn't sure about it at first, but the office that I'm leaving turned out to be pretty good--close to the metro, cafeteria, bathroom, and a safe place where I could lockup my bike. My ride was not smooth except for the new tire and tube I'd put on the front wheel. My stomach was unsettled. There was a lot of wind. Most of it was coming from the north so it was assisting me. However, it made me not look forward to the ride back and sometimes it came at me from different directions. I tried to keep an even effort, slowing down on hills. Most things along the route were the same except for one ramp off of a curve that was taken away. People were outside but there weren't many cyclist or commuters.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. After packing up, I headed out. My legs were already sore from the ride out. Traffic was light but the wind was slowing me down. After Georgetown, hills and trees blocked a lot more of the wind than I'd expected. The wind must have died down from earlier too. I kept a steady but slow effort. I was carrying just a little more than I normally would have. My office packing wasn't that difficult since I'd thrown away a lot of stuff over the years earlier. I hope my pictures don't get broken.

My leg felt good today. I tried running in place and didn't feel anything. However, given the experience yesterday, I decided it best to rest.

From Northfield Rd to Norfolk Ave to pick-up lunch, then back. I'd had a few false starts. I was going to take my road bike but after pumping up both tires, the front one blew a few minutes later, just before I was going to leave. I switched to using my mountain bike and pumped-up the tires for it. Max has been using it occasionally and he'd lowered the seat. I got most of the way up the initial hill before I realized that I'd left my mask at home. I circled back and started again.

From Northfield Rd., Greenwich Park, to Old Georgetown Rd. to Beech Dr. to Singleton Dr. to Bulls Run Pkwy., to the trail along the middle school to Bradmore Dr. to Folkstone Rd. to Hartsdale Ave. to Heampstead Ave. to McKinley St. to Garfield St., to Roosevelt St., to the trail at Jefferson St. to Northfield Rd.

I'd gotten off to a pretty good start. It was nice outside; perhaps around 70 F. The last time I ran this route, I'd hurt myself unexpectedly. My first mile was pretty good like the last time. After about 1.5 miles, I felt some discomfort in the left quadricep. I've pushed through things like that many time and they've gone away, so I kept going. I was starting to feel like I was slowing down so maybe I pushed harder. I was actually accelerating. The twangs went away for a short wile but just before 2 miles, I felt it stronger and soon I stopped to stretch. Like the last time, I jogged back from there with shorter strides. The injury seems more minor than last time and it's also a little lower on the quad. It didn't stretch to my groin like before, but it's in the same general line. I'll rest again and take it easier for a while.

From Northfield Rd. to Custer Rd., to Wilson Ln., to Maiden Ln., to Whittier Blvd., to Lenox Rd., to Radnor Rd., to Goldsboro Rd., to Bradley Blvd., to Glenbrook Rd., to Wilson Ln., to Custer Ln. to Northfield Rd. It was 67 F starting out; low humidity. I felt a bit less than smooth starting out. Then in the first quarter mile, my left knee hurt a little. It was the kind of thing where it felt out of alignment and needed to pop. I kicked out doing a hop and didn't feel it afterward. It might have been the race yesterday or my cat sleeping on my leg at night. I was surprised at the first couple of miles being as fast as they were. I felt like I was tired and going more slowly. The hills on this route did catch-up with me. I didn't need a hilly route after yesterday. I was going to go the other direction but I'd heard about the crowds around Walter Reed Medical Center and thought better of it.

Event: QOC Cunningham Falls
 

QOC: Cunningham Falls, MD. I ran Green today. My injuries have been improving but still need some care. I could feel the injury area very early on but afterward it was not a factor. I had grabbed the wrong shoe bag today so I had my trail running shoes rather than my o-shoes. My feet slid around in them on rocky and steeper bits. My GPS stopped during the run-I probably hit a tree branch on the button.

S-1 - As I moved up the trail, it took me a while to realize that I was still wearing my mask. I wasn't able to remove it and get it into my inside pants pocket while moving so I stopped to do that. Leaving the trail at the bend (mostly walking up the steep hill at that point), I kept a careful bearing The rootstocks to the right were confusing me. I saw and went to the cliffs to the left, before climbing further to the larger cliffs that the control was on.

1-2 - I went straight and saw the ride, walking most of the way. I surmised a large rootstock midway was one of those mapped. I kept right of the steeper slope to my left and that got me within eyesight of the rim of the charcoal terrace. I was glad to see the control on it after getting above the rim. Someone else had come in from the other direction to punch before me.

2-3 - I went straight but had to weave to pass the vegetation. It seemed that I was too high when I crossed the trail, since I could see a bend below. The was confirmed by me remembering that I crossed a ditch after the trail, though with my eyes getting worse, I hadn't read the ditch on the map, on the go. I kept straight but did not see the 2 charcoal terraces that should have been higher to my left were I on track or above the straight route. I did see a flatter area below me and started to move that direction. As I got closer I couldn't see a control so I thought I was getting drawn off. I moved upward again, but as I was even closer, the control was revealed where I had been headed earlier.

3-4 - I aimed for the bend in the stream and hit just above it; vegetation was pushing me left. After crossing, I corrected, keeping above the drop-off for the stream on my right. Entering the greener area, I moved up higher as the leg line showed. Eventually, I saw the flattening of the spur below me so I dropped and found the control.

4-5 - This leg turned out to be greener than mapped due to the summer vegetation and treefall. I moved around most of it, but I felt I was getting left of straight. I saw 2 rootstocks above where the drop steepened and they might have been the 2 mapped close together. However to get through the next part I had to go left or right due to unmapped vegetation. I chose right. As I was descending I could see ahead on the flatter terrain, where it dropped on the right side. I was below that by the time I got close so I went up and found the control there. I might have saved 20-30 seconds had I gone left earlier.

5-6. I started to go straight but then with the big reentrant ahead, it made sense to contour around the hill before it. I saw Greg Lennon coming the other way--he'd made an error on #5. Climbing out, I saw the mapped ditch and I crossed it. I kept a good straight bearing and eventually saw a person in blue ahead. Very soon afterward, the control was visible. It was hung high and on the visible side of the mapped rock--that was good because there was probably some unmapped rock there too.

6-7 - Climbing, I gained on the guy in blue whom I'd seen while approaching #6. I felt I was close to being on target when midway I passed a rootstock. I kept a little left and saw Kim Jepsen and the other guy in blue on my right. Getting high enough, I saw the reentrant on my right and a 3rd person--my son Max! Everyone got to the control a few seconds ahead of me.

7-8 - Max led Kim, and the other person--Matt Smith. They were drifting right which was higher. I cut in under them on a straighter path, and passed them. After dropping sufficiently I thought I recognized a steepening slope to a point on the map. I climbed up it with the others following. I knew that the slope wasn't the one I thought it was, because there was no reentrant just past it. I spotted the reentrant off further and a little left so I ran for it. The terrain was better than the heavier deadfall and rocks that we'd been through earlier, so I was able to run well.

8-9 - I aimed a little right of straight so that I didn't have to run down a too steep slope. The mapped green in the reentrant wasn't so evident. I think I was closer to it than intended. I ran on up the spur through the mountain laurel with Max chasing me. Emerging, I could make out the beginning of the reentrant east of #9. I cut right/west a little, but when I didn't see it I paused. Max and Matt caught up. Max went on a little, and eventually, I did too. I think I saw it first, further ahead. As I ran for it, Max did too, but I think he just happened to see it right after I did. Max was closer so he got there first. I kind of passed Matt getting there.

9-10 - Somehow, I led us out of #9, and I went straight. Once across the stream, I tried figure out how to deal with the mapped cliffs--I think this area had been out of bounds earlier so we'd never run through it previously. I learned that the area hadn't been mapped until course setter Michael Dickey had added them. Michael probably didn't have time to map it all. In reality, it was a complicated jumble of boulders and cliffs. I had decided to go low around the rocks and then contour over to the control. However with all of the unmapped rock, I wasn't sure if I was above or below what was mapped. Crossing the rocks was tricky too--fortunately none of us fell and we didn't hit an uncrossable cliff that we had to back out of. I hit the flatter ground first and kept my bearing which was kind of level. I saw one guy below me and 2 women above me. The women were near the rootstock and only reading the map, I thought the control was on a rootstock--my eyes have deteriorated enough that my +1 diopter glasses weren't good enough any more. I climbed, didn't see the control, and hit the Catoctin Trail--a catching feature for this leg. Max and Matt were nowhere to be seen. Fortunately I'd hit the Catoctin Trail at an intersection, so I knew exactly where I was. I went back into the woods to see Max heading my way ahead of me. Seeing me, he turned around and we found the control within a few seconds. Max punched first.

10-F - Max led towards the trail but he wasn't going very fast. I angled downward to hit the trail and got ahead. At the trail, I was looking for a better way down, but decided on the Catoctin Trail. Both my shoelaces were untied at this point. Max and I both pounded down, accelerating as we went. Max passed me exclaiming that his knees would feel it the next day. As we hit the road, Max paused for a second or so. I cut right right away, but he quickly got a few steps on me. I gained going down the hill on the road but It wasn't enough to catch him. I also didn't feel safe going into an all out sprint due to my injury history. Max finished the leg 4 seconds faster.

I got a respectable 3rd place, one minute behind Rick Oliver, but almost 13 minutes behind Zach Kuder, a US Junior team member. Max had made errors earlier but he'd still gotten 4th place, about 10 and a half minutes behind me.

Green - Splits