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 up the Rock Creek Trail to the trail intersection with Kensington Pkwy., then ran back. The heavy rains had stopped for a few hours before I started but it was wet out. The creek was raging but not overflowing its banks. Though the trail is paved, there were some places where drainage was flowing over it. I had to get in some mud in a few places. I felt tired going out but a little less so when returning, which is generally down the stream course. It was in the upper 30s F and breezy.

Event: QOC PWF Oak Ridge
 

QOC: Prince William Forest at Oak Ridge. This event was QOC's National Ranking Event (NRE). I had done some of the original scouting of this area with others and had even gotten to checkout an early draft of the mapping done by John Torrance. Instead of running my age group, I ran up, in M45+ on the Red course. Had I been further along in my rehabilitation training, I'd have run Blue. Today was a good day for me overall. While not always in contact with the map, I read it well. I used some new 2.0 diopter glasses and that may have helped. Though not all flat, the contours here are subtle. The terrain is a bit more open than many of QOC's maps but there was enough deadfall and other low vegetation to keep one looking for footing a lot. My routes today were rather straight--an 8.0K course is 4.8 miles, and I only ran 4.98 miles to complete the course, including my one mistake.

S-1 - I opted to go high, over the ridges to have more to navigate by. I stayed above the green portions before turning down. The longer route to the left along the steam was probably quicker but I hadn't waited long enough to analyze that before running.

1-2 - I've been feeling too slow to go far around obstacles so I decided against going NW along the stream and around the green. Instead I went pretty much straight, over the high part of a ridge mapped green. The green wasn't very bad. I went left to get past the roughest parts and only walked a short way.

2-3 - On this turning leg, I could see the control after taking about 4 steps away from #2. Another guy was ahead of me too and I guessed he was running Red too.

3-4 - I took off quickly going straight. I'd partly wanted to get away from the other guy who'd just punched. He hadn't taken a step since getting to the control before I left and didn't look back. I kept a pretty straight route but I struggled matching-up contours. It was often the case that I was confusing up and down. I knew I was on target seeing David Onkst punch on a dot knoll, about 1/3 of the way--I'd remembered seeing this dot knoll when I originally had done some scouting here. I started getting a little to the left to reduce climb 3/4 of the way but I was able to read my way in. I was concerned not seeing the control as I neared the green and saw the stream, but it was just a short way in.

4-5 - I left #4 a little to the left and later compensated. As I popped over the ridge I saw the control and I was on target. Starting this leg, I again was having trouble understanding up and down in the contours.

5-6 - I continued having trouble understanding up and down leaving #5. It looked like I'd be going down across a reentrant, but I started climbing some more first. Very soon after as I was crossing a longer formline contour and on flatter ground, I lost solid contact with the map. I hit some green and went around most of it on the right side. I kept my bearing and kept skirting the deafall by going right. In reality, from my GPS track, I was going fairly straight. I was just not matching things up. I kept doing this as I was looking for a steeper downslope. As I finally found one, I cut left to try to compensate and checkout a valley, but finding what I thought might be my gully, I was actually on a stream. I noted a bend and stopped. About here, my son Max came out of nowhere. He'd been lost for 30 minutes on a control. I told him I was lost too but eventually I told him where I thought we were and I took off. I had to climb another ridge and drop into the next valley. As I did this, the map made sense to me again. Nearing the control from above, I could see Diana Aleksiev heading toward the control on a more direct route. I saw the control seconds later and pushed to get there ahead of her.

6-7 - I've been running slower than last year and a few times last year Diana had passed me on a course. I was expecting that to happen again so I pushed a bit more. I had to leave #6 to the left a bit to get past the deadfall, but after that I went straight. I was looking for a side reentrant and it was the only one before the large reentrant ended. I just kept myself high enough above the larger reentrant to spike it. I think I'd been in this area before when scouting too.

7-8 - Diana was not far behind as I left #7. I headed just to the left of the first big deadfall to start out. I kept going straight afterward, making slight adjustments for what I was seeing. I did drift right near the clearing on the ridge at about midway (I'd been there when scouting previously too--I think the leg line for #2 was covering up some of the large depressions that one time were mapped as ruins) but that also helped me find a good way through the deadfall ahead. I kept moving and spiked the control.

8-9 - As I left #8, I could see that Diana was not far behind again. I went straight at first but adjusted to the right to get around the green on the map. The rest was straight. I picked-up the pace on the flatter ground up top that was very open, and I spiked the control seeing just left of my bearing.

9-10 - With a few shorter legs, I wanted to run faster. I was concerned about making a bonehead mistake but I wanted to stay ahead of Diana. With the open running it was okay, though instead of seeing just one dot knoll in the terrain as mapped, I saw 3. I kept my bearing and used the subtle reentrant to spike it. It was green in the area. Another QOC racer was standing looking at his map with the control about 10m away.

10-11 - I ran straight and spiked it. A family had just left the control about 30 seconds before I'd gotten there.

11-12 - I was getting tired. I started out straight. At one point I was going around some green and fell as I tripped. As I got up, I had suddenly thought myself to be further ahead. I kept my bearing and calmed down reading more while pushing a little less, and recovered to spike it.

12-13 - I was getting a little careless, reading my compass less. I did seen the reentrant off to my right that points to the control. I drifted a little left but saw the green ahead, and then the open ground behind it. I corrected and ran faster.

13-F - I tried to push harder about half way there.

As indicated, this was a good run for me overall. With some more training I hope to regain some speed and strength climbing. I felt that the terrain today was championship quality and so it's good to end the orienteering competition year on a high note. I was right at 10 minutes/K and I haven't been running that fast on most courses this year.

Red - Splits

Carderock Park, MD. From the towpath, Peggy and I ran the Billygoat C Trail going counter-clockwise. It had been a while since doing this, and since the trails there fork, I may not have been on all parts previously. It was also a lot rockier than I recalled. The rocks forced us to walk in several places in the first mile. We felt like we were taking it easier once we hit the towpath for the return but we speeded up in terms of minutes per mile. There seemed to be a running group on the towpath as well as a lot of hikers on it and the Billygoat Trail. It was damp and in the upper 40s F. We had planned to run the Berma Road from the Angler's Inn, however with the new parking barriers along MacArthur Blvd., the lots there were full. Even the lots in Carderock were extra busy.

From Northfield Rd. to Old Georgetown Rd. via Greenwich Park, to Ipswich Rd. to Fleming Ave. to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to Old Georgetown Rd. to Northfield Rd. via Greenwich Park. It was 54 F when starting so like the last time I ran this route, I ran in shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt. My stomach was a little unsettled. There were few people out.

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 felt out of breath in the first mile and not too strong afterward. It was in the upper to mid-40s F and calm. There were a few more holiday lights over the course than last time.

From Northfield Rd., Custer Rd. to Wilson Ln. to Glenbrook Rd., to Bradley Blvd. to Kennedy Dr. to Dorset Ave. to the Capital Crescent Trail,.to Falls Rd./Glenbrook Rd., to Wilson Ln. to Custer Rd. Northfield Rd. I felt slow starting. Once going downhill, I was better but I slowed before the turnaround gentle climb back. I felt better on the return but was probably just moving slowly. It was around 40 F starting out but getting colder quickly.

Takoma Park, MD: From Wayne Ave., I took the paved Sligo Creek Trail north past Forest Glen Rd. to the 3rd bridge over the creek where the trail splits just north of Belvedere Blvd., and then I ran back. It was in the 30s F with breezy headwinds, but the trees blocked most of it. I struggled. My stride was blocky and stiff. The climb felt like more than it was. There were lots of runners walker and cyclists despite it getting dark as I ran. I hadn't run this section of trail since 2003. Back then it was nothing for me to do a nice loop using Sligo Creek and the Paint Branch through Wheaton Park.