Training Log Archive: Nadim

Washington, D.C. From 12th & Independence Ave., SW, down The Mall along Independence Ave. and the Reflecting Pool to the Lincoln Memorial, to Ohio Dr. to the Rock Creek Trail, to Calvert St., to the Woodley Park/Zoo Metro Station. The weather was changing quickly as I got out to run. I started at about 30 F but finished at 28 F. A wind was felt even in the Rock Creek Park valley as it blew out of the north about 10-12 mph. I was glad to have remembered to have brought my hat. I was feeling the orienteering I did yesterday. I think this was about the slowest that I've done this run.

Event: QOC Combat Village
 

QOC: Quantico Marine Base, VA. The club was able to repeat the use of the Combat Village map today. I warmed-up jogging from the area I was told to park in, and the start/finish assembly area. Part of this was with my o-gear backpack but all of it was wearing my down coat. It had gotten to about 30 F but a cold breeze was blowing off of a clearing.

QOC: Quantico Marine Base, VA on the Combat Village map. We started in a different area than last year. Overall the map seemed more green; there were saplings and thorny areas. The mapping of the vegetation was not entirely out of date but hasn't been updated in decades--new clearings exist while old ones had changed. In a few places, what was represented with light green had changed to become mid or dark green as pines planted close together to fill-in unmapped clearings had grown up. There was about +2 inches of snow covering things which slowed the pace too.

The scale for the Blue course that I ran was 1:15,000. I was wary of this going to #1 but I still made an error getting used to the distance. I'd seen Eddie Bergeron start 10 minutes before I did and he used the road, going 45 degrees away from a direct path. I thought that was a good way to avoid the green, some climb, and to get used to the scale so I did it too. Finally leaving the road, I passed through the parking lot where I'd parked, went a way into the woods, and pulled-up short. There were some subtle knolls in the area. I went down the wrong spur to one of them, then had to cross a reentrant and ridge to get to the correct one. It's hard to say how much time I lost with my long way around route but I'd guess the error part was almost minutes 2 minutes.

Going to #2 was relatively easy with it only being about 270m and out along a ridge. I spiked it. Footprints in the snow were helpful too. Unlike other orienteering events I've done in the snow, footprints were reassuring and often elephant path-like all through the course.

Leaving #2, Jon Torrance went past me moving quickly. He zig-zagged a bit so I kept pace behind him. He found a place to cross the creek and when I jumped it (up to down), I fell and lost sight of him. I angled over to the ridge a little earlier than what most footprints were doing--I wanted to get out of the green in the low lands. When I got on the ridge and climbed, I had to walk. As it leveled off more, it got greener. I zig-zagged a bit, still getting confused by the scale (I'm more used to running 1:10,000). Eventually, I went right to the control but I went via the side of the ridge and the spine a few times.

For #4, I went a bit to the left to stay out of the green. This took me lower but was worth it. As I got around the green and a ridge, I went straightish toward the control, through what was mapped as mid-green. I didn't notice it being any different from the light green. The control was over a second ridge with many parallel side reentrants. I looked in the first and didn't see it. I was about to move on when I looked again and saw it. It was hung on the other side of a tree stump.

I ran straightish toward #5 via a saddle. I got stopped by an older teen who politely claimed to be totally lost. Given the snowy conditions, I took pity and pointed out where we were while also giving him a hard time for stopping me and not using a safety bearing (a mapped road was 500m away). I lost 10 seconds, crossed the saddle, and spiked the control.

For #6, I ran left of straight, using the whiter and flatter ground. After crossing the creek I angled up. I almost got into the wrong reentrant but kept going. The control was in an area mapped white but green had grown up just in front of it.

For #7, I angled over to a road but did so slowly. When I left the road at a bend, the contours just kept seeming awkward to me. I kept going and went around some thickish pines that were on a more direct route. I spiked the control but it came up quicker than I thought it would.

For #8, I dog-legged back and eventually got to the road again. I was pacing a guy ahead of me who didn't seem to come from #7--he was already on the road. About 2/3 of the way there, on the road I had to stop at the top of a hill to tie my shoe (I'd forgotten to tape the laces). I left the road at a bend and followed a bearing past a knoll. I then saw another guy ahead looking for the control. I kept my bearing and saw the guy go down where I was headed. I spiked it.

Leaving #8 and headed to #9, I saw the guy that had punched ahead of me, then I saw the guy who'd been ahead of me on the road on the way to #8. He was running back toward the control (#8). I went fairly directly, crossing the road in a semi-open area, mapped as wooded. I eventually got into a reentrant with an intermittent trail mapped in it. I don't know if I was on the trail but it was good running down the reentrant. At the bottom I crossed the creek, and went left a little to get into a big reentrant climbing toward a ridge. At the top, I ran on a bearing into another reentrant going down, and I spiked the control. It was hard to see #9 from above but I did see another guy in the area just before getting there.

As I left #9 going to #10, I caught the guy I'd seen earlier. He had been walking until I got near. He fell when walking and I wanted to say that I didn't see that! At the top of a reentrant, I turned left on a road, thinking to use trails. In hind sight, this was probably a mistake. The fields had changed a bit and I was concerned about unmapped thorny/green terrain. Because the area had changed since mapping, it was confusing. On the road a little while, I cut right on a trail, thinking it was earlier than one that was mapped. I quickly left it and ran down a gentle reentrant toward the creek. It was fast. Many other footsteps were making a trail through the snow. At the bottom I crossed the creek but wasn't sure where I was until seeing a vehicle track just to my left. I ran to the right and spiked the control, #10, being somewhat slow walking on the climb to it.

For #11, I didn't want to drop down so I angled toward the road. Some more thick pines were in the way so I cut right around them to the road. On the road I saw another guy up ahead move past the control, then come back. It was on a power line pole off to the side of the road. The curves of the road seemed more pronounced in reality, than on the map.

I wasn't that quick on the run in. I was just not going to be able to move fast (weak in this way for the last 2 weeks or more) but felt like I had the endurance to go more. My feet were okay but I hadn't felt them much for most of the race--they were numb from the cold. It took over an hour after changing and getting warm in the car before I could really feel my toes again. The capillaries must have been closed--I could feel a sort of sudden warmth when it changed. Overall I was happy with my run. The course wasn't technically as hard as the one the year before but the green and the snow did make it easier to make mistakes.

C • Vegetation 2

QOC: Quantico Marine Base, VA. Jogging back to the car from the assembly area with my backpack and coat.

Blue - Splits

45 sit-ups. I ran out of time for a planned run.

From Northfield Rd., Custer Rd. to Wilson Ln. to Glenbrook Rd. to Hampden Rd., to Exeter Rd., to Battery Ln., to Park Ln., to Custer Rd., to the Huntington Pkwy., to Moorland Ln., to Charlcote Rd., to Moorland Ln., to Custer Rd., to Northfield Rd. After dinner, I snuck in a short run. I'd earlier walked Max over to his friend's house so I timed my run to finish there and pick him up. I jogged the last part back with him. It was about 19 F. I'd grabbed the wrong gloves so my hands were a little cool, especially when running south into the breeze. The roads were mostly good for running but with a few icy spots. I felt slow and weak.

45 sit-ups and upper body stretching. With the cold weather, working off-site, and some laziness, I let the day get away from me.

I did some spinning while watching a movie. I kept the resistance low enough to try to keep up a good cadence. It was cold and icy outside.

Max and I cleared our cars, driveway, and sidewalk of about 3 inches of snow. Another half-inch of snow fell afterward. Just a little bit north of us they got over 8 inches.

C • thanks 2

45 sit-ups and some upper body mobility stretching.