Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: QOC Lake Accotink
 

QOC: Lake Accotink. Warm-up from the registration area to the start, below the dam.

QOC: Lake Accotink Park, VA. This was a repeat run of a course that Victor Lin set on 9/22/2013, 3 years back. I did better then, by 18 minutes, and back then, I didn't think I did so well either. Interestingly, I blew some of the same controls. That doesn't say much for my technique, nor for learning from mistakes. I did however, have fun today and viewed this as some much needed tuning-up. The Summer Short Series events are fun and they get us out for physical training, but they are often not technical because people are less enthused to set courses in hilly forests with summer undergrowth and +90 F days.

S-1 I'm not sure where everyone else went and am surprised that I got the second fastest split on this. It was a steep climb and I have lost a lot of climbing ability. Since it was the first control, I did push up the hill on the trail and threaded my way past a bunch of people. I short cut right instead of taking the big trail bend. I got a little past the green and then walked-up the steep hill until I was past the steepest part. I forced myself right a little and got over the spur overlooking the reentrant. My first inclination was that the control would be low but I didn't see it and I soon saw a guy who'd started ahead of me coming up the reentrant. I went higher not seeing the ditch until in some underbrush and was happy to find the control.

1-2 I ran up until hitting the paved trail near an intersection with a dirt trail. I took the dirt trail almost the whole way there but things didn't look quite right with the trail mapping.

2-3 I took trails the whole way, going on what was shown as open ground (it wasn't open).

3-4 I back tracked, then got just past the control to a trail. I dropped-into the reentrant just after a young woman had punched.

4-5 - I took the trails around to the left to save climb. With extra unmapped trails, I got past the control and relocated low, near the fence corner along the main Accotink Trail. From there I was almost on target; I'd been looking for a ditch reading the center of the control circle instead of the control description. The mapped pit looked like a formline or part of a ditch to me. I fumbled into it with no more errors but some hesitation. The woman at #3 was just punching again when I got there.

5-6 - With so many controls on the narrow and legs criss-crossing, I ran toward control 16 instead of control 6. The extra unmapped trails were making it more difficult for me. Struggling, I was disappointed more at finding that I was attacking the wrong control. Once I realized it I went straight to control 6. Had I headed there to begin with, it would have been an easier trail run and attack. I picked-up this control after the event and though it matched-up with my attack point during the race, a control very close by on the further away trail bend didn't. That leads me to think something might be wrong with the ditch or trail mapping. The woman whom I'd seen at #4 and #5 was again, just leaving the control #6 ahead of me.

6-7 - I ran on bearing to a trail, then stayed high on that as it paralleled the reentrant. The woman who was at the last few controls dropped lower before me. I dropped low near the end and still had to run up the reentrant a little bit to the control.

7-8 - In the past I've usually run similar legs by staying low. However summertime vegetation discouraged me from that. I ran the left side of the reentrant with much of it on the trail. A guy running with a dog on a leash was just behind me. I pulled ahead and attacked from above. As I did, I tripped and caught myself okay. I was happy about not hurting myself more since my hand still hurts from a fall on a curb in Bar Harbor, ME. The guy with the dog wasn't so sure that I was okay but I ran on and hit the control well.

8-9 - Rather than go north and around, I went more directly on trails and a bearing. I didn't think I had the speed to make going around work for me. I wasn't positive that the control was in the field but this time, I did read the control description.

9-10 - I ran the field length, then along the fence. After cutting in at the reentrant I took the trail.

10-11 - I took the unmapped trail down toward 11. I got lower than necessary since I was thinking the control would be low on the earthbank. Looking at the circle instead of the control description, I made the right bet, but with a little hesitation.

11-12. I took trails and ran bearings somewhat directly toward 12. I probably stayed on one trail too long, and had some extra green to get through as a result.

12-13 - I ran trails to the stream, but crossed it late. I ducked under the control a little. Again, not reading the control description and not recognizing the mapped pit, I got confused and lost time figuring it out.

13-14 - I took trails and forced myself left when they didn't make sense. I hesitated at an unmapped ditch a little before the control.

14-15 - I started to go across on trails but ended up following the one taking me north to the main Lake Accotink Trail. That offered better running and I figured I'd be faster while saving energy. It may have saved me energy but it wasn't faster. I spiked the control.

15-16 - I ran up on trails and when they started not to make sense, I ignored them to go on bearing. I spiked it.

16-17 - I took trails along the tracks and spiked it.

17-18 - I doubled back on my route to 17, along the tracks. I next took the unmapped trail south of 18 until it turned away. I attacked on bearing and spiked it.

18-19 - I recalled there being a way through the fencing so when I saw a break to get in the enclosure I figured I'd find a way out. As I got to the other side, I didn't see it and got discouraged about going through the green along the fence and between the marsh. I backed-up a lot getting out of the enclosure on the north side. From there I took the main Accotink Trail and spiked it. I wasn't running that fast since I was getting tired.

19-20 - This seemed cruel at first since it was basically to the top of the hill from near the bottom. Accotink doesn't have that much land so it didn't bother me too much. I short cut over to the paved trail and ran up it slowly. I cut left but things didn't seem like they were matching up. I cut further up and into the reentrant. Later, I saw that the same trail would have taken me right to the control.

20-F - I ran down the mapped and unmapped trails past a lot of people, and I was glad that I hadn't overrun the finish.

QOC: Lake Accotink Park, VA. With mountain biking having been offered much earlier in the morning and this being the first meet of the season, QOC was short on volunteers for pickup. I was a little reluctant before going out on my course but it was getting late and Jon Baker, who was operating as director and course setter this weekend, was planning to go out injured again to pickup controls. I didn't want to leave with him that short handed and went to help too.

I was weak/tired but jogged the whole way. I hadn't realized that the first control I went to was a water control. It was above the main trail, on a steep hill so I packed-up the water trash in a bag and tossed it down to pickup on my way back. The bag opened so I had a mess to clean up when I returned. I hit everything well except for control 108. Something didn't seem to make much sense there; perhaps an extra trail. Control 103 also didn't line-up well with control 130, as mapped but the placements matched the descriptions--perhaps there's something wrong with the map around here. My run back was pretty slow for being on a good trails; just 10 min/K. I was however carrying controls and another bag for trash.

Red - Splits

From Northfield Rd., to Norfolk Ave., via Battery Park, then to Wisconsin Ave. & Battery Ln., then back to Northfield Rd. I towed Samantha on her trail-a-bike to the downtown area for lunch. We also stopped by and checked-out the new Harris Teeter grocery store; now the closest grocery store to us. It's underground and had a surprisingly good selection. It was hot out; 95 F. A slight breeze helped.

Friendship Park, Anne Arundel County, MD. After flying to BWI, I hit the ground running. Starting from the Thomas A. Dixon Jr. Aircraft Observation area, which is right under the landing flight path (and one of the places used for this year's QOC SSS Squirel Kill event, I ran the BWI Trail in a counterclockwise direction to Stewart Ave. and back. During the SSS, I had opted to leave one control from the score-o, and this run would have gotten to that control. I felt better than I thought I might for it being in the low 90s F. That was 20 degrees warmer than what I was running in in Colorado. Maybe I was feeling a bit of a bump from the change in altitude. Going out, I was just under 11 minutes so I had come back faster, despite it being more uphill on the way back. A woman who passed me while on her bicycle cheered me on by saying when she grows up, that she wanted to be like me. She was about as old as I and I didn't have the heart or breath to tell her that I'm significantly slower from when I had "grown-up".

Spring Canyon Park, Fort Collins, CO. From near the Horsetooth Dog Park, I ran into the Pine Ridge Natural Area. I'd run here previously but it had been a long time back. It was evident that they were managing it more tightly, with some fences to keep people from making new trails, a few trails gone, and lots of signs. It is still a nice area and for a while with shadows getting long, it seemed like I was going to have it to myself. From the parking lot, I ran to the paved Spring Creek Trail, to a connector trail that took me to the Reservoir Loop Trail, then to the Timberline Trail, then back via the Reservoir Loop Trail. In the past I've gone all the way around the reservoir but I didn't need to do that with having run long yesterday, and with darkness coming. There were a few hikers and some runners with stalky legs characteristic of a Colorado ultrarunner who's used to climbing mountain trails. I was very slow climbing to the ridge from the parking lot and there were ups and downs after that. The Timberline Trail is rocky too. It was all very pretty and I saw a few animals--rabbits, a prarie dog, a deer. I needed a restroom and was glad to find one open when I got back at dusk.

Fort Collins, CO. From Centre Ave. on the Colorado State University campus, to the Spring Creek Trail to County Route 38E and back with a slight detour in the middle. Going out I thought that I was feeling the altitude since my legs were dragging sometimes. However in the dark I didn't realize that I actually was going uphill. The darkness fooled me too. I meant to turn around at a parking lot I'd used a long time back but passed it. Similarly on the way back I took one wrong fork but somehow found my way back on course. I guess the moon and Big Dipper helped. Though it was longer I still managed a negative split on the return. Going downstream really helped as did the overall gentle grade on the smooth concrete trail.

From Northfield Rd. Glenbrook Rd./Little Falls Pkwy. to the Bethesda Outdoor Pool at Hillandale. Rd., and back. I had a little extra distance with a false start return to home a short way out. I felt tired from doing things around the house earlier. At the pool, Samantha went into the water but I was to tired. I sat on the grass and my back didn't feel that well. Later I kept drifting to sleep. The ride back wasn't bad. I might just have been low on blood sugar or my cold was reasserting itself. I did have to clear my throat a bit.