Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: QOC Patuxent
 

QOC: Patuxent River Park. I ran Red today. I hadn't done that in a long while. I got started while it was still cloudy and maybe in the 70s F. Later it got to be sunny and in the mid to upper 80s F. I started out pacing myself. Things went well with me spiking everything in the first 7 controls. Sometimes I'd lose contact with the map briefly on these but my instincts were good. Going to several of these it seemed my course used the same controls as Rick Oliver, who I think was running the Green course. Rick just about caught-up to me on my 6-7 leg and passed me briefly going toward my #8. On that leg he probably was going to a different control since we diverged later. I felt I was reading the terrain okay as I rounded a ridge to attack off of a stream. However, when I got to the stream and ran up it, I somehow did a 180 and started reading the map upside down. I ended up crossing a creek that I had crossed already, and running up the wrong side reentrant. There were parallel features there. It took me off the map. After long pauses, I correctly surmised my error but I lost a lot of time. As I got back on course, I saw a guy ahead of me at #9, whom I'd passed at around #6. I went fairly straight on legs #10, #11, #12 and #13, all of which were largely across relatively featureless flat areas. I was happy about nearly spiking these. I did pause 3/4 of the way to #11 to make a correction when crossing a reentrant to #11. I was most happy about hitting the always tricky spur at #12. From #13, I went west to use the trail. The rest was easy, with nice open forest or field. I was also glad that my strength running is improving. I didn't run fast but could run through places where the terrain was open and not too steep.

Red - Splits

Seneca Creek State Park, MD. From Germantown Rd., Rte. 118. Before getting out, I'd had breakfast out with Peggy and the kids. We'd gotten haircuts too; it didn't occur to me to bring my gaiters with all of that. I was wearing shorts and had high socks; the terrain wasn't so bad to need gaiters a lot, going at a walking pace. However, I started on the flat lands and the mosquitoes were terrible. I had even sprayed myself before getting out. Bugs were buzzing in my ears. If I stopped and looked, I could see 10 of them around me. The temperatures weren't bad but I did sweat and that washed off a lot the spray I had put on. I got into some technical features in the flatlands and it was hard to put it to paper because I had to keep moving. There were high grasses (that will disappear in the winter) covering sticks, some mud in the ditches, and some more mud at the edge of marshland.

After over 2 hours of that I finally got to higher ground. This was a long with some side streams that I did next. I stayed on the west side which was greener and along the edge of farmland. At one point I was rounding a bushy area to map it and I noticed a big black snack curled-up inside it, on the branches. Further up that side stream I turned around and noticed that a herd of cows snuck up on me--they were on the other side of a fence in field but they were definitely all staring at me. I suppose they get fed by people and wanted me to give them something too. They followed me around (on the other side of the fence); cows never bothered me before but these were a little creepy. The west side of the stream took me closer to areas of old farmland that are now tree covered. Some man made features were not so easy to place with the forest having a mix of green clumps with white or open parts in between. I found some trails near a pond and a dam. That got me to the east side of the creek. I found a nice little water fall on a side stream, then got a bit confused on a spur or a hillside that was green--1993 pictures showed it to be open field. I finally went back down the creek on the east side and found lots of really nice open ground. I put in a lot of time working on the not so nice stuff so I should have a better time the next time I go out!

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was a cooler morning than it had been. However, it was still humid. I moved well with an apparent tailwind. A pair of faster riders passed me before Fletcher's Boathouse. I tailed them for 300m before backing-off because I was feeling the recent runs. I cruised the rest of the way in with mixed winds seemingly out of the NE.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. It felt late leaving work. It was already dusk-like with it being cloudy. The air was cool and I apparently had an unexpected tailwind. Riding in the dark I tend to slow for some unknown reason. I was comfortable without a headlamp. I had my Lumos helmet flashing and it gave just enough light where it was dark; it was plenty enough for cars and people to see me. I rode comfortably all the way home.

From Northfield Rd. to the Bethesda Metro Station.

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. I was feeling fairly beat on this run. It was 77 F starting out but humid. I'd worked late so I was feeling good about not bagging this run.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd. I worked late but had a productive day.

From Northfield Rd. to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd.

From Northfield Rd., to Huntington Pkwy., to Old Georgetown Rd. to Beech Ave. to North Bethesda MS, to Bradmoor Dr., to Folkstone Rd., Hartsdale Ave,. to Heampstead Ave. to McKinley St. to Garfield St., to Roosevelt St., to the trail at Jefferson St. to Northfield Rd. This was kind of slow; it was warm and humid, and I was just tired. People have already started putting out Halloween decorations/lights.

From Northfield Rd. to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was nice and cool with temperatures in the 60s F. I had a slight headwind. I rode a comfortable pace most of the time. At Fletcher's Boathouse, a guy joined the trail, and I passed him as he was trying to accelerate. He passed me, which was good. I slowly caught up and drafted a while before passing him back. I was feeling tired by Georgetown.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. It was nice leaving the office before 6pm. I carried double my clothing--left over clothes from running last Friday. The car traffic wasn't so bad after getting past Main Ave., but there were bunches of people and a normal amount of cyclists to slow me occasionally. I kept my pace comfortable most of the time, except for passing. I moved up the Capital Crescent Trail okay. I did get passed by the small rider who carries a laptop on a rack, and I held off another until turning off at Little Falls Pkwy.