Training Log Archive: Nadim

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd.

Event: QOC Swanson Road
 

QOC: Swanson Park, MD. I decided to do Red since it was hot and I'd run long the day before. I didn't want to wear myself out for the Hudson Highlander next weekend. As it turned out, Blue wasn't much longer. With the terrain as nice as it was I'd of been able to do Blue without much trouble.

S-1 - This was just a straightforward short leg to get us in the woods and I went straight.

1-2 - I stayed left to avoid climb. I first glanced the control to be across the field at the saddle but when I looked again at some point, I got to thinking it was more across from the knoll on the field. I did look at the map but didn't realize my error until in the woods in the wrong place.

2-3 - I contoured across, staying high until the end. I guessed it'd be greener going low. I don't know if it really was green or not going low but elsewhere, the park was remarkably open compared to other parks in the DC area this time of year.

3-4 - I went up and through the field, since I drifted too close to it. The grass was high but an elephant track went right through it. Coming off the road at the telephone pole was easy.

4-5 - Fairly straight, using a deer trail for some of it, I just tried to stay right of the top of the knoll and out of the stream edge.

5-6 - Along the mowed field edge to a forest corner and in.

6-7 - across the first side reentrant to the bridge over the stream, then angling up and counting ditches to spike it.

7-8 - I was ambivalent thinking I could stay low and go around, but thinking it'd be too green and slow as I got nearer, I ran the trail to the top. I crossed the saddle and descended a little early. Recognizing where I was I practically looked over and saw it 70m away.

8-9 - I dog-legged back up the hill, walking and then crossed the road. I angled to the end of the ditch but wasn't following a bearing well afterward. I got confused perhaps reading up for down. Slowing down, I climbed to the trail mapped as a ditch, and ran till I was close to the field. I looked down from there and saw it. I probably lost 45 seconds.

9-10 - I mostly contoured around the first hill and read the long spur to the right. Keeping it there, I paused right before the control where it got greener, not seeing it straight in front of me. I paused only 5-10 seconds which was long enough to know the reentrant to the left was the one N of the control on the map.

10-11 - I thought about this a little before I descended to the field. Staying out of the out of bounds, I left the field past the runway, at a corner. At about that point, my eyes focused on control 14 instead of 11. The many contours kind of camouflaged it for me. I went to the power line and that was slow because of high grass. I had to stop to relieve myself in the green forest, before attacking toward #14. Just before climbing, I realized my error and proceeded directly to #11, climbing the spur before it, then cutting over. I lost several minutes.

11-12 - I went straight at it. I crossed the top of the first reentrant to keep me on track. Someone else was ahead of me as I closed in.

12-13 - Running downhill was easier than going up. The guy who got to #11 ahead of me was still ahead but off to the right. I climbed a little early but was realizing it as I saw the hill ahead (having been there before). Though the control (a pit feature) was not visible from below, the presence of the other guy helped.

13 -14 - I memorized the route and ran down the hill quickly. The other guy stayed to the right and more in the valley. I climbed a little to shorten distance before going all the way to the bottom and got ahead. I hardly looked at the map until the right reentrant, then followed the ditch.

14-15 - Like most, I stayed low for the mowed grass and little climb. I followed the stream, staying low, but reading the contours looking for the flat spot before the control to spike it.

15 -16 - Just estimating the height I needed to be above the stream, I spiked it. Others I passed were higher and lower.

16 -F - I started to go straight but when I found myself close to the field, I decided the running there would be faster. After the first field, I was worried about the second not being mowed. The woods looked okay so I ran in them until getting hung up at the end where there was deadfall at the mapped marsh. I'd passed Tanaka Hideharu getting to #16 but he passed me in the field on an elephant trail as I was still getting out of the deadfall.

Overall this wasn't a bad race but I left definite room for improved concentration and better planning. My running held up in the heat.

Red - Splits

College Park, MD. From the parking lot off Metzerott Rd., I took the Paint Branch Trail to Lake Artemesia (Luther Goldman Birding Trail) to the Northeast Branch Trail, to the Anacostia River Trail, to the track in Kennilworth Park, just before Anacostia Ave., NE., Washington, DC. I woke up too late to run when it was cool and we'd planned to see Max run Cross Country. I chose this one way run since I knew the trails and it took me right to Max's event, the DCXC Invitational. Peggy and Samantha met me there and arrived just before I did. Max set a personal record. It was a flat course but he was also filling in on the Varsity team; he beat two other teammates, though some of them were young too.

My run was slow; not just in contrast but from my usual slow pace. I was carrying water and that made me a little heavier. The biggest detriment was probably the sunny 87 F weather. I was not feeling strong starting off and slowly faded. The trails were paved and very flat overall. That meant using the same muscles over and over, most of the way. Though most of the way was sunny, the sun wasn't really strong. There was some humidity. At the Decatur St. Bridge they were setting up for a Unity gathering. That I stopped to walk and drink once at what I thought was the half way point, and again about 1.25 miles before the end, when Max started texting me to find out where we were. I'd thought this run would be over 10 miles, but it came up short.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd. I was going to run but we decided to eat dinner out and do some shopping instead.

From Northfield Rd., Greenwich Park, to Old Georgetown Rd. to Beech Ave. to North Bethesda Middle School, to Bradmoor Dr., to Folkstone Rd., to Heampstead Ave. to McKinley St. to Garfield St., to Roosevelt St., to the trail at Jefferson St. to Northfield Rd. I planned an easier day and since I worked from home and was busy earlier, I got to run in the cooler evening (~60 F). Initially getting through Greenwich Park, I was slow. It was pretty dark and I couldn't see the trail. I picked up the speed gradually. My legs were tired climbing and at the end.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station. I got through most of the intersections easily and it was another nice morning.

From 12th & Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C., to Maine Ave., SW, to Ohio Dr., SW, departing from the roadway to the very tip of Haines Point on the grass, then back onto Ohio Dr., SW, to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, continuing around the Tidal Basin to West Basin Dr., to Independence Ave., SW, past the Martin Luther King memorial and the Kutz bridge to 12th St., SW. It had been many years since I last ran or biked on Haines Point--possibly since 2008 just prior to the relocation of the Awakening sculpture. That perfect place for the sculpture looked pretty lonely today, as just a grassy field. As I started to go around the very flat edges of Haines Point, I thought to run on the often broken and sometimes wet sidewalk along the water, but most of it was closed off due to being under water. It was either an unusually high tide, the edges of the once river island was sinking, or just a nearby example and casualty of global warming. The permanent fencing that the park service had put up makes me think it was the last option. The weather was pretty nice; in the low 80s F when starting. I ran into a headwind going out along the point so I had a tailwind coming back, which was nice. There were a few other runners but lots more cyclists doing loops. Some were in packs. I'm glad I brought a dry shirt to change into after the run.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd. Since I'm teleworking tomorrow, I had my laptop bag. However since I ran from work yesterday, I had 2 backpacks in addition to my laptop. It was awkward and I was tired. It was also getting dark.

From Northfield Rd., to the Bethesda Metro Station.

From 12th & Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C. Independence Ave. to the Reflecting Pool, to the Lincoln Memorial, to the Rock Creek Trail, to along the Georgetown Waterfront, to the Capital Crescent Trail (CCT), to Canal Rd., NW, to Foxhall Rd., to 44th St. NW, to the Glover Archbold Trail, up to the Tenleytown Metro Station via Van Ness St. and Wisconsin Ave., then to the Friendship Heights Metro Station at the DC/MD border (Western Ave. & Wisconsin Ave.). It was a much cooler day and I even had headwinds for a while. There were a lot of cyclists and other runners everywhere; even runners in Glover Archbold Park. I was concerned about how well I'd hold up on the run. Resting had done me well since my legs were not hurting so much during the day. I didn't feel strong for the first 3.5 miles and resigned to just take it easy on the climb up from Georgetown. I could have used a bathroom too. I moved smoothly finishing up and wasn't very sweaty like I usually have been.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Northfield Rd. There was an unusual amount of traffic for this hour of day. I weighed-out at 188.5.