Training Log Archive: Nadim

Hemlock Overlook Regional Park. From the Kinchoe Parking lot, I walked around the fields with Samantha to warm-up.

From the Kinchoe Parking lot in Hemlock Overlook Regional Park, I walked to the start of QOC's event.

QOC: Hemlock Overlook Regional Park, VA. We started from the Kinchoe soccer field parking lot. I'd helped do course setting review with course setters Paul Morris and Mark Thompson, so I had familiarity with the legs before going out. I was slow from being out of shape. My right knee didn't hurt too much while competing but it was sore moving around afterwards.

S-1 - I stayed on the trail the whole way.

1-2 - I ran the trail to the road then came over. A person who'd punched right after me at #1 had already been to 2 but he went a more direct route after the trail intersection, and got there a bit ahead of me. He was moving fast too so maybe my route was still better.

2-3 - I generally stayed to the left. I used the trail only after climbing the first ridge, and just a short way on the next. After that I dropped down low along the river. The woods were mostly white--only a small area was still light green and that was easily skirted. I climbed up only after hitting the trail at the last reentrant. The placement of the control would have been better if on the tip of the spur. As it was, it was in the right place but like a bag in the forest. I saw it over 100m away.

3-4 - NE towards the trail, then leaving it after passing the hilltop, to descend on the right side of the reentrant. The bag was on the ground when I got there and someone had tied it to a 6-inch stick in the ground. I picked-it up and hung it from a tree branch, pretty high.

4-5 - I went fairly straight. I passed right next to the cairns on the left side, then went down the reentrant.

5-6 - I went down the left side of the reentrant but hit bottom where it comes intersected the stream. I follow the stream north, then turn up the left side of the next reentrant. I counted and hit the control right on target.

6-7 - Rather than dog-leg, I went SE leaving 6, to reduce climb and get around the mapped green. I came along the ridge to the control. It seemed to be on the wrong dot knoll since it was more on the north side of the broad spur than the south side.

7-8 - Straight to the stream junction (I hit it perfectly), the up the left most reentrant to the control.

8-9 - I angled down to the trail and used that to start the climb. Once I got around the bend, I left the trail to go up the broad spur. I came out at the trail bend with a nearby rootstock and a ride intersection, but I kept going straight from there. I hit the trail again where it crosses a stream. I starte the next climb on the trail but once I'd gotten above a reentrant on my right, I cut over more directly to attack. I must have drifted east just a bit. It was enough to put me on reentrant to the left (east) of the one with the control. Unfortunately, I missread the map and didn't recognize the 2 parallel sets of reentrants with ditches. I went further east before coming back. AP only shows me losing 1 minute for this, but I lost close to 2:30 minutes--the only control on the course that I didn't spike. I should have aimed off to the right on my attack the first time, as I've done in previous events.

9-10 - Out to the trail, then after reaching the bend, I turned left into the woods. As I was coming down, going on bearing, I saw the control. I still had to cross the big reentrant, but I worked my way up the left side. I lost sight of the control coming from below but I spiked it.

10-11 - I went straight as I could across the fields but the unmapped line of trees confused me. Both lines of trees had fencing which was unmapped too., I got through them where it looked easiest. Some of the fencing was low where trees had knocked it down. I opted to go to the corner of the field rather than take the forest mapped white, near the start triangle. When I was there I had seen Tom Nolan try it only to have to stop due to deadfall.

11-F - Back the way I'd come, and trails until just before the finish. I was not moving well.

I had fun overall. I've got a long way to go to get healed and faster again.

Green - Splits

Little Seneca Regional Park, MD. Trying to wrap-up the Hoyles Mill Conservation Park map before the leaves come out, I got north of Clopper Rd. and covered the park grounds up to the railroad tracks. I started from the SW end of Tattershall Pl. Most of these woods were great! Most of the ridges were wide open but had some very steep climbs. The flood plain was mostly wide open too. It had various dot knolls, ditches and depressions amongst meandering streams. I got to the NE side of Little Seneca Creek late in the day. The NE end of it became light green, then green. There were features and I even found a group of boulders but that area was junky. Some sort of commercial establishment had been dropping scraps off of a very steep embankment into the park. All of this is easily avoided by a course setter but it does cut down on areas that I thought might be useful. I got the area mapped. I was working past sunset. I still found a good crossing point for the creek on my return. It's really steep the last bit up to Tattershall Pl.

From Northfield Rd., to Charlcotte Rd., to Hampden Ln. to York Ln. to Custer Rd., to Northfield Rd. I walked with Samantha. I was surprised that she chose to walk up the steep York Ln. She may not have realized it would be steep. She was out of breath.

From Northfield Rd., to Grant St., to McKinley St., to Old Georgetown Rd., to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to Rockville Pike/Woodmont Ave., to Battery Ln. to Keystone Ave./Northbrook Ln., to Old Georgetown Rd., to Maple Ridge Rd., to Park Ln., to Custer Rd., to Northfield Rd., I feld like I was walking pretty fast on this outing.

I went out at lunchtime. From Northfield Rd., to Custer Rd., to Moorland Ln. to Overhill Rd., to York Ln. to Moorland Ln. to Glenbrook Rd., to the Elm St. Trail to Exfair Rd., to Hampden Ln. to Exeter Rd., to Battery Ln., to Park Ln. to Custer Rd., to Northfield Rd.,

After my haircut, I decided to use the available daylight to get into Cabin John Regional Park again for a short hike. The sun set as I did. I started at the ice rink parking lot, went straight down to the creek, looped up to cross the powerlines near the ice rink, did a loop taking me close to the train station. I finished along Westlake Dr., to get back to the parking lot when it was dark.

After getting an MRI of left knee, I stopped off at Cabin John Regional Park. I started along Tuckerman Rd., and headed north. In contrast to the mess of the summertime, the woods had really opened-up. I could see far away, and some old features which I'd mapped long ago, but had forgotten about. It'd be much easier to hold events in these woods now, though one still has to work more than in other parks, to get around the messy stuff. I found a ride that was probably used for pipeline work so I followed it. Knowing that I was GPS tracking with my watch, I used the tracks later.