Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: QOC Wheaton
 

QOC: Wheaton Regional Park, MD. For my birthday, people were kind and let me win the Green course. Of course, it helped that I had done the mapping of the park for the last 8 years or so. It also helped with me coming from a week at mild altitude. I ran 10% of my total running miles all year there---due to injuries I'm still under 100 miles of running for all year. Also helping me was being pushed to run harder by Joseph Pastel. I caught him at around #2 and he was nearby until #8, even when we took different routes. Throughout the race I executed everything as planned, though sometimes my routes were not the best.

S-1 - I was surprised to be starting in this direction and found it a nice change. As I went through the parking lot, I think I saw some of the DVOA guys. Leaving the fields I went over the bridge and straight up the reentrant to the first rootstock. Attacking from there, I pretty much spiked the control.

1-2 - Straight across the trail, then to the rootstock NW of the control.

2-3 - Up to the trail, hitting it nearly at the corner, then on the paved trail until the bend SSW of the control Joseph Pastel almost caught me at the bend but I didn't stop running and got a few steps on him I kept above the gully and cut right to the reentrant.

3-4 - Down the reentrant, then up towards the corner of the ice rink. Unmapped brambles left by the park service slowed me getting to the trail. I turned left to go around and past the dog park. I cut west from the end of the ditch along the trail. When I got to the reentrant junction, Joseph was coming my direction from the south. I kept moving up the other reentrant to the control.

4-5 - I ran parallel to the trail for too long, but eventually emerged still ahead of Joseph. Turning right, I kept going until hitting the paved trail where I turned left. After, a right at the intersection I cut left into the forest. I had a good sense of where I was from having mapped the area and been there many times (the mapping could use more low vegetation now).

5-6 - East to the trail. When I hit it, I paused unsure where I was exactly. I saw a bend to the north but not the jeep track intersection. Seeing the house to the south convinced me I was too far south. After losing seconds here, I found the jeep track, went past the maintenance yard, then right and left at the trail intersections. From there I headed straight to the control.

6-7- Straight down--I confirmed along the way where I was by the reentrant. Joseph Pastel was chasing. At the stream I went south a little to reduce climb, the more north as I climbed to the spur.

7-8 - I popped east to the trail with a sense that Joseph was right behind me and would pass me. I didn't see him again until we finished. I came off the trail at the bend to the SE. I had to go a little left to get around some new vegetation but I adjusted after passing it to spike the control.

8-9 - Straight as I could, however there was some new green vegetation along the way that needs to be mapped. On the run, I expected that the control would be at the gully junction, but I didn't lose any time when I didn't see it there.

9-10 - I ran through the gully initially, partly still expecting that Joseph would see me leaving #9 if I had climbed out. I kept fairly straight. I crossed 3 ditches near the tops of them, expecting to find the control at the 3rd. I paused there and realized it was on the rootstock just ahead.

10-11 - I went a bit south of straight, intending to use the trail. I could see the fields to the west so I climbed above them, crossed over to the windy trail, then got to the next ridge. I came down from there. It was greener than when mapped. I trusted the contour to get me to go lower and to the right of my initial bearing and it worked.

11-12 - Straight. I was just 5m to the right as I climbed.

12-13 - To the trail, then cutting across some of the curves to the lake. I was getting tired. As I climbed the grassy trail I thought to avoid the strip of green between the 2 open areas. I got level with the control before cutting into the forest and spiked it but the more direct route would have saved time. It turned out that the green was not so bad.

13-14 - I dropped down to the gully, going NW, and I crossed in a zig-zag due to the vegetation. Coming up the paved trail, I left when hitting the rough open and climbed almost to the fence corner. It was easy getting to the ditches. I paused just above where I could see the control then went on.

14-F - I went SW to the jeep track, then on it along the park boundary to the road. I had negated dog-legging to the jeep track as being too slow because of the climb but in retrospect, going that way as Peggy had was better.

Green - Splits

Cabin John Regional Park, MD. From Tuckerman Rd., I updated parts of the map and checked-out control locations for the upcoming QOC beginner training event and relay that's to be held here on November 20th. I'd already known that the vegetation had changed tremendously. Despite making some quick efforts in 2021, there was still a lot to fix. Like nearly all of the Montgomery County parks that I'd mapped, this one has become much greener. It looked worse in the summer. Some areas I'd thought would be unusable were not bad. What makes them usable is knowing where the slow running and fight is, so it can be avoided. I did find a few new features to map. My skill when I originally mapped the park was not nearly as good as it is now. The day was nice--50's and 60's F. I should have gotten out earlier but I'm still a little on the Mountain Time Zone. At the end of the day a lot of cars were driving into the campground--the girl scouts were having a sing-a-long after dark and a few people came to camp.

From Northfield Rd. I ran up to Custer Rd., to Wilson La., to Exeter Rd. to Glenbrook Rd. to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, to the NIH grounds, to Maple Ridge Rd. to Georgetown Pike, to Huntington Pkwy., to Custer Rd. to Northfield Rd. It was 46 F and calm, like it has mostly been at Fort Collins in the evenings. I was able to get a better stride and lift going on gradual downhill grades than I have been. I still got winded some, but I recovered too.

Fort Collins, CO. From East Horsetooth Rd. at John F. Kennedy Pkwy. to North Star Course, to the dirt trail on the north side of Lake Warren to Harbor Walk Ln., to Harbor Walk Dr., to Breakwater Dr., to Skysail Ln., to Spninaker Ln., to Mariner Ln., to Landings Dr., to Horsetooth Rd. I got going before it got dark this time, and so I was able to see much more. A narrow crescent moon was rising over the front range. I felt a little better; perhaps more acclimated to the altitude (just over 5,000 ft.), and I pushed at times. I was surprised to have finished a minute faster than the day before.

Fort Collins, CO. From East Horsetooth Rd. at John F. Kennedy Pkwy. to North Star Course, to the dirt trail on the north side of Lake Warren to Harbor Walk Ln., to Harbor Walk Dr., to Breakwater Dr., to Skysail Ln., to Spninaker Ln., to Mariner Ln., to Landings Dr., to Horsetooth Rd. I felt better and a little lighter, having not eaten as much as the day before with my officemates. At times, I could feel myself accelerating.

Fort Collins, CO. From East Horsetooth Rd. at John F. Kennedy Pkwy. to North Star Course, to the dirt trail on the north side of Lake Warren to Harbor Walk Ln., to Harbor Walk Dr., to Breakwater Dr., to Skysail Ln., to Spninaker Ln., to Mariner Ln., to Landings Dr., to Horsetooth Rd. I didn't feel so good. Though this was only about 5,000 ft. elevation, I was definitely feeling winded. I'd gotten going after dark and slowed on the dirt portions since the path was unfamiliar to me. On the paved sections, I had a hard time telling how much further I had to go and sometimes I wasn't sure that I was on the right street. Some of the houses on the north side of Lake Warren were below the level of the lake, I thought the south side was nice and looked like a comfortable place to live. In one area there were houses only on the outside, away from Lake Warren. In that same area (Breakwater Dr.), a smaller unnamed lake was behind the same houses. Checking Zillow after finishing, I saw that just about all of the houses along the lake were costing +$1M, however the ones across the street were often $300K less. Along Breakwater Dr., where houses were in-between 2 lakes, the houses were around +$2M.