Training Log Archive: Nadim

Event: QOC Little Bennett
 

QOC: Little Bennet.

S-1 - I was having trouble matching-up where I was on the trail starting out, but I did recognize some parts of it and left it in the right place too. I was just slow since I hadn't run all week--my left knee has been hurting. I kept pretty straight most of the way. I had to zigzag in some of the green areas but I hit the reentrant just fine.

1-2 - As I was dropping down to the road, I looked back and saw the Max was not far behind. He'd probably made up a lot of time on me. He was past me on the road pretty quickly but didn't pull so far ahead as I thought he would. I passed another guy who came behind me up the trail on the spur. The other guy left the trail before me and behind me. I went in from just past a bend and was heading in the right direction when I saw Max coming down through the rocks towards the control. Max got there first and left going down the hill.

2-3 - Unlike Max, I climbed to the trail and ran the ridge. Where the trail dipped down, I cut across the medium green. I still had to drop some but I got through pretty well. There was almost an animal trail through some of it. I continued on the ridge until the bend after the field and after some more green. I came just to the left of the control, so not exactly spiking it. I'd stopped at the right distance, looked to my right and had to climb less than half a contour to get to the control.

3-4 - I cut across but I was having trouble matching-up some things. The map seemed out of date in the area. I remember running through here years ago without much trouble. I hit the trail eventually, and ran down it briefly to attack the control from a bend.

4-5 - Back out to the trail, I passed Craig and Suzanne Sheldon with their dogs. My left knee was hurting less by this point but I was careful not to pound too hard on the trail, and not to trip. Once across the bridge, the trail bent left more than I thought. At the road, a couple wasn't sure which way to go. I paused too but I recognized and went into the reentrant on my right, when I expected to see it on my left from where the trail seemed to be mapped hitting the road. The control was still more to the right than I though it'd be.

5-6 - I got up to the trail then ran across the reentrant that the trail was contouring around. On the other side I cut across again. It was more open than I thought it'd be from the map. I did more of this but made my way to the right side of the ridge quickly. From well over 100m away, I could see the control.

6-7 - Down the reentrant to the trail, then usingthe trail on the right (east) side of the reentrant until the trail bent away too much. I crossed the stream on logs and slogged my way up. The control was a bit more to the left than I thought it'd be.

7-8 - I ran the ridge to the trails and contoured across. Getting to the trail required getting through some green parts that were slow. It was also not clear where I'd hit the trail. It all worked out well. My attack leaving the trail was a little uncertain but I hit the control well. I think this was the best route since the straight one looked to messy to be faster. Others beat me going straight but they are running faster than me too.

8-F - I basically went straight. Once to the bottom I found a way through most of the green that didn't slow me much. Getting up the hill was slow and I had to move away from the finish to find a way through the green at the edge of the field.

Green - Splits

From Northfield Rd., to Norfolk Ave. for lunch with Max. It was comfortable outside, in the 50s F.

From Norfolk Ave. to Northfield Rd. with Max.

Event: QOC Rosaryville
 

QOC at Rosaryville State Park, MD. Rain was predicted so my family tried to get going quickly before it came. It was already damp and sometimes it sprinkled. The temperatures were in the upper 30s F starting out but later in the 40s F. The map could use some updating but many areas had opened-up more than they were previously. I seems that most point features on the map were smaller than ISSOM 2017 says they should be.
My left knee or tendon was hurting walking around before starting and through the first third of the course. After that it felt better but didn't go away.

S-1 - Across the grass and through the gaps in the trees to get on the middle trail. I cut through the mapped light green at the end just about when I saw the control.

1-2 I ran along the left side of the gully where it was easier to run, passing the first good crossing point, then taking the next one about half-way to the control at the stream bend. I then ran along the gully. The mapping in here was hard to understand. Instead of being mapped as a gully earthbank symbols were used on both sides. The clue description was still a gully. The one with the control was a side gully and I couldn't tell it was going to be that way. I hit it with no error partly because I'd crossed early. A junior who'd punched #1 just behind me had caught-up and passed me but he paused unsure if this was the right control. While he was deciding, I jumped in ahead of him.

2-3 - I went out to the left, to get around the green. I suppose I was seeing the mapped trail when crossing it but it wasn't very distinct. I kept on bearing and hit the reentrant well. The junior had passed me again, and this time he got there first.

3-4 - I climbed to the right while the junior climbed to the left side of the reentrant. In retrospect, using the left side would have been best. All that I climbed getting to the trail, I had to drop down to again later in the powerline ride. Getting to the trail in the powerline ride was scratchy. Max passed me near the first tower. I watched him pause at the bottom, in the reeentrant and in the ride, before cutting into the forest again. I was not reading up and down correctly on the map so I thought I needed to pass where Max entered the woods. Fortunately,I paused not far past where Max had, and I entered the woods again. From there I just had to angle up. and I hit the distinct tree perfectly.

4-5 - I went left of the straight line to get around the first spur a little, more than climbing it. Once past the reentrant with the stream (2nd reentrant), I stayed low to round the next spur. I think that I tripped so I started climbing over the second spur since I was walking. I spiked the control and several people were in the area.

5-6 - I went left of the line to the saddle, then I made a silly error by going down the wrong spur. My fogging glasses may have factored into this. I crossed right of the leg line, following the spur there to the creek. There were parallel bends to the stream at this spur, so when I got there I thought that the bag was hung in the wrong place. Not seeing it on the bend where I expected it and not seeing it to the west, I went downstream. I sooned turned back still perplexed until seeing the trail at the stream crossing. I ran west from there. I probably lost +3 minutes.

6-7 - I ran straight, mostly ignoring the trails. It was hard to see the one that I should have crossed that was about 70m before the control. I kept going and paused at the top of the reentrant. Another orienteer was there and I thought he said he was struggling with the control. Using the edge of the green vegetation, I turned right a litte and was there in 10 seconds or less.

7-8 - I left going straight, again trying to ignore the trails. I did try to read them but they were not making sense. Perhaps there had been a rerouting of the trails. I moved more to the right. The guy I'd seen when approaching #7 had actually already been to #7 when I'd seen him. He was calmly walking on a straight bearing. As I paused and cut to the right to get around vegetation, he caught-up. I went more to the right, then cut back to the left after getting around the green, and getting to the trail. The trail seemed right, but the mapping of the green there did not. I trusted my sense and went off further west. I caught and passed the guy who been together with me when at #7. He was still walking, and I only beat him to #8 by a little bit because I was running.

8-9 - Leaving on bearing, I could see that many people had been going the same direction. Soon however, the shuffled leaves started curving left. I stayed on bearing but could still sometimes see shuffled leaves from at least one other person going the same way. I descended the right side of a reentrant, and I think I recall crossing the trail before that, but paused when I saw an unexpected hill in my path. I couldn't make the contours match it so I doubted where I was. I climbed it a little while keeping an eye on activity in all directions. I didn't see anything but I walked on it a while more before deciding to come back from the east a bit and climb up a little higher. I found the control there in what was mostly deadfall. Maybe rootstocks made-up the broken ground that the control description said was there but it wasn't very broken. I'd have to go back to the area to be sure, but I think there's a contour problem in that area.

9-10 - I ran straight until I could see the trail crossing the road. Taking that, I got past the road and first stream. I probably crossed what's mapped as marsh but it was dry. I stayed low until I saw a hill ahead. As I climbed, people including Tom Wells were seen running. I figured they were leaving #10, so I kept going through the shallow reentrant. The first depression I came to was not the right one, but the right one was just behind it and hidden by a rootstock which I guess was the reason for the light green mapping there. It may have helped that someone else had just punched.

10-11 - I ran straight to the spur, then straight toward the control. On the ridge, I confirmed my location by the edge of the light green, and then the proximity of the trail, an old road cut. I kept straight but when I saw an older couple walking from the SW to the NE, I thought they might be on a trail and that I'd overshot; I paused. It turned out that they were not on a trail. They were just walking straight on a bearing parallel to the trail that's further west. I looked-up on my bearing from there, and the control was easily visible, dead ahead.

11-12 - Straight, past the manmade objects. The first on on the control circle for #11 was too small and I wondered if it had been mapped incorreclty. I can read it with a magnifying glass. I kept straight and just ran down the reentant to the control.

12-13 - Straight, but when I neared the mansion field where Peggy and I had gotten married, I climbed to the right to attack from the field. The vegetation that was mapped had gone down and may be seasonal. I found the other 2 pits before finding the right one.

13-14 - I went north, down the hill initially. With a log ahead of me and running, my toe caught a smaller branch and I tumbled over the log. Fortunately I landed well and didn't hurth anything. I walked it off a few steps then headed more directly to go through the green to the jeep track. That got me to the field. I stayed along the north edge of it. Once to the second field, I angled across it to the next gap between the woods. I found my way onto the cycling trail and attacked off of a bend successfully.

14-F - I went due east. Once through the green, there was unmapped open ground before the messy looking stream/gully crossing. I went north to cross the stream in the open ground, then rounded the green. From there I went straight through the next green woods and to the finish.

I didn't feel so good about my navigation in this race. The map issues probably affected everyone but I made some unforced errors. Max did well and finished about +9 minutes ahead of me. He won the Green course.

Green - Splits