Run 448
Average pace: 5:42/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 10:05 km
Time: 57:25
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 19-20ºC
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 164
Stride: n/a
Weight: 159 pounds
Total distance to date: 3580 km
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6
Today’s run started out curiously slowly, with a pace of 5:41/km during the first km. I know I was trying to establish a deliberate pace but maybe I was more effective than intended. In fact, four of the other km (including the 8th) I was actually faster than that first km, which pretty much never happens. A weird start.
I ran counter-clockwise today to change things up and the cloudy skies meant cooler conditions in the morning, though it was again humid and sweating profusely was not a problem. About halfway through the groin (site of my recurring injury in my upper right leg, what I sometimes refer to as the hip, though my doctor tells me it ain’t no hip) started to feel stiff. I contemplated way to do, since it started so early, ultimately opting to continue through to the full 10 km. It did start to feel better toward the end and this is reflected in my pace picking up in the last few km. I can still sort of feel it now, but it no longer hurts.
It is a point of concern, but we’ll see how a day of rest helps before Friday’s run.
The trail was a bit damp from yesterday’s misty rain but was otherwise in good shape, with no puddle-jumping needed. The trail construction was more minimal, basically just a short stretch of unraked/smoothed gravel. For some reason, regardless of when I run, the one little excavator always seems to be on the same section of trail as I am when I get to area and once again it loomed large–and in reverse–forcing me to make eye contact before skirting around it. This was fine and the crew working on the trail have always been mindful and considerate of the people like me plowing through their work (there is still one section off-limits where a bridge is being replaced). But there were others out, specifically another walking group. These groups seem to have the collective brain capacity of a small rock, completely oblivious to everything and anything around them. I am convinced there could be a forest fire raging around them and they would not notice until they themselves were ablaze.
This is to say that as I entered the uneven gravel area, which is very soft and hard to keep traction on, I always spied a walking group immediately ahead of me. They remained unaware of my presence even as I moved through them, carefully navigating to the left, trying to not stumble off the mushy path. At one point a fellow walker did call out, “Runner, runner!” to absolutely no effect. These people react like slugs except slugs are tiny and easy to avoid.
The trail in general was a little busier than expected, though most of the others out were other joggers and a few walking their dogs.
I completed the run and had a pokey walk home that was identical to Monday’s, also a little weird. My overall pace was 5:42/km, nearly identical to last Friday’s 10K (my first as part of post-recovery), so that was a plus, at least. We’ll see how that stacks up to this Friday.