Run 451: Slower, safer and warmer

Run 451
Average pace: 5:54/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW) – no side trails taken
Distance: 10:07 km
Time: 59:34
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 25ºC
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 157
Stride: n/a
Weight: 157.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 3610 km
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6

It was a bit warmer today and I started out a little slower, then stayed a little slower for the entire run, with the splits otherwise following the usual pattern: faster first half, slower back half and a bit of a boost in the last km. I ran clockwise, again skipped the optional trails and found my pace a fair bit slower than last week. I’m not sure if it’s the changed route, the consistently warmer weather or general caution of going splat again but since I felt pretty good for most of the run, I’m not exactly disappointed with the pace. Well, maybe a little. Taking almost an hour to run 10K is not exactly where I expected to be with a bunch of them under my belt (and let me tell you, they barely fit in there).

There were multiple groups of walkers again, especially at the end where they seemed to be clumping up. At this point I’ve resigned myself to them–the weather is gorgeous, it’s summer, people are going to be out. I just wish they weren’t so damned oblivious. Several times today I even called out, “On your left” as I approached from behind, which elicited exactly zero reaction most of the time. It’s weird and annoying.

No real issues with the run, otherwise, just slower. I felt decent through long stretches, so perhaps the combination of the warm weather and fear of tree roots may be see how a more jogging-like pace could be nice, almost relaxing. Other than the Cottonwood trail, there really aren’t many places left on the loop around the lake with prominent roots or other obstacles in the path.

The trail resurfacing continues and it probably won’t be much longer before they’ve finished the entire Southshore trail. The excavator was idling at the side as I passed by, though I swear the driver keyed the ignition when he saw me.

Overall, an unspectacular effort but I’m good with that. Friday is expected to be hotter so I’m not expecting my pace to improve. It may even get slower if it is truly Africa hot (it looks to be 26-27ºC during my usual run time, which shouldn’t result in a pace much different than today.

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