Run 466: Bear with me

Run 466
Average pace: 5:05/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5:04 km
Time: 25:44
Weather: Overcast
Temp: 15-17ºC
Wind: light
BPM: 172
Stride: n/a
Weight: 154.5 pounds
Total distance to date: 3715 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch and iPhone 6

I woke up this morning feeling a little off–stuffed up sinuses, dry throat. I felt a bit better after having breakfast but didn’t get out for the run until nearly 11 a.m.

It was a bit cool and slightly drizzly along the river trail but the threat of rain seemed small. As I approached the Cariboo dam and my usual starting point at Burnaby Lake, the threat of bears grew significantly.

More precisely, a guy came up to me and said there was a mother bear with two cubs up ahead. I asked where and he said “around the corner,” said corner being right next to the damn–my starting point. I debated for a few moments on my options then decided the risk of being mauled by a protective mother bear, no matter how small, was not worth it. I turned around and did a 5K on the river trail instead.

At this point I had a tremendous pressure headache and that perhaps spurred me to run faster in order to finish the run sooner and get home. My first km turned out to be a speedy 4:55/km and my overall pace was a best-for-year 5:05/km. By the end the headache had diminished and I wasn’t being chased by bears, so that’s good enough for me.

My BPM was unusually high at 172, perhaps signalling a combination of accelerated pace and oncoming illness of some sort.

It is fantastically busy at work and we have a skeleton crew tomorrow, so I can’t really skip out but for now and for the moment I know the run went well and I shall think of this as I collapse face-down on the bed.

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