Run 482
Average pace: 5:54/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 5.06 km
Time: 30:04
Weather: Partly cloudy
Temp: 6-7ºC
Wind: high, with gusts up to 13 km/h (probably higher, it was reporting 13km/h when I got home and the wind had eased up a bit)
BPM: 162
Stride: n/a
Weight: 166.5 pounds
Total distance to date: 3800 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch, iPhone
For the first time in three weeks, I returned to Burnaby Lake, the snow at long last completely gone. It was around 7ºC heading out–not exactly balmy, but with the sky clearing and the sun poking out, I figured I could safely switch from my long-sleeved running shirt to a short-sleeved one.
This proved to be an interesting decision.
Every other jogger I encountered was bundled up like it was winter (it is, officially for two more days). Some wore gloves or long pants, others wore jackets. I was the only one dressed as if for summer, wearing only a t-shirt and shorts.
The one thing I hadn’t anticipated was the wind. Sometimes it can be breezy. Today was not one of those days. The wind was ripping. The flag at the Hume Park Home Learners School (a name that seems like an oxymoron, really) was pointing straight out and rippling so hard you could hear the fabric snapping.
This made the 7ºC–which dropped by a degree by the time I started the run–feel more like something much, much colder.
As I entered Burnaby Lake Park the inevitable happened and the wind whisked the cap off my head. I retrieved it and screwed it down tight. It didn’t come off again and for this I was glad because my buzzed head would have been frigid without.
I ended up frigid, anyway, just not my head. For a few moments I marveled over the impending signs of spring: the fragrant aromas in the woods, the trees starting to bud, even the skunk cabbage starting to sprout in the numerous stands of water along the trail. This marveling went away as my arms and hands turned to icicles. They were so cold that in that first five minutes I considered calling off the run altogether.
Instead, I kept going, hoping the thin warmth of the sun would provide at least a psychological boost, and that the activity would warm me up enough to ensure this wouldn’t remain Mr. Freeze Goes Jogging.
It sort of worked.
After the first km (a sluggish pace of 5:33/km) I did warm up a little but it remained uncomfortable until around the 3 km mark, where it finally became tolerable. My second km was a staggeringly slow 6:20/km as I simultaneously passed the initial burst of speed and began feeling the full effect of the icy wind.
The wind did not relent for the entire 5 km. It didn’t even really start subsiding (a little) until the walk back. It was not fun. I blow a raspberry at you, wind, though I’ll know to check wind conditions before the next run.
The trail was dotted with puddles from yesterday’s monsoon-like rain, with many areas of mud, more mud and also mud. I finished a bit muddy, though I skirted all of the puddles. Despite never really feeling warm, I opted to walk home instead of taking the shortcut to the Production Way SkyTrain station. It just seemed like too much of a bother to go up there and wait for possibly multiple trains before getting on one. Plus I was already cold so it didn’t seem to matter much by that point.
I could feel the effects of the exercise even as I walked home, the rare treat of being sore not the day after but the hour after. I expect it to be worse tomorrow, but in time my legs will get back their sexy running form.
Despite the chill wind, it was still good to get back on the trail. But, uh, no wind next time would be spiffy.