Run 501
Average pace: 5:52/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 9:44 am
Distance: 7.03 km
Time: 41:23
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 18ºC
Humidity: 52%
Wind: light
BPM: 163
Weight: 166.2 pounds
Total distance to date: 3897 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone
My stomach was not feeling quite right so I ended up not going into work today. After getting up things seemed okay so I thought I’d risk getting the run out of the way in the morning so I could spend the rest of the day working on my couch potato skills.
When I got to Burnaby Lake I had to use the Jiffy Potty. I think it’s called that because you don’t want to linger. I mean, you really don’t. This was somewhat ominous but I ended up being fine during the run, though the stomach/innards protested a few times on the walk home.
Despite a quite early start for me at 9:44 am the temperature still rose quickly and it was 18ºC for most of the run. Not too hot, though in mid-morning it somehow feels hotter. My plan was to set for a 5K but push out to a 7K if I felt up for it.
I started slow, even slower than normal for a lake run. I felt off. Not bad per se, and the right heel actually behaved itself nicely, but the energy clearly wasn’t there. At times my legs felt like lead poles. The fifth km was actually my fastest, which is rather unusual.
The GPS tracking of the iPhone also was off. I started at the 0K marker and ran the regular loop, skipping the side trails. As I passed the 1K marker I checked the watch and it reported 0.91 km. At the 5K marker it reported 4.78 km.
I’m going to try a few runs without the iPhone, which will force the Apple Watch to use its built-in GPS. I’ll be interested to see how it compares. The iPhone is over two and a half years old so it’s probably self-destructing with the hope of being upgraded to the fancy models Apple will reveal in September.
Back to the run, I felt good enough at 5K to press on and managed 7K without any complications. I’m sure I could have gone farther still, but 7K is good for now.
Other than the pace being sluggish the run went decently otherwise. My BPM was not too high, sweating was minimal and the trail wasn’t festooned with lots of people due to the early weekday hour. It was nice. Not that I hate people, I just prefer having the entire trail to myself.
One guy passed me at about the 3K mark, he said hello as he went by. He seemed nice. I didn’t mind him being faster as I know I’m well off peak condition. He disappeared after a couple of km so he either turned off the trail, got kidnapped by a bear or fell through a hole in the time/space continuum.
My next run is on Saturday and the forecast is mucho hot–30ºC! I’ll either try to run early or late, though earlier is probably the better choice. I’m aiming for another 7K. It’ll be fun! Fun-ish!