Tag Archives: Africa hot

Average pace: 4:39/km

Location: Burnaby Lake, CCW
Distance: 11.71 km
Weather: Sunny, warm
Temp: 20-25ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 794
Total distance to date: 1875 km

Ran Piper Mill trail, Conifer and Spruce Loops.

I got off to a later-than-intended start for my morning run and didn’t get started until 11 a.m. By then it was already 20ºC and climbing rapidly. Rather than risk getting blocked by construction equipment on the Brunette river trail, I opted to take the SkyTrain to Production Way and walk to Burnaby Lake from there (it’s 11 minutes from the station). I headed off counter-clockwise and the only hitch during the run was a close encounter with a trail-hogging Metro Vancouver mower. The driver kindly gestured for me to go around on the side without the whirring blades of death. I did so.

The first half of the run felt fairly close to my pace as of late, somewhere in the 4:35-39 range but the second half I began to really feel the growing heat and started to wilt like the delicate flower I am when it comes to running in warmer temperatures. By the end my pace was 4:44/km. That would have been a personal record in July. Now it’s decidedly average. Such is the way of progress. On a more positive note the soreness in my legs is all but gone now.

This was also the first run in awhile where I actually stopped and drank at the end. The well water near the Cariboo Dam is always cool and yummy after a run. Less yummy were the huge numbers of bugs once again. I had four hit and stick to my glasses and one refused to budge even after I blew hurricane force wind on it. That ain’t easy when you’re running, either! I’m pretty sure I swallowed a few, too and had a couple more glue to my face for good measure. I can definitely do without them.

The bear mentioned in the title is because the bear signs have reappeared along the trail, like so:

I did not and do not wish to see any bears while running. The bugs, birds, squirrels, snakes and occasional coyote are already enough.

Chart (records are in pink)

Average pace: 4:51/km

Location: Burnaby Lake, CW
Distance: 11.8 km
Weather: Sunny, humid, warm
Temp: 20-22ºC
Wind: light to moderate
Calories burned: 800
Total distance to date: 1722 km

Ran Piper Mill Trail, Conifer and Spruce Loops.

Friday afternoon Environment Canada put out an ozone warning for the eastern part of the Lower Mainland, basically telling old and sick people to stay inside otherwise the air might kill them. Although I am neither sick nor elderly it seemed like good advice with temperatures still in the low 30s by early evening, so I opted to skip my usual Friday run in favor of a Saturday morning run.

I headed out today at 8 a.m. and it was still a pleasant 20ºC. It rose to 22ºC over the course of the run, which is still entirely manageable. Humidity was very high and that did slow me up a little but the lower temperatures made running overall much less difficult than on some recent days.

I don’t know if it’s a weekend or morning thing as I usually don’t run during either but no less than six people said hi or ‘good morning’ to me as I walked to the lake.Normally the number of people doing this is zero, so this was about the friendliest pre-run warm-up ever.

The run itself went fine for the most part. I got a bit gassy around the 7K mark and my pace took a notable dip but I recovered about one km later. I had a similar dip midway through the 10K mark due to Gas: The Sequel. But overall I found the pace of 4:51/km pretty decent for the conditions. I shudder to imagine what an afternoon run might have been like.

And the branches were moved off the trail. Woo! You may be thinking it was industrious beavers looking to fortify a dam but it appears someone finally just moved the branches over to the side. Thank you, branch movers!

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Average pace: 4:46/km

Location: Burnaby Lake, CCW
Distance: 5.14 km
Weather: Sun, hot
Temp: 30ºC
Wind: light to moderate
Calories burned: 349
Total distance to date: 1710 km

Ran Piper Mill Trail, Conifer and Spruce Loops.

Today it rose to about 32ºC by mid-afternoon, which is silly-hot for this area and way too warm to run in. I decided to wait until about 6 p.m. to head out, starting my run around 6:45 p.m. By then it had cooled all the way down to…30ºC.

But with the sun lower in the sky, it made enough of a difference to make the run bearable. The air was still thick and heavy and my mouth started drying out almost immediately. I think I could have done a full loop around the lake but without any hydration it would have been very uncomfortable. Instead, I opted for a brisk 5K jog, running along the north side of the trail to the midway point then coming back using the three optional side trails, forming a nice pseudo-loop. Even nice, the side trails were not crowed with groups of people. I had forgotten how much busier the main trails were in the early with packs of joggers, walkers and the occasional dog (sometimes even on a leash!)

At the end of the run Lance Armstrong congratulated me on my longest workout ever, which was nice. And completely wrong. It wasn’t even my fastest 5K (that one–23:16–was tucked inside an 11.5 km run on July 2nd).

I’m going to be busy during the days for a bit so my next batch o’ runs will be in the evening unless I switch to doing one or two on the weekend instead. We shall see how or if this affects my pace.

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Average pace: 4:55/km

Location: Burnaby Lake, CCW
Distance: 11.38 km
Weather: Sun, muggy and warm
Temp: 26ºC
Wind: light to moderate
Calories burned: 807
Total distance to date: 1705 km

Note: this post was made four days late because I forgot. Oops! As such it is light on details.

It was 26ºC for the run, higher than I like and on top of that it was pretty muggy, which made for a sluggish run. It seemed like every part of the trail where the sun shone down directly also had no wind at all, resulting in that icky feeling of ‘swimming’ through the air.

Despite the weather I still managed a pace of 4:55/km, not bad considering and a bit better than runs under similar conditions.

Other than the heat I had my fourth (!) encounter with a snake. This time it was an itty bitty one, which made it even harder to spot. My foot nearly came down on it as it slithered across the trail and into the grass. For having no legs snakes can really boogie. It was probably trying to get out of the sun, just like me.

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Average pace: 4:58/km

Location: Burnaby Lake, CCW
Distance: 11.32 km
Weather: High cloud, some sun, warm
Temp: 25-27ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 803
Total distance to date: 1671 km

The original forecast today was sunny and hot then changed to mostly cloudy and cooler, with a high of 27. The morning was sunny and clear, however, and I fully expected it to turn into a scorcher so I altered my schedule and left for my run at 10 a.m.

It was 25ºC then and rose to 27 over the course of the run. It clouded over and actually got cooler in the afternoon. Yes, by trying to beat the weather I went out of my way to run in what still turned out to be the hottest part of the day. Feh.

I also did an unplanned walk of around 11 km yesterday and that left me feeling a little more tired and my pace was a somewhat sluggish 4:58/km as a result.

Other than it still being hotter than I care for the run itself was unremarkable. Someone managed to bust the faucet by the Cariboo dam so I had to walk to Lower Hume Park for my post-run drink. That kind of sucked. And I still seem slower running counter-clockwise when it’s hot out. I’m not entirely sure why. But there were no dog, snake, bike or other incidents so I’m going to call this run a qualified success.

While walking yesterday I got a pic of the fallen branches that were still there today and will apparently be there forever:

Eternal branches at Burnaby Lake.

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Average pace: 4:56/km

Location: Burnaby Lake, CW
Distance: 11.31 km
Weather: Sunny and hot
Temp: 26-28ºC
Wind: light to strong
Calories burned: 820
Total distance to date: 1660 km

It was considerably warmer for today’s run and I figured my time would be about five seconds off Wednesday’s pace and was right, coming in at 4:55/km (rounded up on the Nike+ site to 4:56). That actually impressed me after experiencing just how hot it was. Though there was a strong breeze blowing at times it wasn’t consistent and a few parts of the trail felt like running through a furnace, the air still and hot.

I chose to run clockwise again and maintained a decent pace until the midway point. I had just hit the Cottonwood Trail somewhere between 6 and 7K and my pace felt absolutely plodding. I managed to find a reserve of energy and improved my pace dramatically for about half a km before settling back to a slower pace for the stretch. I skipped all three optional loops because by that point in the run I just wanted it to be over so I could attach my mouth to a faucet. That shaved about 500 m off but I still finished comfortably above 11 km.

I’m just glad I won’t be running tomorrow. The high is forecast to be above 30ºC. Yikes.

The dead branches were still on the trail but more park workers were out so maybe they’ll get to them eventually.

A family of four (mom, dad, boy, girl) were on the trail with their bikes. This is normally an annoying thing but they amazingly were walking their bikes — in single file, too. I was duly impressed! No dog incidents before, after or during the run was also nice.

The only animal incident came as I looped around the fields. A rather large garter snake appeared, heading from the sun-baked field to the shadier grass on the other side of the trail. I didn’t see it until the last moment when my foot almost landed on it. I did a quick jig to hop over it and shot a look back because it was quite a bit bigger than the other two snakes I’ve seen, though it was still the same color, a vibrant blend of yellow and black stripes.

Overall I am happy with how the run went, considering the warm conditions.

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Average pace: 4:55/km

Location: Burnaby Lake, CW
Distance: 11.29 km
Weather: Sunny, hot and humid
Temp: 28-29ºC
Wind: moderate
Calories burned: 801
Total distance to date: 1580 km

Early yesterday the forecast for today was looking like partly cloudy, cooler and a chance of showers. Instead it was sunny, hot and humid, just like Friday! In fact it seemed even hotter than Friday and once again only a merciful wind tempered the run.

I opted to run clockwise to get the detour out of the way and despite having to fiddle with the cord of my iPod at least four times to keep it from flopping out of my pocket I turned in a stellar first km, coming in at 4:29, only one second off my best-ever pace.

I came back to reality shortly after that. The low point came between the 8-9K mark, about where it normally hits me. I had a good finish, though, which always pleases me. This was the first run where getting a drink at the faucet near the dam had to be done a bit cautiously. I was very warm and the water was very cold so I only took a few small sips to acclimate a little, then drank like the proverbial man in the desert.

This was a run in which my senses were hit in different ways. There was the smell of fresh cut grass, which was pleasant. The giant tractor hogging the entire width of the trail that forced me to carefully make my way along the dubiously spongy grass along the edge was less nice. Then there were several times where I could taste the tangy scent of manure in the air. Hot weather and manure on the wind is not an ideal combination but fortunately the aroma passed quickly.

My favorite part of the run came at the fields. For some reason some of the sprinklers were running and two of them were hitting the path so I got two brief but refreshing splashes of water along one of the most-exposed parts of the trail. I was tempted to divert and traipse through all of them.

I skipped all three trails again but comfortably finished above 11K, as per usual since the detour went into effect. It’s been nearly a month now and I’m curious how close they are to on-schedule. I’ll find out in about four weeks.

Also, I achieved a new milestone today. My best year for runs was 2010 when I completed 513 km. Today I surpassed that by coming in with 516 km and I have five and a half months to improve on that. Joan was so excited she congratulated me on another 500 km. Thanks, Joan!

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Average pace: 4:59/km

Location: Burnaby Lake, CCW
Distance: 11.62 km
Weather: Sunny, hot and humid
Temp: 27ºC
Wind: light to moderate
Calories burned: 824
Total distance to date: 1568 km

It was hot again and there was a decent breeze at times but early morning showers meant it was also humid. Hot and humid is not a good combo for me.

I ran counter-clockwise which is the ‘hard’ way because it leaves the shadeless detour part of the run for the end when I am most tired. But as often happens I got my second wind around the 10K mark (at the start of the detour) and actually picked up the pace for the last 1.6 km. I managed to just squeak in under 5:00 minutes with a pace of 4:59/km but I consider that a win given how thick the air felt. I was sweating even before I began the run.

Looking at the splits my times lagged most during the 8 and 9 km sections, which makes sense given the conditions. I was five seconds off the starting km, too. I just got plain pooped, right from the beginning and then throughout. It was the level of poopedness that was the only variable. Not surprisingly, there weren’t many other runners out today.

Other than the heat and humidity, everything else seemed okay — no pain or discomfort, just dry lips and a grateful stop at the faucet by the dam at the end of the run.

Chart

Average pace: 4:55/km

Location: Burnaby Lake, CW
Distance: 11.73 km
Weather: Sunny, hot
Temp: 26-28ºC
Wind: light to moderate
Calories burned: 832
Total distance to date: 1557 km

Today’s run was similar to Monday’s though I skipped the Piper Mill Trail.

It was hot — moreso than on Monday — but there was again a decent breeze blowing that made things tolerable. I hydrated (fancy talk for ‘drank water’) before heading out and again when I arrived at the dam (not at the dam itself as that would require a fair bit of finesse without plunging into the river but at a nearby faucet). Then I had to use the port-o-potty but even in the heat the chemicals it uses have kept it smelling remarkably un-port-o-potty-like. Science is amazing. I ran clockwise to beat the heat of the detour and skipped all three optional trails.

The start was again fairly brisk but the increasing temperature as I progressed was noticeable. By the time I got to the Nature House (roughly 2 km from the dam) I elected to make a quick pitstop to refresh myself at the faucet there. It helped, especially as the wind had settled down by then and I had another good finish. My pace was one second slower than Wednesday at 4:55/km but given the hotter conditions that seems reasonable. I am pleased that I am regularly clocking in under 5 minutes with the temperatures as warm as they’ve been.

The legs and feet both felt fine throughout the run. The main barrier right now is definitely the weather. It’s challenging to maintain a good pace with the warm weather but I’m satisfied with my efforts so far.

And thanks to some detailed instructions from Nike I was able to get today’s run and the other missing ones properly synced to the Nike+ site. Yay, all my precious stats are updated. I love stats.

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