When mortal enemies forget the mortal enemy part.
Month: September 2017
Run 539: The peppiest 5K of the year (so far)
Run 539
Average pace: 5:09/km
Location: Brunette Brunette River trail
Start: 6:07 pm
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 25:58
Weather: Clear
Temp: 19ºC
Humidity: 64%
Wind: light
BPM: 159
Weight: 155.9 pounds
Total distance to date: 4192 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone
Well, that was weird.
I had three things benefiting me on tonight’s run: the weather was very pleasant, with the sun behind the trees, the temperature 19ºC and little wind, it made for near-ideal conditions, with minimal sweating and such. Secondly, the river trail is much more forgiving than the trail at Burnaby Lake, with minimal changes in elevation and wide, gentle curves. Thirdly, I started the run at the start of the trail, so my warm-up walk was only 1.5 km instead of 4 km as it would be if I’d been running at the lake.
And cyclists are allowed at the river, which oddly means they are much better-behaved.
All said, I was aware of not overdoing things again and indeed, the second km found my pace dropping off by a fair bit as I tried to rein things in. Then the weird part happened. I found a good, solid pace and maintained it for the rest of the run–and ended up with my best 5K run of the year so far, with an average pace of 5:09/km. It’s the first time I’ve also come in under 26 minutes. I was not expecting this.
About two km in I felt a very slight bit of tweaking in my left shin but it eventually went away and the left leg was otherwise pretty much fine, with little of the stiffness I felt on Sunday. My BPM was lower, too, due in part to the utterly nice conditions.
Overall, a very welcome run, especially coming after what could have been a potentially nasty muscle injury. I think as long as I don’t try pushing harder I’ll be okay–for both running and walking.
Run 538: The pulled muscle recovery run
Run 538
Average pace: 5:18/km
Location: Brunette Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:30 am
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 26:40
Weather: Mostly cloudy
Temp: 17ºC
Humidity: 57%
Wind: light
BPM: 166
Weight: 156.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 4187 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone
I was originally planning to wait until Tuesday to resume my runs since pulling the muscle in my left upper leg last Friday but spontaneously decided today to go out for a 5K, since the aforementioned muscle hasn’t exhibited any sort of soreness or stiffness over the past few days.
And so I headed out after seven days off, back to Burnaby “yes, there really are bears here” Lake. My plan was to walk to the lake, do a 5K, then hitch a ride back on the SkyTrain from the Burnaby Lake station rather than face a 9K+ walk back home, which I felt might be pushing it only a week later.
I started out by making a trip to the loo, which seems to happen quite a bit now for some reason. I don’t mean going to the loo in general, just specifically when I get to the lake and my body seems to interpret that as “nature calls” (literally). After relieving myself I headed back over the dam and encountered a far-too-cheerful cyclist pulling a small wagon behind him. I secretly wished rabid geese on the bike but later found the same bike was being used to collect cones that had been placed as part of a Running Room event (the event was over by the time I got there). He was still riding too fast and was too dang cheerful, though.
A small section of the trail near the sports field was closed for repairs and a spray-painted line through the grass suggests they may actually be preparing to shore up Ol’ Floody, as I call this particular stretch. It would be nice if they fixed it to not flood, because when the trail floods and you detour onto the field you discover that the grass is actually kind of floating on a layer of mud and water that is really tricky to run on.
I did not see any bears this time, for which I am glad. I have nothing against bears, as long as they stay, you know, out of the city.
The run itself started at a steady pace and I felt fine. Conditions were actually pretty good–cloudy and temperatures in the high teens–and for the first three km it felt pretty much like any other run. Around the 3K mark I started feeling stiffness around the left knee, though oddly enough the actual pulled muscle seemed fine. I’d seen some stiffness in the left leg on previous runs and it seems the pull last week accentuated the issue. The stiffness progressed to a point but never enough to slow me down (my best times were actually in the fourth and final km), but doing only 5K seemed like the right call.
After, the afflicted muscle continued to behave and the stiffness has retreated, so I think I’m probably going to be okay if I stick to 5Ks for now.
The average pace surprised me, coming in at 5:18/km, much faster than I was expecting, so that’s also encouraging.
The run on Tuesday will wrap up right around the time the sun is setting. I’m going to have to decide on whether to run at lunch on the yucky golf course loop, or switch to running on a yucky treadmill, or coming up with some other hopefully not yucky option.
The first day of fall 2017: Not too shabby
The first day of fall was nicer than the last day of summer, with pleasant, mild conditions, some sun and all that stuff.
Because it was nice out and I suddenly did not feel like sitting around again for my lunch break, I went for a noon-hour walk for the first time since pulling the muscle in my upper left leg. The leg seems to have survived intact, even after I picked up to a more typical pace by the end (I walked a little over 4 km in total).
After work I hung out with a few guys from work and a former guy from work (that is, someone who formerly worked at Langara, not someone formerly a guy) at a pub on False Creek and it was quite nice by the water, though it got a bit chilly once the sun ducked behind a cloud.
I got home shortly after 7:30 p.m. and it was already dark. I was sad. It still seems bizarre that there are times in the past when I would start a run as late as 8 p.m. to beat the heat. I’d need night vision goggles for that right now. Plus I’d probably barf if I actually tried running in the dark wearing night vision goggles.
Anyway, I must come to grips with the change of season. It’s official now, there’s no going back unless time travel becomes a thing (but if it was a thing, wouldn’t I already have gone back? Wouldn’t I in fact be living in a perpetual summer, constantly skipping back to the warm days and long nights? Now I am sad again.)
The last day of summer (2017) sucked
It was actually mild today (around 17ºC or so) and sunny for awhile, but then it turned gray and blah. Work was stupid and busy. I under-cooked tater tots for dinner.
And just like that summer is over for another year.
Bleah.
Amusing cat image, September 2017 edition
Surprise! It’s actually a pigeon.
This is from engadget.com, a site I’ve mocked before, but which has become a whole lot better since the last mocking. You can see the image in its original context here.
A soggy 2017 birthday
Today is my birthday.
I celebrated by drinking an entire carton of eggnog.
Just kidding. The Save On Foods nearby isn’t selling eggnog for at least a few more days.
Instead I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary, other than being treated to a nice dinner out by Jeff. The day was gray and wet and cool, like a fall day, except it’s technically still summer.
Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer and sunnier. It figures.
On the plus side, I’m still around and kicking and complaining, so there’s that.
And now, a birthday haiku:
Another year gone
A little less hair for me
Better bald than dead
Pumpkin spice eggnog Valentine whatever
It’s that time of year again.
Not even halfway through September, with it still officially summer and me still dressed in shorts, Safeway begans selling eggnog.
Save On Foods had already started selling pumpkins before that, and every place that has a “pumpkin spice” drink like Tim Hortons and Starbucks rolled them out to officially start this year’s blurring together of all holidays.
It has happened slightly earlier this year compared to previous years, so retailers are still testing how far they can push this nonsense. I predict we’ll have August eggnog within a few years.
I kind of hate everything right now because of this.
Bah humbug, you might say.
(By the way, if this all sounds familiar, it’s because I wrote a similar rant last year, when eggnog appeared in October. How we have progressed!)
Pants! (I’m wearing them again)
Today is the first time since July that I’ve worn actual pants and not shorts.
It makes me sad.
It was not an unwise choice, though, as the day started cloudy, turned to showers and the temperature is dropping instead of going up, as it properly should during a summer day.
All of this also makes me sad, though the showers will make the parched grass happy. Since the next few days are forecast to be damp it’s quite possible the Fire Danger/No Smoking signs will finally come down at Burnaby Lake, the Brunette River and Hume Park. If they are removed they probably won’t go back up until May or June of next year, depending on how whimsical climate change is feeling.
It’s also four days until the last official day of summer, September 21. The sun is setting earlier, leaves are turning (the trail at Burnaby Lake isn’t quite festooned with fallen leaves yet but it’s starting) and there’s a general sense that summer 2017 is coming to an end.
Summer is my favorite seasons, so I always feel a bit down when it’s over. I like the long nights, the warm days, everything being green and alive. Early fall is not so bad but the days quickly shorten, The Rains begin and soon enough every day seems bleak and gray.
And now in preparation I’m drinking hot chocolate and the AC is off.
Bleah.
Here’s to summer 2018!
Run 537: A bear-able run
Run 537
Average pace: 5:41/km
Location: Brunette Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:29 am
Distance: 8.04 km
Time: 45:47
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 20-22ºC
Humidity: 33%
Wind: light
BPM: 157
Weight: 155.2 pounds
Total distance to date: 4182 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone
On Friday afternoon as I was madly strolling to the SkyTrain station after work I noticed a sudden tweaking sensation in one of the muscles in my upper left leg, a little above the knee. This is one of the muscles that comes alive when I’m doing my lunch power walks but not one I notice as much when running.
The tweaking turned to actual pain when I made my way down the stairs into the station. Each time I stepped down I felt it sing a little. This seemed ominous.
Going down the stairs into the condo complex later was not as bad but it was clear a muscle was very stiff/sore in my upper left leg. I chilled out for the night and planned on a regular–if less intense–run today.
The muscle was still stiff but I headed out and my walk to the lake, deliberately slower, went without incident. I started the run, promising myself to a) keep the pace slower and b) stop if the leg started to hurt.
For the first 5K things went okay. The muscle was stiff but tolerable. By the time I was in the second half of the run the stiffness was getting worse and it was getting more difficult to maintain pace. At the 7K mark I figured if the stiffness stayed where it was I would finish, otherwise I’d stop early.
Alas, the stiffness continued to get worse so I stopped just after the 8K mark and walked out. I then walked up the the Production Way SkyTrain station to save myself about 3 km on walking back home, the better to rest.
The muscle stayed fairly stiff through the rest of the day.
This morning (note that while the date for this post is Saturday the 16th I am writing the entry on Sunday the 17th) I can still feel the muscle but the stiffness is pretty much gone when just casually walking around the condo. I’ll be heading out soon to do some errands, so I’ll see what it feels like when walking close to a normal pace. I’m hopeful that as I’m in my two-days-off period from running that it will recover enough to at least allow for short runs and that it isn’t hurt more seriously.
It would be the height of irony if an injury from walking ended my running early for the year. It would also suck corn dogs.
As for the actual run itself, conditions were nice–pleasantly warm, with low humidity. Energy-wise, the slower pace kept me feeling comfortable and the area around the 5K marker (still missing) wasn’t closed off. They had added a layer of finer gravel on top of the other new gravel and steamrolled it, making the surface much nice for walking and running. I expect they will finish the entire stretch over the coming weeks.
When I came into this stretch I noticed two people stopping to talk to a runner ahead of me. I had no idea what they were saying but the runner jogged back toward me and signaled to get my attention. She informed me that there was a bear up ahead. If you’re going to see bears on the trail, this is probably the best place, because being next to the fields gives you lots of room to steer a wide path around said bear.
I’d had this happen before but never seen the alleged bear. Today was different.
Strolling causally maybe 50 m up the trail from me there was indeed a black bear. I scooted out onto the field (a soccer game or other ball-oriented game was taking place just a short distance up the same field) and made sure I had enough space between me and the bear to insure that the bear didn’t think I was running away from it (which would be bad). The bear didn’t seem to notice, though. It just kept walking slowly along the trail, keeping to itself.
I saw a few people taking pictures, of course. I paused briefly before ducking out of sight around the corner, to assess the bear’s trajectory. I felt I’d be safe for the rest of the run. I hoped it wouldn’t eat all of the soccer players.
Did I run farther to create more distance between myself and the bear? It occurred to me to do this, actually, but no, I just ran as far as I could comfortably manage.
My pace was a slothful 5:41/km, which was expected given the bear hijinks and the stiff leg. To illustrate how cautiously I started, my first km was 5:43/km. My fastest came during the 6 km mark and it was still only 5:31/km.
Overall, a weird and eventful run. I’m hoping that the stiff muscle in the left leg is only just that–stiff, not actually pulled. I’ve applied some stinky Rub-A535 to it this morning and will see how it holds up when I’m out and aboot today.
Book review: Cold on the Mountain
Cold on the Mountain by Daniel Powell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a solid little horror novel that feels more like an expanded short story. There are no side plots or other distractions here, just a Point A to Point B story about a family that takes a shortcut in the Sierra Nevada mountains that leads them into the small town of Adrienne, a place where evil gathers (literally, all the bad people of the world end up here after they die).
As part of the contingent of “normals” that blunder into Adrienne, Phil and Wendy Benson are forced to work for the “dark ones” to earn a chance for a once-a-year lottery that sees a bunch of people, both good and bad, released back into the world via magic portal. Adrienne is host to demons, serial killers, Joseph Goebbels (“Call me Joseph”) and the teenage Columbine killers who are never mentioned by name and are weirdly depicted as cartoonish villains.
There is some nice tension as the family struggles to both follow the rules and sometimes defy them, knowing the dire consequences of being caught, but the story is almost too efficient as it speeds along to the endgame, the various pieces all falling in place so quickly there is little time to allow events to sink in. The reader learns about Adrienne but it only ever feels like the surface is examined.
Phil, the protagonist of the story, comes across as a decent but ultimately bland kind of everyman. Bo, his brother on the other side, leads a search to find him and his family, and at one point he and his girlfriend come to believe it’s essential to get the local sheriff on-board to make their kooky plan to free the normals of Adrienne work, though it’s never stated exactly why he’s needed. The sheriff is nice enough as a character, but he becomes increasingly non-essential as the story progresses, to the point where I almost felt his alleged need was a deliberate red herring.
The conclusion will likely leave a lot of readers with a “What happened next?” feeling but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Overall, Cold on the Mountain has a comfortable old school horror feel to it. The journey is brisk–perhaps too much so–but the action certainly keeps rolling along.
Run 536: A fast 5K with no chest mishaps
Run 536
Average pace: 5:12/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 6:26 pm
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 26:12
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 20-21ºC
Humidity: 30%
Wind: light
BPM: 171
Weight: 155.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 4174 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone
One of the minor annoying things about after-dinner summer runs is the sun is low enough in the sky to shine directly into your eyes.
The fact that the sun was already too low to do that tonight is a good indication that summer is coming to an end. Also, all of the rain in next week’s forecast. My poor nipples. 🙁
And speaking of, I wore one of my sleeveless shirts tonight because the fabric is a little lighter and smoother than my other running shirts. Since I was going without nipple protection, this seemed to be the best way to avoid another chest-related bleedapalooza. And it turned out fine. I think I’ll only really have to cover up, so to speak, when it is raining, because that’s when the clothes start sticking.
So next week, as per the forecast I mentioned above.
Two things I noticed on the trail tonight: the first was a pervasive dusty odor. Despite the bit of rain we had on the weekend and a brief shower yesterday morning, it’s still quite dry, so cyclists are still churning up clouds of dust along the river trail. Weirdly, the whole trail still smelled of dust even when none was visible hanging in the air. It was kind of weird.
The other thing I noticed were lots of cyclists. They were all well-behaved, so no issues there.
Conditions were quite nice. With the sun tucked behind the trees and the temperature hovering around 20ºC it was nice and comfy, with only minimal sweating and no real dry mouth to bother me.
My idea was to settle back a bit after the last few runs but I somehow managed to end up with my fastest 5K of the year, at 5:12/km. My last km pace was 4:546/km, marking the first time this year I’ve broken the five minute mark.
At one point it felt like a stitch was going to develop, so I eased up a little, but even that had no effect on the overall pace.
My BPM was back up to 171, which is about where it goes when I basically sprint for an extended stretch.
I’ll try to moderate my pace for real next time.
Also, it was starting to get dark about fiften minutes after I got home, meaning the extended runs along the river and then to the lake are pretty much done for the year, there simply won’t be enough daylight after dinner. Alas. Even the 5K runs are going to start getting iffy in about a month’s time. I’ll have to decide between treadmill or noon runs then. I don’t like either option.
But for tonight, I soared.