Run 572
Average pace: 5:38/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 12:56 pm
Distance: 5:04 km
Time: 29:37
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 11-12ºC
Humidity: 56%
Wind: light
BPM: 163
Weight: 167.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 4445 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
So close to having a total of 4444 km.
Today’s run had me filled with trepidation before heading out. The weather was gorgeous, with mild temperatures and sun, so it wasn’t that. It was those pesky knees.
My trepidation grew when I got to the lake. I could feel where the knees had gotten sore on last Saturday’s run. I put that aside and started up some jogging music…only to find the right AirPod was not playing. I did a few things to no avail. The right AirPod was running in a virtual cone of silence. I finally decided to try unpairing the AirPods. Just as I did this I remembered that pairing requires the charging case, which was sitting at home 4 km away. Oops.
And so began a rare music-free run. I could feel the knees almost immediately. Not good.
The left knee quickly settled down, though. I felt some of the usual stiffness toward the end, but it was fine otherwise. The right knee was definitely sore–not enough to stop or slow me down, but enough to notice. Then it spread down my shin and for a few minutes my whole lower right leg ached. This passed quickly and eventually even the right knee hit a point where it didn’t feel that bad. A bit sore, but no more.
I finished feeling less dread than when I started. I may try a compression sleeve on the right knee on the next run, as I’m fairly certain the soreness will persist unless I take a good long break from running. If it doesn’t get worse than it is now, I may be okay.
For the run itself, it again felt hard, but not as hard as last week. The start and end I pushed and felt the ol’ lung burn, but during the middle section my breathing settled (I kept the AirPods in my ears since that was the logical place for them, but could still hear my own rasping until the breeze picked up). Overall, it was a mix of struggle and Zen. Zuggle.
A sure sign of spring was in the air today, too. Specifically, clouds of bugs as I approached the bridge at Deer Lake Brook. I’d forgotten what fun it is to run into huge swarms of horrible little insects. I’ll be better prepared next time.
My BPM was the same as last week at 163, which was good. My time improved noticeably, going from 5:57/km to 5:38/km. Still on the slow side but under the circumstances pretty good.
I counted six people on bikes, but since I’ve forsaken complaining I will say nothing else about that, except to note there were no bike-related incidents.
In the end I am left a bit nonplussed. The improved performance was nice, the fact that my knees didn’t explode was good, but that fact that they hurt at all when they haven’t in over 4,000 km of running is concerning, because it’s unclear if this is the start of a trend or something temporary. I also wonder if my weight is a factor, since I’m not as svelte as I would normally be (167.8 now but finally starting to trend back down. This is still 14 pounds more than last October, before The Fattening began.)
With Daylight Saving Time underway, I may aim for a post-dinner run on Tuesday. We’ll see if the flatter, friendlier Brunette River trail is more forgiving on the knees.
