Whoops, I accidentally took more time off between runs than intended (four days, one more than my preferred max), but it didn’t seem to affect my performance, as I actually improved over last Thursday’s effort.
Conditions were quite different, too. Over the past three days, we’ve had smoke haze from wildfires blanketing the sky, blotting out the sun and filling the air with the distinct smell of smoke. It’s not ideal for physical activities like running, as you might imagine. I decided to postpone Monday’s usual run, as there was a chance a shift in winds could move the smoke away. And it did!
Today we’re seeing a mix of cloud and some sun, cooler temperatures and, best of all, the smoke is gone, at least for the present. I headed out early, spoiled by not needing water or sunblock. The temperature was near my ideal–15?, with a light breeze and no sun beating down. Humidity was high, but with the lower temperature, sweating was still minimal.
In terms of my body, here’s what I experienced:
- The left hip was stiff again and although I don’t think it affected my pace, it was still annoying and noticeable
- A tendon near the right knee flared up on and off, never getting painful, more of a “Remember me?” sort of thing. For the last part of the run it pretty much faded away
As I type this, the knees seem okay, but we’ll see how they feel later. I did push harder on this run, hence the higher BPM of 156 (vs. 153 on the previous run, under much warmer conditions). I was keeping under 6:00/km and on the final km I really wanted to make sure I kept to that, so I got a bit zany and actually posted my best lap of the run at 5:42/km, probably the fastest I’ve run since my knees started acting up. I promise to be more sensible next time!
As for the title, yes, there were bunnies! I came across one sitting on the gravel along the Piper Mill Trail (it hopped off as I approached, as expected), then two more later on, all of them brown, fuzzy and cute. There were probably a hundred others I didn’t see.
Overall, I’m pleased by the pace, the new shoes, the conditions, and my early start–I was back before 10:30 a.m.!
Now I need to figure out how to handle the rest of the week, run-wise, since my schedule is off-kilter.
Stats:
Run 799 Average pace: 5:52/km Training status: Maintaining Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop) Start: 9:13 a.m. Distance: 5.03 km Time: 29:33 Weather: Cloudy Temp: 15-16ºC Humidity: 72-68% Wind: light BPM: 156 Weight: 165.6 Total distance to date: 5875 km Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation) Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (10|17|27 km)
