Distance: 10.07 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 17-20ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 704
Average pace: 5:08/km
Total distance to date: 965 km
My goal tonight was simple: run without cramping and beat the (now) pathetic time of my previous run, which averaged 5:17/km.
First, I broke my vow of not drinking Coke Zero before the run. I imbibed a glass but finished it a full five hours beforehand. If that was going to affect me, I’d need to have a serious talking to my digestive system.
Because Jeff was off to North Van for a bike ride I opted to return to China Creek and its dusty trail. I am happy to report no dog incidents, though there were dogs (and joggers and soccer players and plenty of other people) about. The soccer players presented the closest to a hazard, as several balls got punted onto the path ahead of me, none underfoot, fortunately.
One soccer guy who was mixing in some sprints came up and passed me on one lap. Shortly after passing he came to a stop in the middle of the path and began pinwheeling his arms horizontally because, you know, I totally wasn’t right behind him, even though he had just passed me. He didn’t seem to have much energy so the arms came down before one could bap me in the head.
The good news is I remained cramp-free for the entire run. This one was hard, though. I worked to keep on pace and the air at China Creek is very dry, so my mouth is parched pretty much the whole time. I felt myself flag slightly toward the end and that may have cost me a second or two but I still finished with my second best time overall — 5:08/km. I feel I’m back on track now after the last two crampaloozas.
Chart (blue indicates the run was done clockwise; purple = Burnaby Lake):
| km | Aug 11 | Aug 8 | Aug 4 | Aug 1 | Jul 27 | Jul 20 | Jul 17 | Jul 14 | Jul 11 | Jul 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 km | 4:54 | 5:04 | 4:51 | 4:51 | 4:56 | 4:53 | 4:56 | 4:45 | 4:54 | 4:58 |
| 2 km | 4:55 | 5:05 | 4:54 | 4:52 | 4:54 | 4:56 | 4:54 | 4:47 | 4:56 | 4:58 |
| 3 km | 4:58 | 5:07 | 4:59 | 4:56 | 4:55 | 4:55 | 4:58 | 4:56 | 4:51 | 4:58 |
| 4 km | 5:00 | 5:09 | 5:04 | 4:58 | 4:56 | 5:00 | 4:58 | 4:54 | 5:01 | 5:07 |
| 5 km | 5:02 | 5:11 | 5:07 | 5:00 | 5:00 | 5:01 | 5:00 | 4:54 | 5:03 | 5:10 |
| 6 km | 5:03 | 5:12 | 5:09 | 5:01 | 5:02 | 5:02 | 5:02 | 4:59 | 5:03 | 5:12 |
| 7 km | 5:04 | 5:14 | 5:11 | 5:04 | 5:04 | 5:03 | 5:04 | 5:00 | 5:04 | 5:15 |
| 8 km | 5:06 | 5:16 | 5:13 | 5:06 | 5:06 | 5:05 | 5:06 | 5:02 | 5:06 | 5:17 |
| 9 km | 5:08 | 5:16 | 5:14 | 5:07 | 5:07 | 5:06 | 5:08 | 5:04 | 5:08 | 5:19 |
| 10 km | 5:08 | 5:17 | 5:15 | 5:09 | 5:09 | 5:06 | 5:09 | 5:06 | 5:10 | 5:20 |
| 11 km | — | 5:17 | 5:16 | 5:10 | 5:10 | — | 5:10 | 5:01 | 4:59 | — |
