Two words you don’t want associated with a run, yet here we are!
I opted to run the river trail today, after missing yesterday due to strata hijinks (and stupidly hot weather) in order to get a run in before it could get too hot (the high today is supposed to be 26C, and I am missing six weeks of acclimating to the temperatures getting warmer).
There was the smell of smoke near the start of the river trail, but I don’t think it was wildfire smoke, as it seemed to diminish as I got farther down the trail.
The run started decently, or so I thought, then about halfway through the first km, I cleared my throat a bit too aggressively, which managed to apparently move phlegm into my gag reflex zone. I coughed violently three times, thought about pausing, but kept on and made a note to not aggressively clear my throat for the remainder of the run. As I neared the 1K mark, I thought to check my current stats and noticed the watch face was showing the time with a green play button superimposed over it. This is not normal. I checked, and it seemed that I had queued up the run, but someone either didn’t start it, or started it and somehow immediately paused it.
What this meant is I’d run a km and the watch hadn’t tracked any of it. I pondered what to do and just started the “official” run there, adding another 2.5 km. The good news is I had no trouble doing 3.5 km, so I’m probably ready to tackle a 5K next, assuming it’s not Africa hot or something.
This is not to say I was fast or that the run was fun (in a bun, or otherwise). I was slow, and my BPM was all the way up to 158 because of the relative heat. But I got through and a slightly stronger breeze actually felt nice.
Stats:
Run 1,042
Average pace: 6:20/km
Training status: Overreaching
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 10:20 a.m.
Distance: 2.51 km
Time: 15:51
Weather: Mostly sunny
Temp: 20–21°C
Humidity: 52–48%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 158
Weight: 168.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,025 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Scarpa Golden Gate ATR 2 (5/12/17)
Music: Shuffle play