Average pace: 5:22/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce Loop, Conifer Loop and Piper Mill Trail
Distance: 5.03 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 4ºC
Wind: light to nil
Calories burned: 399
Total distance to date: 2494 km
I had a simple goal in mind for today’s run: beat the sluggish pace of the previous run and get the new year off to a faster start.
As I’ve been waylaid by injury the past few winters I’ve not done a cold run in awhile but it was only 4ºC when I headed out early in the afternoon under sunny skies. Fortunately there was little wind but my hands still felt chilled even stuffed in my jacket pockets.
The jacket did not prove to be too much even after I warmed up but I was glad I skipped gloves because my hands were fine after a short distance and remained warm even on the walk after.
The run itself mirrored the pattern of the previous in that the first 500 meters was fairly zippy then my pace dropped precipitously and stayed fairly level for the remainder, ticking up slightly at the end. The major difference this time is that the pace leveled off sooner and came in at 5:22/km, 13 seconds better than the last run.
Surprisingly both feet felt fine right from the start. The Achilles tendon was feeling better than I can recall in quite awhile. The left foot showed signs of hurting after the run but never progressed much beyond that.
I could feel I was doing better once I got past the first km. I never felt winded or experienced any cramps. My biggest issue was probably how cold my butt was. Do you lose a lot of heat through your butt? It certainly felt like it.
Apart from that minor issue the run went well and I am pleased at the progress. It’s a good start to the year.
My next run will likely be my second attempt on the treadmill. I expect I will stop just shy of the next Nike+ milestone of 2,500 km, so I should hit that on my next “real” run during the coming weekend.
