Exercise

I missed Friday’s run for reasons, so I wanted to take it a bit easier today. It helped that my seasonal allergies have been relentlessly beating me up, so I’m not exactly brimming with pep.

I headed out late again and it was a bit warmer at 17-19C. As a result, my pace was nearly the same as Friday at 5:50/km but my BPM was higher at 150. I generally felt fine, though right at the end of the cottonwood Trail, just before the sharp turn to the left and downhill, I suddenly felt very warm, like I was glowing radioactively. It passed and I was back to normal for the remainder of the run. I suspect a combo of no wind/warmth contributed.

Today was also Victoria Day, but although there were more people, it was very manageable, despite a few cyclists (one was slow and looked rather sheepish) and a few off-leash dogs.

Four more cyclists were near the dam at the start. I walked back to the 0K marker to start my run and when I made my approach to the bridge at Silver Creek, which is not far from the dam, they were all walking their bikes back to the dam. I suspect someone told them NO RIDING HERE. They also looked a little sheepish.

And also, another new sign since my last run:

The coyote signs are still up. If I see a coyote riding on a bear, I am giving up running.

Good news: My right shin did not bother me at all on the run. It felt very slightly tender after.

Weird news: The title of this post comes from an incident just over a km into the run when I swallowed something. It could have been a seed or a bug or a bug clutching a seed. All I know is I felt it go into my mouth and into my throat. I decided to try to ignore it, thinking anything I might do could only make it worse. Eventually, I spat to get some stuff out of my mouth and this indeed led to me coughing so hard I had tears in eyes, like a bad country song.

I was largely fine after that and didn’t ingest anything else on the run (to my knowledge), though cottonwood dander was piling up all over the place.

Still, an overall decent outing.

Stats:

Run 1,038
Average pace: 5:50/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:56 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:22
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 17-19°C
Humidity: 52%
Wind: light
BPM: 150
Weight: 169.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,015 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (285/513/798)

Music: Shuffle play

With my right shin feeling tender, but not on a love story way, after the last run, I got up this morning and went back and forth over whether to run today, do a shorter run or something else.

In the end, I opted to do a short loop counter-clockwise at the lake. This would shave off a not-insubstantial five km of additional walking after the run.

The walk to the lake went fine, though I could feel the right shin. I started off slow, feeling things out. I slowed even more on the second km, not because the shin was hurting, but, as they say, out of “an abundance of caution”. I picked up and returned to my initial pace for the third km and by then the shin wasn’t really bothering me. Was it endorphins masking the pain? Maybe! I picked up the pace for the final two km and finished overall with 5:49/km, a slight improvement over Monday. My BPM, thanks to the cooler temperatures, was down to 144.

Okay, that was the shin, which I will continue to monitor.

The squirrel? As I neared the halfway point of the run on the Piper Mill Trail, I saw a Douglas squirrel on the right edge of the trail. They don’t seem as twitchy about people getting close and sure enough, the squirrel did not immediately react to my presence as I jogged by. Then it got weird. The squirrel took off–in pursuit! Yes, it began running after me. It was so close to my right foot at one point that I was worried I might step on it, so I put on a little extra burst of speed and left it behind. I have no idea what it was doing. Did it think I had nuts? I mean, I do, but they are reserved for human use only.

And finally, the shoe. Not long after the squirrel incident, as I reached my turnaround point, I felt a sharp jab in my left foot, the telltale sign of an especially jagged little piece of gravel getting into the shoe, under my foot, then getting squished into my foot. After a few steps, it shifted and the pain stopped, but IU did not want to risk further incidents, so I paused the run to fish it out.

The left shoe is always double-laced, so I had to work on the carefully tied knot for a bit to get the lace finally untied. Then I had to take the shoe off, get the gravel out (success!) and, because my left foot was on a gravel trail without a shoe, I also had to somehow make sure I didn’t put even more gravel into the shoe when putting it back on. I’d like to say I have the poise and balance of a flamingo and can stand on one leg and remove a shoe without wobbling over, but this is not the case. I wiped my left foot on some nearby grace, did a regular bow (hoping for the best) and finished my run without further squirrels, rocks or other weirdness.

In the end, the shin issue seemed to fade, much as it had on previous runs, so I am cautiously optimistic it will be OK.

We’ll find out Friday!

Stats:

Run 1,037
Average pace: 5:49/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 1:14 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:13
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 14-16°C
Humidity: 73-69%
Wind: light
BPM: 144
Weight: 168.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,010 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (280/500/780)

Music: Shuffle play

My watch wanted me to run for 38 minutes today at a pace of 8.6 km/hour.

Instead, I ran my usual 5K in just over 29 minutes. What the watch apparently didn’t know is that it was much warmer this morning. I started out exactly where I ended overall–5:50/km. A bit pokey, especially compared to Friday, but it’s fine. BPM was higher, likely due to the temperature, at 149, but anything under 150 is still good.

One area of concern is the ol’ right shin. Unlike the last run where it started tender then gradually got fine over the run, today it started out feeling a lot less tender, but then kind of stayed there for the run, a low-grade tenderness as the sun slowly roasted me. I don’t think it affected my pace and as I type this, it’s not hurting or anything, but it is now on my proverbial radar.

Probably (?) unrelated, my left foot was feeling just slightly sore in that “need the orthotic” way after the run. I haven’t used the orthotics since getting the Peregrine 15s because the insoles they came with were a cushy fill-in, but after 275 km of runs and a lot more walking, they may be reaching their EOL. I suppose I should get new shoes, maybe go for something more cushiony this time.

I have surgery in 11 days, which is going to keep me from running for a bit, so the shin issue may be something that solves itself in a roundabout way.

The trail was dry and a bit dusty and the Avalon parking lot has huge piles of gravel ready for the resurfacing of the Brunette Headwaters trail, slated to begin May 19th. The area around the second boardwalk continues to be closed “for repairs” despite no sign of repairs at all. The detour is fairly short, so it’s not a big deal. Also, Hangdog was out.

In all, not a bad start to the week.

Stats:

Run 1,036
Average pace: 5:50/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:49 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:21
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 18-20°C
Humidity: 56-51%
Wind: light
BPM: 149
Weight: 169.2 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,005 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (275/493/768)

Music: Glass Houses, Billy Joel

Despite a later start, today’s run was cooler–a mere 14C, which is practically seasonal. It was also cloudy, so no need for sunblock.

I was pleasantly surprised when I got to the lake, because the drinking fountain by the dam was working again. I celebrated by sipping water from it. To my further delight, the fountain was still operating after my run, so I sipped again. Oh happy day.

The watch suggested a recovery run and because I missed Monday, I was good with that, so I adopted a somewhat more leisurely pace. My overall pace of 5:45/km is maybe a tad misleading, as I did pick up for the final km, coming in at 5:31/km, which brought my average down a good bit. Still, I felt fine throughout, had no issues and my BPM was a spiffy 145. Thank you, clouds and lower temperatures.

There were no shirtless joggers today.

I still have yet to see a coyote. I’m not saying I want to, I just haven’t.

In all, a fine mid-week effort.

Stats:

Run 1,034
Average pace: 5:45/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:03 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:57
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 14°C
Humidity: 76-74%
Wind: light
BPM: 145
Weight: 168.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,995 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (265/473/738)

Music: Kick, INXS

I missed my run yesterday due to paving. Yes, paving.

So I set out early this morning, hoping to beat both the crowds and the heat. I did beat the latter, but not so much the former. It was especially clogged up near the dam, but the number of people thinned a bit as I headed out.

The unusually warm weather meant I saw not one, but five guys running shirt-free. The first one practically bumped me out of the way as I was just entering the park off Cariboo Road. I saw a pair that seemed mostly there to show off their lean, unnaturally hairless bodies, as they were running at what might be called a casual pace, all the better to show off their short shorts and flat abs, while conversing about whatever.

Not that I’m jealous.

I started out surprisingly brisk, then fell off unsurprisingly in the second km, but not too badly. Toward the end of that second km, I encountered an array of bugs and saw what looked like one heading right at me. Shortly after that I felt a catch in my throat and I believe I had ingested a bug.

This caused some coughing, which startled two birds in a nearby bush, causing them to fly off. I eventually had to pause the run to clear my throat without the distraction of running at the same time.

I later paused again, briefly, to grab a few shots of a detour in the route. It appears they may be doing work on the olde boardwalk, which has something like eight traffic cones on it currently. They replaced the entire railing on both sides last year, so I’m guessing more planks will be getting replaced this time around. The detour was not overlong and didn’t seem to affect my pace.

EDIT: I checked the Burnaby Lake website after and apparently this closure is due to…coyotes:

But the sign on the nearby post clearly states it’s for repairs:

Heading out right at 9 a.m. proved to be smart, as the temperature rose from 16C to 18C during the run and humidity plunged 9%. My BPM was slightly higher at 148, but that seems fine for the effort, and my pace was 5:42/km, pretty good once you factor in the second km, which was 5:46/km.

Also, because it was Saturday, the sports fields were full of people playing sports, mostly with discs, it seems. The parts not being used were occupied by geese, some of which had their babbies in tow. They are still fuzzy and cute.

In all, a perfectly cromulent wrap to the week.

Stats:

Run 1,033
Average pace: 5:42/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 9:42 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:38
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 16-18°C
Humidity: 69-61%
Wind: light
BPM: 148
Weight: 168.5 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,990 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (260/460/720)

Music: Lifes Rich Pageant, R.E.M.