Outdoor runs

Today was the latest start to a run in a long time–2:21 p.m.! But I had a reason for this: I was tired of running in the cold. Spring is still officially five days away, but I’m ready now. With a high forecast to be 12C today, I decided to wait and lo, it was indeed 12C and mostly sunny when I went for my run. I wore a single layer! Crazy.

The sun felt nice. Did I have more energy? Maybe a little. Maybe I was just pleased to not be in the cold, with pouring rain. I started out strong, kept going, flagged a bit midway, then kept going again, pushing gently and finishing with a solid 5:44/km. BPM was up there at 157, but still well below what would make me uncomfortable.

Conditions were pleasant. I did a short loop and on the way back to the start, a mild breeze was blowing–and it felt nice, instead of chilling me to my core. Humidity was lower, but not enough to cause DMS¹Dry Mouth Syndrome. Overall, it felt good to be out and to be running.

Birding is taking the place of my usual Friday run, but I do plan on going out on Saturday (yes, the weekend). The high temperature is currently forecast to be a whacky 20C, which is not only twice the average high, but would break the previous record by a hefty 5 degrees. I haven’t decided when I will run on Saturday, but 20C might actually feel a bit shocking to my body in mid-March. We’ll see.

Run 856
Average pace: 5:44/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 2:21 p.m.
Distance: 5:04 km
Time: 28:51
Weather: Sunny, with some high cloud
Temp: 12ºC
Humidity: 58-56%
Wind: light
BPM: 157
Weight: 169.8
Total distance to date: 6170 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (305/560/865 km)

My hands are still numb as I type this.

After skipping Friday’s run (my bad), I went out this morning, under threat of rain. It stayed dry on the walk to the lake, and initially on the run, but soon the rain started, a light shower that continued for the rest of the run.

It wasn’t too bad, thanks mainly to little wind. After the run, the rain continued, got heavier, and the wind picked up. And I had a 9 km walk home. I almost wished I’d had gloves with me.

But as mentioned, the run went fine, and I actually improved my pace over last Wednesday. I originally was going to do a short loop, clockwise, but around the 2K mark I passed a couple with a largish dog that was off-leash. The woman grabbed its collar as I ran by, but I thought about how I’d be approaching them by behind a short time later and how I could get tangled up with that off-leash dog. This prompted me to keep going, adding a bonus 5 km of walking to my workout. And that was fine, except for the poopy weather.

The run itself was again blessedly free of incidents. I started and ended strong and while I faded a bit at the 4K mark, I was able to improve my pace without feeling like I was overdoing it.

The environs around the lake are also looking increasingly spring-like. Now we just need that spring-like weather. Soon™.

Run 855
Average pace: 5:48/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:28 a.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 29:12
Weather: Light, steady rain
Temp: 6-7ºC
Humidity: 85%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 157
Weight: 170.5
Total distance to date: 6165 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (300/551/851 km)

I didn’t run for the past week, but I have reasons!

1. Last Wednesday I was dealing with condo nonsense and had no time.
2. Last Friday I went birding because the weather was good. And I also walked over 28,000 steps, so it’s not like I was lazing on the couch eating Ding Dongs.

Regardless, as I headed out this morning, my training status had sunk to Detraining. Ouch.

By the time I had walked to the lake I had already lifted myself back up to Recovery mode and at the conclusion of the run I was back to Maintaining. Yay.

For a week off, the run went quite well. I had no issues, felt fine and while my pace was slower at 5:49/km, it’s still perfectly respectable, especially given the conditions. While it was sunny, it was also cool–only 4C–and unusually windy, with gusts up to 25 km/h. It definitely made the walk to the lake a little chillier than normal. The run itself wasn’t too bad, though.

The trail was surprisingly busy for a Monday morning, but I suspect the nice weather drew out more people than normal.

There was one odd moment during the run. I was on the main trail and ahead of me was a song sparrow, pecking around on the trail, as they do. Normally as I approach birds on the trail, they scatter as I get near, because I am a lumbering giant moving at a higher-than-normal speed. The song sparrow did not move. I entered what I considered its personal birb space, and it still didn’t move. At the last second, I cut sharp to the left, because if I hadn’t, there seemed a good chance that my right foot would have come down either on top of the song sparrow or very close to it. Just as I did this, it finally flew off.

I cannot remember ever having to alter my course to get around any kind of songbird. It happens regularly with Canada geese, because they own the place and you want to avoid the geese, not the other way around, but little bitty sparrows? Never!

Until this morning.

Anyway, it was a good run to start the week, even with the wind and the near-smooshing of an innocent song sparrow.

Run 853
Average pace: 5:49/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 10:20 a.m.
Distance: 5:04 km
Time: 29:18
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 4ºC
Humidity: 70-66%
Wind: moderate, gusts up to 25 km/h (!)
BPM: 157
Weight: 170/9
Total distance to date: 6155 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (290/538/828 km)

I went birding instead of running on Friday, so this was my first run after four days off. In my favour: The conditions were good, with little wind, mild (for winter) temperatures and partly sunny skies.

Working against me: It’s Family Day, a stat holiday, and that meant the trail was packed with roving groups of people who only ever visit the lake on stat holidays. We’ll next meet again on Easter Monday!

Fortunately, it wasn’t that bad. Despite the crowds, I never had trouble navigating around others. And even the [colourful euphemism here] people who decided it was a good idea to go jogging with their off-leash dogs didn’t present any issues.

I wasn’t sure how it would go, but the walk to the lake was surprisingly nimble, so I was hopeful for a decent effort. Shortly before heading off clockwise, an older guy jogged by, and I figured I might see him once I started. Sure enough, I caught sight of him on the Avalon Trail, but for an older guy, he was keeping up a very good pace. I felt like I might be closing the gap, but only by tiny increments.

Somewhere past the 3K mark, the gap did genuinely begin to close. I wasn’t really pushing hard, so he must have started slowing. I finally made the decision to pass and put on the boosters, passed, then kept up the boosted speed for another 10 seconds or so before going back to my normal pace.

About a minute or so later, he passed me. The nerve! He apparently was determined to not be passed again, because the gap between us started to increase again. Right near the end I feel it was starting to once again close, but he went left and I went right, so there was no way to know who might have passed whom again. I’ll just pretend it was me!

All this extra effort had two effects: A year’s-best pace of 5:42/km for me, along with a higher-than-normal BPM of 159 (which is actually fine). Pleasingly, I experienced no issues, despite putting the proverbial pedal to the metal.

Overall, a better-than-expected start to the week and proof that my competitive spirit still burbles under the surface.

Stats:

Run 852
Average pace: 5:42/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 9:47 a.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 28:41
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 6-7ºC
Humidity: 78-75%
Wind: light
BPM: 159
Weight: 171.1
Total distance to date: 6150 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (285/530/815 km)

Another sunny day! In February! Weird!

I set off a little bit earlier for a run where conditions were similar to the previous in terms of weather (sunny) but a bit cooler by two degrees. This and going the “hard” way around Burnaby Lake meant my pace was a tad slower and my BPM a tad higher, but both were still fine.

I did something that made my right hip a bit sore yesterday (not a run day) and was concerned it might affect my run, but I think jogging actually helped it, because it wasn’t an issue and feels better (for now, at least).

The only off-note was another Off-leash Friday. Whether it’s a coincidence or not, it seems like people are more likely to have dogs off-leas on Fridays. At least they proved to not be problematic. The only one that approached me was post-run, and it was a tiny white furball.

Overall, it was nice to end the week with a full-deal run and to experience no issues. Here’s to getting slimmer, getting stronger and tackling 10Ks again, possibly as we shift over to spring next month.

Run 850
Average pace: 5:47/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 120:58 a.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 29:07
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 5-6ºC
Humidity: 72-68%
Wind: light
BPM: 153
Weight: 172.0
Total distance to date: 6140 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (275/513/788 km)

Today’s run was weird and a bit contradictory, but in a good sort of way.

First, it was cooler–only 5C. I wore two layers up top, and it was a little chilly walking to the lake, but tolerable, and I was fine for the run. I did try my windbreaker before heading out, but it’s a little too snug due to my current blimp-like shape. But I’ll be able to wear it again, probably by the time the weather warms up and I won’t need it.

Normally cooler weather means I need to work harder, yet my BPM of 150 was actually lower than Friday’s run, when it was a balmy 9C. Yet it felt like I was working harder, as if my heart rate and stamina have someone become disassociated from each other. Like I said, weird.

Once again, no issues on the run, though I started lagging a lot on the 4th km, with my pace drooping to 5:59/km. This surprised me, so I put in a little more effort on the final km (5:33/km) and ended up matching Friday’s pace of 5:48/km. I’m happy with that.

The trail was pretty empty for the most part, with only a few other joggers and a couple others out walking. The only doggo was on a leash and jogging alongside its owner (who I’ve seen several times now, possibly a new regular).

Overall, a good way to start the week.

Run 848
Average pace: 5:48/km
Training status: Strained
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW, short loop)
Start: 9:45 a.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 29:10
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 5ºC
Humidity: 75%
Wind: light
BPM: 150
Weight: 174.2
Total distance to date: 6130 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (265/496/761 km)

Overdressed alert: I actually came back in after stepping outside and put on a second layer. It turned out I didn’t need it, though it was probably nice to have for the walk to the lake. It had started to lightly sprinkle, and I was thinking of cold rain, but the shower eased up and it stayed dry for the run.

My original plan was to do a quick one-hour workout by running the river trail. I managed to talk myself into doing a short loop at the lake and then, while running, talked myself into going all the way around the lake.

When I finished the run, my watch declared my training status as Productive. Yay! When I completed the 5K walk around the lake, it declared my training status Overreaching. Whoopsie!

The run went fine, with no issues other than me just slowly getting back into shape. Unlike Wednesday, there was no danger of me coming in over 6:00/km, and my overall pace of 5:48/km was a seven-second improvement. My BPM was even slightly lower. The only complication was a dry catch in my throat around the 3 km mark. As this point in a run I am breathing through my mouth (insert joke here), which means I was pulling in air onto this dry patch in my throat, which made it worse. It settled down after a few minutes, but was a bit annoying in the interim.

What wasn’t annoying were the people and dogs on the trail. Every dog was leashed, and all the owners saw me coming and made room for me to pass. Everyone was so friendly and polite! It almost threw me off. I almost expected a dragon or something to appear later to compensate.

But no dragons appeared.

And then on the river trail coming back I spotted extremely early blooms. We’re only halfway through winter. This is weird, but pleasant.

Overall, I’m pleased with my first full week back running. Here’s hoping my knees and other assorted body parts cooperate as I rebuild my stamina for an eventual return to 10K outings.

Stats:

Run 847
Average pace: 5:48/km
Training status: Overreaching (oops)
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:44 a.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 29:11
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 9ºC
Humidity: 88-89%
Wind: light
BPM: 153
Weight: 175.4
Total distance to date: 6125 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (260/488/748 km)

Conditions were nearly identical to Monday, with temperatures still well above normal. I wore my long-sleeved shirt because light rain was in the forecast. For the run itself, it was unnecessary, but it helped on the walk to the lake and back.

I originally planned to do a short loop clockwise, but once I started I abandoned the plan and just kept running. Why?

• I generally don’t like doubling back the same way I’ve come. The lake trail works great for this because it’s over 10 km long.
• I was curious to see the damage on the rest of the trail.
• I felt I need to keep pushing to get myself back into shape (but not too hard–still sticking to 5K runs for now. I remember The Knees of 2023).

The run went well. I managed my goal, which was to be under 6:00/km, coming in at 5:55/km. It was close on the fourth km, where my time edged up to 5:59/km, but I tapped my inner reserve of magic running whatsit and got through. No issues to report, either, other than being a bit tired because I’m still getting used to my regular run routine again.

Most of the run was dry and when it did rain, it was more an intermittent drizzle, which was perfectly tolerable. The trail is mostly in good shape, but several sections were washed out, and I noticed a few more ex-trees that had been cleared away. The last few winters have been merciless on this place.

Still, it was good to be out again, and I’m looking forward to it feeling a little easier. I know the mild weather won’t last, but here’s hoping, even if it means horrible climate change or something.

Stats:

Run 846
Average pace: 5:55/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:09 a.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 29:45
Weather: Cloudy with intermittent drizzle and light rain
Temp: 12-13ºC
Humidity: 83%
Wind: light
BPM: 154
Weight: 174.9
Total distance to date: 6120 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (255/475/730 km)

I am still soft and flabby, but at least the snow is gone. In fact, not only was the snow gone from the trail, it was up to 5 degrees above normal–and this is in the morning, hours before the high temperature for the day. It’s kind of weird running in January and having it feel more like early April.

I opted to wear my summer running clothes: shirts and a t-shirt. And it was fine! Even a long-sleeved shirt would have felt overdressed.

I did a short loop counter-clockwise and got to see the latest havoc the rains have wreaked on the trail, with several areas washed out and traffic cones in place.

A couple of trees were down, though they had already been cleared. We have gone from unusually warm to unusually cold and back to unusually warm all in the space of weeks, so it’s probably playing quite the number on the soil and vegetation.

As for the actual run, no issues encountered, and I felt OK–less tired than the previous run. My pace was a bit slower, as expected, on the more technical lake trail, sitting a little over 6:00/km. I managed 5:48/km for the last km, which brought my overall pace to 6:00/km even, the same as my last run (total times between the runs separated by only one second, which is a little freaky).

My training status has also jumped back up to Productive. My Garmin watch is happy again.

There were more people than usual out waling, probably due to the mild and, for the moment, dry conditions, but the extra bodies resulted in no issues.

Overall, it was good to be back on the trail, to run without dressing in multiple layers, and to not get soaked to my butt. I probably won’t escape getting damp on the next run, but for now I am content.

Stats:

Run 845
Average pace: 6:00/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 9:55 a.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 30:10
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 12-13ºC
Humidity: 89%
Wind: light
BPM: 154
Weight: 175.3
Total distance to date: 6115 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (250/462/712 km)