Today’s run was a change-up, weather-wise. With the forecast ominously calling for “heavy rain” I expected a good soaking and indeed, it was showering as I headed out. But the rain soon tapered off to an intermittent drizzle, and it remained pretty much dry for the run itself.
Temperature-wise, it was a whopping 10 degrees cooler than Friday’s run, at 17C. This was nice. The humidity was literally twice as high, at 90%. This was…fine. It felt a bit muggy, but wasn’t that bad, and was definitely better than dreaded Dry mouth Syndrome.
I chose to do a short counter-clockwise loop at the lake and it went fine. My pace was improved on Friday, which was nice, and I came oh-so-close to getting under 6:00/km again. The knees behaved, though the left hip was acting ornery. It settled down on the walk back home.
The trail proved to be in good shape, despite the rain–no puddle dodging required!
Overall, not bad, especially considering I missed Monday’s run and had four days off–a little longer than I’d like.
Trail-side fungus, post-run.
Stats:
Run 795Average pace: 6:00/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 11:41 a.m.
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 30:15
Weather: Cloudy with some light drizzle
Temp: 17ºC
Humidity: 90%
Wind: light
BPM: 152
Weight: 166.8
Total distance to date: 5855 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (525 km)
It still beats tripping on a tree root or falling over a dog, though.
I was doing stuff in the morning and kept thinking, “I need to get out and do my run before it gets hot” and all of a sudden it was past noon and oops.
It was just past 2 p.m. and 27C when I ran, which is the hottest it’s been in a while. Humidity was 45%, so I brought the water bottle. Oddly, though I sipped from it a few times during the run, my mouth never got super dry and at times it felt more humid than the numbers indicated. Weather is weird, yo.
But the hot sun had a definite effect, and I knew I was in for a slower run when my first km on the “easy” way around the lake was 5:59/km. My average heart rate was down to an even 150, though. I couldn’t muster the effort to raise it much beyond that, really.
While both knees came through fine, I did notice my upper left leg/hip was sore. It’s possible I may have tweaked a muscle in it before the run, maybe while stretching. I don’t think it’s serious, but it probably had some impact on the overall run, and was more noticeable on the walk home. My training status remains Productive, though!
At several points during the run I thought about pausing and taking a break, but kept putting it off and then the run was over, so that worked out. I’m no quitter, etc. etc.
I am tired, though. At least I have multiple days to rest now.
And I was finally able to take a photo of the new playground, because apparently no one wants to play when it’s 27C.
The fountain features SunBlast™ technology, to insure every drink is searing hot!
Stats:
Run 794Average pace: 6:06/kmTraining status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 2:13 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:42
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 27ºC
Humidity: 45%
Wind: light
BPM: 150
Weight: 168.2
Total distance to date: 5850 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (520 km)
But I again felt like the run was taking more effort than it should have. Temperature was fine, humidity should have been okay, starting at 56%–not too high, not too low. My BPM of 151 overall indicates I was not exerting myself too much–and yet for much of the run it felt like a bit of a slog. Am I just that much off my peak? Is the humidity being tricksy and affecting me more than I realize?
I may try running earlier in the morning on Friday to get some kind of comparison.
Given that my knee held up, I can’t complain too much. I did a short loop and the Garmin Forerunner approved, keeping my training status at Productive.
Overall, not bad, just…fine.
And now, a map to illustrate all the highlights (?):
If it’s easier, I run on the right side of the trail. Also, no matter how much you zoom in, you will not see the tractor. Sorry!
Stats:
Run 793Average pace: 6:00/kmTraining status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop1Short loop means I ran about half the distance, then doubled back to finish the run.)
Start: 11:10 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:10
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 22-23ºC
Humidity: 56-52%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 166.3
Total distance to date: 5845 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (515 km)
Knees: I felt the right knee twinge a bit in the latter part of the run, but it wasn’t hurting, and I don’t think it impacted my performance. As I write this an hour or so later, the knee is feeling fine.
After Saturday’s mega-birding trek, my upper right leg/hip started to feel sore and while it began feeling better through Sunday, I was still unsure on whether I’d run today. This morning, however, I felt fine, so headed off for a minimalist river run1A minimalist run is one where I minimize the amount of walking, so in this case I start the run as soon as I get to the river trail, which is after about a 1.5 km walk. This compares to having to walk 4 km to run at the lake.. Conditions were good—sunny but not hot and humidity exactly the same at 53%, which meant my mouth wouldn’t get overly dry. I brought the water bottle and used it twice, though could possibly have skipped it.
And even though my average pace was back below 6:00/km, I felt weirdly sluggish and tired for the run. I wasn’t overly exerting myself–my BPM was down to 149 for large portions of the run, so I’m not sure what it was. In any case, I finished and overall it was okay, but not like socks-rolling-up-and-down fantastic or anything.
Regarding the tiny new route extension: When I run the river trail, I normally run past the gate at the end of the trail/service road and down the sidewalk to the intersection of Cariboo Road and Cariboo Place. Today, I daringly ran on past it, as detailed in the shot of the run map below. Why did I do this? Was I feeling extra zany? Trying to escape, somehow? Blazing a new trail? I think I secretly wanted to end the run a bit earlier, so I wouldn’t have as far to walk back. In reality, the distance would still be about the same, but psychologically it would feel like less. The mind is a strange place.
I will ponder what to do on Wednesday.
View of the river, post-run
Stats:
Run 792Average pace: 5:56/kmTraining status: Productive
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 11:15 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:49
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 21ºC
Humidity: 53%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 167.3
Total distance to date: 5840 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (510 km)
I headed out today a bit later than I would have liked, and with humidity around 53%, decided to bring the water bottle.
But first, the knees! They were a tiny bit stiff after the run, and on the walk home, but not overly so, and for the run itself they were fine. I will monitor over the weekend, then decide whether to go ahead with Monday’s run or not. At this point, I expect to go.
OK, back to the run. As it turned out, the DMS1Dry Mouth Syndrome was minimal and I only sipped from the bottle once, around the 2K mark. I think I would have been fine without it, but if the humidity had been even a few percentage points lower, I’d have been pining for it. Noted for future reference.
I took the “easy” clockwise route and the first two km were under six minutes, but not by a lot. It was hotter and I felt like I was working harder and getting less out of it. The trend continued as every km I got slower, though my heart rate was a nice 151. I turned it around on the last km, where my pace picked up, but not enough to end with an overall of 6:05/km. Based on how much of a slog it felt like, I’m actually OK with that.
Overall, not exactly the fantastic end-of-week flourish I was hoping for, but it was perfectly adequate.
Still Creek, looking north, post-run
Stats:
Run 791Average pace: 6:05/kmTraining status: Overreaching
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 12:30 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:35
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 24ºC
Humidity: 53%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 167.1
Total distance to date: 5835 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (505 km)
Today I did the full deal–run around the lake (5K) and walk back.
My right knee again survived!
I kept my pace in check, but still managed to come in under the six-minute mark, even running the “hard” way (CCW) around the lake. Conditions were decent–only some sun, but no threat of rain and humidity was high enough to mostly avoid dry mouth, though it did get drier as the run progressed (but not much).
The most notable thing with my body were my various leg muscles again feeling the burn–this is normal, given I am still well off my peak after the 18-day layoff (and an even longer one in May). Here’s hoping everything keeps holding together, and I don’t need to break out the duct tape.
I also managed to keep my BPM down to 152, which was nice, given the lake trail is more strenuous than the river. Overall, I am content with the results.
Now, the two-phone thing: I have never used one of those straps that keeps your phone on your arm while running. Doctors and sporty health experts recommend against them, because they pout you slightly off balance. They also probably make you sweat like crazy. I’ve always used a SPI-belt™ to tuck my phone in a pouch around my waist. Currently, I swing the phone around, so it sits snug in the small of my back and it essentially disappears for the run.
Today, a guy wearing a bright red t-shirt jogged past me around the 3K mark. I didn’t mind, as I am still a long way off from being in shape enough to feel that competitive urge strike. Also, he wasn’t running a lot faster, so I was able to track him up to the 5K mark, where he stopped running. I also stopped and got a drink, which allowed him to resume running and I didn’t see him again.
But what I did see while he was running ahead of me for those 2 km was a phone strapped to his left arm. And another phone strapped to his right arm. Dual phones! I’ve never seen this before. It looked heavy and awkward and sweaty. Why would someone do this? These are the possibilities I came up with:
One phone was a dummy phone, there to provide counterbalance to the other
Personal phone on one arm, work phone on the other (a friend suggested this one)
Couldn’t decide between Android and iOS
Other phone was actually an old school iPod
Each phone was playing in mono, when combined they play in stereo!
Extremely paranoid about main phone failing during a run
Trying to start a kooky new fashion trend
View of the lake around the 5K mark, post-run
Stats:
Run 790Average pace: 5:56/kmTraining status: Overreaching
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:40 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:49
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 19-20ºC
Humidity: 65%
Wind: light
BPM: 152
Weight: 166.4
Total distance to date: 5830 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (500 km)
For the first time in awhile, the forecast called for showers. In fact, the weather app even said heavy rain. Gasp! As it turns out, they also predicted a lull in late morning/early afternoon, which is when I ran, and it remained dry. The titular humidity was high, but without the sun beating down on me, it didn’t feel overbearing, it just meant no DMS1Dry Mouth Syndrome.
I still go out every run concerned about the right knee, but again, it was fine. In fact, my first km was a zippy 5:46/km. This alarmed me and I went wildly in the other direction for the next one before generally averaging a pace under 6:00/km, the first time I’ve done that in some time. The lower temperature and cloud cover helped.
Also helping was keeping this a minimal run–head to the river trail (1.5 km walk) and then immediately run 5K, then turn around and come back. Oddly, even the walk there, which takes about 15 minutes, yielded an Overachieving for my training status, even though the watch had suggested a 36-minute workout. Technology!
I’m just glad my body appears to be no longer actively falling apart for the moment.
Next run should be on Wednesday, when we’re back to a mix of sun and clouds, though still cooler than normal.
Brunette River, looking east, post-run
Stats:
Run 789Average pace: 5:52/kmTraining status: Overreaching
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 1:25 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:31
Weather: Overcast
Temp: 17ºC
Humidity: 79%
Wind: light
BPM: 152
Weight: 165.8
Total distance to date: 5825 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (495 km)
First, the knee: It’s fine! No issues while running and none after. The legs were a bit sore after the run, in all the muscles that are part of my stretching routine. At one point coming back on the river trail, the knees felt like they were getting stiff, but it passed.
Now, for the run. I checked the weather beforehand, and it showed humidity at 46%. Ruh roh! I took the water bottle, but when I got to the lake and checked again, the humidity was 65%, so I didn’t need it. Who knew New West and Burnaby could be so dramatically different? The earlier start also meant the temperature stayed at a comfy 21C throughout.
Although I’m still averaging over six minutes per km, I did lop off a full eight seconds from Wednesday’s pace, which was nice. I ran the “easier” way by going clockwise (it trends more downhill this way). Other than almost breaking 6:00/km on the first km, I was pretty consistent throughout, which was also nice. I didn’t flag at the end or in the middle.
This was the first run where I had audio on for the Garmin Forerunner and it lowers the volume on music, then announces in a somewhat robotic-sounding female voice, “Lap x, 0:00” where the numbers are your pace for the lap. This means I don’t need to look at the watch at all, except to check my heart rate. Speaking of heart rate, the better conditions today allowed me to be faster while maintaining the same BPM as Wednesday, at 156.
I may come to regret doing the “full deal” by going all the way around the lake, but I have at least two full days to recover before my next run, so here’s hoping the legs and all parts therein behave and recover nicely. For now, I am pleased with today’s result.
Still Creek, post-run
Stats:
Run 788Average pace: 6:07/km
>NEW< Training status: OverreachingLocation: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:26 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:44
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 21ºC
Humidity: 65-61%
Wind: light
BPM: 156
Weight: 166.5
Total distance to date: 5820 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (490 km)
My plan today was to go slow ‘n steady. I did this!
It was weird, because even though it was slightly cooler and humidity was slightly higher, it felt a lot warmer, even with the occasional breeze kicking in. I chalk this up to the difference between the more open river trail vs. the much more sheltered and narrower lake trail. In short, I spent more time under direct sun.
I felt like I was plodding the entire way, as if I was running on Jupiter. At around the 3.5 km mark, I thought the right knee was going to act up, but it never really did. It feels fine now, post-run, but I’ll update this post if it feels sore or stiff later in the day.
On the one hand, even though I ran a full 5K, I improved on all my stats from the previous run–better pace, lower BPM. On the other hand, I felt like a lumbering sea lion. All that time off really adds up.
As far as DMS1Dry Mouth Syndrome goes, I experienced what I’d call minor DMS. I took my water bottle with me, but ended up not clipping it to the belt, because the belt has lost enough elasticity that the bottle sags and pulls it down. I kept it in my left pocket, and it wasn’t obtrusive for running, even when full. I did take one sip mid-run, but was fine otherwise, so the apparent bad zone for DMS starts when the humidity drops somewhere below 50%.
Overall, it was nice to complete a full 5 km run with my knee and body intact. I think I made the right call sticking to the river trail today. I’ll mull over the options for Friday, when the weather may be a bit cooler.
Brunette River, post-run
Stats:
Run 787Average pace: 6:15/km
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 10:53 a.m.
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 31:27
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 25-26ºC
Humidity: 54-52%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 156
Weight: 166.4
Total distance to date: 5815 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (485 km)
First, the knees: My last run was 18 days ago, on June 26, and I stopped after 2 km because the right knee was aching.
Today, I set a goal of 3 km because a) it would be an appropriately modest target after a long layoff and b) it plays into my OCD, allowing me to get the total distance run to a nice round figure.
The good news is my right knee came through intact! Allowing for various creaks and things from the nearly three weeks I hadn’t run, the right knee actually didn’t ache at all. This was probably aided by a few things:
The time off since the last run
Starting on the north side of the dam, which reduced any uphill/downhill running
Since it was quite warm and dry, and I was out of form, I was pretty dang slow
Speaking of warm and dry, it was pretty warm and the humidity was low enough that my mouth was kind of dry. My current post-illness phlegmy state meant I had difficulty swallowing a few times, which is not a nice feeling to ever have, but especially when running, and you’re trying to keep all the parts going. Had I known beforehand, I would have taken my li’l water bottle.
I am relieved that the knee is not worse for wear, but am cautious all the same. I will try running again on Monday and see how it goes. I could really feel those 18 days off, though. I had no problem not overdoing it because my body was wholly incapable of it. Still, it was nice to get back out, and I got to take some photos of the lake as a bonus.
Here’s a shot from Phillips Point:
View from Phillips Point, post-run
Stats:
Run 786Average pace: 6:18/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:55 p.m.
Distance: 3.02 km
Time: 19:03
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 26-27ºC
Humidity: 46%
Wind: light
BPM: 159
Weight: 164.8
Total distance to date: 5810 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (480 km)
But it did go very similarly to the last run, at least to start.
I walked to the lake at a brisk pace and felt fine. I started a counter-clockwise run and waited to see if the right knee would start to ache, like the last run six days ago. It did. I waited to see if that ache would diminish to discomfort. It did. I then checked my pace at the 2 km mark–6:08/km–and called the run.
It’s possible if I had kept going, the knee would have felt better still, again like the previous run, but today felt different. It felt worse. And I didn’t want to risk making the knee worse, so I grudgingly stopped the run after only 2 km.
There’s not much else to say. I started with a deliberately slower pace, but I don’t think it made any difference. My knee was going to do what is was going to do no matter how slow or fast I ran. Alas.
More physio and we’ll see what’s next. I am holding off on further runs for the time being.
It was nice for running, at least!
Stats:
Run 785Average pace: 6:02/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:47 p.m.
Distance: 2.03 km
Time: 12:15
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 22ºC
Humidity: 58%
Wind: light
BPM: 148
Weight: 165.5
Total distance to date: 5807 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (479 km)
Hoping for good knees
I gave myself some extra time off (four days between runs) and here's how the right knee performed:
For the first km or so, it felt stiff and a bit achy. It didn't affect my pace and it wasn't painful, but it was there. After this, most of the rest of the run it settled down and felt fine. Were endorphins masking the discomfort? Possibly. If so, they did a great job! I did feel some mild discomfort return when I had to unexpectedly detour and divert up a reasonably steep hill near the 4 km mark. It settled back down after that.
View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run
My original plan today ranged from:
Maybe rest another day
Just do a moderately-paced walk. Walking is still exercise!
A run on the river trail
I headed off under cloudy skies on this last day of spring, and when I got to the river trail I felt I wasn’t ready, so I kept walking. I also realized that when I paused the workout to wait for the light to change at Braid, I forgot to restart it, meaning I lost nearly a km on the walk. Whoops!
I kept walking and then decided I would run a short loop at the lake, clockwise. This is the “easy” direction. As I began, it occurred to me that it might be easier to just run the whole 5K clockwise, because if I stop and turn halfway through, I’m now going counter-clockwise and much more uphill. Bad! So that’s what I did. I then broke the walk back home into two parts again–5K around the lake, then a rest and 4K for the rest. I also moved slower for both than I normally would.
The right knee was feeling stiff but not painful as the km piled up, but I elevated and iced it when I got home, so it doesn’t feel too bad now as I type this, about an hour later.
The run was fine–153 BPM, 5:46/km pace. I am fully confident I could do more if I wasn’t being extra cautious right now.
It was 15C and 73% humidity, so conditions were actually quite nice. Some fancy young guy whizzed by me in the other direction (I’ve seen him before). He might be fast, but he dresses like a noob, because he was wearing a jacket and it was way too warm to run with a jacket. Another guy passed me around the 1K mark, but I passed him around the 4K mark when he was doing the walking part, so that felt nice. He was not wearing a jacket, but he was wearing a backward baseball cap.
As for the slugs: yes. They were everywhere. I dodged many.
As for the bridge out: Technically, it was just closed “for a few days” for repairs. This is the rickety ancient bridge over Deer Lake Brook. I’m not sure what they can do in a few days to make it seem safe. Maybe encase it in concrete? I have to believe Metro Vancouver Parks has plans to eventually replace it.
Overall, things went better than expected. The knee survives. I am tentatively going to say it’s not getting worse. But is it getting better? Answer unclear…for now.
One of the million or so slugs, seen post-runBonus shot of Still Creek, also post-run
Stats:
Run 784Average pace: 5:46/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 2:26 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:00
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 15ºC
Humidity: 73%
Wind: light
BPM: 152
Weight: 164.5
Total distance to date: 5805 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (477 km)
