Outdoor runs

Run 624: Cooler and faster

Run 624
Average pace: 5:48/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 2:49 pm
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 29:08
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 22ºC
Humidity: 57%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 157
Weight: 166 pounds
Total distance to date: 4700 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 2, iPhone 8
Shoes: Saucony Switchback ISO (55 km)

Today started out cloudy, which would make for a nice run. By the time I headed out it cleared up, but it was okay, because the temperature stayed around 22ºC, which is well below the threshold of “Why am I running in this crazy heat?” Humidity was higher, too, so unlike the previous run, I was not plagued by dry mouth. It was nice.

After the last run I had some soreness in my left knee, extending down into the shin, so I was concerned how this would impact the run. Surprisingly, it didn’t seem to have any effect, perhaps because the three days off gave it enough time to sort of recover. I didn’t experience any other issues during the run and at times I felt pretty good, even distracted enough to think about other things, as I do when I get in the proverbial zone.

My BPM was right around average for the runs of late and my pace was only a tick or two higher at 5:48/km, but also within range, showing that I was able to come back from the Xtreme Heat run without complication.

Officially I hit 4,700 km total today, though it’s higher, since I didn’t track runs from the start, but 4,700 is a pretty good number. It’s enough to get me to Honolulu with almost 300 km to spare, though my shoes might get a little wet.

The Sauconys have not been scooping up gravel the last few runs, leading me to believe this is more a me problem than a shoe problem. I’m not sure what has changed, but I’d like to continue not scooping rocks and debris into my shoes.

In all, a decent run. My next will be on Saturday and I may go clockwise yet again, as progress on the resurfacing of the side trails is moving strangely slowly, so they remain closed (this is doubly odd, because they never actually closed the main trails while resurfacing them, so I’m not sure what exactly they’re doing on the side trails. Maybe they’re adding more trees or something).

Run 623: The “Why did I run?” run

Run 623
Average pace: 6:08/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 3:55 pm
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 30:57
Weather: Sunny, hot
Temp: 30ºC
Humidity: 36%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 155
Weight: 164.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 4695 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 2, iPhone 8
Shoes: Saucony Switchback ISO (50 km)

I did not plan to run today, but I ended up running, even though it was kind of nutty to do so. Let me explain.

On Friday I planned to run, but slept in and then deferred to Saturday, as I did not want to run later Friday when it would be too hot. Remember the “too hot” part.

Later Friday I developed a pain in my abdomen reminiscent of “men of your age” infections of yore. Saturday morning, instead of running, I went to my favorite nearby walk-in clinic. Except they wouldn’t see me until noon, so I went back at noon. The diagnosis was vague and uncertain, though I had sugar in my urine, so the diabetes alarm was raised once again (this has happened throughout my entire life–so far each actual test has come back negative). The doctor gave me a bunch of other tests to take, similar to the ones my own doctor wanted me to take, but which I had been putting off, because I’ve been kind of lazy during vacation. She also suggested I drink lots of water and drink Metamucil, to prevent blockage/infection, though I assured her I was pretty regular already.

Sunday morning (today) Jeff drove me to a LifeLabs that was open on the weekend and they took more pee and also blood. The blood removal was the most efficient I’ve ever seen. It was kind of eerie.

After this, we went out for breakfast at IHOP (mmm, blueberry pancakes), then came home. I opted out of going to the Pride parade because the thought of sitting/standing ion place for hours on end did not seem enticing. Jeff ended up going off (unplanned) to watch it on his own.

It was very hot today. By mid-afternoon it was up to 30ºC. I decided if I couldn’t run, I’d at least walk, so I put on my running clothes (they are much more comfortable for warm weather) and set off to walk to the lake and back (around 8 km total). When I got to the lake, I decided to keep going, so I did that. When I got to Still Creek, I contemplated doing a run to finish off the loop around the lake. Remember, now:

  • it’s 30ºC
  • I had blood taken just hours earlier
  • I have abdominal pain

There was no good reason to run. None. But I had already missed two potential run days and didn’t want to miss another, so I made an agreement with myself to only run for as long as it was comfortable. If there was any pain/aches/fainting, etc. I would stop. And so I sent off doing what was essentially the reverse of my usual 5K clockwise circuit.

The first km was relatively zippy, considering the heat, coming in at 5:28/km. This changed and by the third km I was firmly in “Why am I doing this?” territory, with my pace way down to 6:39. I rallied and came back to 6:12 before wrapping up with 6:23 for the final stretch. This was one of those runs where I really wanted it to end.

Despite how I felt, I was fairly confident once I made it past the halfway mark that I would be able to finish. Fortunately, the Avalon trail was in shade at this time of day, probably the only thing that kept me going to the finish.

My mouth was very dry. Like, it was the Sahara in my mouth. To paraphrase America, the heat was hot. The humidity was high enough to make the air feel like a furnace, but not high enough to keep my mouth moist.

And yet the most interesting stat from the run was my BPM–a mere 155. This means that both my mind and body were being sensible. As I slowed, I did not push to maintain an unsustainable pace. I fell back into a slower, but steady pace and kept to that. I didn’t over-exert. I was smart! This is one of the few times I checked my BPM mid-run, too. If it had been crazy-high, I would have stopped, but it was pretty steady in the 150s throughout.

And the abdominal pain, though still there, is now a much more muted kind of ache, so it didn’t present an issue. Really, the only issue was the weather itself. And my decision to run in it. 😛

Run 622: Like a speeding bullet, then like a regular bullet

Run 622
Average pace: 5:42/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:02 am
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:39
Weather: Sunny, veiled cloud
Temp: 23ºC
Humidity: 57%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 159
Weight: 166.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 4690 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 2, iPhone 8
Shoes: Saucony Switchback ISO (45 km)

When I got to the lake this morning, I was planning another counter-clockwise run, but knowing I’d have to skip the first two side trails, I planned to start on the other side of the dam, near the 0K marker, for that all-important psychological boost of finishing the 5K at or before the 5K marker. Then I thought, “Why stop there?” and opted to start at the 10K marker, giving myself an extra 300 meters to play with.

But as I walked to my start point, I thought about the noise and stink of the work around the dam, and the torn-up main trail that I would have to navigate right at the start, then decided to run clockwise, so I made my way back to the fountain near the dam (still ahead of the 5K marker, but not by as much) and set off.

Conditions were nearly as humid as Monday and it was a little warmer, so I was sweating even before the run started. Then I sweated a whole lot more. I didn’t push hard at the start, but I also didn’t hold back or try to set a steady pace, I just ran at whatever speed I felt comfortable with, then slowed down after.

As it turned out, my first km was a relatively blazing 5:14/km–this is the closest I’ve come to breaking the 5:00/km mark in a long time (and is something I doubt I will break, unless I specifically set out to do so). I’m not sure why I was so zippy, but that first km is why I ended up with an overall improvement of five seconds on my average pace, because every other km ranged between 5:41 and up to 5:58. My slowest km was the third and to be fair, I did improve in the following two km, so after burning hard and fast to start, I found some reserves to pick the pace up a bit for the back half of the run.

There were no issues otherwise, and the trail was relatively quiet, just a few other joggers and walkers, not even many people out walking their dogs. I managed to run a good bit after, even beating my average walk pace (8:02 vs. 8:28) vs. Monday.

I did actually rest after the run on the bed for about 20 minutes or so, because did I mention it was humid? I felt a little more tuckered, as a result, though I am up and aboot now.

I’ll probably run clockwise again on Friday, but we’ll see. They are predicting light rain, so that would be a relative novelty for a summer run. It might be refreshing, or horrible. Hard to say.

Run 621: Sweaty, tricky feet, snakes, gravel in shoes

Run 621
Average pace: 5:47/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:30 am
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 29:07
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 21ºC
Humidity: 61%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 159
Weight: 165.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 4685 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 2, iPhone 8
Shoes: Saucony Switchback ISO (40 km)

It turned out that since smoothing down the damaged part of the main trail leading to the Spruce Loop, still being resurfaced, the park workers have since resumed work and have re-damaged the main trail again, which made the first minute or so of today’s run a bit tricky, given that the trail was filled with unexpected ruts, piles of dirt and was also in one of those sun/shade areas where your eyes don’t have time to adjust to the ever-changing lighting.

But my tricky feet somehow got me through and I completed a counter-clockwise 5K today, surprising myself by coming in six seconds faster than Saturday’s run and proving that I am not as freakishly consistent as I could be. My pace was 5:47/km and this time the only issue I had was sweat and plenty of it. It was 21ºC, so actually a bit cooler than the last few runs, but humidity was way up, so I sweated early and often. No real dry mouth, the one benefit to a sticky, humid run.

My BPM was up, but only slightly, and I had a very steady pace, save for the second km, where I dipped a little before resuming my previous pace. Overall, I felt good, and managed to do a fair bit of running post-run as well.

I saw a snake ahead of me on the second boardwalk and as I approached, the snake slithered between the boards and out of sight. I wonder if the snake had any idea where it was going or was just confident that anywhere but under my approaching foot would be a better place to be. I saw another snake on the previous run, doing that “slither across the path in a panic as a human approaches” thing. I have not seen any pythons so far this year.

As for the gravel in shoes, it appears the new Sauconys share the same property the Brooks Cascadia 12s have in how they can effortlessly scoop gravel up and deposit it into the shoes. Like the Brooks, it happens almost exclusively while walking, so clearly there is something about my exercise walking gait that makes this a lot more likely to happen than when I run, which is preferable if it has to happen at all.

But today I stopped and emptied gravel and grit out of my right shoe three times post-run. It’s getting a bit silly. I still like the shoes, though.

I’m starting to think about trying a 10K soon, maybe before my vacation ends. I’ll see how the next few runs go before committing, as any 10K will have a horrible long time and will leave me a little depressed, even if it goes as well as can be expected. Basically, my body is probably ready now, I’m just not sure if my mind is.

Run 620: The consistency is getting strange

Run 620
Average pace: 5:53/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 2:20 pm
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:35
Weather: Sunny with some cloud, windy
Temp: 24ºC
Humidity: 45%
Wind: light to high
BPM: 157
Weight: 165.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 4680 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 2, iPhone 8
Shoes: Saucony Switchback ISO (35 km)

Thanks to running on Thursday instead of the planned Wednesday, I ended up running today–a Saturday–when I didn’t want to. I prefer weekday runs because of the smaller crowds on the trail. Weirdly, crowds were not an issue on the trail today, as it was not that busy, despite quite nice weather.

Although temperature was similar to Thursday, it was quite windy at times, but generally in a good way, with the breeze feeling cool and pleasant, not something I was fighting against. My mouth didn’t even feel particularly dry, something that’s generally been the case so far this summer.

I felt a bit of a stitch in my lower left abdomen early on, but kept steady and it went away. No other issues during the run, with the knees again fine and the sore left foot feeling better.

My energy level was also the best of the last three runs, and I did not feel tired even during the final km. This was reflected in my BPM, which dropped from 161 to 157, a nice improvement and a sign that my stamina is improving at last.

What was weird was my pace–5:53/km. This is identical to my previous run and only one second off the run before that. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a set of eerily consistent runs. The total time of today’s run and the previous is separated by three seconds. I could never be this precise on purpose. Think about it. If you break the run down to seconds, this is how they compare:

Run 1: 1772
Run 2: 1775

That is a 0.17% difference, which is ridiculous.

Although I am tempted to do a fourth clockwise run around the lake just to see if this would freakily happen again, I am leaning toward counter-clockwise, as they have done a bit of remedial work on the section of the main trail that got trashed as they resurfaced the side trails (which is still ongoing). It’s been quite awhile since I’ve run counter-clockwise and bypassed the side trails, so it will feel a bit different and I’m all over the novelty factor.

Overall, today’s run was solid. The pace was unchanged, but I felt better, my BPM was lower and I had enough energy to run multiple km afterward, even coming close to matching my 5K pace.

Run 619: The same but different

Run 619
Average pace: 5:53/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:25 pm
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 29:32
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 23ºC
Humidity: 51%
Wind: light
BPM: 161
Weight: 166.2 pounds
Total distance to date: 4675 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 2, iPhone 8
Shoes: Saucony Switchback ISO (30 km)

It was not quite as warm today as Monday, but I ended up sweating more because the heat/humidity mix was leaning a little more to the “you’re going to sweat” side of things.

Today’s run was interesting in how much it was the same, yet different, than the previous one.

BPM was identical at 161. Average pace differed by a mere second, and total time by only 10 seconds. Spread over 5 km, that’s pretty tiny.

The difference today was in how the overall run played out. I started faster and ended faster, but found a steadier, but slower pace in-between the two. This made for a run that felt a lot more comfortable. I felt perfectly fine until heading into the final km. At this point when running clockwise at the lake, the trail is pretty open, meaning the sun is beating down on you most of the time. I was also starting to get a wee bit tired, and the extra exertion to maintain pace was being felt. It still wasn’t bad, though, and certainly not like Monday’s run.

And yes, I meant to run yesterday, but I had an intense bout of vacation laziness I could not overcome.

The left foot was again a bit sore starting out, but not too bad after. I wonder if the orthotic is starting to just get old and I’m feeling the True Foot Experience more now. Maybe I’ll follow up on that next week.

Conditions were otherwise good. A few runners, some walkers, one over-exuberant and unleashed lab (I called out to the owner my favorite three words for dog owners: Leash your dog. I did this twice, to make sure she heard. I don’t think she did, if you know what I mean.)

Another difference with today’s run vs. Monday’s is how I felt after. Monday I was pooped and made a few token efforts to run after finishing the 5K. Today I walked the first post-run km, then ran almost the entire length of what would have been the 7th km of the run. I repeated this a few times, running for longer stretches than normal. I felt positively zippy, which bodes well for the eventual tackling of a full 10K (possibly soon™).

Overall, a good run, despite the deceptively minimal change in performance.

Run 618: Post-camping, with fewer people

Run 618
Average pace: 5:54/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 1:27 pm
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:42
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 26ºC
Humidity: 40%
Wind: light
BPM: 161
Weight: 165.2 pounds
Total distance to date: 4670 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 2, iPhone 8
Shoes: Saucony Switchback ISO (25 km)

On the first full day back from camping, I did some tidying up, put away the clean dishes, swept and then looked around and thought, “What can I do on this beautiful sunny day that involves being outside and such?” and lo the answer came. Run!

Because I am still on vacation, I can not only do lake runs for every run, I can do them during the week, when there are fewer people, so just after 12:30 this afternoon, I set out to do just that.

Arriving at the lake, I saw that my usual way in was now blocked off due to construction at the dam, as expected, so I went the short length up the road and came in through Avalon Avenue. Because I was already on the south side and didn’t know the state of the side trails, I opted to go clockwise for the heck of it.

It was quite warm, but not quite Africa hot. The humidity level was just high enough to keep my mouth from badly drying out, but not so high that I sweated profusely. I set off, hoping that with a week off, I’d at least beat the 6:00 minute mark for my pace. I did that and was only two seconds slower than my previous lake run, coming in at 5:54/km vs. 5:52/km. Not bad, considering I felt pretty out of gas for the last two km.

Although I experienced no issues other than being a bit tired toward the end, I did experience some after the run, namely a weird sort of cramp/gas that kept me from doing much post-run running along the trail on the way out. It wasn’t terrible or anything, but it was mildly annoying.

Around the 4K mark, when I noted that I was feeling a bit tuckered, I did a quick checklist and found that not only were my knees not hurting, I wasn’t feeling them at all. I don’t mean they were suddenly and alarmingly paralyzed, but that they were not sore, aching, cranky or anything other than just knees. It’s been quite awhile since the knees have felt so nothing on a run, and it is probably the highlight of today’s run.

Another highlight was the delightful lack of people as it was early afternoon on a weekday.

It turned out that the Spruce Loop is officially closed for maintenance and the tracks of the machinery taking gravel to it were all over the main trail leading up to it. In some places the machinery had so badly damaged the main trail they may need to do work on it when they are finished on the Spruce Loop. It seemed a bit like curing one patient by taking the medicine away from another. Here’s hoping they have enough medicine (gravel) to go around. The initial work on the Spruce Loop looks promising, though, so it should be quite an improvement when it’s done.

I should note here that the new Saucony shoes are still working well, though it seems they are almost as adept at scooping gravel as my Cascadias. This seems to happen more when I’m walking than running, so maybe I’m walking wrong. I don’t know. I also think I had the laces dialed in a bit too tight this time or my feet were retaining water or something, because the tops of my feet were getting just ever-so-slightly sore by the end.

Also, I have to be fair and say the left foot was hurting a bit for the run. I don’t consider it an issue, per se, as it was already hurting and I don’t think the run had any effect on it, it just underlined it. And it didn’t bother me so much as provide a background irritation.

My next run should be Wednesday. The weather is supposed to be 23ºC (nice) and light rain (less nice), so it seems the inconsistent July weather will be back after two days of actual summer-like weather. At least I won’t have to worry about getting a sunburn.

Run 617: Trail work, ho!

Run 617
Average pace: 5:52/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:57 am
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:31
Weather: Intermittent sun
Temp: 18ºC
Humidity: 73%
Wind: light
BPM: 161
Weight: 167.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 4665 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 2, iPhone 8
Shoes: Saucony Switchback ISO (20 km)

This was my first run at the lake with the new shoes and they were fine. My pace was slower–which I expected in switching back to the lake–and I chalk that up to being a bit tired by week’s end, the somewhat more technical aspect of the lake trail and the much higher humidity. I sweated early, often and copiously.

The dam area is filled with a lot more equipment as they start work on repairing and replacing the gates, but fortunately the top of the dam will stay open during the three month project. The equipment is neatly tucked out of the way for now, so it also didn’t interfere with the start of the run, which began at the official 0K marker, since I had to use the Jiffy John® first.

As I passed the picnic area I spied large piles of gravel, in two distinct varieties. At first I thought it had to do with the dam project–which makes no sense, really, so I blame that on runner’s brain–then put it out of my mind as I focused on where my feet were going.

The explanation for the piles o’ gravel became clear as I hot the Spruce Loop. The trail had obviously been gone over with equipment and some fresh dirt/gravel had been smooshed about in spots, perhaps in an attempt to smooth out holes, but the actual effect was to make the trail a lot trickier to run on, because it was now lumpy and covered in soft patches your feet could slide around in. A good test for the new shoes.

This continued on through the Conifer Loop and even onto the main trail. There’s a huge pipe just short of the 3K marker that is almost completely exposed. When I’m running I have to time my jump over it–yes, it’s that big. But today it was completely covered in the fine gravel that serves as the top layer when trails are resurfaced. It’s the darker stuff in the above photo.

All of this means they are in the beginning stages of finally resurfacing the side trail, which have long needed some love, and it looks like they are getting close to the Cottonwood Trail, which is currently the worst part of the main loop, festooned with numerous exposed tree roots. Even if they just do the side trails, it will be a great improvement, so yay for that.

The run itself started with me matching the overall pace of 5:52/km during the first km. While a full 10 seconds slower than the previous river trail run, it still handily beat my last lake run a few weeks back, when I came in at 6:11/km. I clearly flagged in the second km. My BPM was was hitting around 169 at that point, but it dropped after and came out to 161 overall, a little higher, but still well within the comfortable range.

There were no issues in terms of cramps or other discomfort, other than just feeling the humidity sucking the life force from me. I did pick up the pace toward the end and finished before the 5K marker, always a nice psychological victory. The walk out of the lake I found myself running more than walking (my average pace was 8:27/km, which is impossible for a walking pace unless I find a way to grow my legs to be twice as tall as they are now), even getting as low as 6:24/km at one point, nearly matching a slower run pace).

Overall, a decent effort. It’ll be interesting to see how the next lake run goes, especially if humidity is lower and the side trails are freshly resurfaced.

Run 616: Stinky and warm, with a dash of deja vu

Run 616
Average pace: 5:42/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 6:28 pm
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 28:48
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 25ºC
Humidity: 43%
Wind: light
BPM: 157
Weight: 167.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 4660 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 2, iPhone 8
Shoes: Saucony Switchback ISO (15 km)

Today’s run (delayed by one day mainly due to laziness) was essentially a duplicate of Tuesday’s. My average pace was the same, though BPM was a bit lower. My overall time was an entire one second faster, 28:48 vs. 28:49.

That’s the kind of thing I could never deliberately do and it weirds me out every time it happens. Having it happen on back to back runs is maybe even weirder still.

It was warmer today, mainly due to the sun being out, but I experienced no issues other than feeling a bit of a burn in the first km while establishing my pace. The stinky part was the sewer line that runs under the trail being extra ripe and producing a lingering odor that could be smelled at both ends of the run and for a good bit in-between. It wasn’t so bad to really affect me, except to make me note how much stinkier this run was compared to most.

There’s not much more to add. The Sauconys continue to perform well and I am totally grooving on wearing shoes that are genuinely light again. As I was expecting to be a bit slower today, matching Tuesday’s run is a nice surprise.

Next up will be a lake run. I’ll see how the new shoes hold up there.

Run 615: Bicycles and sprinkles

Run 615
Average pace: 5:42/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 6:20 pm
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 28:49
Weather: Cloudy with sprinkles
Temp: 24ºC
Humidity: 51%
Wind: light
BPM: 159
Weight: 167.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 4655 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 2, iPhone 8
Shoes: Saucony Switchback ISO (10 km)

The sprinkles were the rain kind, not the fun kind you put on ice cream. But it didn’t amount to much.

I was bad/lazy on the weekend. After skipping running on Saturday due to sleeping in and other commitments, I vowed to run on Sunday, which was commitment-free. Come Sunday and it rained. Normally I don’t mind, but even though it was a light rain, it was steady, meaning I’d be soaked within minutes of stepping outside and remain soaked for almost three hours after.

The prospect had minimal appeal. By minimal, I mean none.

So I waited for a break in the weather, but each break seemed to only be minutes long. In the end I frittered away the afternoon before the guilt finally got to me. Around 6 o’clock I headed out and did a near-5K walk. It didn’t rain.

All if this means I went four days without running. I went into tonight’s run expecting to be slower, but was unsure how much. Was the last run a fluke? Would the new shoes lead me to a more pedestrian pace on the second time out?

As it turns out, I was slower, but my pace was only off by five seconds–5:43/km vs. 5:38/km. This is within the usual variance from one run to the next. My BPM was up slightly, but still below 160 at 159. Other than that, I had no issues at all. The stitch from the last run stayed away this time and no other problems emerged.

Bicycles? Yes! For some reason there were hordes of cyclists, but they’re allowed on the river trail and it’s flat and wide, so it was more a curiosity than anything.

I also got stopped just moments after starting the run by a cyclist. He said he was new in the area and all the BEARS WILL EAT YOU signs apparently freaked him out. He wanted to know if the area was infested with bears and perhaps demons or other deadly beasts. I told him in eight years I’d seen two bears. He asked me how to act if you see one. I explained, even though the signs he mentioned also explain this quite clearly. He kept going on, then it started to sprinkle. He said he was glad he wore a jacket (it was actually muggy and pretty warm at 24ºC) and the thought of getting wet seemed to motivate him to finally leave.

I also mentioned seeing coyotes and bobcats in the area, but never mentioned the python. He’ll probably never come back.

The new shoes performed admirably again. I am delighted at how easy they are to pop on and off, and how simple it is to “lace” them and never worry about the laces coming untied.

Overall, this was another solid run, proving the last was no fluke. I should get one more at the lake before going away on vacation for a week, so it will be interesting to see how the shoes hold up under slightly trickier conditions.

Run 614: New shoes, apparently with turbo boost

Run 614
Average pace: 5:38/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 6:26 pm
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 28:18
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 20ºC
Humidity: 63%
Wind: light
BPM: 157
Weight: 169.1 pounds
Total distance to date: 4650 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 2, iPhone 8
Shoes: Saucony Switchback ISO (5 km)

Yesterday I bought a new pair of trail runners, my first purchase in a long while. Woo, new shoes. Specifically I got the Saucony Switchback ISOs, which come with a wacky lacing system that doesn’t require actually tying the laces, as you use an attachment to wind the tension of the wire-like lace instead. It seems a bit gimmicky, but also makes sense, too. Once the tension is set, the lace is locked until you actually pop the release mechanism, something that would be extremely difficult to do accidentally.

Still, you never know what new shoes are going to be like, and my last two runs, one at the lake and one at the river, have both been on the slower side.

I put on the shoes and delighted in how lightweight they are. The feel is a bit loose, unlike the Cascadia shoes, which fit snug enough to leave almost no wiggle room. In fact, the Switchbacks are so light in terms of weight and material that they reminded me of my New Balance MT100 minimalist shoes from way back when.

One of the best things I can say about them is how shortly after the run I stopped thinking about them and thought of other things.

The weather was mild and cloudy, though it was conspicuously more humid, which meant sweating. Still, even though I pushed a bit at times, I never felt like I was gasping for breath. I was working, but it felt controlled.

I did have one complication near the end, a stitch in my lower left side. It lasted maybe 300 meters or so and I basically ignored it, willing it to go away. And it did, so I clearly demonstrated my superiority over stitches. At least for today.

What surprised me the most about the run was the sheer speed. My walk to the river trail was sluggish, so I certainly didn’t feel primed for a fast pace, yet I ended with a pace of 5:38/km, a full 33 seconds better than Monday’s run at the lake and 24 seconds better than my previous river run. To put this in context, I finished the run almost three minutes earlier than on Monday. My BPM was also lower at 157.

The workout app tracks cadence and with the new shoes it was 172 SPM, which is in range of my usual pace. I suspect that this will not change much with the new shoes. Maybe if I also got new legs…

Overall, this was a surprising and pleasant result. 5:38/km is far better than my usual runs of late, so it’s possible it was a fluke, but maybe it’s the start of a trend. I’ll have a better idea on Saturday when I do my next run at the lake.

Note that since I have new shoes, I am tracking how much I’ve run in them, as I usually just wait until the shoes fall apart to replace them, which is a bit sub-optimal.

Run 613: Warmer, slower and sort of crowded (eh)

Run 613
Average pace: 6:11/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:06 am
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 31:05
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 22-24ºC
Humidity: 49%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 162
Weight: 166.9 pounds
Total distance to date: 4645 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 2, iPhone 8

I only have myself to blame.

I was going to run Saturday morning but got up a bit later than intended and started doing chores. Eventually I decided to run on Sunday instead. Easy peasy.

But I had arranged to meet Nic at 1 p.m. Sunday so my schedule would be tight. And I slept in a little later than intended again. Whoopsie. I could do a shorter run at the river, but it seemed a waste on the weekend, so I further resolved to run today, which is the stat holiday known as Canada Day.

Stat holidays tend to be quite busy at the lake, as I’ve noted in the past. And I didn’t get out until a good hour later than I’d planned, putting me square into late morning.

It could have been worse. The initial part of the run was not bad in terms of crowds but by the time I got to the Cottonwood Trail at the 3K mark it became fairly bonkers, with lots of people in both directions, including a large walking group doing that thing all walking groups do–spread out over the entire trail, making it impassable. As I approached them, I simply chose openings where I could to duck through, then ran off the trail where it was safe. Their leader (?) shouted something to them as I approached (in Japanese, I think) but they didn’t seem to respond. For all I know, he may have been saying, “Who wants my leftover liver-flavored chips?”

After that the crowds pretty much cleared up, so it was an odd concentration.

Yesterday Nic and I traversed the seawall and I ended up with 33,553 steps on that day. This is a lot. I wondered if it might affect my run, along with the slightly-longer-than-average three days off. It did!

I started out slower, but remained fairly consistent. It’s like I just didn’t have enough gas to get up to full speed, finishing with a pace of 6:11/km. On the plus side, there were no issues and I literally did not think about my knees at all. Yay!

The splits show how consistent I was:

6:10
6:10
6:15
6:12
6:07

At least I had a semi-peppy finish. I suspect the hotter temperature also had an effect. I started sweating early on and kept on the whole way. This may also be why my BPM was up, though still quite comfortable at 162.

The BPM chart is interesting. The first half of the run I was around 168, then the second half it dropped down to produce the 162 average. I worked a lot harder the first half and appeared to gain some form on the back half.

Also, the dam is undergoing a three month construction project. For now it remains accessible, though they’ve closed off the north stairs and put in some temporary ones, which I used at the start of the run. They are wooden, which actually makes them nicer than the steel stairs I’d normally use.

While I would have preferred a better overall pace, I can’t be too bummed at this run, given the overall balance of positives vs. negatives. Due to the shorter work week, I’ll probably run next on Thursday to get back on schedule.