Outdoor runs

Run 563: Nike says I’m slow

Run 563
Average pace: 6:24/km

Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 12:32 pm
Distance: 5.01 km
Time: 32:07
Weather: Foggy
Temp: 2ºC
Humidity: n/a
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 166
Weight: 162.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 4380 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone, Nike+ Run Club app

Today I decided to be wacky and use the Nike+ Run Club app for my run, since it now monitors heart rate. And I got wacky results!

My pace was a strangely slow 6:24/km–this is more of a joggish than jogging pace, and while I was running slower due to some lingering icy patches on the trail, as well as to keep my BPM down, I wasn’t that slow. Another sign that things were off was the distance I had to travel to get to 5K. At the point the Apple fitness app would be reporting I’d completed the run, the NRC app was saying I’d only completed around 4.41 km. That’s a huge discrepancy.

There is no way to calibrate the Nike app, so I’m not sure why it was so bonkers. It seemed to get the BPM about right, since that data is pulled directly from the watch (it was 166, still a tad high but much lower than the last few runs so yay on that). I wonder if the app somehow didn’t use the GPS and instead relied on the much -less-accurate accelerometer. On the other hand, I’ve found that non-GPS runs tend to err on the side of being too generous with pace, not too stingy. A further complication is that what you get in the watch and phone apps depends on whether you are using one of the Nike-branded watches, as they come with some exclusive features, such as built-in Siri support. It felt wrong having to start the run by pressing buttons and stuff.

It was almost worth it for the better stats and ability to access the runs on the web (I find it immensely irritating that the fitness workouts through Apple’s app can only be reviewed on an iPhone–not even an iPad, which would at least give you a bigger map to look at).

The final quirk was no audio notifications. I wondered if this was another feature locked out of the non-Nike version of the watch, but it turned out to be working. I just didn’t hear it because the audio literally comes from the watch, not through the phone via the watch. So I was getting alerts but was oblivious to them because of the music blaring away. I only caught a bit of the summary at the end when I’d paused the music. I could fix this by starting the run from the phone instead of the watch or by syncing the AirPods to the watch (which also means listening to music from the watch, not the phone).

Anyway, it was in all a disappointing experience.

The run itself was okay, no issues other than the left knee being stiff to start but warming up not too far in. I did 5K on the river because I’m pretty sure the lake trail is still a pathway of treacherous ice and adventure.

I’ll walk tomorrow at lunch, which will allow me to survey the Langara Trail to see how it has weathered (ho ho) the recent snows.

Also, this marks the first run of the year. If I keep up this pace I’ll complete 365 runs by year’s end! That is somewhat unlikely, but I’ve already topped the number of runs I did in January 2016.

Run 562: Ice and fire, except instead of fire, rain

Run 562
Average pace: 5:55/km

Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 12:19 pm
Distance: 5.07 km
Time: 30:04
Weather: Rain
Temp: 2ºC
Humidity: 95%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 174
Weight: 1621.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 4375 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

This run was grossbuckets. The last time I finished a 5K run with a time over 30 minutes was…never? My BPM was high (more on this in a bit) and I came home cold and soaked.

Wednesday’s run was done in light and fluffy snow. It was fine, even a little pleasant. I kept warm. My pace was slower but that’s expected, you don’t want to go dashing through the snow, Christmas carols notwithstanding, because you can slip and fall and no one writes carols about injuring yourself.

Since then it has been raining almost constantly, so much so that I expected the trail to be pretty much snow-free today.

I dressed a bit differently again, keeping the running pants but swapping out the top layers to a pair of long-sleeved shirts, since I know my running jacket is poop in the rain. I did not take gloves as I could keep the hands tucked in the longer sleeves of my red Nike shirt.

The walk to the lake was dismal and a sign of things to come. Though much of the trail was bare, the parts that weren’t consisted primarily of the crusty old snow that fell before Wednesday and had become hard and slick. In areas where it covered the trail I had to walk along the edges to get away from that “walking on an ice rink” feeling.

At the lake itself I made a tactical error by running clockwise. I did this as a change of pace but forgot that the south side of the lake is much more open than the north and this meant that large sections of the trail consisted of lumpy, frozen remnants of snow that were rather slippery. I ran along the edge of the trail where I could. I moved deliberately where I couldn’t. I walked rather than jogged on my approach to the bridge at Deer Lake Brook to prevent going splat. My feet slipped multiple times, though I stayed upright, like a fully advanced human.

Much of the run was like this, a laborious, tedious series of constant adjustments, slowing down and then speeding up on clear patches, picking through the maze-like sheets of ice-like snow, running down clear lines made by service vehicles that ended in giant puddles and having to navigate around the puddles on very slick surfaces. It felt like work, a chore. Combined with the cold and rain, my BPM edged even higher to 174.

I decided to end the miserable exercise at 5K. This run was the polar (ho ho) opposite of enjoyable and the few others I saw out “jogging” were just as foolish as I for being out there in such awful conditions.

Oh, and it also poured the entire time, too. It’s still pouring now. If I stop typing and listen carefully I can hear the neighbors assembling an ark.

The walk out of the park was almost as bad, with lots of slippery spots, but also with the bonus of walking into the cold wind for about four km.

My pace of 5:55/km is something of a miracle given how terrible the trail was. These were the worst running conditions I’ve seen in eight years and 4375+ km of running. Impressive, in a horrible sort of way.

It’s supposed to dry out over the next few days but not get much warmer. With little sun it’s unlikely the icy mess will be gone quickly, though if the forecast is off, it might not matter as the entire area will probably be underwater, anyway.

In summary: BLEAH.

Run 561: Snowbound

Run 561
Average pace: 5:55/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:10 am
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 59:25
Weather: Cloudy, light snow
Temp: 0-1ºC
Humidity: 92%
Wind: light
BPM: 172
Weight: 161.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 4370 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

It was snowing this morning, which was actually good for the run. While that may sound like crazy talk, hear me out.

The snow on the ground now is getting more compacted and turning slick, which is bad for traction and good for falling on your face. The new snow piling on top is providing more traction, making for a grippier, less falling-on-your-face experience.

I dressed a bit differently this time, choosing a long-sleeved shirt and my running jacket. This turned out to be wise as the jacket’s lining provided enough insulation to keep me toasty warm–almost too warm, in fact. When zipped up all the way, the collar stands up and helpfully keeps snow from going down the back of your neck, too.

Even though it was only slightly warmer than Sunday’s run, I ended up doffing the gloves around 2 km in and didn’t put them back on until I was around the 7 km mark.

One brave runner was wearing shorts. I wonder if he regretted it later. I saw him at the start of his run so he was still all smiles with his partner (who was all bundled up).

There were more people out than expected, but it wasn’t too bad traffic-wise.

The snow had mostly stopped by the start of the run, which is good, because snow and glasses don’t mix well. I had this emphasized when it began snowing again around the 8K mark and my glasses grew clumped with blobs of snow. Also, feeling the very tiny specks of snow bapping your face is a weird sensation.

The trail was caught between having too much compact snow and not quite enough fresh snow, so traction wasn’t as good as it could have been. I only felt a foot slip about two times but I was constantly making adjustments in foot placement and stride. The extra effort showed in my BPM, which was back up. The bridges were again kind of bumpy and unpleasant and the first boardwalk was especially bad, the snow so crusty and uneven it was difficult to exceed a walking pace without losing my footing.

The left knee got a bit stiff but leveled out and was not bad for the latter part of the run. The other lower left butt muscle did start to make its presence known in the last km or so, but it never got painful.

The overall pace of 5:55/km was slower but unsurprisingly so. The snow kept coming down at a decent pace on the walk back, so if I’d started the run an hour later it probably would have been easier.

Still, this is the first time in about seven years that I’ve run in a real snowfall and while it slowed me down, it didn’t stop me. Damn snow.

Run 560: A wintry first run of winter

Run 560
Average pace: 5:51/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:42 am
Distance: 10.04 km
Time: 58:53
Weather: Cloudy, compact snow
Temp: -1ºC
Humidity: 79%
Wind: light
BPM: 158
Weight: 163 pounds
Total distance to date: 4360 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

As the year winds down, so does the temperature. Or at least this week it does.

Heading out to the lake this morning, the temperature was below freezing, making this my first sub-freezing run at the lake in either a very long time or possibly ever, with it staying firmly at -1ºC throughout on a cloudy day that mercifully had little wind.

I dressed accordingly and was reasonably comfortable:

  • two layers on top
  • running pants with sexy running undies
  • a form-fitting toque instead of my usual cap–this worked well in keeping my ears partly covered and warm
  • my olde Nike running gloves–I could have doffed these partway though but probably only briefly and I only experienced light sweating wearing them. They otherwise proved very handy (ho ho) in keeping my hands toasty instead of frosty

I was curious what the trail would be like as the Brunette River trail is a mix of bare patches and compact snow a little under a week after our latest blast of wintry weather. It turned out that while there were some clear patches, particularly in areas where the trees were close to the trail or the opposite where the trail was completely exposed (like along the sports fields), the majority was covered in compact snow. I had to adjust my gait and pace a little to insure optimal traction but the only genuinely slippery section was the small straight stretch leading to the bridge at Still Creek. My feet lost traction a few times there, but there was never a great risk of going splat.

All of the bridges were covered with crunchy, uneven snow, including the boardwalks, which made them strangely uncomfortable for running across. Not slippery, just odd and unpleasant.

The Spruce Loop and Conifer Loops had the most snow, with almost no melt at all. Because of this, they were actually pretty good to run on, as the snow was thick enough to provide grip, rather than having turned into a more icy surface seen elsewhere.

The trail was fairly quiet, with only a small number of walkers and other joggers out. No one was wearing shorts.

The more measured pace meant my time was back up to 5:51/km, but it also meant my BPM was significantly lower, at 158 (vs. 173 last week). I felt almost relaxed at times, and never really pushed, because pushing on snow usually means falling on snow when you’re running.

The tendons around my left knee started to make their presence known about halfway through and they’re still a bit stiff now. This seems to be a long term thing at this point. I wonder if one of those knee things would help. You can tell how often I’ve used them because I can’t even recall the proper name without searching the internet (compression knee sleeves/braces, it turns out). On the one hand, it could prove to just be a placebo. On the other hand, if it still worked, that’s good enough for me. I have to admit I’d feel a bit like a dork wearing one. Or maybe I’d look manly. “Look at that dedicated runner, going out even when injured!”

Something to think about.

Overall, though, this chilly went surprisingly decently, given the condition of the trail. We may get snow tonight, so that could complicate runs in the near future. Damn snow.

Run 559: Improbably swift

Run 559
Average pace: 5:27/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:18 am
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 54:49
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 4-6ºC
Humidity: 88%
Wind: light
BPM: 173
Weight: 161.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 4350 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

My goal for today’s run was to simply maintain a steady pace and perhaps beat last Saturday’s 10K pace of 5:50/km, which is rather sluggish.

Before getting to the run I’d like to say I’m convinced that my brisk walking pace that I adopt when heading to the lake is absolutely being interpreted by my body as the rhythmic signal to evacuate my bowels and/or bladder because I yet again had to go when I got there. Which I did, grateful for the sanitizer in the Jiffy John™.

Having concluded my bathroom business, I turned to the running business. I’d left my Cascadia shoes at work so I ran using my old Hoka Speedgoats. I’d forgotten how much they squeak. The shoes nearly double as an early warning system to other people on the trail. They were otherwise fine.

I also wore my AirPods because I apparently forgot my regular earbuds at work. It was cloudy but not looking particularly like rain, so I deemed it a reasonable risk. They performed fine and remained snug, though there was some confusion between it, Siri, the watch and the phone. Maybe too many Apple products together is actually a bad thing. Perhaps AI-based rivalries form.

It started out fine, with me selecting music: “Hey Siri, play The Go-Go’s.” My phone began playing The Go-Go’s.

Next, I started the run: “Hey Siri, start a 5K outdoor run.” (I always default to 5K because I’d rather go over than finish under.)

This seemed to cause the first bit of confusion. Instead of continuing to play the paused song, it moved to the next one. But it was still The Go-Go’s, as was the song after that. I also delighted in the watch audio signals for each km completed piping through the AirPods. But the fourth song that played was “Wasted Time” by The Eagles. The Eagles, as you may know, are not The Go-Go’s. I also realized that The Go-Go’s songs had been playing in alphabetical order, which was not my preference.

“Hey Siri, shuffle The Go-Go’s.” This fixed the music for the rest of the run. It also broke the audio piping in from the watch. Oh well.

The Eagles song is stored on both the phone and the watch and it looks like the watch or AirPods decided it would be a good time to play music from the watch instead of the phone because why not? So it just grabbed some random song. I’ve fixed this problem before by nuking all the music from the watch, but that’s sub-optimal. There is a watch update, so maybe that fixes it.

Anyway, onto the run.

My first km was 5:36/km, so in line with my stated goal of being faster but not, you know, fast.

In terms of issues, I felt a brief soreness in my right calf (that weak feeling again, like the muscle is flabby and out of shape, which it kind of is). It didn’t last long. I also briefly felt some stiffness near the inside of my lower left butt cheek. I don’t have a good explanation for this, except that the stiffness did not arise from doing anything fun (nor I think, from running). It also didn’t last long.

The trail was lightly populated, perhaps a combination of the cold and the threatening sky. I liked it. The “Beware of bears eating you” sign has been replaced with “Caution: icy conditions” sign. It wasn’t really icy, though.

I only felt like I really pushed at one point, along the Cottonwood Trail, where a fellow jogger suddenly sprang from the woods onto the path ahead of me (I suspect the urgent need to pee was involved). She began a pace that was almost but not quite as fast as mine. This was nearly 7 km into the run and I was not feeling super-energetic but it became clear I’d either have to deliberately hold back or expend some extra energy to pass her.

I chose to pass, then maintained that elevated pace until I reached the Piper Mill Trail where I gratefully dropped down a notch or two. My pace at this point was a zippy 5:19/km. I felt it.

In the end I finished at 5:27/km, slightly faster than Thursday’s 5K and substantially faster than the last 10K–a full 23 seconds faster per km. I really wasn’t expecting the result, which is pleasantly surprising.

Less pleasantly, my heart rate was elevated to right near the maximum of what I’m comfortable with at 173 BPM. The combination of the cold and the effort and being kind of flabby and out of shape is not a good one.

But I will try to ease up next week, with two runs planned for work before the holiday starts, then a week and a half of runs at the lake, barring sudden and annoying blizzards.

Overall, a nice effort, BPM notwithstanding.

Run 558: A modest proposal

Run 558
Average pace: 5:28/km
Location: Langara Trail
Start: 12:22 pm
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 27:31
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 6ºC
Humidity: 87%
Wind: light
BPM: 165
Weight: 163.1 pounds
Total distance to date: 4340 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

Running conditions were near-identical today to Tuesday and my modest proposal (to myself) was to simply improve on the previous run’s performance. And I did, so hooray for me!

My pace improved from 5:35/km to 5:28/km and my BPM dropped from 170 to 165. I also didn’t feel like I was exerting myself as hard, especially in the opening km.

No real issues to report, other than post-run my leg muscles are all a wee bit stiff as they got through the initial phase of getting used regularly again. It’s amazing how quickly you lose your fitness level.

I am toying with the idea of running again at lunch tomorrow since all of my gear is still at work. It’s probably a better idea than donuts.

We’ll see.

Run 557: Slow, but not as slow

Run 557
Average pace: 5:35/km
Location: Langara Trail
Start: 12:27 pm
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 28:03
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 7ºC
Humidity: 80%
Wind: light
BPM: 170
Weight: 163.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 4335 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

For the first time in awhile I actually ran  mid-week, taking advantage of the current dry weather to run the loop around the Langara Golf Course.

The first 500m or so I felt like I was pushing way too hard but this has happened before on this trail and I’m not entirely sure why. It starts on a slight downward slope but I’m not sure that’s it. I felt more or less normal later, though my body is still a bit weirded out by the different dynamics of this trail, with its long downward and upward slopes. I’m tempted to try the Nike Run Club (NRC, nee Nike+) app again to see if I can get a bit more granularity in the post-run stats and see exactly how and where the terrain affects my pace and BPM.

Speaking of BPM, it’s still up there but no better or worse, so in line with my current fitness level, I suppose.

Overall I had no issues apart from a brief sensation of weakness in one leg a little over a km in. It just felt very briefly wobbly, possibly because of the combination of doing two runs close together for the first time in more than a month and the unfamiliar route. It went away quickly and didn’t last.

And I was slow. My last 5K here was 5:20/km, today it was 5:35/km. Ouch.

I expect to be a little sore tomorrow.

Here’s hoping that I regain my stamina reasonably soon if I keep up the regular runs. If nothing else I’m at least moving in the right direction now.

Run 556: Slow

Run 556
Average pace: 5:50/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:08 am
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 58:35
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 6ºC
Humidity: 83%
Wind: light
BPM: 171
Weight: 161.7 pounds
Total distance to date: 4330 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

This was not a good run. It wasn’t a bad run, either, just thoroughly blah.

One complication–my left hip felt a bit sore for no apparent reason, but it largely worked itself out by the end of the run and was fine on the walk home.

I was expecting a temperature of 1-3ºC but it was actually 6ºC when I started out. Again, the difference in temperature here is quite noticeable so while I was not over-dressed with two layers on top and running pants instead of shorts, a jacket and gloves would have been too much. I passed a number of joggers early on and everyone wearing a jacket either had the jacket fully unzipped the next time I saw them or the jacket was tied around their waists.

I wore my fancy new Under Armor jogging pants that include zippered front pockets and everything and they kept my legs nice and warm on the walk to and from the lake. For the actual run I would have been fine with shorts, especially since it was dry with little wind. I also had fancy new Under Armor underwear to go with the pants and they are thin and silk-like, so they stayed dry and pretty much felt like they weren’t there. Gear-wise, the run was a success.

The walk to the lake was one of the slowest ever at 9:41/km. My usual pace is below 9:00/km. The walk back was a bit better but still slow, while the run itself was a full ten seconds slower than last Saturday’s at 5:50/km. Lowlights included a couple of km where the pace was over 6:00/km. By the third km I was already feeling tired, though I got my second wind and felt decent for the last few km, even if my pace never improved. The cold seemed to keep my BPM up, too. It also doesn’t help that each run I’m getting a little heavier.

Basically I need to eat better and exercise more, just like that doctor told me way back in april of 2008. And I will. I’m taking my running gear to work and will dash around the golf course at lunch instead of dashing food into my face at the cafeteria. It also helps that after next week the cafeteria will be essentially closed for inter-session (no classes, no exams).

Since the weather was nice a lot of people were out, though I didn’t encounter any large roving gangs of walkers. Instead of dodging puddles I dodged people. I think I prefer puddles if I’m honest about it. Puddles don’t make sudden movements.

Overall, a slog but I finished it and to quote Elton John, I’m still standing (though I’m sitting as I write this). I plan on doing more and shorter runs this week, rain or shine (but no snow, please). We’ll see if I start to regain some form before year’s end.

Run 555: Dipsy doodles and achievement unlocked

Run 555
Average pace: 5:40/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:06 pm
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 56:53
Weather: Showers
Temp: 5ºC
Humidity: 93%
Wind: light
BPM: 169
Weight: 160 pounds
Total distance to date: 4320 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

It was another day of The Rains and my dedication to fitness was put to the test when I opened the front door of the condo and was greeted by a downpour.

Given that it was only 5ºC I wore two layers up top (a long-sleeve t-shirt and short sleeve) and that worked well. I wore shorts and my (sexy) legs were also fine. My upper body was a bit cool heading back after the run but that was due more to the sweat cooling and turning clammy, combined with a breeze that was picking up. And the fact that the rain never actually stopped.

So it was a soggy run and the trail at the lake was in full Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde form, the good doctor being the parts that have been resurfaced over the last few years (generally fine) vs. the other parts still untouched, which includes all three side trails and the Cottonwood trail. These combine to form close to half my route and they were filled with trail-spanning puddles that forced me to skirt along the edges.

On the plus side, the recent work at the sports field is mostly working, with no flooding there and only a thin layer of run-off pouring in from the edge of field at the point where the trail bends 90 degrees to the west. A little shoring up there would fix that. The sports fields themselves appeared to be a swampy mess, though the poopmonsters seemed fine with that.

Given the weather there were few people out–a few dedicated dog walkers, a couple of the “I love walking in the rain!” types and some fellow joggers, all of whom were dressed much more conservatively than me. One of those was wearing a jaunty blue jacket that served as a kind of beacon. I spied him ahead of me about two km in and by the 5K mark he had what appeared to be an insurmountable lead. That was fine, I was in steady-as-she-goes mode, seeking only to go through at a comfortable pace. Somewhere around the 7K mark he either stopped briefly or slowed because the gap began to close. I could see I was gaining ground and entertained the possibility and eventually the necessity of passing him.

As with a car passing another on the road, to pass a fellow runner you must accelerate and then remain at the accelerated pace until you have sufficient space between you and the other runner. When I look at the splits for the run this acceleration doesn’t seem to really be apparent, which may explain why I caught up to begin with–he was slowing and I wasn’t. The little bit of gas was probably responsible for my slightly-improved pace of 5:40/km vs. 5:42/km the previous week. One downside was my BPM was back up, but I believe this was due to the pace difference and mire importantly, the much lower temperature. It doesn’t feel like I’m working hard, but my body clearly is.

Also, the nipple guards (band-aids) got their first real test today and actually worked amazingly well. The nipples (why is nipples such a funny word?) experienced no chafing and even more, did not get cold at all, which never happens during a rainy run. It was a surprising delight when I got home. And who doesn’t like being delighted by their nipples?

The unofficial achievement was marking the first time in several years that I have run at least once every month. This year the first two months of runs were done on a treadmill due to The Snows, but I nonetheless got the runs in. Today’s run officially caps out a full 12 months of running. Yay.

Overall, another decent effort. I look forward to perhaps staying dry, hopefully, next time.

Run 554: A mild experience

Run 554
Average pace: 5:42/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:20 pm
Distance: 10.02 km
Time: 57:14
Weather: Cloudy, light showers
Temp: 10ºC
Humidity: 74%
Wind: light
BPM: 159
Weight: 160 pounds
Total distance to date: 4310 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

In a freakish coincidence I started today’s 10K run at the exact same time as last week’s–12:20 p.m. I did not plan this.

My pace as slightly slower–5:42/km vs. 5:40/km last week, but this was not surprising as my goal was to run at a comfortable pace and never push. I wasn’t specifically trying to lower my BPM, I was just reducing the chance of pain or injury as I had not run in the intervening week.

But my heart rate did drop and quite a bit, from 169 last week to 159 this week, right back to my usual zone. This was reflected in a general feeling of being relaxed, or as relaxed as you can feel when moving at a jogging pace for nearly an hour without stopping. At no point did I feel winded or tired, I just kept on trucking along, never doubting I would make it to the end.

I also had one of my slowest starts, with the first km matching my overall pace of 5:42. To show how consistent I was, I was still at 5:42 at the 9 km mark. The slow start was also deliberate. I resisted my usual “shot out of a cannon” approach to see how it would affect my overall time and BPM. It made the start a little more pleasant because I didn’t experience that big drop-off around the 2-3K point where the initial burst of speed runs out.

Around the 6K mark two things happened. First, it started to sprinkle, but it never amounted to more than that, so I avoided a nipple incident. Second, my left knee started to tighten up. It peaked quickly, though, and surprisingly was not an issue for the rest of the run. It’s still a bit stiff now, in the evening, but not enough to be genuinely uncomfortable, just a very slight nuisance.

The trail was in decent shape, with only a few puddles to negotiate. I saw three runners right at the start and a smattering of others after, including a young guy smartly dressed in black shorts, dark gray t-shirt, black cap, fashionable stubble and…black gloves. The gloves looked weird because of the t-shirt. Also it was 10ºC so I’m pretty sure his hands would have been sweating like crazy. I wore my long-sleeved short and would have been fine in a regular tee, especially with little wind.

Dogs were behaved and mostly on-leash. One woman by the sports fields had walked maybe a hundred meters or more ahead of her dog, which is dumb to begin with, but her dog was also tiny and would make a nice bite-size snack for a coyote–which I have seen multiple times in the area. I was going to say something to her but she moved off the trail and onto the field by the time I reached her. I felt bad for the all-but-ignored snack dog.

Overall, then, I’m happy with today’s result. I felt pretty good, got my BPM back in a range I’m more comfortable with, and the gray weather kept the trails lightly populated.

Run 553: An experiment and a confrontation with an old nemesis

Run 553
Average pace: 5:40/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 12:20 pm
Distance: 10.01 km
Time: 56:45
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 8ºC
Humidity: 80%
Wind: light
BPM: 169
Weight: 158.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 4300 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

Today’s run was also an experiment in which I deliberately slowed my pace–as evidenced by my 5:40/km average–to see how it would impact my BPM. It turned out to not impact it much at all, as it went from 174 on my last 10K to 169 today, a marginal improvement at best.

I’m not sure if it’s the slight weight gain, increase in body fat, temperature change or alignment of the planets that’s causing my BPM to be higher lately and I’m not overly concerned as long as it doesn’t go higher than it is now.

I did feel slower on the run, especially going up inclines. Keeping my speed down made it feel slog-like on the hilly parts. I was tempted to speed up at times but resisted.

It also didn’t rain, which was nice.

Due to my late start I felt there would be no problems with running clockwise today, so I did and it was fine. This also led to the confrontation with my old nemesis, namely the nasty tree root that I tripped on in August 2016, still my only run where I finished with gravel embedded in my flesh. On my clockwise runs I usually start out on the Conifer Loop by running on the left, then switch to the right after passing the evil root. With the leaves cleared and the trail scoured by recent storms, I felt there was little chance of missing the root, so I stayed on the right as I normally would. What struck me upon seeing the root is how it really is kind of right there where your feet would be if you’re running clockwise. You do have to detour around it. This makes me feel a little better about tripping on it two summers ago.

Overdressing: It was 8ºC but not windy and as mentioned, it stayed dry. I chose to wear two layers on top and for the walk there and back it was fine but after a few km I started to feel a bit too warm–not horribly so, but enough that I think a single layer would have sufficed. Noted for future runs.

Overall, a kind of bleah run, though it gets a few bonus points by being dry.

Run 552: The paws that does not refresh

Run 552
Average pace: 5:10/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 11:23 am
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 26:07
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 10ºC
Humidity: 76%
Wind: moderate with gusts
BPM: 173
Weight: 158.2 pounds
Total distance to date: 4290 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

With today being the statutory holiday in lieu of the actual holiday on Saturday, I opted to go for a run today instead of having to run that horrible circuit around the golf course at noon tomorrow. Also, it’s supposed to be raining and super-windy, so there’s a good chance I wouldn’t even be running, anyway.

The forecast was similar today, with winds up to 80 km/h forecast and a 70% chance of rain. I managed to both duck the rain (very light showers started shortly after the run) and the wind (it only got up to maybe 15 km/h, so it was breezy but not “duck as large branches tear off trees and fly at you” windy). There were some parks workers out pruning some branches, possibly trimming down the ones most likely to go a-flyin’.

Because of the wind I wore two layers up top, even though it was a mild 10ºC. I think I may have been okay with one layer, but two definitely didn’t leave me overly warm.

I felt a bit tired for the first part of the run, likely because I was running too hard and didn’t realize it, but my pace stabilized and I felt fine after, with no issues to report. My BPM is stubbornly staying around 173, still too high for my liking, but we’ll see if it drops the next time I go for a longer run. Or maybe I’ll force myself to mellow out a bit and see what happens. My pace was 5:10/km, which is pretty much back to form, so that was good, at least.

The river trail was host to a few other runners, some people out walking and the occasional cyclist. The most memorable person, though, was a woman out walking her large white fluffy dog. An older woman was jogging ahead of me and this woman and her dog were to her right. As the jogger moved past the dog started running after the jogger in a “playful” manner. The jogger was obviously alarmed and put up her arms as if it surrender. As I caught up to the woman I turned my head to her and said, “Leash your dog.” I continued past the other jogger and the dog then decided to playfully run after me and caught up and then jumped on me, putting a couple of paw prints on my shorts. I then turned back to the woman again–she was already making some kind of noise to call the mutt back–and yelled, “LEASH YOUR DOG!” I no doubt sounded very macho. I happened to pass her two more times and the dog was indeed leashed both times.

The best part is during the entire incident the song that was playing on my phone was The Cars’ “Let the Good Times Roll.”

It was a perfect illustration of why the bylaw to require dogs on leash in public areas exists. This person had zero control over her dog and the only reason no one got hurt is because I’m a 5’10” man and not a five year old girl. Had the dog approached a little kid the same way the kid would have gone splat and likely been hurt, possibly seriously.

It continues to depress me that people do not think of others. It doesn’t even matter that it’s a bylaw, it’s just common sense. A dog is not a four-legged person. You can’t reason with it logically. It is not as smart as we are. It doesn’t understand that jumping on a person can cause injury. We do, so we leash them and keep them under our control.

Anyway, I hope the dog owner learned something today and will actually keep her dog leashed in the future. She probably won’t, but I’m ready to yell in a macho manner again if I need to.