Outdoor runs

Minimalist shoes, maximalist time. Bonus: more annoying cyclists

Average pace: 5:18/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops and Piper Mill Trail
Distance: 5.05 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 13-14ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 400
Total distance to date: 2561 km

After avoiding a run yesterday due to the day-long downpour, I ventured out today under sunny skies and in mild conditions. I once again wore my New Balance MT100s, hoping to improve on my previous pace with the minimalist shoes.

As I walked along the Brunette River trail I noticed something odd on the trail up ahead. After a few moments I realized it was a tree. Trees are not normally found on the trail. Along the trail, yes. Right across them, not so much.

Apparently a combination of soggy soil and perhaps just enough wind was enough to cause a very tall tree on the other side of the river bank to topple over. It was tall enough to reach across the rover, the opposite bank, the trail (which is actually a gravel service road) and then some. It had cracked apart in several places after thudding onto the ground.

I hopped over and hoped it was not a sign.

It wasn’t. But I had a lousy run, anyway.

I started out slower again but the first km was actually three seconds better than the previous run–a good sign! Then at exactly the 1 km mark (it was just announced on the iPod) I was struck by a nasty stitch in my left side. I slowed but it persisted and by the end of the second km I was six seconds off the previous pace. Later I developed a stitch in my right shoulder, of all places.

I ended up with a mediocre pace of 5:18/km. The last four runs look like this:

  • 5:07
  • 5:12
  • 5:14
  • 5:18

This is not a good trend. I dislike it.

The shoes didn’t feel too bad, actually, but clearly my legs and feet are still adjusting as I could feel my upper leg muscles getting worked out, no doubt due to the different stance I was using/forced into.

The walk home was less than pleasant as the pad of my left foot acted up and without sufficient support from the shoe it was fairly cranky most of the way back.

I’m going to put the MT110s back on the shelf for now and get a nice pair of regular trail runners to replace my wearing-out Nikes. Eventually, maybe after I’m comfortably doing 10K runs again, I may try going back to the minimalist shoes.

Re: the cyclists. I am seeing multiple cyclists pretty much every time I run at the lake now. This annoys me because more of them are riding fast, which is the perfect way for collisions to happen, as cyclists ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ON THE TRAILS AROUND THE LAKE.

Clearly the many signs saying “No bicycles” are no longer working. My concern is that as word gets around that you can bike around the lake without consequence, more people will do so. I don’t think the Parks Board is doing any actual enforcement or they’re busting people (“Set your bike down and put your hands on that tree!”) when I’m not there.

Anyway, it’s annoying. There are very few places where bikes are not permitted and this is one of them. It’s one of the things I like about Burnaby Lake–I never have to keep an eye out for some idiot madly whizzing by on a bike. It seems that’s come to an end now. Alas.

A slightly slower slightly damp minimalist run

Average pace: 5:14/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Distance: 5.05 km
Weather: Light showers
Temp: 14-12ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 401
Total distance to date: 2556 km

Today I switched to my New Balance MT100 minimalist shoes, as my Nikes are starting to show visible wear in the heels. I was a little concerned how it would go having not run in minimalist shoes for so long but overall it was fine. My left foot was a little sore even before heading out (the usual with the pad) but during the run it felt fine and while a bit sore after it actually got better the closer I got to home.

My pace was two seconds slower compared to Sunday, not a big surprise since switching shoes is usually a good way to slow yourself down. Interestingly the biggest drop came in the first km when I was clearly re-adjusting to having less cushioning.

The weather was cooler and light showers peppered the run from time to time. It didn’t actually start to come down steady until I was two blocks from home–enough distance to get reasonably soaked. I anticipated this and wore my weather-proofed run jacket and it sufficed in keeping the wet stuff on the outside.

I am pondering a 10K run for Thursday but am still undecided.

The warmer and slower run

Average pace: 5:12/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 5.06 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 14-17ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 402
Total distance to date: 2551 km

Today the temperature climbed to a nigh-freakishly high 19ºC. Since I headed out late morning for the run it ranged from 14-17ºC. This is far from being too hot for running, it just feels weird for mid-April.

I also decided to finally wear a proper t-shirt. Wearing the long-sleeved one would have been a nice trip to sweat city, so I don’t regret that.

Yesterday I did one of those power walk thingers where I do my run route but walk it instead. After completing the route I then walked to Lougheed Town Centre, some 17 km or total in all. It took about 2 hours and 40 minutes and I definitely felt it by the end. I figured this might impact my run today.

Another warning sign was being slightly up in weight this morning–usually a sign I’m packing water and water tends to make me heavier and slower.

And I was. The good news is the pace of 5:12/km still ties my second-best of the year. The bad news…well, there isn’t any, really, other than the disappointment of not meeting my last zippier pace.

The first km started out about the same but I’d already dropped two seconds by the end of the second km. The last km also saw me starting from a slower point to the typical faster finish. I nearly felt a stitch at one point and may have held back a little to ward it off.

The heels of my Nike runners are starting to noticeably wear so I’m contemplating new trail runners or busting out my New Balance MT110s again. I’ve been leery about using minimalist shoes since the Achilles tendon injury but I figure once for testing may not hurt (much).

Annoyance of the run: half a dozen on bikes, including one couple with a baby seat (equipped with functioning baby) who were riding fairly fast. Idiots.

Unexpected delight of the run: The Running Room was having some kind of event (I had no idea and saw no signage before starting out). As it turns out, the end of their circuit happened to be the Still Creek bridge–the exact spot I am currently ending my runs. There was a big electronic board showing times (I didn’t pay much attention to it) and a bunch of people gathered around, including one who looked like he might be the timekeeper. He and the others cheered enthusiastically as I crossed the apparent finish line. That’s the first time I’ve had anyone cheering me at the end of the run. It was weird but nice.

The annoyed and faster run

Average pace: 5:07/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.03 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 12ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 399
Total distance to date: 2546 km

Tonight I came home tired, hungry and irritated. I wanted to work out my stress and at the same time get the run out of the way so I could take care of the hunger.

The result was my fastest run of the year, coming in at 5:07/km, a full ten seconds off the previous run and three seconds better than my best previous run.

I didn’t suffer any stitches, which was nice, and though I felt the burn in my legs I was able to settle into a comfortable pace and then push a little harder fairly early on.

With three runs this week the plan is to take two days off for the “weekend” and tackle my next run on Sunday. If my times keep hovering consistently closer to the 5:00 mark I may try a longer run in another week or so.

The halfway run

Average pace: 5:17/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce and conifer Loops and Piper Mill Trail
Distance: 5.03 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 13-12ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 398
Total distance to date: 2541 km

With a little more time than usual to run tonight I opted to walk to Burnaby Lake, run to Still Creek (5K) then walk to the Burnaby Lake SkyTrain station and ride home in (sweaty and stinky) style.

I figured my pace would probably fall somewhere between the slog of Sunday’s run and the zippy pace of last Wednesday’s and I was right, coming in at 5:17/km. I was a bit concerned at the start when my legs were feeling a little creaky just from the walk. There were times during the run that the muscles started to burn nicely. Bu nicely I do not mean it was a nice sensation.

It got better as I kept going, though.

There seems to be a pattern in these early runs. I either end up battling endurance and/or getting a stitch or I find my pace and as a result find my muscles and tendons really feeling the extra bit of exertion. I have yet to discern what triggers each particular pattern (I’ll take the latter over the former, though–getting a stitch while running sucks).

In all I am pleased with the run. Faster would be better but I’m improving slowly and it’s only early April. I’m sure I’ll be reasonably zippy by the time I’m complaining about it being too hot (it was over 13ºC to start the run, downright balmy for the early April).

The scientific proof that running clockwise is slower run

Average pace: 5:20/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Distance: 5.03 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 12ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 398
Total distance to date: 2536 km

Circumstances prevented me from running on Friday as I would have according to my Run Schedule-0-Matic® and then again on Saturday, meaning I had three full days off before running again today.

Logically you might think three days of rest would result in a better run but with my body still getting used to jogging again, three days is instead just enough time to start losing what little edge I’ve developed in the past few weeks. I also always seem to do worse with a route change-up.

When I started off running clockwise around Burnaby Lake I couldn’t immediately tell if I was slower. My left foot was feeling a bit stiff but worked itself out. I kept on and then developed the dreaded stitch. Much like the previous one it never really went away and when I had about 500m to go it was bothering me enough that I was briefly tempted to stop running altogether. I pressed on and even got a little bit of that homestretch spurt going but in the end my pace fell back to a pokey 5:20/km.

I couldn’t blame conditions, either, as it was mainly sunny, mild and with a light and pleasant breeze blowing.

I did achieve a milestone for this year, though–my first week with three runs, just like in the olden days. Woo. And I’m still feeling the after-effects of the runs less and less with each outing. Woo x2.

The fast-flowing river run

Average pace: 5:12/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.02 km
Weather: Clear
Temp: 12ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 398
Total distance to date: 2531 km

Tonight’s run was the opposite of Monday’s. I initially felt stiffness in the shins and my endurance pegging but then I found my pace and fairly early on at that. The discomfort washed away and I completed the run a full ten seconds better than the previous pace at 5:12/km. It’s also my best run so far in 2014.

I may run on Friday or opt to wait the extra day and do a bit more on Saturday at the lake. Plus the lake has cute ducks.

The slow-flowing river run

Average pace: 5:22/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.03 km
Weather: Clear
Temp: 12ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 399
Total distance to date: 2526 km

This was my first run on the Brunette River trail in awhile and tonight the river smelled a little stinky.

Speaking of stinky, my run was less than swift. I felt tired and never felt any momentum. Even the usual little burst at the end of the run was flaccid. I ended up five seconds off the previous pace, coming in at 5:22/km. While I expected to be slower, as this was my first run-one day off-run in awhile it was still disappointing.

The final irony is that I did the run while listening to the R.E.M. album Accelerate. Thanks a lot, R.E.M.

The eye of the storm run

Average pace: 5:17/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops and Piper Mill Trail
Distance: 5.03 km
Weather: Cloudy, light showers
Temp: 10-8ºC
Wind: strong
Calories burned: 398
Total distance to date: 2521 km

The wind was blowing up to 25k/hour so I chose to head out wearing my running jacket. My logic was that I’d be fine in a long-sleeve t-shirt if it was windy or if it rained but not both. And the sky looked like it was preparing to stir up a nice brew of wind and rain.

As it turned out, I escaped the rain until after the run ended. At that point it showed on and off for the walk back. The wind blew fairly consistently, though, so I didn’t particularly regret the extra cover the jacket provided.

About halfway through the run I developed a stitch in my gut and it was just strong enough to inhibit my pace. I didn’t want to end up slower than the prior run (falling back is rather discouraging early on when you’re trying to build on each run) and even goosed it a little at the end. I was rewarded by shaving off an entire second off my previous run, coming in at 5:17/km. Sure it’s small enough to be a rounding error, but I’ll take it.

The trail was replete with many a puddle that required dodging and one alongside the athletic field that was so huge I opted to take the field around it–until I discovered the field was a quicksand-like sodden mess. I managed to pick my way along the muddy left edge of the monster puddle.

I also encountered a man with his young boy riding their bikes. I said nothing, as there seems little point when they’ve already reached a place where they’d have already passed at least three “no bikes allowed” signs. I guess it was good they were not racing along.

Speaking of racing along, a pair of women were walking along with both of their dogs off-leash. No surprise here, but the one dog, a collie, was hyperactive and racing off the trail, into a nearby stream, under a small footbridge, back onto the trail and then was off again into the stream. There are several signs along the trail (the parks people really like signs) noting that the streams are fish habitats and dogs are to be kept out. Were there fish eggs in this stream the dog would have shredded them into oblivion. Again I said nothing. It’s not like these people don’t know, they simply don’t care. The best I can do is hope karma deals with them appropriately.

Too bad I don’t believe in karma. 😛

Back to the actual jogging–this marked the first time in months that I completed three runs in the space of a week. Weird! The left shin felt a tony bit tender afterward but other than that the feet and legs are fine and the overall level of post-run stiffness has diminished noticeably.

My next run will probably be a 5K on the river trail so I won’t have as direct a comparison to these last three runs, but it will still be interesting to see how it goes. Excelsior!

A train-ing run

Average pace: 5:18/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops and Piper Mill Trail
Distance: 5.04 km
Weather: Cloudy, light showers
Temp: 9-10ºC
Wind: light to nil
Calories burned: 399
Total distance to date: 2516 km

The sky was partly clear when I headed out today but it proved to be all tricksy and deceptive, as it quickly clouded over as I headed to Burnaby Lake. The showers held off for the actual run, producing only a very light drizzle toward the end.

After the run it rained for the next 5K and stopped after I exited Burnaby Lake Park. It was a very localized shower, apparently.

The run felt a little harder compared to Sunday and I hopefully took this to mean I was picking up the pace, though for the first half I couldn’t tell. It turned out I was right as I shaved a full six seconds off the previous run, coming in at 5:18/km. Still slow as heck but not bad for a second run after a long layoff.

In other good news the feet felt more comfortable, and the muscles generally did not feel as sore during or after the run.

My next run will either be Friday or Saturday. It looks to be wet but I think I’m past the newbie stage now where bad weather is a convenient excuse to stay home and eat my weight in potato chips.

The title for this post comes from the fact that a train rolled past me while I was jogging along the Cottonwood Trail stretch. I should mention that it was on the track that parallels the trail, not actually on the trail with me. Why do I find trains so cool? I don’t know. But I do.

The first spring run, 2014 edition

Average pace: 5:24/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops and Piper Mill Trail
Distance: 5.04 km
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 9-10ºC
Wind: light to nil
Calories burned: 399
Total distance to date: 2511 km

With about 50 days separating my last run with today’s I was a bit concerned about how it would go but not overly so.

To insure maximum soreness the day after I did a walk around Burnaby Lake on Saturday, about 17 km or so in total.

I started out around 1 p.m. and it was a pleasant early spring day. The lake was a-hoppin’ with activity and dogs roamed free as they usually do. None parked a cold snout in my crotch so I was not especially bothered. You could tell spring was in the air by the stench. The skunk cabbage was just on the cusp of blooming and it is legion along the lakeshore. The unique odor will fade after the flowers have bloomed and the cabbage takes on its more usual leafy appearance.

The first few km I found the tendons of both feet feeling sore as they got stretched for the first two in nearly two months but by about the midway point the soreness went away, I found my pace and I finished the 5K just as I was stepping off the bridge at Still Creek. My pace of 5:24/km was three seconds off my last run but given the time between the runs I think that’s pretty acceptable.

My plan is to resume runs at least three times a week, continuing with 5Ks until my times start getting closer to my usual pace and then moving back to 10Ks.

The like a really slow cheetah run

Average pace: 5:21/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.03 km
Weather: Partly cloudy
Temp: 4ºC
Wind: light to nil
Calories burned: 398
Total distance to date: 2506 km

With two weeks between runs again I was not expecting to exactly zip along, though I was hoping that my walk yesterday would give me a boost to my stamina.

As it turned out I recorded my best pace of my few runs so far in 2014, coming in at 5:21/km. For the first km my legs from the knees down were lighting up like an emergency panel at a nuke plant going through a meltdown. My muscles cried out. My tendons joined in chorus. I got a stitch in my side. I felt like a slug. But I kept going, found my pace and my legs settled down. The only negative afterward is the blister on my right foot is even bigger, mainly due to the walk to the river.

The weather was crisp but dry. I wore two layers–a long and short sleeved t-shirt. I think I would have been fine with just the long sleeved shirt. I didn’t take gloves nor did I need them.

A little over halfway through the run I passed an older man and though I couldn’t hear him due to the earphones he seemed to be relaying enthusiastic encouragement. That was nice. I’m guessing it looked like I was in agony and he thought it might keep me from collapsing.

I had a nice soak in a tub filled with lavender Epsom salts after. It made me feel like a princess. A fat, hairy princess but a princess all the same.