Average pace: 4:40/km <– personal record (for runs over 10K)
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW), Brunette River trail and Lower Hume Park
Distance: 11.38 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 21-18ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 772
Total distance to date: 1767 km
Ran Piper Mill Trail, Conifer and Spruce Loops.
Tonight’s run was a more typical length but followed a similar route as Saturday’s. I walked to Lower Hume Park and started my run there. I continued down the Brunette River trail and on to Burnaby Lake where I ran to the western entrance to the Piper Mill Trail. I was over 5K at that point and turned back, following the three loops and continuing back to Lower Hume Park. I hit 11K just before exiting the river trail.
The changed route meant I still got in a full run (11.38 km) but with far less walking (24 minutes instead of 76) and my total time out dropped from approximately 129 minutes to 77 or 2:09 hours to 1:17 — a significant 52 minutes less. With the sun setting earlier this is good as it allows me to get a full run in before it starts to get dark and spooky.
As for the run, I came just shy of setting a new 1K record but I did set a few others:
fastest 5K
fastest 10K
fastest mile
And I also set a new record for fastest pace for a 10K+ run at 4:40/km, 4 seconds better than on Saturday and only three seconds off the pace set on my 8K run.
I felt good again throughout the run, with the change in route and scenery providing a nice lift. It will probably level off if I stick to this route but for now I am happy with the results.
Also there are more slugs and roving bands of joggers, both of which I attribute to the early evening shift in time for my runs.
Average pace: 4:44/km <– personal record (for runs over 10K)
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW), Brunette River trail and Lower Hume Park
Distance: 15.02 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 17-21ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 1019
Total distance to date: 1756 km
Ran Piper Mill Trail, Conifer and Spruce Loops.
I have pretty much decided one of my weekly runs will happen on Saturday and normally in the morning. This is good for three reasons:
It frees up a weeknight evening.
It lets me run in the morning when it’s cooler.
It gets the run out of the way early so the rest of the day is free to laze around and eat nachos.
I headed out this morning at about 9:20 and started my run just after 10, with the temperature a pleasant 17ºC. It climbed to 21 over the course of the run and by the afternoon it was getting to where I was quite glad to have gone out early.
I did the full loop around the lake then continued on the same route as Wednesday, stretching the run to the Brunette River trail and into Lower Hume Park. I wanted to beat my previous best distance of 13K and did it by notching my first run over 15K — 15.02 km to be exact.
In the process I set personal bests in nearly every category there is. The one I didn’t break was Wednesday’s average pace of 4:37/km. I came in at 4:44, which is still a record for a 10K+ run, so I’m pleased with that. Other new records:
most calories burned
longest run, distance-wise
longest run, time-wise (1:11:04)
fastest 1K
fastest 5K
fastest 10K
fastest mile
I also passed the 1750 km mark, which Nike+ considers one of its milestones.
I felt good throughout the run and after the initial burst of speed my pace stayed very steady from the 8K mark forward, with the usual dip halfway between 10 and 11K (though smaller than normal).
While I had set out to break one record (for longest run) it is a very pleasant surprise to have broken so many others as well. Even the cyclists on the trail and unleashed dogs didn’t bother me. Much.
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW), Brunette River trail and Lower Hume Park
Distance: 8.03 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 21-18ºC
Wind: light to moderate
Calories burned: 545
Total distance to date: 1741 km
Ran Piper Mill Trail, Conifer and Spruce Loops.
Usually my runs are the time when I let all the other distractions fall away and my mind focuses on either the run or just drifts through various random thoughts, kind of like how you start on a Wikipedia page about barn owls and end up on one for moon landings. But tonight the distractions wouldn’t go away and I didn’t feel like committing to a full run. Instead I headed to Burnaby Lake, ran all three optional loops and when I came out from Piper Mill trail to the main trail I turned back. Shortly after passing the Cariboo dam starting point I hit 5K — not bad, but not enough. I decided to save time on the trip home by running much of the way back. After a brief pause to cross traffic-laden Cariboo Road I continued down the road to the RV park and then onto the 2 km-long Brunette River trail. I hit 7K there but kept running, across East Columbia and into Lower Hume Park. My destinations was two fold: the water fountain at the covered picnic area at the far end of the park and the 8K mark. I finished at 8.03 km and had a nice drink at the fountain.
It was strange to finish a run in only 37 minutes. It was also strange to have the temperature be lower at the end of the right instead of higher. I think the dog days of summer may be behind us now. The early evening is much nicer for running and that’s boosted my energy levels. Strangest of all was my average pace — a zippy 4:37/km, eight seconds better than my previous best. Granted that was with a shorter run but still, the change of route would seem to have had quite the positive effect on my speed.
This was further corroborated by two new records for fastest 5K and fastest mile. I missed fastest 1K by two seconds:
Location: Burnaby Lake, CW
Distance: 11.8 km
Weather: Sunny, humid, warm
Temp: 20-22ºC
Wind: light to moderate
Calories burned: 800
Total distance to date: 1722 km
Ran Piper Mill Trail, Conifer and Spruce Loops.
Friday afternoon Environment Canada put out an ozone warning for the eastern part of the Lower Mainland, basically telling old and sick people to stay inside otherwise the air might kill them. Although I am neither sick nor elderly it seemed like good advice with temperatures still in the low 30s by early evening, so I opted to skip my usual Friday run in favor of a Saturday morning run.
I headed out today at 8 a.m. and it was still a pleasant 20ºC. It rose to 22ºC over the course of the run, which is still entirely manageable. Humidity was very high and that did slow me up a little but the lower temperatures made running overall much less difficult than on some recent days.
I don’t know if it’s a weekend or morning thing as I usually don’t run during either but no less than six people said hi or ‘good morning’ to me as I walked to the lake.Normally the number of people doing this is zero, so this was about the friendliest pre-run warm-up ever.
The run itself went fine for the most part. I got a bit gassy around the 7K mark and my pace took a notable dip but I recovered about one km later. I had a similar dip midway through the 10K mark due to Gas: The Sequel. But overall I found the pace of 4:51/km pretty decent for the conditions. I shudder to imagine what an afternoon run might have been like.
And the branches were moved off the trail. Woo! You may be thinking it was industrious beavers looking to fortify a dam but it appears someone finally just moved the branches over to the side. Thank you, branch movers!
Location: Burnaby Lake, CCW
Distance: 5.14 km
Weather: Sun, hot
Temp: 30ºC
Wind: light to moderate
Calories burned: 349
Total distance to date: 1710 km
Ran Piper Mill Trail, Conifer and Spruce Loops.
Today it rose to about 32ºC by mid-afternoon, which is silly-hot for this area and way too warm to run in. I decided to wait until about 6 p.m. to head out, starting my run around 6:45 p.m. By then it had cooled all the way down to…30ºC.
But with the sun lower in the sky, it made enough of a difference to make the run bearable. The air was still thick and heavy and my mouth started drying out almost immediately. I think I could have done a full loop around the lake but without any hydration it would have been very uncomfortable. Instead, I opted for a brisk 5K jog, running along the north side of the trail to the midway point then coming back using the three optional side trails, forming a nice pseudo-loop. Even nice, the side trails were not crowed with groups of people. I had forgotten how much busier the main trails were in the early with packs of joggers, walkers and the occasional dog (sometimes even on a leash!)
At the end of the run Lance Armstrong congratulated me on my longest workout ever, which was nice. And completely wrong. It wasn’t even my fastest 5K (that one–23:16–was tucked inside an 11.5 km run on July 2nd).
I’m going to be busy during the days for a bit so my next batch o’ runs will be in the evening unless I switch to doing one or two on the weekend instead. We shall see how or if this affects my pace.
Location: Burnaby Lake, CCW
Distance: 11.38 km
Weather: Sun, muggy and warm
Temp: 26ºC
Wind: light to moderate
Calories burned: 807
Total distance to date: 1705 km
Note: this post was made four days late because I forgot. Oops! As such it is light on details.
It was 26ºC for the run, higher than I like and on top of that it was pretty muggy, which made for a sluggish run. It seemed like every part of the trail where the sun shone down directly also had no wind at all, resulting in that icky feeling of ‘swimming’ through the air.
Despite the weather I still managed a pace of 4:55/km, not bad considering and a bit better than runs under similar conditions.
Other than the heat I had my fourth (!) encounter with a snake. This time it was an itty bitty one, which made it even harder to spot. My foot nearly came down on it as it slithered across the trail and into the grass. For having no legs snakes can really boogie. It was probably trying to get out of the sun, just like me.
Location: Burnaby Lake, CCW
Distance: 11.44 km
Weather: Hazy sun, sun
Temp: 22-24ºC
Wind: light to moderate
Calories burned: 811
Total distance to date: 1694 km
Ran Piper Mill Trail, Conifer and Spruce Loops.
It was warmer today but not uncomfortably so. As such I was able to maintain a decent pace and came in at 4:48/km, my third fastest run to date. I was feeling zesty and ran all three optional loops.
I had a few fleeting moments of heartburn/acid reflux which I attribute to some Coca Cola Zero shortly before the run. I need to stick to water (I had water, too) but other than that the run was trouble-free.
In terms of annoyances there was one biker on the trail and he was riding faster than he should have been, especially considering he wasn’t even supposed to be there to start with, but I managed to get by without incident and the rest of the run was mercifully free of unpredictable dogs and the like. There was a weird mini-trend of people walking three abreast and I had to duck around a few of these people blobs but again did so without incident.
The section of trail that had heaved off into the bog had traffic cones and tape around it today to keep onlookers from taking a tumble. I’m curious to see how they repair it. Some other parts of the trail have been shored up with planks to prevent erosion and it wouldn’t surprise me if they did that here. Or maybe they will move the fallen branches from the opposite shore over and use them to create a barrier!
Location: Burnaby Lake, CW
Distance: 11.21 km
Weather: High cloud, some sun
Temp: 20-22ºC
Wind: light to moderate
Calories burned: 795
Total distance to date: 1682 km
A big ol’ thunderstorm rolled through the area last night, bringing rain and, of course, lots of thunder. The rain had stopped by morning but the cloud cover persisted for most of the day, along with notably cooler temperatures. As such the run was done under mostly an overcast sky, with the sun only poking through briefly a few times.
The branches were still there. I think the park crew has determined that they will slowly decay on their own over time and as such do not require immediate removal, just a few hundred years for nature to do its thing. In better news the broken faucet by the Cariboo dam has already been fixed. Since I ran clockwise today I discovered this at the start of the run and headed out knowing I could drink like a horse after I’d wrapped it up.
The cooler temperature and lack of sun made a dramatic difference. I lopped a full 13 seconds off Monday’s pace, coming in at 4:45/km, tying my fastest-ever pace. There was no real downside during the run. I felt good throughout, despite sleeping lousy last night and waking up with some vague stomach nausea (that fortunately dissipated by the time I ate breakfast). The only real down part was at the very end when my naughty nano would not behave. Despite my hands being dry the clickwheel refused to acknowledge the touch of my fingers. This no longer amuses me. After some fiddling and wiping the iPod on my shorts in an attempt to dry it (which did cause it to activate) I finally managed to bring the run to a halt. Methinks the iPod is starting to wear out after three years of service (apart from the clickwheel being an inherently lousy design).
The title of this post refers to a section of the trail a few meters or so wide on the south side that had slid off and into the bog. I’m assuming this happened last night as a result of the storm and it’s the first time I’ve noticed the trail deteriorating because of the weather. The strip itself was fairly narrow so only the edge of the trail was affected but it definitely looks like more could slough off f it’s left unattended (like tree branches).
Location: Burnaby Lake, CCW
Distance: 11.32 km
Weather: High cloud, some sun, warm
Temp: 25-27ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 803
Total distance to date: 1671 km
The original forecast today was sunny and hot then changed to mostly cloudy and cooler, with a high of 27. The morning was sunny and clear, however, and I fully expected it to turn into a scorcher so I altered my schedule and left for my run at 10 a.m.
It was 25ºC then and rose to 27 over the course of the run. It clouded over and actually got cooler in the afternoon. Yes, by trying to beat the weather I went out of my way to run in what still turned out to be the hottest part of the day. Feh.
I also did an unplanned walk of around 11 km yesterday and that left me feeling a little more tired and my pace was a somewhat sluggish 4:58/km as a result.
Other than it still being hotter than I care for the run itself was unremarkable. Someone managed to bust the faucet by the Cariboo dam so I had to walk to Lower Hume Park for my post-run drink. That kind of sucked. And I still seem slower running counter-clockwise when it’s hot out. I’m not entirely sure why. But there were no dog, snake, bike or other incidents so I’m going to call this run a qualified success.
While walking yesterday I got a pic of the fallen branches that were still there today and will apparently be there forever:
Location: Burnaby Lake, CW
Distance: 11.31 km
Weather: Sunny and hot
Temp: 26-28ºC
Wind: light to strong
Calories burned: 820
Total distance to date: 1660 km
It was considerably warmer for today’s run and I figured my time would be about five seconds off Wednesday’s pace and was right, coming in at 4:55/km (rounded up on the Nike+ site to 4:56). That actually impressed me after experiencing just how hot it was. Though there was a strong breeze blowing at times it wasn’t consistent and a few parts of the trail felt like running through a furnace, the air still and hot.
I chose to run clockwise again and maintained a decent pace until the midway point. I had just hit the Cottonwood Trail somewhere between 6 and 7K and my pace felt absolutely plodding. I managed to find a reserve of energy and improved my pace dramatically for about half a km before settling back to a slower pace for the stretch. I skipped all three optional loops because by that point in the run I just wanted it to be over so I could attach my mouth to a faucet. That shaved about 500 m off but I still finished comfortably above 11 km.
I’m just glad I won’t be running tomorrow. The high is forecast to be above 30ºC. Yikes.
The dead branches were still on the trail but more park workers were out so maybe they’ll get to them eventually.
A family of four (mom, dad, boy, girl) were on the trail with their bikes. This is normally an annoying thing but they amazingly were walking their bikes — in single file, too. I was duly impressed! No dog incidents before, after or during the run was also nice.
The only animal incident came as I looped around the fields. A rather large garter snake appeared, heading from the sun-baked field to the shadier grass on the other side of the trail. I didn’t see it until the last moment when my foot almost landed on it. I did a quick jig to hop over it and shot a look back because it was quite a bit bigger than the other two snakes I’ve seen, though it was still the same color, a vibrant blend of yellow and black stripes.
Overall I am happy with how the run went, considering the warm conditions.
Location: Burnaby Lake, CW
Distance: 11.84 km
Weather: Sunny, warm
Temp: 22-24ºC
Wind: light to strong
Calories burned: 840
Total distance to date: 1648 km
Ran: Piper Mill Trail, Conifer and Spruce Loops.
It started out warm and clear for today’s run but an unusually strong breeze kept things more than manageable for the duration. I opted to go clockwise and started right from the faucet near the dam to squeeze as much distance out as I could. My goal was to improve on Monday’s decidedly average pace and I accomplished that with room to spare, coming in a full seven seconds faster with an average pace of 4:50/km.
I was helped by having the issues on Monday not crop up again: no stomach weirdness, no right elbow hurting to distract me and an overall improved energy level that was more than sufficient to overcome the heat.
The branches were still on the trail for the third consecutive run but park workers were out trimming and clipping so I expect they’ll be cleaned up for Friday. I did take a closer look as I ran by and it does appear the branches either came down on their own or someone tried to murder the tree, as the limbs were twisted and broken off, not cut.
The one slightly weird notable part of the run was having three different bugs slam into my head. It’s odd to have it happen at all but three times and it was starting to get a little annoying. Don’t flies have compound eyes? How can they not see me? Stupid bugs.
The most interesting part of the run came after it ended. I was walking back along the Brunette River trail, listening to music on the iPod as I typically do after a run. Activity on the Highway 1 overpass has picked up this week so I had to carefully thread my way around construction vehicles and crew that were working on the overpass expansion. I moved onto one of the long straight stretches of the trail and walked by a woman with a dog. As usual the dog was not on a leash. This no longer gets much of a reaction from me, as nearly every dog owner ignores the leash laws.
But then I caught a glimpse of activity to my right and suddenly the dog appeared in front of me, barking, baring its teeth and acting like it was going to attack. It happened so swiftly I barely had time to form a reaction before the dog suddenly turned back, probably because the owner had called it off. With the music still playing and the woman far enough back I wasn’t able to hear her voice, if she had in fact said anything.
I turned around to see her standing there, the dog standing at her side and sniffing about indifferently. The woman said nothing, did nothing. Her face was expressionless. My face, however, was not. I had just finished a nearly 12K run and it didn’t take much to fire the adrenaline back up. I said to her in a firm, loud voice, “Put your dog on a leash.” Preferably the leash she was holding in one of her freaking hands. The woman offered no reaction. “Put your dog on a leash like it’s supposed to be,” I said in that same angry-but-in-control voice. Again, no reaction. I started back at her. By this point the dog was laying down in front of its owner, fully mellowed out after the unprovoked outburst.
I gave up and started walking. After a few paces I turned and repeated my directive yet again. Still no reaction from the woman, who could have been a literal statue at this point for all her non-movement.
I resumed walking and for good measure shouted out the need to leash the dog again, at full volume. As I moved out of hearing range I switched briefly to a litany of well-chosen curses and other invective, which made me feel a little better. I stopped once more and turned back. The woman, now a tiny figure in the distance, had still not budged.
I am not an intimidating figure. In my jogging shorts and shirt I am thin and sweaty, so it was hard to believe the woman was actually afraid of me. She was the one with the would-be killer dog, after all. More likely she didn’t like being yelled at (almost as much as she didn’t like putting her dog on a leash) and was giving me sufficient space so she could resume her walk without being told what to do by some uppity jogger.
I walked until I got to where the trail curved around a corner and took one final look. The woman was moving in some way, but only in place. Maybe adjusting a shoe or something. Or whispering new commands to her devil-dog. I shrugged and continued the walk home without further incident.
I remain baffled as to why the woman adamantly refused to leash her dog after it very nearly attacked me. She had directly witnessed the dog’s unpredictable and potentially dangerous behavior but was unmoved by it. Weird and annoying.
Location: Burnaby Lake, CCW
Distance: 11.57 km
Weather: Cloudy, some sun
Temp: 22ºC
Wind: light to moderate
Calories burned: 820
Total distance to date: 1636 km
Three things conspired against me on today’s run to bring my time down to a respectable but unspectacular average pace of 4:57/km:
I’m pretty sure I started too fast and burned a lot of my energy in the first half of the run, which moved along nicely.
Yesterday’s hike, though only a few hours, was still a decent workout for the legs with lots of tricky climbing and that brought down my energy level.
I got a cramp/ache in my gut around the 6 km mark and it persisted for several km after that. This shows up as a noticeable drop in my pace sooner than that usually happens.
Overall the run was decent enough and while it was warm, most of the run was under cloudy conditions so it was not overly so.
The branches were still on the trail so it seems park workers have not been out since Friday. Someone had shoved them over enough to clear a small strip of trail to bypass them. Nothing else notable was seen on the run. The knee seems fine now and my shins are good, too. The calves were a bit sore after, a byproduct of putting them to the test on the hike but the soreness did not persist.
I had hoped for a better performance after Friday’s zippy run but I suppose it wasn’t a bad effort, everything considered. I wrapped up my July runs with only two above the five minute pace and both were deliberate after the knee incident. More in my July runs update, coming soon™.
