Outdoor run-walks

I started doing run/walks again recently and completely forgot to post about the first three. Whoops. I blame the five-month gap since the last walk.

Overall, they were fine, no injuries or mishaps and the plantar fasciitis was not an issue, though the left foot still feels stiff later on, before recovering.

Today’s walk was under sunny skies and warm temperatures, but a persistent wind with a bit of a bite kept it from feeling too warm. I felt weirdly weary after work (say that three times fast), so I didn’t run quite as much, but I had a strong finish, mostly because I really had to use the bathroom by the end.

Note that while my pace has gotten worse over the four run/walks, my BPM has improved nicely. I’ll take it.

Here are the stats from all four walks:

April 2:

Walk 27
Average pace: 8:00/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 7.31 km
Time: 58:29
Weather: Mostly sunny
Temp: 10ºC
Humidity: 53%
Wind: light
BPM: 147
Weight: 179.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 208.48 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12

April 3:

Walk 28
Average pace: 8:04/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 7.37 km
Time: 59:32
Weather: Cloudy, some sprinkles
Temp: 8ºC
Humidity: 77%
Wind: light
BPM: 143
Weight: 178.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 215.85 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12

April 5:

Walk 29
Average pace: 8:09/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 7.29 km
Time: 59:30
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 12ºC
Humidity: 49%
Wind: light
BPM: 140
Weight: 179.2 pounds
Total distance to date: 223.14 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12

April 12:

Walk 30
Average pace: 8:28/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 7.22 km
Time: 1:01:13
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 16ºC
Humidity: 27%
Wind: moderate to high
BPM: 132
Weight: 179.5 pounds
Total distance to date: 230.36 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12

It’s been about two weeks since my last walk, so it was perhaps unsurprising that I was a bit sluggish on the walking portion. It was also chilly, though thankfully the wind was not blowing. I wore two layers up top and my stylish running pants for the first time in…quite awhile.

I was not overdressed.

Being a mid-afternoon on a weekday, I was expecting it to be fairly quiet, but there were quite a few people out, perhaps taking advantage of the dry weather before The Rains begin.

Thanks to my world’s tiniest bladder, when I got to the end of Cariboo Place I did not turn around and head back. Rather, I crossed over to Burnaby Lake, grabbed a few pics (praying it would not kill the phone) and used to Jiffy John™. I ended up having to go three separate times while out, which may be a personal record. Did I secretly drink a lot of liquid before heading out? Did the cold make my bladder “nervous”? Who knows. It’s not a personal record I want to beat, at any rate.

The running part went better and the one full km I was able to measure came in at 5:35/km, pretty respectable after two weeks of marginal activity.

Overall it was nice to get back out and I felt somewhat smart by actually dressing for the weather. The phone survived, going from 100% to around 64% by the time I got home (I did not start listening to music until I was headed back and kept it at a low volume. I also closed out all other apps. These are the things you do when your phone battery decides to play dead).

The stats:

Walk 26
Average pace: 8:18/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 8.87 km
Time: 1:13:41
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 5ºC
Humidity: 81%
Wind: light to nil
BPM: 131
Weight: 171.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 201.17 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 8

It’s a Monday and traditionally Monday is a lazy day when it comes to exercise, but with only a handful of days left with good daylight after work, I decided to head out. It was 8ºC, but with little wind it didn’t feel too cold.

Fifteen minutes later and my butt was like ice. It dropped to 6ºC by the end, but I was sufficiently warmed up that it was fine. I wore shorts and had two layers up top–my usual long-sleeved running shirt and a sleeveless underneath. Unlike most times in the past, this did not result in me feeling overdressed. I have finally learned. (I noted only one other runner wore shorts, the rest were wearing sweatpants or some form of spandex/Lycra. Several were also wearing hoodies/jackets and gloves. I feel it would have been too warm for gloves, but still appreciate the extra-long sleeves on my shirt that can act as pseudo-gloves when needed.)

I was a bit slower on the walking portion, likely due to the much colder temperature but moved along at a good pace for the running part. Overall, I was glad I made the effort.

The stats:

Walk 25
Average pace: 7:39/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 7.54 km
Time: 57:42
Weather: Clear
Temp: 8-6ºC
Humidity: 54%
Wind: light to nil
BPM: 132
Weight: 171.2 pounds
Total distance to date: 192.3 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 8

I was a tad slower on the walk out, possibly because it was a bit chillier this afternoon. Once I got warmed up I was fine and even had that “could just keep on going” feeling during the running part. It was nice.

In the areas where there is still decent canopy there was a definite sense of deepening shadows as the days grow shorter. If I was still doing my usual afternoon commute it would already be getting dark too early to run outside after work.

Checking the sunsets that are coming up, it looks like the last day I’ll be able to do a one-hour outdoor workout and still be back before the sun goes down is October 31 when the sun sets at 5:50 p.m. That’s actually twenty minutes early, but we switch back to Standard Time (boo) on November 1, so the sunset suddenly jumps up by one hour to 4:49 p.m., which is only 19 minutes after I’d head out. This makes me sad and makes the yearly switch back to “Standard” time seem all the more dumb and unnecessary.

Also, October 31 is a Saturday, so the real last day would be Friday, October 30, just nine days from now. It’s funny, I had completely forgotten about the time change. Bleah.

Anyway, today’s workout was good and I shall cherish and delight in it.

Stats:

Walk 24
Average pace: 7:40/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 7.85 km
Time: 60:16
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 10ºC
Humidity: 65%
Wind: light
BPM: 128
Weight: 170.1 pounds
Total distance to date: 184.76 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 8

Eleven days later and the temperature went from 21ºC to 11ºC. That said, there was virtually no breeze, so it didn’t really feel like 11. It was also nice to be outside again after a week and a half, even with all the BDOs (Bad Dog Owners) on the trail.

I’m writing this a day later because I just plain forgot to write about the workout afterward, distracted by shiny objects and other things and it’s surprisingly difficult to remember particular details even a mere 24 hours later.

I felt pretty good throughout and had no issue on the run portion, posting a fairly zippy pace. The dog owners were somewhat annoying, but the dogs themselves stayed out of the way. Although it was the weekend, I was somewhat surprised by the number of people out, as the sky threatened rain (though it didn’t actually come).

Overall, a nice trip back into the outdoors before it gets too dark and cold to do it for another season.

Stats:

Walk 23
Average pace: 7:29/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 7.87 km
Time: 58:51
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 11ºC
Humidity: 90%
Wind: light
BPM: 132
Weight: 170.2 pounds
Total distance to date: 176.91 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 8

Early fall weather continues to be weird and summer-like as it was around 21 when I went out this afternoon. The crispness in the air was largely gone, too. It really could have been a day in mid-June.

I had a bit more pep in my stride and only one USI (Untied Shoelace Incident). The running part came in around an average of 5:40/km, which was nice. And every dog (well, the one I saw) was on leash. Yay.

After taking the day off yesterday it was good to get out and aboot again.

Stats:

Walk 22
Average pace: 7:35/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 7.61 km
Time: 57:40
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 21ºC
Humidity: 67%
Wind: light
BPM: 129
Weight: 170.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 169.04 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 8

Even though it was 18 degrees, it felt a lot cooler, with a bit of a breeze blowing and almost all of the river trail now in the shade. It wasn’t uncomfortable by any means, but the bite of fall air is definitely there.

Perhaps because I was feeling a bit cooler heading out (but not in the Fonzie way), my pace was slower on the walk segment and a tad slower on the running part, but still not bad overall. I’d call this workout pretty average, with BPM and other stats reflecting that. Not bad, just…fine.

Stats:

Walk 21
Average pace: 7:44/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 7.65 km
Time: 59:07
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 18ºC
Humidity: 67%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 122
Weight: 169.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 161.43 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 8

Well, as far as Burnaby Lake, at least.

Today the temperature was a bit cooler, but it was still higher than normal and sunny and warm, so it was nice for walking and running. I also started out in the morning to try to beat the crowds, which didn’t exactly work, but there were no dog incidents or crazed cyclists or anything.

My tiny bladder didn’t set off the alarm bells at the usual point, so I opted to do an extra leg into Burnaby Lake and use the Jiffy John there. I finished in a jiffy because those things are gross, stopped to take a few pics of the lake, then headed back, covering a little over 9 km. My running pace was not as blistering today, but that’s okay, it was still fine. It’s funny how quickly I get used to the improvements in pace and then shrug them off as no big thing when they are actually quite nice to see.

Anyway, Nic and I went bird watching at the lake later and I ended up covering over 26 km today, so I am possibly re-thinking my plan to do a full run tomorrow. We shall see.

Stats:

Walk 20
Average pace: 7:35/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 9.13 km
Time: 1:09:15
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 17ºC
Humidity: 77%
Wind: light
BPM: 127
Weight: 170.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 153.78 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 8

The weather is being weird right now, with fall working in reverse, each day being warmer than the previous. It felt more like mid-July when I headed out. I mean, it was nice, but weird. There is a bit of smoke haze back, but not nearly as bad as for–you can still see the sky, for one. It was also quite humid again.

All that said, I felt peppy heading out and was somewhat saddened when my first km of running showed a pace of 5:37/km (which would have been awesome a few days ago). I pushed slightly for the second km and my pace dropped to 5:16/km. I can confidently say this is the fastest I have moved in a single km in quite awhile. I ended with an overall pace of 7:26/km, which is also a new high (or low, depending on your perspective).

The only real down note were a couple of dog owners. One couple had a toy dog of some sort. It looked a bit like a Greyhound that had been zapped with a shrink ray and for some reason they kept it on leash (good), but then let the dog drag the leash behind it (weird and bad, because the leash was probably four meters long. I was able–while still walking–to catch up to the trailing leash and easily could have stepped or tripped on it). This wasn’t too bad, though. The other dog owner had three dogs, in small, medium and large sizes, all of them off-leash for the triple bad strikeout. The small dog was trailing behind and nearly got caught underfoot as I passed it. The owner was oblivious to it.

The medium dog was the bets-behaved, sticking close to the owner. The large dog, which looked like a husky or a husky cross, was well ahead of the owner. As I moved over and began to pass, the large dog took interest in me. It was friendly, but having a large dog approach me while running is never a good thing, because dogs are dumb and unpredictable. This is why they need to be leashed when in public (sorry, dog owners, dogs are dumb. So are cats. And rabbits. Plus rabbits will pee on you. But I digress.) As the dog approached, I turned my head back to the owner and uttered my favorite phrase to all dog owners:

Leash your dog(s).

That was it. I kept running and I gave my free advice with no malice in my voice, just a simple request. I don’t think the owner had a leash, let alone three of them. But now she knows at least one person is not impressed with her free-stylin’ dog walking.

Back to the walk, though–I was quite pleased by it. I’ll do another walk/run tomorrow and then probably do a full 5K on Sunday. Current forecast is calling for 17C and light rain, which is a lot more typical for early October and is fine by me, as rain means fewer people.

Stats:

Walk 19
Average pace: 7:26/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 7.54 km
Time: 56:06
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 24ºC
Humidity: 54%
Wind: light
BPM: 130
Weight: 169.9 pounds
Total distance to date: 144.65 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 8

I was feeling slightly lazy at the end of my work shift and toyed with the idea of not going out, of indulging in some good old-fashioned laziness. Then I considered the consequences of starting off a new month this way. What next? Scarfing entire bags of donuts?

I went out, half an hour later than usual, but out all the same.

Weather-wise it was cloudy, but still warm and rather muggy. I sweated a fair bit.

But my pace was good on the way down the trail and I was confident that I’d maintain that level of energy after almost not going out at all.

Given my tiny bladder, I diverted briefly onto the usual side trail to take my usual bio break. I paused both the music and the workout while I did my business, as I always do. I then resumed the music and the workout, refreshed and ever-so-slightly lighter.

Except I didn’t actually un-pause the workout, only the music. When I went to check my distance a short time later I immediately realized I had done this. The stats below reflect this, in that it shows me running about 300 meters less than I normally would.

Undeterred, I still managed to get a full 2 km stretch of uninterrupted running in by extending the running part into Lower Hume Park. I even caught a break on traffic on East Columbia, allowing me to exit the trail and cross without having to stop. Better still, my pace for both was a zippy 5:25/km. I also matched this pace again in the final two-block stretch before getting back to the condo.

Overall, it was a good workout, where everything–except remembering to un-pause–seemed to click. I was a bit concerned about the shoes after yesterday’s lace fiasco, but both shoes stayed tied for the entire hour. I am probably ready to tackle another full 5K soon–perhaps this weekend.

Walk 18
Average pace: 7:30/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 7.24 km
Time: 54:19
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 21ºC
Humidity: 68%
Wind: light
BPM: 125
Weight: 169.5 pounds
Total distance to date: 137.11 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 8

Not me, my shoelaces. In what may be a record, both shoelaces came untied multiple times. The right lace came untied about five times. By the end I think it was openly mocking me, just jerking me around because it could. “Getting up a nice head of steam? How would you like to stop and have to tie me up yet again? Haha, there you go. I promise to stay tied for twenty seconds this time. And by twenty I mean five.”

I was a bit slower on the way out, but made up for it on the return, ending with the exact same pace as yesterday, even though it was warmer still–24ºC, which is kind of crazy for late September–and sweating was copious. I felt weird at the start of the trail, as if I was weak from not eating or something (I had toast and jam in the mid-afternoon), but it seemed to clear up as I pressed on, and though the running part started a bit slow, I did find my pace, albeit with copious shoelace interruptions.

I’m not sure what to do about the shoelaces yet. Clearly I am doing something wrong in tying them, but we’ll see if I can magic them into place or just get new laces or maybe run barefoot or something.

Anyway, it was still good to get out and despite the summer-like weather, there were fewer people out and aboot, which was nice (he says, swearing he is not anti-social).

Stats:

Walk 17
Average pace: 7:39/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 7.54 km
Time: 57:58
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 24ºC
Humidity: 55%
Wind: light
BPM: 122
Weight: 170.1 pounds
Total distance to date: 129.87 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 8

I set out after work today, which is somewhat rare for a Monday, but it was sunny and warm and I wasn’t going to pass it up.

There weren’t as many people out, though a number did have some large dogs off-leash. At one point one of these large dogs was coincidentally trotting alongside me as I ran. I didn’t like this, so I turned my head and told the owner to leash it. She called the dog back, but I didn’t see what happened next. Hopefully the dog magically changed into a cat.

I felt about the same as yesterday and performance-wise was also about the same. Weird! As a special bonus, I had no untied shoelaces and didn’t have to empty my tiny bladder even once. In all, a welcome start to a fit week.

Stats:

Walk 16
Average pace: 7:39/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 7.54 km
Time: 57:41
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 22ºC
Humidity: 53%
Wind: light
BPM: 124
Weight: 169.7 pounds
Total distance to date: 122.33 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 8