Exercise

It’s Labour Day, which is a stat holiday, and that means bonus people on the trail for my run!

Likely due to extensive cloud cover, the crowds were smaller and actually were not an issue at all. Once again, people lived up the ideal of the polite Canadian. Dogs were leashed, people were accommodating and the weather was perfectly pleasant for running, with the temperature right around 20 and a pleasant breeze helping with the higher humidity.

As a result, I lopped a full 11 seconds off my previous run, coming in with an average of 5:40/km. I even had the gas to get 5:29/km in the last lap. Another small bonus: despite the increase in speed, my BPM was down slightly, to 154.

The trail had a few more slugs than I expected, so there was a decent amount of dodging. I am pleased to report no slug families were orphaned today.

In less pleasant news, the resurfacing of the trail from the rowing pavilion to the bridge at Deer Lake Brook is…not great? I am reserving final judgment, as I’m not 100% sure they are done yet, but the portion of the trail from the bridge to where the trail splits is especially lumpy and uneven now. It was actually much smoother and flatter before the resurfacing, so they’ve essentially downgraded it. It’s easily the worst resurfacing job I’ve seen since I started running at Burnaby Lake in 2011. But like I said, maybe they aren’t done, so I’ll give it a few more weeks and see how it shakes (or evens) out.

Overall, though, this was a fine run in good conditions and the crowds were a pleasant non-factor. Yay.

Stats:

Run 881
Average pace: 5:40/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:45 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:32
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 19-20°C
Humidity: 81-78%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 153
Weight: 167.6
Total distance to date: 6,265 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (50/106/156)

First, after my last run on August 19, it may have seemed like things were going spiffy. And they were!

Or so I thought.

But after that fourth run in a row, my right knee started to feel not-quite-right. It wasn’t hurting, per se, but was clearly feeling some strain from the runs, and the Baker’s cysts seemed bigger. I decided to take a cautious approach, and kept up with a series of walks and walk/runs, but it wasn’t until today when I somewhat spontaneously decided to, that I ran a full 5K.

It went fine. The right knee is not hurting, though I can feel where it would be, but it seems to have survived both the run and the extended walk around the lake and back home. To encourage myself to not put the metaphorical pedal to the metal, I opted not to time either walk post-run, allowing myself to adopt a more leisurely pace.

Speaking of leisurely paces, I knew to not go all-out for today’s run, but the 10-day layoff insure that wouldn’t be an issue. I could definitely feel those ten days. I started out relatively strong and fortunately capped out at 5:56/km on the third km before picking up the pace a little, then a little more to finish with an overall average of 5:51/km. It was warm, but not hot, somewhat muggy in the shady bits, and I experienced a bit of Dry Mouth Syndrome™ at times, though it was tolerable. I began thinking of how gels might work better than carrying a water bottle in situations like these. Not hair gel, since I no longer need that, but the sporty kind you enjoy on the go. I may look into it. On the other hand, summer is over in three weeks, so maybe I can hold out for now.

The trail was fairly bereft of people, though I did encounter a decent number of other joggers. I also encountered a guy with two kids biking. I told them bikes were not allowed as I ran past, scowling at them on the inside (too much energy to also do it on the outside). No off-leash dogs, though!

Also, I saw two snakes. One was quickly slithering off the trail into the grass, as they usually do. The next was post-run and did the same thing, but seemed a little more relaxed. He (she?) hung out in the grass for a bit, allowing me to get a rare (for this summer) garter snake photo (see below).

Overall, a decent outing, and I’m hopeful that I won’t need to go another 10 days before my next run.

Stats:

Run 880
Average pace: 5:51/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 1:16 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:23
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 23°C
Humidity: 60%
Wind: light
BPM: 154
Weight: 166.4
Total distance to date: 6,260 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (45/93/138)

First, this is my fourth regular run in a row, woo. And no cheating, also woo.

But I headed out later than planned and that meant it was sunny and humid, so boo (on me).

I opted to go clockwise again, figuring it would be shadier and also for the additional variety. This was fine, save for two things:

• It was strangely crowded in the first 300m or so. I have no idea why so many people were bunched up like that on a Monday morning. Maybe everyone is heading out because they feel summer is slipping away.
• I forgot they are resurfacing the trail from the bridge at Deer Lake Brook to the parking lot by the rowing pavilion. This seems a bit odd to me, as the section leading up to the bridge is still in very good condition and doesn’t need to be resurfaced (IMO), but I guess they have a set schedule or something. It looks like they may have started today, right from the bridge itself. They had done the first bit of compacting and the guy there seemed to be signalling me to go to the right, which would have been the ditch. This part of the trail essentially has no shoulders. I then ran across the non-compacted bit after, which had the consistency of semi-solid cement, leaving distinct footprints they probably had to fix. Oops. Still, I wasn’t going to go off into the ditch and risk twisting an ankle. Pedestrians are an occupational hazard when resurfacing a pedestrian trail.

The recent showers, combined with the sun and humidity, meant it would be muggy–and it was! This meant I worked harder to be slower, but I felt I turned in a solid performance. After getting progressively slower with each km, I managed to pick up the pace a bit at the end, for an overall pace of 5:49/km.

And I wore a new belt! Jeff picked up an $18 SPI-Belt knockoff and I wore it, and it worked surprisingly well, staying nice ‘n snug with my phone tucked inside. And unlike my old belt, I could have the phone on the front, where I could access volume controls easily. Which I did not do. But still, having a non-saggy belt was spiffy.

Overall, a good start to the week. If the forecast is accurate, Wednesday may be a bit damp. We’ll see!

Stats:

Run 879
Average pace: 5:49/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:11 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:13
Weather: Mostly sunny
Temp: 21-22°C
Humidity: 61-57%
Wind: light
BPM: 154
Weight: 166.9
Total distance to date: 6,255 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (40/80/120)

I succeeded in getting an earlier start today and was able to run under delightfully cloudy skies, with conditions remarkably similar to Monday. Checking the hourly forecast, I was probably safe from the sun trill 2 p.m., but I wasn’t taking any chances after messing it up on Wednesday.

I started out a bit slower than Monday and lagged a bit at the 3K mark, but cranked it up for the final two km and finished with an overall pace of 5:44/km, only two seconds off Monday’s pace. That’s pretty good, all things considered.

There were no issues on the run, my BPM was fine, people on the trail were relatively sparse and all dogs were leashed.

It feels like a long time since I’ve done three runs in one week. Hopefully it won’t be a rare thing going forward. I’m talking to you, right knee!

Stats:

Run 878
Average pace: 5:44/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW, short loop)
Start: 10:08 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:53
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 18°C
Humidity: 68-66%
Wind: light
BPM: 152
Weight: 167.2
Total distance to date: 6,250 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (35/67/102)

I made a tactical error even before setting out for the run: I headed out about an hour later than intended. This notably meant that it would be a little warmer and that the sun would be out.

This turned out to be significant because, as the titles says, the sun makes you slower. While the conditions don’t seem all that different from Monday, the higher temperature, sun and humidity combined to make it feel a lot harder to get the same results. I started slower at 5:41/km, but that’s still pretty good. Dropped to 5:47/km for the second km, which is fine. But the third km my pace cratered to 6:04/km. That is a huge drop and even looking at the numbers now, it doesn’t seem possible.

When I hit that third km, I paused the run, walked forward and then back to where I had paused, probably about 30 seconds of walking in total, then resumed the run. This breather allowed my hart rate to drop to around 130 or so and gave me enough boost to finish with an overall average of 5:51/km. Kinda cheating, but I’ll take it.

Friday looks like it may be partly cloudy and a bit cooler. I’ll take it!

Other than the sun leaching all my atamina, the run was fine. My right leg felt a bit sore, mostly around the shi, on the walk back, but it settled down after a while and in the end it seems fine.

The trail weas unusually busy, especially in the area east of Piper Spit, with people all bunched up with dogs and kids and things. None of this presented any issue, though, which was nice.

The river trail was once again All Dogs Unleashed, but at least the dogs behaved themselves, even if the owners didn’t.

Stats:

Run 877
Average pace: 5:51/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 11:13 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:25
Weather: Mostly sunny
Temp: 20-21°C
Humidity: 71-67%
Wind: light
BPM: 154
Weight: 167.3
Total distance to date: 6,245 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (30/59/89)

Weirdly, I started today’s run at almost the exact same time as the last one, off my only two minutes.

I was originally planning on running counter-clockwise, but changed my mind when I got to the lake and did a clockwise short loop, turning around just past the halfway mark–which is unusual for me, because I usually run about 3 km before turning back, as I like the little psychological boost of having less to run on the way back.

Conditions were different enough to be noticeable (listed in order of importance):

1. 18C instead of 22-24C
2. Cloudy instead of sunny
3. Humidity in the 70s instead of 60s

The higher humidity was effectively cancelled out by the cloud cover and cooler temperature. The combination made a huge difference in my energy level. Unlike the previous run, I did not try to store any reserves during the first km. I didn’t go all-out, either, I just ran at a steady pace. That pace turned out to be 5:31/km, which was a lot faster than I expected, but I maintained a pace of around 5:48 for the next three km, and wrapped up with 5:35/km on the final stretch, for an average of 5:42/km. This is a staggering 25 seconds faster than last Wednesday’s run, resulting in a total time more than two minutes shorter. Another indicator of how better the conditions were: My BPM dropped to 151 vs. 156 for the previous run. I was faster and didn’t even work as hard.

Clouds really do make you faster.

The energy boost even persisted through the walk home. It was weird, because I was actually concerned I would feel slow and tired. I am happy to be wrong!

There were a number of other runners out, but the trail was otherwise pretty quiet. Clouds make you faster, but they also scare away people. Some were dressed like it was suddenly mid-fall.

And while the lake trail was fine, the river trail was once again a Dogs Run Free zone, with multiple dogs running around sans leash. I’d call the city of Metro Vancouver or whatever, but know it’s pointless. It’s basically an honour system with no real enforcement, and about half of all dog owners seem to think their dogs are too precious for leashes. Whatever.

It still doesn’t take away from my buzz over such a pleasant and zippy run!

Stats:

Run 876
Average pace: 5:42/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW, short loop)
Start: 11:55 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:41
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 18°C
Humidity: 76-74%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 166.9
Total distance to date: 6,240 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (25/51/76)

I’m sure I’ve used that title before.

But it still fits! It was fairly humid and reasonably warm for today’s run. I started a little later than normal and only semi-cheated today, as I ran to the fountain at the Nature House (just over 2 km in) to grab a quick drink at the fountain.

I checked my watch multiple times in the last km. I wasn’t hurting, but I still wanted the run to end. I wanted to not run. I wanted to lay down in the warm, soft grass.

The starting km was at a more casual pace–I always think this will help me conserve energy for later in the run, but that never seems to happen, so it just drags down my overall pace. Speaking of pace, it was 6:02 in that first km, which is pretty dang slow. The good news is I at least maintained that pace for the second km.

But then I slipped to 6:13 for the third and sputtered to 6:18 for the fourth. I didn’t feel awful, I just had very little forward movement, which is necessary for running. I resolved to push a little for the final km, and did that one in my best overall of 5:58. This brought my overall average to 6:07/km, which is not good but is also not horrible.

The trail was fairly quiet, so I didn’t encounter many people. Between the second and third km, an excavator was digging out a ditch on the north side of the trail, presumably to help with drainage. There was a guy standing away from it on both sides, getting people to stop until they could signal to the excavator guy (EG) to stop digging. He did this by setting the shovel down gently on the trail, as if in solemn ceremony. I almost wanted to salute or bow or something. Instead, I just ran and offered a friendly little wave.

The day started with an early trip to the store, so at 2:47 p.m. I am already at 30,000+ steps. I think I may go lay down for a bit now.

Here’s to Friday’s run being hopefully a bit cooler and maybe a bit faster.

Stats:

Run 875
Average pace: 6:07/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:53 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:44
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 23-24°C
Humidity: 67-65%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 155
Weight: 167.0
Total distance to date: 6,235 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (20/43/63)