Exercise

The weather was quite nice for running today–pleasant and cloudy, with a light breeze. I wore new shoes, Brooks Caldera 5s (I previously wore and still have the Caldera 4s). The main difference between them is the 5s have a much more cushioned sole, which is what I wanted as I resumed running. I can go pseudo-minimalist once I confirm my left foot won’t explode or something.

The new shoes were fine. The laces stayed tied, which is always nice, and the toe box, though smaller had enough wiggle room. I did opt for a size 9 instead of my usual 8.5, though.

As for the run, I felt strangely winded after the first km and happened to see it just as it came up on the watch–my pace was a zippy 5:36/km. I could not sustain this, so eased up. The good news is other than feeling especially sloggy midway through, I still managed to ramp up toward the end and finished under the six-minute mark, with a pace of 5:57/km. Not bad for only my fourth run of the year.

When I do my next run (tentatively set for Wednesday) I will equal the number of runs I did in all of 2020.

Overall, I am pleased at how this went, especially given that my faster pace still had a lower BPM. Woo.

Stats:

Run 654
Average pace: 5:57/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 12:57 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:57
Weather: Cloudy, some sun
Temp: 16ºC
Humidity: 59%
Wind: light
BPM: 156
Weight: 178
Total distance to date: 4880 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (5 km)

I returned to the river trail today for a mid-afternoon run under pleasant conditions. With the temperature a full seven degrees cooler than the last river run, I expected to be faster–and I was! I finished with a pace of 6:02/km, which is actually closer to breaking the six-minute mark than I’d have expected on only my third full run of the year. I went back and checked 2020, and it turns out that In Our First Year of Pandemic I only ran five times, so I’m only short two runs from matching that puny effort.

I started and ended at the same pace–5:49/km–and would have probably come in under six minutes if I had not sagged slightly in the middle. No big deal, though, as I consider myself to still be quite flabby and way off from peak form. My BPM was up a bit, but that matches the extra speed, so I am not ready to go into full Zoidberg “whoop whoop whoop whoop!” panic just yet.

No notable issues were encountered, though I am reminded again of how important it is to use the bathroom before running, as running jostles your bladder and bowels and these are more than just distractions when you gotta go mid-jog.

Stats:

Run 653
Average pace: 6:02/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 2:57 p.m.
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 30:18
Weather: Sun and high cloud
Temp: 20ºC
Humidity: 51%
Wind: light
BPM: 158
Weight: 179.2
Total distance to date: 4875 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 4 (25 km)

Today I decided to take advantage of the cooler weather to go for a longer run, at least in terms of total distance–I still kept the run part to 5K.

A few actual sprinkles at the start made me switch at the last minute to a long-sleeved running shirt, but this ultimately proved unnecessary, as the sprinkle ended before the run started and only briefly returned after I was done.

As for the run itself, my pace was slower–as expected–due to the lake trail being a lot more fiddly than the wide, flat expanse that is the river trail, but it was in line with what I was expecting. Around midway through, I almost started developing a stitch in my lower left back, but it ultimately fizzled out before amounting to anything. My feet held up and while my legs may be a bit stiff tomorrow, I emerged otherwise intact. Woo!

It felt good to be back at the lake and the combo of it being a weekday and also a rather gloomy one for mid-August meant there were few people on the trail–and no dogs at all!

Some random notes:

• A construction crew was shoring up the river bank and I had to navigate between trucks and a running excavator to get past them. This is where making eye contact with the people operating machines that can smush you is very important.
• The trail on the lake was in generally good shape with no puddles from the showers, and work proceeds on the resurfacing between Piper Spit and Phillips Point. This leaves the area around the athletic fields as the one last major stretch that needs resurfacing. Some original resurfacing is starting to show its age, but is still generally holding up.
• The Spruce Loop has multiple trees that are leaning very conspicuously over the trail. I suspect the next major wind storm will topple at least one of them.
• The bridge at Dear Lake Brook has a few steps that feel like they are on the verge of collapse. I’m kind of surprised they haven’t started work on a replacement bridge yet. Maybe next year!
• I did three walks instead of two (normally one to the lake, one coming back from the lake) because I accidentally ended the second one early. I’d still like to see a confirmation for ending a workout on the Apple Watch, so you can hit the “No, I did that by accident” button.
• Splits show a pretty typical pattern: Fast(ish) start, slowing by the middle, then picking up toward the end.
• The spibelt pretty much flopped. It kept drooping, low enough to start bumping into my junk, which is not something you really want while running. I’m not sure if it’s because the iPhone 12 is bigger and heavier than the iPhone 8 I used previously, because the belt is too loose, or because the donut I have on the waist currently is pushing it down. Fortunately, the phone actually sits pretty still in the pocket of my shorts, so I just ran with it tucked away in the left front pocket.

Stats:

Run 652
Average pace: 6:16/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:57 p.m.
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 31:30
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 16ºC
Humidity: 82%
Wind: light
BPM: 154
Weight: 178.2
Total distance to date: 4870 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 4 (20 km)

A little while back, I checked my running stats and discovered that I hadn’t completed a 5K since September 2020. Egad. And I haven’t even been injured. The global pandemic, for all the terrible stuff it has wreaked upon the world, actually gave me more time to run, but the will evaporated.

I vowed to get in another 5K before the first anniversary of my last run came up, and today was that day, woo!

I did my usual walk down the river trail but when I got to the end of Cariboo Place, I stopped the walk and started a 5K run, the first in 342 (!) days.

I knew my pace would be slow–and it was–but surprisingly, it was actually better than that last run in September 2020, though BPM was a little higher, but still in a comfortable range.

I actually felt fine, though had forgotten just how dry your mouth can get when you run in the summer. Apparently doing little 2K runs isn’t enough to fully dry you out, but a 5K is more than plenty. Given how it’s generally getting hotter now, I may have to think about some sort of water bottle again.

My bad foot (the left) behaved. I was starting to get pretty tired by the 4K mark and almost thought of pausing the run when lo! My left shoelace came untied (for the second time), giving me the perfect excuse to stop and catch my breath. I continued on fine after that.

In terms of splits, I was faster than expected for the first km at 5:46/km and stayed under 6:00/m for the second, but began to lose steam after that.I finished stronger, though, so that brief respite to tie my show really seemed to help me tap into my last energy reserves.

Conditions were not great, but could have been worse. At 27C, it was warmer than I’f prefer and it felt humid, but at least the smoke of the last few days had cleared up.

Overall, it felt good just to pull it off. I’m not exactly sure when I will run next, but it will be sooner than 11 months. 😛

Stats:

Run 651
Average pace: 6:08/km
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 3:45 p.m.
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 30:51
Weather: High cloud, some sun
Temp: 27ºC
Humidity: 43%
Wind: light
BPM: 156
Weight: 177.1
Total distance to date: 4865 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 4 (15 km)