Exercise

This is what a difference in the weather makes. It was cloudy and cooler, leading me to lop an impressive 22 seconds off my average pace while running the same route. My BPM also dropped from 164 on Wednesday to 151 today.

In all, it was nice to get back to more runner-friendly conditions.

The FIRE DANGER signs are back up and that is usually followed by showers. Just as I was checking my stats post-run I felt the first few drops. To be fair, it never amounted to much more than drizzle, so the signs will likely stay up for more than 24 hours.

And when I say I ran the same route, this is mostly true, because at the 4.11 km mark I was passing a guy who smiled at me in polite acknowledgement. I nodded back and was going to keep running, but he had that “I want to talk to you” look, so I paused the run and he advised me that up farther on the Cottonwood Trail several people had just seen a bear and he had just turned back himself. I thanked him for the bears-up, turned around and finished the remainder of the run going back the way I came. The lake loop has some pretty good lines of sight, but there are also a fair number of blind corners and turning a corner while running directly toward a bear has never struck me as a good idea, so the decision to turn back was an easy one. This effectively lopped off about two km or so from my walk back, which was fine by me.

In all, a nice, if somewhat unusual, conclusion to the week, running-wise.

Stats:

Run 943
Average pace: 5:47/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, mostly)
Start: 10:47 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:07
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 20°C
Humidity: 72-70%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 167.9
Total distance to date: 6,547.5 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (142.5/301.5/444)

Music: 2x4, Guadalcanal Diary

It is set to hit 30C or higher today in New Westminster, so I made sure to get out relatively early to beat the heat. And I did, kind of.

It was 23C when I started the run, 24 by the end. This is warmer than usual but below my arbitrary ceiling of 25C, after which it starts to get uncomfortable (so says I). If you take into account the “feels like” temperature, it was actually already at that point.

I started out slower than normal and marginally picked up the pace before the end, but given how it felt, I’m content with a pace of 6:09/km and a BPM of 154. While the sun was at my back during the long stretch along the Cottonwood Trail, it was still beating down mercilessly and I did not like it.

On the plus side, there were four topless joggers and no dogs off-leash.

Stats:

Run 942
Average pace: 6:09/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 9:44 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:55
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 23-24°C
Humidity: 57-54%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 154
Weight: 167.6
Total distance to date: 6,542.5 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (137.5/288.5/426)

Music: The Queen is Dead, The Smiths

I missed two runs last week for not-great reasons, so I was determined to get out today, and I did!

As I headed out, the sky was overcast but it was already 20C. By the time I started my run, it had mostly cleared up, but the temperature actually stayed 20C, though it was a tad humid at 74%. Despite missing a few runs, I didn’t encounter any issues.

I adopted a more moderate pace and while I did beat my pace of a week ago by posting 6:05/km, it was still a bit pokey. I will probably start putting in a bit more effort next week, as the rest of this week looks Africa hot.

Speaking of hot, I took advantage of the fountain by the dam pre-run, the one by the playground post-run and the one at the Nature House, which is situated about three km after where I ended my run. It was, as they say, more the humidity than the heat.

There were people about, including one person running with a dog off-leash (tip: this is not a good idea), though the dog was at least focused. It seemed there was a fair amount of coyote poop about. I think. I am not a wild animal poop expert. But there were definitely piles of berry pits on the trail in poop-like piles.

In any case, it was good to be be back out.

Stats:

Run 941
Average pace: 6:05/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:07 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:34
Weather: Mostly sunny
Temp: 20°C
Humidity: 74-70%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 152
Weight: 167.6
Total distance to date: 6,537.5 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (132.5/275.5/408)

Music: The Game, Queen

I pondered what to do today: Regular 5K? Wee 2.5K? 5K but short loop? In the end, I did a regular 5K but adopted a more moderate pace from the outset–the first km was a leisurely 6:13/km and I was remarkably consistent, only picking up the pace a bit for the final lap and ending with an overall pace of 6:11/km. Slower than usual, but it was also warmer and I am clearly not at 100% capacity for stamina post-chest cold yet.

I didn’t have any issues, though, thanks to the more modest pace.

A snake almost got squished, though, as the title notes. I was running through one of those patchy sun/shade areas and did not see a garter snake sunning itself in one of the sunny patches until the last moment. I lengthened my stride into a ind of step/jump to get over it, and it was only as I passed above that the snake finally moved and slithered off the trail. A lucky snake!

Large stretches of the run were curiously quiet, too. I don’t think I saw anyone else on the trail for the first 3 km, then a bunch of people appeared on the Cottonwood Trail, where we all baked a little in the unrelenting sun (don’t worry, showers are called for tomorrow).

I also took a brief break at the Nature House, about halfway through the run, to get a drink at the fountain. This had no appreciable effect on my pace, good or bad.

Overall, it was nice to get back to my regular routine, but this is the most tired I’ve felt post-run in a good while.

Stats:

Run 940
Average pace: 6:11/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:08 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 31:08
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 21-22°C
Humidity: 66-62%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 165.8
Total distance to date: 6,532.5 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (127.5/262.5/390)

Music: Out of Time, R.E.M.

Today’s run was book ended by intermittent showers, but fortunately it stayed dry for the actual run itself. The continuing lousy early summer weather meant there were few people on the trail.

But I also started quite late, because I was very unmotivated in the morning. By the time I started the run, it was already just past 1 p.m. I didn’t have any particular plan, other than just doing a regular 5K to round out the week.

I started with a comfortable first km and a pace of 6:02/km. This seemed maybe too comfortable, so I picked it up, ending with a final lap of 5:27/km, a difference of 35 seconds between slowest and fastest km, probably one of the most extreme gaps I’ve ever had (hence the title).

Even with the stronger finish and a respectable overall pace of 5:47/km, my BPM was still only 147. It seems my stamina is finally getting better again, woo.

There’s not much else to report–no issues body-wise, no weird aberrations in the weather or on the trail. I did notice a very small tear in the upper of my left show. It’s possible it snagged on something, as the right shoe doesn’t have a mirror-image hole that would suggest a structural defect/weakness.

Onward to next week and possible days without rain.

Stats:

Run 938
Average pace: 5:47/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 1:08 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:04
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 17°C
Humidity: 72%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 147
Weight: 166.7
Total distance to date: 6,525 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (120/241.5/261.5)

Music: Rumours, Fleetwood Mac

This was a weird one.

My Garmin Forerunner 255 has an option called Suggested Workout where it will…suggest a workout when you start an activity. I have this set to on, because I’m curious what the machine thinks I should be doing. I always dismiss it and run my usual 5K, but this morning, I decided to follow the suggested workout:

8.5 km/h for 35 minutes

This works out to an average pace of just over 7 minutes/km, which is significantly slower than my usual pace.

I started out a few hours later than usual, to hopefully avoid showers in the morning. That part worked, as it was actually mostly sunny for the run itself, but fortunately still with temperatures in the mid-teens.

As I started, I noted that the workout has its own display rather than the one I usually see, showing three things:

Current pace
Countdown timer
Distance

This was different, but OK. The countdown made it seem a little exciting. Only 30 minutes to go! Only ten minutes! Only 5!

But remember where I said 7 minutes/km is much slower than my usual pace? The first km, the watch kept scolding me: TOO FAST. It will let you get above the desired pace for a bit, but if you stay a certain level above the acceptable range for too long, you get the warning. When you drop back into the accepted range, the watch lets you know you have done this, then goes back to the regular countdown view.

Trying to maintain the same speed is hard. Trying to do it when on a trail that constantly twists, turns and dips adds to the challenge. Trying to do it when it’s so much slower than your usual pace is…aggravating.

But I persevered and for most of the rest of the way, the TOO FAST alarms didn’t pop up very often. When I got to the final km–where I usually apply the gas a bit–the warnings began popping up, and for the last 30 seconds or so I just ignored everything and ran.

When the countdown reached zero, I was told the workout was concluded, but the run keeps going after that until you end it. I ran just a bit farther to hit 5K and stopped.

I got a grade for my effort: 88%, which it deemed Good. If I had hewed closer to 8.5 km/h I would have rated higher. I was then asked to rate two aspects of the run:

• The effort. I chose Light. I pondered briefly on Moderate, but Light was right, because I had to force myself repeatedly to run slower.
• How I felt. I chose Strong, because the challenge was in not going too fast.

As you can see by the stats below, they are quite a bit outside the norm. My pace is 6:53/km (TOO FAST), which is over a minute slower than my previous run (5:46) and my BPM was a mere 141. No issues experienced on the run, of course, though I did have to dodge some glass on the trail around the 3K mark. Not sure what was up with that.

Overall, an interesting experiment, but one I am not eager to try again.

Stats:

Run 934
Average pace: 6:53/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:17 a.m.
Distance: 5.0 km
Time: 34:25
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 15-17°C
Humidity: 83-76%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 141
Weight: 167.2
Total distance to date: 6,505 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (100/210/310)

Music: Lifes Rich Pageant, R.E.M.

It was a little warmer today and a little less humid, but fine.

I did not have any particular goal, but when my first km came in at a somewhat leisurely 5:51/km, I decided to step up the speed a little and finished with a nice Monday overall pace of 5:46/km, with the last one being 5:30.

For the first 1.5 km I did not see anyone else–no runners, walkers, coyotes, bears, pigeons, penguins. Nothing! After that I saw some people, but surprisingly few joggers.

The run itself went without incident. When I pushed I didn’t feel like I was overexerting and my BPM was 152–lower than last Friday, to go with the lower speed. It’s all logical up in the hizzy, as the kids say¹I suspect few, if any kids, actually say this..

Well, there was one incident. Around 3 km or so into the run, a bug hit my face, right near my mouth. I swiped at it and it came off on my hand. I think I had murdered it, or maybe it struck me with lethal force. Either way, I wiped the ex-bug on my shorts and kept going. The only other stuff that hit me was cottonwood dander, of which there is still a surprising amount floating about, kind of like the flakes of snow you see before the start of a snowstorm. There was also a pile of poop right in the middle of the trail about 6 km in, and I suspect it was left by a coyote or bear. Bear signs are all over. I’ve even though about wearing a bell to make noise, like people do with cats so they can’t indulge in their natural instinct to murder birds. In this case it would be more to let any bears know I’m coming, so please just move along, preferably back up into the mountains.

Anyway, it was a fine start to the week, as far as running goes.

Stats:

Run 933
Average pace: 5:46/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 9:03 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:59
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 15-16°C
Humidity: 68-65%
Wind: light
BPM: 152
Weight: 168.4
Total distance to date: 6,500 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (95/197/292)

Music: Eve, The Alan Parsons Project