Run 590 Average pace: 5:47/km Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 7:15 pm
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 29:11
Weather: Hazy sun
Temp: 27-25ºC
Humidity: 51%
Wind: light
BPM: 166
Weight: 161.9 pounds
Total distance to date: 4530 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
The last few days the Lower Mainland has been blanketed with a thick haze from the many forest fires burning elsewhere. This exact same thing happened last year and just as it was back then, it makes for very humid, sticky runs. It was 27ºC, already on the warm side, though the sun itself was not hitting most of the trail. The parts where it was it painted the area with an otherworldly light, making it feel like I was jogging on an alien planet.
But one where you can still sweat, which I did. A lot.
My goal was the same as it’s been on recent runs–come in under 6:00/km and I did, ending with an average pace of 5:47/km. It’s better than recent runs at the lake, but slower than runs at the river, due to the mugginess leeching my will to move.
Other than the sticky conditions, the run went well. The knees were doing their thing, which is to say I could feel them, but they didn’t really slow me. At this point I’m almost used to how they feel. Almost.
The ickiest point was having a group of cyclists go flying by, kicking up a bunch of dust into the already particulate-rich air. And because there was little wind, I got to run through all of it. I mean, it wasn’t Shanghai-level air pollution, but it wasn’t great, either.
Also, there was a guy standing under the overpass next to a bike. He was wearing jeans and had a very dark tan, which I could see because he was shirtless. Not sexy, just shirtless. He was there the whole time. One pass he was talking into his phone, another drinking from a coffee mug, and yet another contemplating where his shirt had gone, perhaps. It was a bit odd. I didn’t make eye contact.
Other than that, the run went well, hothouse conditions notwithstanding. Onward to Thursday!
Run 589 Average pace: 5:54/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:51 am
Distance: 5:02 km
Time: 29:42
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 20ºC
Humidity: 69%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 167
Weight: 160.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 4525 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
Due to a nasty lingering summer cold, today was my first run in two weeks and I feared the little stamina I’d built up would swirl down some metaphorical drain. I was hoping to come in under 6:00/km again, but as I only managed that by one second last time, I was not optimistic.
But the weather was also drastically different–a mere 20ºC and cloudy. And I did something I never normally do. I checked my pace at each km (except the fourth because I missed the alert for that one). Normally I don’t want to know until it’s over, but I had a goal today and checking my pace would be helpful.
When the first km came in at 5:38/km, I was reasonably confident I could break six minutes. When the third km dipped to an even 6:00/km my confidence wavered slightly, but I pressed on and finished with a pace of 5:54/km, accomplishing the rare feat of being faster after a lay-off. My BPM was up, though, underscoring the extra effort I was putting in.
So overall I am delighted with the results. I experienced no real issues and the knees, while a tad creaky, held up.
Now, the bicycles. 😛
After coming off the second boardwalk and onto the lush resurfaced Pavilion Trail, I encountered what seemed like dozens of cyclists. It was a family numbering about six. One of the little boys had gotten too close to the edge of the trail and after resurfacing the edges are quite soft, so his bike folded over and went down in what may have been the world’s slowest bike accident. I had the music playing so I couldn’t hear the ensuing conversation, but the gesturing of the father suggested he was scolding his son for being a dummy. Of course, the accident never should have happened because NONE OF THEM SHOULD HAVE EVEN BEEN THERE. They also completely blocked the trail, forcing me to tackle the soft edge myself to get around them. They seemed oblivious to me.
I then encountered the same group again when I was walking out, but this time at a wider point and with all of them managing to stay upright. I hope they all got flats and then got fined by a parks worker, and were forced to walk their flat-tired bikes off the trail. Yes, even the kids. It’s the only way they’ll learn.
Still, even the cyclists couldn’t take away the pleasant feeling from the run. Showers were originally threatened, but never materialized, so I even got to stay dry. I’ll try to run during the week, but it looks like it may be warmer then.
Also, bonus image time! As I was heading out, I came across a tree that had collapsed just past the 1K mark. Poor, tired tree. It fell probably less than 10 meters from where another tree recently collapsed. Circle of life or secret tree suicide pact?
Tree collapses just past 1K mark. Should have trained more, obviously.
Run 588 Average pace: 5:59/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:29 am
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 30:07
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 24-28ºC
Humidity: 49%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 162
Weight: 162.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 4520 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
Do you know what happened on April 14, 2018? Well, you can assume a few things, like the sun rose, there was no nuclear war and so on, but in general you probably don’t remember a lot of specific details of that day.
That day was the last time I jogged at Burnaby Lake and had an average pace below 6:00/km–until today.
My pace today was…5:59/km. Yes, I beat the six minute mark by precisely one second, which could be a rounding error. But I’m taking it.
For this run I decided to start at the official 0K marker, run CCW over the dam and skip the side trails. I would be running only on the main, official Burnaby Lake Loop, to see how accurate the GPS on the phone really is. As it turns out, it was off even by the 1K mark. By the time I hit the 5K marker I was showing a distance of 4.82 km. Not catastrophically off, but not exactly super-precise, either. I had to run well past the marker to hit 5K, but at least I did so before hitting the next corner and getting back out into the cruel and unforgiving sun.
I also skipped the sun block and amazingly didn’t get burned. Because that already happened weeks ago, mainly.
I felt fine for most of the run, despite the heat, though it was easily the sweatiest run to date in terms of flicking it away from the sides of my eyes. I also did a lot of running after finishing the official 5K on the way out and maintained a good pace for those stretches, too.
The trail was a bit congested in weird ways, with long stretches featuring few, if any people, then I’d suddenly find myself approaching a couple from behind while another person walked toward them, and a runner or two behind that walker, all converging for the same spot at the same time. Thanks to dexterity, timing and luck, collisions were avoided.
The only real downside came after, with the knees feeling the most sore they’ve been in weeks, but I’ve been subjecting them the past week to daily 5K walks, a post-work run and today’s run, so this is not unexpected. It’s not horrible, just a nuisance. For now, at least.
Overall, it was a relief to finally break the 6:00/km mark again and the increased activity is definitely leading to improved stamina, as I’m no longer thinking, “Why won’t this run end?” on the 5Ks now. I’m not sure when I’ll try a 10K, but possibly sometime in August.
Run 587 Average pace: 5:55/km Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 6:34 pm
Distance: 5:04 km
Time: 30:50
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 31ºC
Humidity: 38%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 162
Weight: 163.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 4515 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
For the first time in a long time I actually ran after dinner. Yay!
In the middle of an Africa hot heatwave. Maybe not the best timing, but…
It went possibly better than expected. I sweated a lot but it was just humid enough to keep the dreaded dry mouth™ under control. I experienced a few moments of pushing too hard (for the weather) after the 4K mark, but it subsided quickly, and the knees were actually not feeling too bad at all.
Most of the river trail after 6 p.m. is under the shade of the tree canopy, which made a huge difference, too.
I also managed to stay under the six minute mark at 5:55/km, which pleases me greatly, the way catnip pleases a cat. Well, maybe not that much. Still, it was nice.
No real issues to report, except it was muggy and hot, starting at 31ºC and dropping a negligible one degree. Weather Underground said it “feels like 29ºC”, which is also negligible. 😛
BPM was actually down slightly–could it be more regular runs are actually starting to get me back into shape a little? Possibly.
If I stick to the schedule I should run again on Thursday, with the weather about the same. If my results hold up to tonight’s, that’ll be good enough for me.
Run 586 Average pace: 6:03/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:19 am
Distance: 5:02 km
Time: 30:25
Weather: Sunny with high cloud
Temp: 20-25ºC
Humidity: 53%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 164
Weight: 162.1 pounds
Total distance to date: 4510 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
Rather than exactly duplicating the last run, I decided to actually start on the other side of the dam, at the official 0K marker. I then took the three side trails (Spruce and Conifer Loops, Piper Mill Trail) as usual. This should have resulted in me hitting 5K before the actual 5K marker. Instead I hit 5K pretty much right at the 5K marker, so another 300 m or so seems to have gone missing again. This was backed up again by the fact that even though I immediately switched the activity to an Outdoor Walk, I was passing each km marker by a good 300+ m before dinging the next km on the app.
My theory is I have no theory. It’s just weird. I’m going to try the next lake run with just the watch, to see if it’s GPS produces different results. If they’re the same, then I’m just going to assume the earth’s rotation has changed or some kind of witchcraft is at play. If they’re different, then obviously I’ll have to spend $1300 and get a new phone this fall.
The run itself was technically faster. The pace was the same at 6:03/km, but today the overall time was a whopping seven seconds swifter. The splits were very consistent, all clustered between 6:00-6:06/km. I felt mostly fine, though I felt I was flagging a little around the 3K mark. One annoyance dogged me for about the first three km–the underside of my right foot was strangely sore, in a kind of “funny bone” way. It wasn’t painful and in fact it almost made me want to giggle in the same way hitting your elbow does. I think it may have slowed me up a little. I’m not sure what I did to my foot last night. Just another part of this weird run.
Even the trains were weird. I started on the Spruce Loop and there was a train trundling off to the right, as happens semi-regularly. I ran almost a full km before the train finally moved on–and it wasn’t exactly tootling along like it was being driven by a nice old grandma. What I’m saying is it was a mega-long train. Later, I became strangely entranced by a train while running the Cottonwood Trail. The trains do not normally entrance me, I’m not sure why this one did. As it happens, I looked down just in time to avoid stepping on a snake that was being unusually tardy in slithering off the path. It was also a drab brown instead of that splendorous black and gold, so it was obviously going camo. I think stepping on a snake is considered bad luck. Especially for the snake.
Finally, as I moved onto the trail adjacent to the sports fields and the final stretch, the geese were again lounging about in their new favorite spot, directly on the trail. As I approached the two geese actually in my way I clapped my hands, the universal gesture for “I have the right of way, you stupid geese” and they very casually waddled just enough to let me by. They were acting so chill, so cool, I had to check to see if they were wearing Ray Bans. Still, it beats them attacking me with their beaks.
The resurfaced South Shore Trail is pretty much done now and is all run-ready. The signs say they are also working on the Pavilion Trail, which is quite gnarly, so I’m curious to see how that goes.
Here’s a before/after shot of the same section before and after it was rolled/compressed.
I was farther back in the first shot, the pile of gravel was not twice as massive before they rolled it.
For someone in an ORV the resurfaced trail is now 200% less fun.
I actually had a good amount of stamina after the run, so I fell into a pattern where I would start running when I hit the next km )on the watch) and run until I felt like stopping, though sometimes I challenged myself with specific mini-goals (“Run to the end of the next boardwalk” or “Run until the bear stops chasing you”, things like that). My fastest walking pace was 6:36/km, which is actually not far off from my worst run pace, so I did quite a bit of running.
I’m not feeling any particular ill effects now and I’m going to start stretching to see how that affects the knees.
In theory my next run will be on Tuesday but it looks to be hot and I’ll be back at work, so no guarantees. I’ll definitely run in my mind, though. Yes.
Run 585 Average pace: 6:03/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:47 pm
Distance: 5:04 km
Time: 30:32
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 19-23ºC
Humidity: 69%
Wind: light
BPM: 163
Weight: 161.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 4505 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
Today I ran the same route as my previous run, with a few differences:
I ran in the early afternoon instead of early morning
it was more humid
it was cloudy
it was 19-23ºC instead of 24-28ºC
That last one is the big one.
I actually felt kind of energetic and in fact my first km was under the six minute mark. The rest were not, alas, but I still came in at 6:03/km, a nine-second improvement over the last run and a move (ho ho) in the right direction. My knees are a bit sore after but I really don’t feel they made a difference in the run itself. My right calf is also a bit sore, but not from the last run. I think I pulled it while sleeping, perhaps while dreaming of some future dystopia I may yet live to see.
Overall, then, I was pleased by the improvement (BPM also down to 163), but was left a bit disappointed that I didn’t break the 6:00/km mark..and a bit puzzled, too.
Normally when I run counter-clockwise at the lake I run the three optional loops. Because I start a bit past the official 0K marker, the additional loops help pad the difference, so I usually end a 5K run near the actual 5K marker. But today that didn’t happen. In fact, I finished well past the marker, as illustrated below.
Google Maps put this at about 365 m, which is, well, quite a bit past 5 km. I’m not sure if the tracking just went bonkers for a bit or what, but I remember looking at the watch as I neared the 5K marker and when it reported 4.67 km I was displeased. I was displeased for another 365 m. 😛
But overall I’m happy with the run, regardless of how the technology recorded my efforts. I felt zippy enough to do a lot of running on the way back, at one point bringing my walking pace below 8:00/km.
This was the first run of the season where the FIRE DANGER signs were out, ironically on a day that started cloudy and cooler than the past week. The sun came out shortly after the run and it warmed up, but I was fine with the clouds. That and the increased humidity kept my mouth from drying out. Also being a weekday there were few others on the trail. They were doing active work on the Southshore Trail, piling on more gravel. Running clockwise would have put me on this, which would be less than ideal for running. Once they roll this stuff down so it’s nice and compacted it will be a thing of tree root-free beauty.
On the reptile watch another sneaky snake slithered silently into the brush as I approached. It was a black and gold garter snake. I’m thinking there’s one giant black and gold garter snake family here. I also noticed, for the first time, a turtle sunning itself on a log in one of the ponds adjacent to the lake. He looked very content.
I am tentatively planning another run on Friday and the weather looks to be similar, so it shall prove interesting to see how it compares to the last two.
Run 584 Average pace: 6:12/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:21 am
Distance: 5:04 km
Time: 31:18
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 24-28ºC
Humidity: 50%
Wind: light
BPM: 167
Weight: 162.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 4500 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
I hit a new milestone today, or, I suppose, a kilometerstone, passing 4,500 km officially run. It’s actually more than that, but I wasn’t really tracking much (or at all) in the early days. 4,500 km is enough to pretty much go from the west coast of Canada to the east coast, depending on where exactly you start and stop. It did take me nine years to reach this, so jogging may not be the most practical way (for me) to cross the country.
My last run was 22 days ago, on June 22, and with the return of warm, sunny weather, my goal today was to simply finish and not feel horrible after. Mission accomplished!
While the pace of 6:12/km is certainly not blazingly fast, it *is* ten seconds better than my previous run at the lake, which is kind of impressive given that happened 27 days ago. I actually did not feel bad and managed to pick up the pace in the last km, too. I did feel the knees, but they were no better or worse than the last half dozen runs or so. I was surprised my stamina held up as the temperature climbed from 24ºC to 28ºC during the run. Equally surprising was the minimal sweating, perhaps due to the humidity hovering around 50%, coupled with a light and refreshing breeze. For an Africa hot run, it was pretty tolerable.
Also, a few new things on the trail since my last run. The UH OH BEARS sign is out again for the season, and the stretch of trail from the western boardwalk to the area resurfaced last year has also been resurfaced, with one small section still waiting its top coat of compressed gravel/dirt. This was a pleasant surprise, though it did mean the one unique corner on a hill was smoothed out. It was also fun to cut in short when going counter-clockwise, but now it’s just a regular corner.
The Cottonwood Trail remains as rooty as ever, but they are running out of sections to resurface, so it may get done in the next year or so, if they stick to the same rough schedule.
Overall, this was a pleasant return and went much better than it might have, given the conditions and the time between runs. Now to build on this without my knees collapsing.
The best part actually came after I finished the run. There was a woman jogging ahead of me, but her pace was what one might describe as languid, so languid that I actually caught up and passed her–while walking. That’s definitely a first. Shortly after passing her I turned a corner and saw the poopmonsters were again cluttering up the trail at the north end of the sports fields. I eased up to let the “jogger” go first and draw their fire. It turned out that not much of anything happened. You can see one goose in particular still flapping its wings in umbrage in this shot as she passes by, but the rest just went about with their usual goose-standing, goose-grooming and, of course, goose-stepping:
Run 583 Average pace: 5:33/km Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 5:04 pm
Distance: 5:05 km
Time: 28:03
Weather: High cloud, some sun
Temp: 20ºC
Humidity: 53%
Wind: light
BPM: 168
Weight: 164.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 4495 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
There were a few changes for today’s run: I went on the river trail, it was significantly cooler than the last run, and I ran on a Friday, which I normally don’t do. This was my first run during the week, which means I had four days off since the last run, one day more than I’d like. But I was well-rested, at least.
High cloud effectively blotted out the sun, making the run even more comfortable than it would have been otherwise.
I had a few goals:
keep my BPM under 170
try to come in under 6:00/km for the first time in a hundred years or so
not feel the need to shout obscenities at the end
Happily, I accomplished every goal, though my BPM increased over Sunday’s run from 164 to 168. That was likely due to the pace. Where last Sunday I eked out a terrible 6:18/km, today–hoping for something in the 5:50ish range–I came in at a better-than-expected 5:33/km. I don’t think I’ve ever improved my pace from one run to the next by 45 seconds before.
I actually picked up the pace in the second km, going from 5:30 to 5:25 before starting to feel a bit tired during the fourth km. I slowed, but that gave me enough gas to finish the fifth km with a pace of 5:31/km, nearly matching my start.
Best of all, I felt no cramps, discomfort or anything else bothersome, other than the knees feeling a bit sore but not actively shrieking in pain for me to stop. I did watch a bug come at my face and bounce off my cheek, just below my right eye. That was a little weird.
In all, it was a tremendous relief to finally get back under the 6:00/km pace again. The previous six runs were all between 6:00-6:22/km. The last time I managed to be under was when I hit 5:49/km back on April 14, more than two months ago. Ay caramba. The last run on the river was way back on March 24 and I was a little faster then at 5:27/km.
I’m planning on running again on Sunday and will decide on whether I want to try the horror of Burnaby Lake again or stick to the river trail. The river trail is better for the ego, but the lake is more interesting. Hmm.
Run 581 Average pace: 6:15/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:40 pm
Distance: 1.98 km
Time: 12:25
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 28ºC
Humidity: 33%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 164
Weight: 164 pounds
Total distance to date: 4487 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
Run 582 Average pace: 6:22/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 1:02 pm
Distance: 3:01 km
Time: 19:14
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 28ºC
Humidity: 32%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 164
Weight: 164 pounds
Total distance to date: 4490 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
I got started later than expected, but it didn’t look like it would be too hot, as the temperature was around 24ºC when I headed out. I originally planned on running at the river but the lack of shade convinced me to go ahead and do a counter-clockwise circuit on the lake instead. Was this a miscalculation? Read on to see!
By the time I got to the lake the temperature had gone up to 28ºC. This is Africa Hot territory, it’s significantly warmer than the last run (16ºC) and I’d kind of skipped out on the runs during the week, so I was going in with a full week off. Plus I’d walked the lake loop yesterday, which might have left me feeling tired (though I felt fine heading out).
I started off and thought I’d push just a little for the first km, knowing my pace would surely droop after, so it might lift my average time a bit. I averaged 6:04/km, which is already not great. By the time I neared the 2K mark I had crashed out to 6:28/km, which is very bad for less than 2 km of running. I did not feel good. I mulled my options, then decided to call the run there (had I looked at the watch I would have pushed the wee bit to make it an even 2 km because I’m obsessive like that).
I switched to a walk and after about a km I felt recovered enough to start running again. I set a goal of 5 km but would be satisfied by just picking up the remaining 3km of my original 5K.
I definitely felt better hitting the 2K mark this time, but I was exercising a lot of caution. Even then, as I got into the sun-baked stretch leading up the bridge at Deer Lake Brook, I knew I would stop at 3 km. I looked at my watch a lot. I finally hit 3K shortly before the bridge and happily switched over to walking again.
The walk out actually went fairly well.
The factors playing into this stop-start run would seem to be:
lack of regular running leading to generally lower stamina level
the knees complicating things in their own way
significantly hotter weather
strong breeze contributing to dry mouth/thirst
On the plus side, I did get in 5K, just not all in one go. I didn’t give up, I regrouped and tried again–and succeeded. My BPM, despite the high temperature, was actually down from last week. If you combine the two times you get an average pace of 6:18/km, which is nearly identical to last week when the weather wasn’t really hot and gross.
On the negative, I felt like I was running on the proverbial empty tank. I was hot and bothered in the not-sexy way. I know I could have kept pushing on the first run and probably made it to 5K, but it would have been a protracted experience of misery. I’m happy to know my limits and work with them.
With Jeff away on dirt bike vacation next week, I have no real reason to not run after dinner, though it looks to still be hot. I ponder my options. Maybe I can carry a watering can and just keep sprinkling water over my head. Or hook up some VR simulation and go for a very convincing facsimile of a run.
Run 580 Average pace: 6:17/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 12:05 pm
Distance: 5:04 km
Time: 31:44
Weather: Sun and cloud
Temp: 16ºC
Humidity: 54%
Wind: light to strong
BPM: 168
Weight: 162.1 pounds
Total distance to date: 4485 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
I originally planned to run at the river today, as it would involve less walking and the run itself would be on a much gentler course. I changed my mind and headed to the lake, opting for a counter-clockwise course. I set out on a deliberately slower pace to see if I could overcome the feeling of my stamina collapsing and the nausea I felt at the very end.
And then two trees got in my way.
I started off the run, crossing the small bridge at Silver Creek, hooked left, then hooked right…and a rather large tree was sitting across the trail. A runner from the other direction popped out on the left side, demonstrating that is was possible to get by, but I opted to turn around and reluctantly do a repeat of the same clockwise route I’d done on Wednesday. I made the decision after only a few moments, so I kept the run timer going.
A parks worker was on hand with chainsaw, just getting started on the fallen tree.
I made my way over the dam, past the parking lot, then turned onto the Avalon Trail…where another fallen tree laid across the path.
This is the view looking back, toward the parking lot:
I stopped my run (0.75 km completed) and contemplated. I decided to get on the other side of this tree, start my run over and hope the trail was not festooned with more trees blown down by yesterday’s apparently vicious rainstorm.
Fortunately these were the only two, it was just weird that they were both near the start of the trail, as if it was an omen telling me to stay away.
The slower pace worked, though. I came in at 6:17/km, so three seconds off the previous run. What that bought me in exchange was, sadly, not a lower BPM, which stubbornly stayed at 168, but it did result in a run that was a lot more comfortable.
The first two km were very similar to last time, while the last km was much slower (it actually matched the overall pace of 6:17). The difference today is that I didn’t feel like I was running out of gas, I just kept going along at a deliberate pace and when the run was over, a stream of expletives did not emerge from my mouth, I just switched to an outdoor walk and kept going (the walk back broke the 9:00/km average again).
While I am disappointed at the average pace consistently being over 6:00/km now, I must admit that the knees are probably a bigger factor than the stamina. While they don’t hurt in a painful way during the run, I can feel them and I suspect they are inhibiting my speed without me being fully aware of it. Oh well. All I can do is take good care of them between runs, perhaps by petting them and telling them how great they are. “Who’s a good knee? You’re a good knee! Yes, you are!”
Importantly, this was the first time in a long time that I completed three runs in a week, having run on Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday. I’ll try to repeat this going forward and will report the results, possibly in tears, possibly through clenched teeth, but always on this here blog.
Also, they were paving Major Street, which added about half a km as I detoured on my walk back. I didn’t want to risk walking over extremely fresh asphalt, though I was temped. In the end common sense won out over laziness. This meant the last few blocks were up a somewhat steep grade, which is not exactly the way I prefer ending a run, but it’s better than being hit by a blimp.
Run 579 Average pace: 6:14/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 12:36 pm
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 31:21
Weather: Sun and cloud
Temp: 18-20ºC
Humidity: 44%
Wind: light
BPM: 168
Weight: 163.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 4480 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
Or at least it felt like it.
I headed out again with two full days off, my first back-to-back(ish) runs in a long time. Usually when I do this my pace is faster on the second run because I am a tiny bit more in shape than the previous run.
That did not happen today.
I expected the knees to be sore from the start and they were. In fact, the 4 km walk to the lake seemed to stretch out way beyond 4 km, which was not a good sign. But it was warmer and semi-sunny, so I set off with slow-and-steady being the favored approach.
The first km was actually not that bad. I came in at 5:48/km, which is faster than the previous run. By the second km the wheels were wobbly, slipping to 6:12/km, a fair bit slower than the previous run.
And then the wheels came off. For the third and fourth km, my pace was 6:34 and 6:49/km. By this point my knees actually didn’t feel bad, but my stamina had packed up and left the country. The gas had been siphoned from the tank. Elvis had left the building.
I didn’t just feel slow today, I was slow. I plodded. I thought about pausing the run and walking for awhile. I thought about stopping at the 4K mark. As I neared the last stretch by the athletic fields every step felt like I was getting no closer. I looked at my distance. 4.84 km. Normally that’s a number I laugh at as I sail to the finish. Instead, it felt like it would not move. I keep looking, seeing it go up in horribly small increments. I finally heard the triumphant ding that signaled 5K completed and congratulated myself for still being upright.
My external monologue immediately after (and it was external, between gasps for oxygen) went something like this:
“Fuck.”
“Fuck.”
“Fuck.”
“Fuck, that was hard.”
“Fuck.”
I used my potty mouth quota for the entire month in the space of a few seconds.
In a final irony, the walk back went fairly briskly, with a rare sub-9 minute pace of 8:58/km, so neither knees nor stamina were an issue once I actually finished the run (or perhaps more accurately after the run finished me).
The higher temperature and sun likely played a factor. I sweated a small amount, which is more than I have for most of the spring. Still, the complete bottoming out was weird and a little disturbing. I even ran the “easier” side of the lake, going clockwise. It made no difference.
On the plus side, I didn’t stop early, I never switched to walking, and I actually picked up the pace in the final km, even if I felt a little like barfing those final few steps. On the neutral side my BPM was the same as last time–168–which is higher than I like, but still below the threshold of 170.
I am both curious and terrified at what the next run might be like.
Here are the splits with bonus commentary.
KM
Time per km
Comment
1
5:48
A decent start. Knees sore.
2
6:12
Getting kind of tired already. Not thinking about knees as much.
Run 578 Average pace: 6:03/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 1:36 pm
Distance: 5:04 km
Time: 30:31
Weather: Light showers
Temp: 15ºC
Humidity: 75%
Wind: light
BPM: 168
Weight: 163 pounds
Total distance to date: 4475 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
My last run was on May 12. That was 22 days or two infections ago.
Surprisingly, my pace actually improved after three weeks off.
I was not looking forward to the run for three reasons:
the long time off meant the run would feel a lot harder than it would otherwise
my knees
the rain because I can say with 100% certainty, I never enjoy running in the rain
The knees were not a real factor. I could feel them at the start, but after a few minutes they were fine and not a factor. They felt worse, as they have the last few months, on the walk back.
The rain was fairly light throughout, though it never fully stopped. Still, it was as close to not being obnoxious as it could get, and dry mouth was not an issue. Or dry anything.
Stamina was definitely an issue. At several points (I remember around the 3K mark in particular) the idea of just stopping and not running was a delightful and enticing notion. I pressed on, even as the slight uphill grade on the Cottonwood Trail seemed like a mighty mountain pass.
My pace was fairly steady, slowing a few seconds for the first three km, then actually picking up for the last two. The last km I actually came in under 6:00/km and my overall pace of 6:03/km was six seconds better than the previous run.
Despite the rain there were more people out than I expected and save for a couple at Piper Spit, none of them had umbrellas and many didn’t even have any headgear. I guess people don’t mind getting wet if it’s warmer.
Speaking of getting wet, I ran into some weird technical issues on the walk back that I think were weather-related.
For the run, I shuffled a playlist on the phone and locked the screen of the watch, so wacky things wouldn’t happen if it got wet (I have verified said wacky behavior in the past). After the run I switched to an Open Goal Outdoor Walk, and I did not lock the watch as the rain was very light at that point. That may have been an error, as after .45 km, the walk spontaneously turned into a 5K outdoor run. I was alerted to this when it noted I was at the halfway point after 2.5 km. I stopped the run shortly after, switched to an outdoor walk, locked the watch, and all was well until I got home.
Meanwhile, I assume the wet watch was also responsible for my music playback going bonkers. The music player kept stopping songs early and skipping to the next track. It got so annoying I paused the music and kept it paused. It spontaneously unpaused about a minute later, then started madly skipping ahead of songs again. I paused once more and at that point the watch display was locked, so it behaved after that. Lesson learned. If it rains–even a little–lock the watch.
The rain also brought out the first slugs I’ve seen in a long time, testing my rusty slug-dodging skills. I don’t believe I orphaned any slug families.
Also, as I was nearing the Cottonwood Trail I spotted a cyclist. Before starting my run, a parks worker had set out on the same counter-clockwise route and sure enough, she met the cyclist. They appeared to have a pleasant exchange, she asked him to dismount and walk his bike, then they parted ways, so he apparently got off with a warning. About 1.5 km father along I passed a young couple riding bikes, heading toward the same park worker. I figure there was a 50/50 chance she fined rather than warned them, having already used her “friendly reminder” up on the first guy (also, there is no way to enter the trail without passing at least one “No Cycling” sign, so claiming ignorance is not an especially convincing strategy). I can’t say I wanted the couple to be fined, but I wouldn’t have been sad, either.
Overall, the run went a little better than expected, though my BPM was on the higher side at 168, but that was perhaps to be expected with the amount of time off between runs. I really ought to start going out more often, knees willing.
