Exercise

Run 542: Unplanned, fast and Friday

Run 542
Average pace: 5:22/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:16 am
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 53:54
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 12ºC
Humidity: 70%
Wind: light
BPM: 170
Weight: 154.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 4217 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

I booked today off to get an extra-long Thanksgiving weekend, so I could make the most of resting and relaxing.

The relaxing started early as I opted to skip my usual Thursday evening run. I compensated today but heading out this morning for a run at the river or lake. I really didn’t know, I just headed out.

It was 12ºC the whole time but with little wind, so it felt cool but not cold. Still, this was one of the first days where the weather had a much more tangible feel to it. The sky threatened rain but the forecast said it likely wouldn’t happen until the afternoon, so I figured I’d probably be good.

Save for a few drops right at the end of the run, I was.

I opted for the lake and originally thought I’d stick to a 5K but instead did a full loop and turned in a pace of 5:22/km, shaving three seconds off my previous best. I was not expecting this.

The trail was pretty quiet, with only a few other runners and a couple of walkers present, one of who I passed twice as she rounded the lake clutching a giant paper cup of coffee and wearing a big jacket with a fur-lined hood pulled up over her head. She looked comfy.

No bears again. They should be heading off for hibernation soon, I think, if they even do that here.

A bunch of new signs have been posted at the entrance to unofficial trails that literally say STAY OUT. I predict they will have minimal effect. Since most of them lead to a pair of railway lines, I suspect Metro Vancouver is trying to cover itself for liability in case someone gets taken out by the Rocky Mountaineer or a 150 car coal train en route to whoever still uses coal for energy.

I started out the run telling myself to stay steady and indeed the first two km were the slowest. In fact, the whole run was strangely reversed, with the first km pace being 5:35/km and the last being 5:04/km (which is fairly blazing for the end of a 10K–maybe I was concerned about the rain starting and my nipples exploding). The fifth km was always weirdly faster than most at 5:12/km. I think for that one I was maybe thinking of only doing a 5K and wanted a strong finish then found myself going on, anyway (my average pace would have been about 5:26/km if I had).

Around the 6K mark the tendon in the left leg started getting stiff, but it leveled off again as it had on the last 10K, and after about five minutes or so it felt much better, as the back half of my run illustrated.

Overall, a perfectly cromulent run and it stayed dry on the walk home, too, which was a nice bonus. I opted not to use the AirPods today because of the potential rain. While I’ve never had a pair of EarPods damaged by rain, it only costs $30 to replace them should they get damaged. The AirPods cost about seven times that, so I’m a bit reluctant to expose them to precipitation. I’m willing to bet they’d be okay, but I need to spend more time using them before I can get past the idea of potentially wrecking them. Get my money’s worth first, you know. I listened to two Tom Petty albums for the run (Full Moon Fever and Into the Great Wide Open) and while I’m bummed that he’s gone, it still seems a little surreal at the same time. Tom Petty dead of a heart attack at 66 just seems off, somehow.

But it’s good music to run to. Thanks, Tom!

Run 541: Wireless and fancy-free

Run 541
Average pace: 5:00/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 6:04 am
Distance: 5.05 km
Time: 25:15
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 16-14ºC
Humidity: n/a
Wind: light
BPM: 172
Weight: 155.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 4207 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

With the sun setting at 6:46 p.m. I headed out as quickly as I could for tonight’s run. With clear skies it was only slightly gloomy by the end but it’s pretty clear there’s probably only another week or so left before it’s going to be getting downright dim and then dark for after-dinner runs.

I will have to decide what to do soon.

But not right yet.

Tonight’s run was a bit different, technology-wise, as I picked up a pair of AirPods, Apple’s wireless ear buds. I also synced a bunch of music to my Apple Watch and so headed out without my phone for the first time in a good long time, relying on my Watch’s GPS to track the run and the AirPods to play entertaining music from the Watch. It all went surprisingly smoothly, with no hitches in the sound, the AirPods staying firmly in-ear and even the battery of the watch surviving without taking a big hit. It felt weird to not have the phone, which shows how dependent we’ve become on the infernal devices, yet nice at the same time to just pop on the AirPods and go, no belts or cords to mess with.

A side benefit is the AirPods carry the Workout app’s sounds. I almost never notice the haptic feedback from the watch when running and only occasionally hear the sound that plays at each km interval. It was nice to actually hear all of them clearly for a change, taking me back to the days of using the Nike+ app (maybe one day I’ll try that again, too).

The only real downside is without any cell/internet connectivity the run couldn’t record the weather conditions, but that’s a fair trade-off since I’m actually in the weather and everything while running.

And speaking of which, it was a pleasant clear evening so I felt rather spry. As a bonus, only minimal sweating and it didn’t start until after the 3K mark.

Now, I have no idea how accurate the Watch GPS is vs. the one on the iPhone, but tonight’s pace was a year’s best 5:00/km, with three km coming in under five minutes. This beats my previous best of 5:09/km. If I had known I was so close to breaking the five-minute mark I would have pushed just a tiny bit more but still, it’s a nice round number.

The left leg is still feeling a little stiff but it’s entirely tolerable and recovered quickly after. As long as I don’t go all crazy and start sprinting I think it will be fine.

Overall, a pleasing result, both in terms of the new set-up and the performance. Here’s to getting at least a few more runs in before The Long Dark Winter with guest star Long and Almost as Dark Fall, sets in.

Run 540: Into a running event, awkwardly

Run 540
Average pace: 5:25/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:22 am
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 54:24
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 14ºC
Humidity: 82%
Wind: light
BPM: 169
Weight: 154.5 pounds
Total distance to date: 4202 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

Because I last ran counter-clockwise at the lake, today I ran clockwise. However, I started my run a little after 10 a.m., which turned out to be around the time a running event was beginning at the lake. The runners, as tradition dictates, were heading in a counter-clockwise direction.

And so it was that between the 3-4 km mark I noticed someone dashing by wearing what looked like an event jersey. The design was too elaborate for me to read as he whizzed by, but then I noticed a few more and thought there must be a small running group out and aboot.

It was when I approached the bridge at Deer Lake Brook that I could see dozens of people in a slowly-spreading out formation, all moving toward me. I managed to barely stay on the edge of the trail and for a moment wondered if I should just switch direction and go with the flow. After another moment I figured they’d pass soon and all was well after that until I rounded the sports fields and about five young women sped past me like a bullet train toward what looked like a finish line. At this point I had no idea how many events were going on or where or how or why, I just quietly hoped I’d be off the trail before hitting the next batch of eager participants.

And I was.

With the forecast promising rain, I headed out with the temperature hovering around 14-15ºC, nearly perfect for running. I didn’t even notice any sweat until I was nearly three km in! The sky was a mix of cloud and sun but this was one of those days where the sun felt like a fall sun, unlike two days ago when it got weirdly warm (27ºC in Vancouver) and very much felt like a summer sun. I prepared for possible rain by protecting my nipples (I wish I could come up with a cute nickname for them. “The boys” seems wrong.) but the rain obligingly held off until two hours after I had finished the run.

I kept up a nice pace and the cooler weather made it easier to maintain the pace. Somewhere between the 5-6 km the left leg began to feel stiff but I waited it out for a bit and it leveled off quickly, so I was able to finish the full run and even felt a little spry in the last stretch (I wasn’t really any faster, but I did keep up a very consistent pace throughout). The walk home was fine and as I write this the leg seems to have recovered nicely. My overall pace was my second-fastest for a 10K this year at 5:25/km. I am provisionally prepared to say I am safe for running 10Ks on the weekend.

Which I will probably do in a counter-clockwise direction from now on.

Run 539: The peppiest 5K of the year (so far)

Run 539
Average pace: 5:09/km
Location: Brunette Brunette River trail
Start: 6:07 pm
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 25:58
Weather: Clear
Temp: 19ºC
Humidity: 64%
Wind: light
BPM: 159
Weight: 155.9 pounds
Total distance to date: 4192 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

Well, that was weird.

I had three things benefiting me on tonight’s run: the weather was very pleasant, with the sun behind the trees, the temperature 19ºC and little wind, it made for near-ideal conditions, with minimal sweating and such. Secondly, the river trail is much more forgiving than the trail at Burnaby Lake, with minimal changes in elevation and wide, gentle curves. Thirdly, I started the run at the start of the trail, so my warm-up walk was only 1.5 km instead of 4 km as it would be if I’d been running at the lake.

And cyclists are allowed at the river, which oddly means they are much better-behaved.

All said, I was aware of not overdoing things again and indeed, the second km found my pace dropping off by a fair bit as I tried to rein things in. Then the weird part happened. I found a good, solid pace and maintained it for the rest of the run–and ended up with my best 5K run of the year so far, with an average pace of 5:09/km. It’s the first time I’ve also come in under 26 minutes. I was not expecting this.

About two km in I felt a very slight bit of tweaking in my left shin but it eventually went away and the left leg was otherwise pretty much fine, with little of the stiffness I felt on Sunday. My BPM was lower, too, due in part to the utterly nice conditions.

Overall, a very welcome run, especially coming after what could have been a potentially nasty muscle injury. I think as long as I don’t try pushing harder I’ll be okay–for both running and walking.

Run 538: The pulled muscle recovery run

Run 538
Average pace: 5:18/km
Location: Brunette Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:30 am
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 26:40
Weather: Mostly cloudy
Temp: 17ºC
Humidity: 57%
Wind: light
BPM: 166
Weight: 156.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 4187 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

I was originally planning to wait until Tuesday to resume my runs since pulling the muscle in my left upper leg last Friday but spontaneously decided today to go out for a 5K, since the aforementioned muscle hasn’t exhibited any sort of soreness or stiffness over the past few days.

And so I headed out after seven days off, back to Burnaby “yes, there really are bears here” Lake. My plan was to walk to the lake, do a 5K, then hitch a ride back on the SkyTrain from the Burnaby Lake station rather than face a 9K+ walk back home, which I felt might be pushing it only a week later.

I started out by making a trip to the loo, which seems to happen quite a bit now for some reason. I don’t mean going to the loo in general, just specifically when I get to the lake and my body seems to interpret that as “nature calls” (literally). After relieving myself I headed back over the dam and encountered a far-too-cheerful cyclist pulling a small wagon behind him. I secretly wished rabid geese on the bike but later found the same bike was being used to collect cones that had been placed as part of a Running Room event (the event was over by the time I got there). He was still riding too fast and was too dang cheerful, though.

A small section of the trail near the sports field was closed for repairs and a spray-painted line through the grass suggests they may actually be preparing to shore up Ol’ Floody, as I call this particular stretch. It would be nice if they fixed it to not flood, because when the trail floods and you detour onto the field you discover that the grass is actually kind of floating on a layer of mud and water that is really tricky to run on.

I did not see any bears this time, for which I am glad. I have nothing against bears, as long as they stay, you know, out of the city.

The run itself started at a steady pace and I felt fine. Conditions were actually pretty good–cloudy and temperatures in the high teens–and for the first three km it felt pretty much like any other run. Around the 3K mark I started feeling stiffness around the left knee, though oddly enough the actual pulled muscle seemed fine. I’d seen some stiffness in the left leg on previous runs and it seems the pull last week accentuated the issue. The stiffness progressed to a point but never enough to slow me down (my best times were actually in the fourth and final km), but doing only 5K seemed like the right call.

After, the afflicted muscle continued to behave and the stiffness has retreated, so I think I’m probably going to be okay if I stick to 5Ks for now.

The average pace surprised me, coming in at 5:18/km, much faster than I was expecting, so that’s also encouraging.

The run on Tuesday will wrap up right around the time the sun is setting. I’m going to have to decide on whether to run at lunch on the yucky golf course loop, or switch to running on a yucky treadmill, or coming up with some other hopefully not yucky option.

Run 537: A bear-able run

Run 537
Average pace: 5:41/km
Location: Brunette Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:29 am
Distance: 8.04 km
Time: 45:47
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 20-22ºC
Humidity: 33%
Wind: light
BPM: 157
Weight: 155.2 pounds
Total distance to date: 4182 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

On Friday afternoon as I was madly strolling to the SkyTrain station after work I noticed a sudden tweaking sensation in one of the muscles in my upper left leg, a little above the knee. This is one of the muscles that comes alive when I’m doing my lunch power walks but not one I notice as much when running.

The tweaking turned to actual pain when I made my way down the stairs into the station. Each time I stepped down I felt it sing a little. This seemed ominous.

Going down the stairs into the condo complex later was not as bad but it was clear a muscle was very stiff/sore in my upper left leg. I chilled out for the night and planned on a regular–if less intense–run today.

The muscle was still stiff but I headed out and my walk to the lake, deliberately slower, went without incident. I started the run, promising myself to a) keep the pace slower and b) stop if the leg started to hurt.

For the first 5K things went okay. The muscle was stiff but tolerable. By the time I was in the second half of the run the stiffness was getting worse and it was getting more difficult to maintain pace. At the 7K mark I figured if the stiffness stayed where it was I would finish, otherwise I’d stop early.

Alas, the stiffness continued to get worse so I stopped just after the 8K mark and walked out. I then walked up the the Production Way SkyTrain station to save myself about 3 km on walking back home, the better to rest.

The muscle stayed fairly stiff through the rest of the day.

This morning (note that while the date for this post is Saturday the 16th I am writing the entry on Sunday the 17th) I can still feel the muscle but the stiffness is pretty much gone when just casually walking around the condo. I’ll be heading out soon to do some errands, so I’ll see what it feels like when walking close to a normal pace. I’m hopeful that as I’m in my two-days-off period from running that it will recover enough to at least allow for short runs and that it isn’t hurt more seriously.

It would be the height of irony if an injury from walking ended my running early for the year. It would also suck corn dogs.

As for the actual run itself, conditions were nice–pleasantly warm, with low humidity. Energy-wise, the slower pace kept me feeling comfortable and the area around the 5K marker (still missing) wasn’t closed off. They had added a layer of finer gravel on top of the other new gravel and steamrolled it, making the surface much nice for walking and running. I expect they will finish the entire stretch over the coming weeks.

When I came into this stretch I noticed two people stopping to talk to a runner ahead of me. I had no idea what they were saying but the runner jogged back toward me and signaled to get my attention. She informed me that there was a bear up ahead. If you’re going to see bears on the trail, this is probably the best place, because being next to the fields gives you lots of room to steer a wide path around said bear.

I’d had this happen before but never seen the alleged bear. Today was different.

Strolling causally maybe 50 m up the trail from me there was indeed a black bear. I scooted out onto the field (a soccer game or other ball-oriented game was taking place just a short distance up the same field) and made sure I had enough space between me and the bear to insure that the bear didn’t think I was running away from it (which would be bad). The bear didn’t seem to notice, though. It just kept walking slowly along the trail, keeping to itself.

I saw a few people taking pictures, of course. I paused briefly before ducking out of sight around the corner, to assess the bear’s trajectory. I felt I’d be safe for the rest of the run. I hoped it wouldn’t eat all of the soccer players.

Did I run farther to create more distance between myself and the bear? It occurred to me to do this, actually, but no, I just ran as far as I could comfortably manage.

My pace was a slothful 5:41/km, which was expected given the bear hijinks and the stiff leg. To illustrate how cautiously I started, my first km was 5:43/km. My fastest came during the 6 km mark and it was still only 5:31/km.

Overall, a weird and eventful run. I’m hoping that the stiff muscle in the left leg is only just that–stiff, not actually pulled. I’ve applied some stinky Rub-A535 to it this morning and will see how it holds up when I’m out and aboot today.

Run 536: A fast 5K with no chest mishaps

Run 536
Average pace: 5:12/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 6:26 pm
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 26:12
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 20-21ºC
Humidity: 30%
Wind: light
BPM: 171
Weight: 155.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 4174 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

One of the minor annoying things about after-dinner summer runs is the sun is low enough in the sky to shine directly into your eyes.

The fact that the sun was already too low to do that tonight is a good indication that summer is coming to an end. Also, all of the rain in next week’s forecast. My poor nipples. 🙁

And speaking of, I wore one of my sleeveless shirts tonight because the fabric is a little lighter and smoother than my other running shirts. Since I was going without nipple protection, this seemed to be the best way to avoid another chest-related bleedapalooza. And it turned out fine. I think I’ll only really have to cover up, so to speak, when it is raining, because that’s when the clothes start sticking.

So next week, as per the forecast I mentioned above.

Two things I noticed on the trail tonight: the first was a pervasive dusty odor. Despite the bit of rain we had on the weekend and a brief shower yesterday morning, it’s still quite dry, so cyclists are still churning up clouds of dust along the river trail. Weirdly, the whole trail still smelled of dust even when none was visible hanging in the air. It was kind of weird.

The other thing I noticed were lots of cyclists. They were all well-behaved, so no issues there.

Conditions were quite nice. With the sun tucked behind the trees and the temperature hovering around 20ºC it was nice and comfy, with only minimal sweating and no real dry mouth to bother me.

My idea was to settle back a bit after the last few runs but I somehow managed to end up with my fastest 5K of the year, at 5:12/km. My last km pace was 4:546/km, marking the first time this year I’ve broken the five minute mark.

At one point it felt like a stitch was going to develop, so I eased up a little, but even that had no effect on the overall pace.

My BPM was back up to 171, which is about where it goes when I basically sprint for an extended stretch.

I’ll try to moderate my pace for real next time.

Also, it was starting to get dark about fiften minutes after I got home, meaning the extended runs along the river and then to the lake are pretty much done for the year, there simply won’t be enough daylight after dinner. Alas. Even the 5K runs are going to start getting iffy in about a month’s time. I’ll have to decide between treadmill or noon runs then. I don’t like either option.

But for tonight, I soared.

Run 535: Protecting nipples

Run 535
Average pace: 5:26/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 12:59 pm
Distance: 10.02 km
Time: 54:29
Weather: Sun and cloud mix
Temp: 18-21ºC
Humidity: 62%
Wind: light
BPM: 161
Weight: 155.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 4169 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

I was having trouble with the plumbing so stayed home from work today. By early afternoon things seemed better enough to prompt me to do my run then instead of waiting until after dinner.

I reluctantly shaved my chest after Saturday’s run in order to make it easier/less painful to protect my strangely sensitive nipples. I covered each with a Band Aid before heading out because even though there was no rain in the forecast and it was warmer, I wasn’t taking a chance.

It proved unnecessary because a) it didn’t rain and b) it was warmer. Plus now the skin under the Band Aids is red after I removed them. Oh well. Maybe I’ll look into official Nipple Guards® or something in the future.

The sky was clouded over, which is nice for a run when the same clouds don’t empty a bunch of cold water on you. Less than a km into the run the sun started poking out and while it never got hot, the jump in temperature from 18-21ºC was noticeable.

I felt decent for the first half of the run, even peppy, but started feeling a bit tired on the second half as the temperature climbed and the sun did its thing. Annoyingly, they were doing more work on the trail near the now-absent 5K marker, forcing me to run across the field, which is lumpier than I’d expect for a sports field. Maybe I’m just used to running on gravel.

Looking at my splits, I got off to a sluggish start at 5:28/km but dashed along at 5:17/km for both the fourth and fifth km. Interestingly, the same thing happened on Saturday, when I was running counter-clockwise. I have no real explanation for this.

And speaking of detours, the sewer construction around the condo expanded today to the point where my three-block walk to Hume Park turned into a maze-like journey that added more than a km to my walk to Burnaby Lake. Never live near construction if you can help it, kids!

The slower pace meant my BPM was also down, to 161. Overall, it was still easily my second-best 10K of the year and with no other issues, a solid effort. Even better, I didn’t finish covered in mud and blood. Never finish a run covered in mud and blood, kids!

Run 534: Racin’ in the rain with bonus nipple nightmare

Run 534
Average pace: 5:21/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:52 am
Distance: 10.04 km
Time: 53:50
Weather: Rain
Temp: 14ºC
Humidity: 86%
Wind: light
BPM: 169
Weight: 156.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 4159 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

The weather finally changed yesterday and today it changed even more, with lower temperatures, actual rain and the blessed end of the smoke haze (again).

I was curious to see how it would go with the different conditions, and it turned out to be very different.

And also mildly horrifying. But I’ll get to that in a bit.

It was 14ºC and showering steadily when I headed out and stayed that way before, during and after the run. The only change was sometimes during the run it would start to rain a little harder, then ease up. It’s the first time in months that I’ve run in rain from end to end.

My hands actually felt a bit cold by the time I got to the lake. It was weird.

A large walking group was assembled near the dam, their umbrellas jostling against each other. Fortunately they had just ended their damp jaunt so they weren’t an obstacle. A second group later on were actually parked out of the way at a trail intersection, being talked to by their presumed leader (“Glad we all brought umbrellas today, lol!”)

What surprised me, though, were the number of joggers out. The spitfire was out, as were plenty of others. Naturally a pair of tall, thin, supersonic jets were speeding along the first boardwalk (after I’d already dodged an umbrella-carrying couple). Fortunately they were so thin I slipped by without too much trouble.

More than any other recent run I felt genuinely energized. I never pushed to run fast, I just naturally gravitated to doing so. If I was sweating at all it was impossible to tell as I started the run thoroughly drenched. By the halfway point I stopped trying to dodge all of the shallow puddles and instead embraced them. When I got home I had mud and muck above my knees. And everywhere below them.

The energy level wasn’t all in my head as my pace was a relatively blazing 5:21/km–that’s a full 19 seconds better than Monday’s 10K and only five seconds off Thursday’s 5K. Yes, that’s how much my performance is affected by warmer temperatures. Who knows how fast I’d be running at the Arctic Circle. My BPM was also way up, to 169, not surprising as I was moving a lot faster and over a longer distance, but I felt surprisingly good throughout.

It was only on my walk back after that I noticed something wrong.

I have over the last few years developed strangely and highly sensitive nipples. Why, I don’t know. It’s annoying. What I do know is that if I run in the cold or in the rain (even a summer rain will leave your skin feeling cold), the nipples will start to ache. When I get home after such runs I need to let my skin temperature get closer to normal before having a shower or bath to avoid turning the ache into a glowing pain.

As I walked along the now-raging river, I could feel the nipples doing their thing. I looked down at my chest, as I do from time to time, and noticed a strange streak of dark orange (the shirt I was wearing today was orange). It looked like the fabric was bleeding color. I lifted the shirt to see if my skin was now stained the same color, but it looked fine. I kept looking up and noticed something strange and mildly horrifying.

My nipple was bleeding.

Both of my nipples was bleeding. The stains I was seeing were trails of blood. I was simultaneously grossed out and embarrassed.

There wasn’t anything to do, so I kept walking and tried to cover up the twin tracks of nipple bleeding as I passed by others. When I got home I doffed the shirt and confirmed the obvious. It was like I was lactating blood.

Grossbuckets.

I rinsed the shirt in cold water and presumably because it was fresh, the blood washed out with little effort. I then hit the web to be my own doctor and found that “runner nipples” are such a common thing that some running stores sell nipple guards to prevent what had happened to me.

What had happened to me? When my shirt got thoroughly-soaked it started to cling to my skin but the motion of running meant that the fabric continued to saw back and forth across my chest. This chafing action can cause the skin at the top of the nipples to break. When it breaks, it bleeds. Making it stop during a run is pretty much impossible, so preventative measures to avoid chafing are advised:

  • wear band aids over the nipples
  • wear those weird nipple guards
  • apply petroleum jelly or some other lubricant (presumably one that won’t stain and ruin your shirt)
  • wear a waterproof out layer

I suppose you could also try running topless. In fact, just after I crossed Still Creek bridge I saw three guys who, judging from their stances, had just finished a run. They were young and chiselled and none of them had bleeding nipples so I hated them a little. Actually, my nipples weren’t bleeding at the time, but I hated them, anyway.

I’ll probably try band aids and see if they work. I’ll have to do some shaving as I have a hairy chest. Curse my hair and nipples, I say.

The trail itself was mostly fine for the first half of the run but a puddle-palooza in the second half. I did see one change–near the 5K marker they’ve piled on another layer of gravel, further elevating that stretch of the trail. The 5K marker was also missing, possibly buried under all the new gravel. I am assuming they’ll continue with the bonus layer of gravel along that entire stretch. No flooding so far!

Despite the bloody chest and incessant rain, it was nice to have real energy and not feel slowed down by the weather for a change, so overall, a good run.

Run 533: Return of the smoke haze

Run 533
Average pace: 5:16/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 6:51 pm
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 26:36
Weather: Smoke haze
Temp: 22ºC
Humidity: 72%
Wind: light
BPM: 149
Weight: 156.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 4149 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

It turned out the forecast was sort of right for today’s run. It was 22ºC and cloudy–but most of the cloud was actually the return of the smoke haze. Boo. It seems a little weaker this time, at least, so the air isn’t quite as stinky.

It was humid as all get-out, though, so no dry mouth but much wet everything else as I sweated like a well-oiled sweating machine.

I opted for a basic 5K tonight as I headed out later than planned and intended to find a comfortable pace. I somehow managed to fall into a cadence that felt nearly perfect, and felt very light on my feet as a result. I didn’t really push at all until the final km.

As a result, my pace was 5:16/km, only one second off my best for the year, and my BPM was a low 149. For much of the run I was even able to breathe through my nose. This doesn’t sound impressive to a non-runner, perhaps (“Duh, I breathe through my nose all the time!”) but try jogging hard for a few km with your mouth closed and see what happens.

No issues at all on the run and only a few people opted to hit the trail on this rather dreary-looking evening. The shadows are starting to get a little more ominous with the sun setting earlier.

Overall, a spiffy and pleasing effort, despite the grossbuckets conditions.

Run 532: It’s not the humidity, it’s the bug you just swallowed

Run 532
Average pace: 5:40/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 9:45 am
Distance: 10.02 km
Time: 56:50
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 24-26ºC
Humidity: 55%
Wind: light
BPM: 160
Weight: 156.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 4144 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

It’s Labor Day so I went out and labored on a 10K run.

It was warmer than yesterday but my early start saved me from having to run in 30ºC+ temperatures. It was 24ºC at the start and 26ºC by the end of the run. It was also more humid so the sunny stretches found me sweating like some kind of machine designed for maximum sweating.

I didn’t experience any issues on this run, I was just generally a little slower, given the extra heat and humidity. My pace was 5:40/km, four seconds off Saturday, but consistent with the yuckier conditions.

The trail was fairly busy but unlike the last run there were no near-collisions. On the Cottonwood Trail I was humming along and doing fine in the shade of the canopy. The long version of “Disco Inferno” had just started playing (that song is long enough to last several km of running) when I felt a sudden catch in my throat. While grooving out I had swallowed a bug. Knowing a coughing fit was bound to ensue, I summoned up as much saliva as I could (sort of ew, sorry) and swallowed hard, twice. Better to just down the thing that try to spit it back out.

This did not work. Instead I started hacking fiercely and, strangely, I actually did manage to spit the bug out and was immediately fine after that.

I am uncertain if the bug survived. Sorry, bug!

The run went otherwise without incident, though the conditions were definitely eating away at my strength. I’ve been running just long enough in more seasonal temperatures that this Africa hot-stuff is throwing me off. It’s expected to last a few more days then the possibility of actual precipitation is in the forecast. I’m not running tomorrow and have a bike ride planned for Wednesday so my next run will likely be Thursday after work. The current forecast is calling for a pleasant high of 23ºC and cloudy skies. Good running weather!

Run 531: Long weekend EVERYONE GO TO THE LAKE

Run 531
Average pace: 5:36/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 9:39 am
Distance: 10.04 km
Time: 56:14
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 20-25ºC
Humidity: 48%
Wind: light
BPM: 155
Weight: 156 pounds
Total distance to date: 4134 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

Given the forecast (Africa hot) I thought it might be prudent to start the run earlier in the morning and to run clockwise, as there is less canopy in the first half of the loop when running this way, meaning I would face it while it was a little cooler.

I was wise to follow this plan. It was already 20ºC when I started out and was up to 25ºC by the end of the run less than an hour later. You feel a five-degree change in temperature.

Fortunately, the humidity was low so it remained tolerable (though I did experience some dry mouth, something that hasn’t happened much this sticky, sweaty summer). I initially tried to moderate my pace after a week off from running 10Ks and indeed, I felt a stitch in my lower-left abdomen around the 8K mark. I eased up a bit and it went away fairly quickly.

I also had a weird déjà vu moment as I ran down the part of the Conifer Loop with the tree root that tripped me up last summer. At around 10:10 a.m. the sun was still low enough in the sky that it was slanting through the trees in such a way that it created a flickering effect in my peripheral vision. This, combined with the trail being cast in a dappled combination of bright and dark areas made it difficult to see what was actually coming up even right in front of me. It’s quite possible that if I was running on the same side of the trail as the tree root that I might have tripped on it again, even knowing where it was.

I did not run on the same side of the trail.

I ended up with a pace of 5:36/km, a little slower than my previous 10K, but consistent with the higher temperatures.

This is the Labour Day long weekend and it turns out that this year a lot of people wanted to spend the first morning of it at the lake, as the trail was replete with pedestrians, joggers and one horse.

But no cyclists, hooray!

However, the most annoying moment came when I approached the second boardwalk. The boardwalks only allow for two people to comfortably walk/jog beside each other and because they are elevated, it’s not possible to duck out of someone’s way. I got onto the boardwalk, which in the clockwise direction, has a corner right at the start, and was immediately confronted by a pair of joggers moving fairly swiftly. The one to my immediate left did nothing to make room for me. I had to nearly stop so I could shift and get out of the way to keep from falling off the boardwalk.

That jogger was:

  • selfish
  • careless
  • going to get attacked by a rabid goose, if there is such a thing as karma

Really, the pair should have been moving slower and running single file. It’s just common sense given the conditions imposed by the boardwalk. Anyway, it was weird to be annoyed by another jogger instead of a cyclist.

Despite the near-collision, it was still a good run overall and the new shoes were problem-free, so yay.