Exercise

Run 494: Staying dry

Run 494
Average pace: 5:31/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 6:35 pm
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 27:52
Weather: Overcast
Temp: 12ºC
Humidity: 91%
Wind: moderate to strong
BPM: 157
Weight: 164.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 3860 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

I was so dang busy on the weekend I did not run, plus it was weirdly warm, like end-of-July warm, so it would have been gross, anyway, especially since I’m still sluggishly recovering from the time off and the head cold.

I did run today, though, just in time for the weather to change from ludicrously nice back to unseasonably cool and damp. In four days the temperature on my runs went from 22ºC to 12ºC. The lower temperature was actually nice for running, not really feeling cold at all.

Luckily, despite a few drops on the way to the river, the showers held off and I actually completed the run without getting soaked. Yay. This was even more impressive considering how much of the day was a torrential downpour.

Looking over the splits, the second and third km were a bit slow but actually kind of comfy. The pace felt just right for my current condition. I did pick it up in the final km, which again was my best at 5:17/km and continued my overall slow improvement, chopping off a few more seconds from the previous run to finish at 5:31/km. My BPM was low again, too, at 157.

I seem to have slept on my right hip funny and it had been acting a bit tricky today at work, but proved to be a non-factor on the run. The right heel was a bit sore but not enough to make an impact (ho ho).

Overall, a small improvement but an improvement all the same. I will take it.

Run 493: Clone run

Run 493
Average pace: 5:33/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 6:19 pm
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 27:58
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 22ºC
Wind: moderate to strong
BPM: 158
Weight: 164.7 pounds
Total distance to date: 3855 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch, iPhone

Tonight’s run was a virtual replay of Tuesday’s except without hurricane winds to add excitement, though it was breezy.

With most of the debris on the trail cleared, I was able to focus less on tripping/getting clobbered by rogue branches and more on the actual run. And yet my performance was nearly identical, with the pace of 5:33/km only one second faster than Tuesday’s pace. My total time of 27:58 was all of three seconds faster. I’m not complaining, as I was expecting similar performance as I come back from both the extended break and the cold, but it’s always a little weird when I so closely match one run to the next.

One improvement, though, was my BPM, down from 164 to 158, the lowest it’s been on a run in a good while. It probably helped that I fairly plodded the first km.

A complication, though it didn’t result in any difference in actual pace, was the right heel, which was aching a bit before the run, ached during the run and is still aching now. It actually felt better during the run than after.

I also had a weird ten seconds or so as I neared the far gate around the 3 km mark where my left knee suddenly felt funny, but not haha funny. Every time I stepped forward it felt like my left leg might buckle because the knee suddenly didn’t want to support it. It cleared up quickly but was a bit disconcerting. Knee issues for me have been very rare, fortunately. And should remain so, dang it.

Overall, the best part of the run was simply getting out and doing it, to help get back to my regular routine as swiftly as possible.

Plus no trees fell on me.

Run 492: A run with many different branches

Run 492
Average pace: 5:34/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 6:39 pm
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 28:01
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 20ºC
Wind: strong with gusts
BPM: 164
Weight: 164.7 pounds
Total distance to date: 3850 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch, iPhone

Tree branches, to be exact. I’ll get to this shortly.

On Friday, May 12 I came down with a rather nasty cold. I have not run since then, a span of 11 days and a total of four runs missed. Sad trombone.

Today, mostly recovered if still a bit sniffly (or it could just be allergies) I headed out to renew my efforts. I was fully expecting to be slower and my pace of 5:34/km saw my expectation met. However, I was expecting something over 5:40 so I’m actually more pleased than anything. Despite the run feeling harder, my BPM was down.

And after a curiously, even strange, long weekend of sunny, warm weather, it continued today so it was very pleasant and mild.

Except for the wind.

A cold front is moving through to the Interior and is scouring the region with winds gusting up to 70 km/h. It was windy indeed on the run, though I only once caught a really good gust that threatened to whip my cap off. I screwed it down nice and snug and it stayed put.

What didn’t stay put were the million or so leaves, twigs, and branches strewn across the trail, so many that in several spots it was impossible to avoid stepping on them. I cleared a few before starting the run, the largest being a branch over 10 feet long and about as wide around as my upper arm. I may not have giant, bulging biceps but that’s still a branch big enough to ruin your day if it bopped you on the noggin. An entire tree came down near the western gate, landing alongside and partly on the trail. I wondered how safe it might be to run at all.

Fortunately, the ferocity of the wind eased up shortly after I started so I emerged without any wood-related injuries.

Here are a few of the smaller branches I saw on the trail. Multiply this by about a hundred or two and you have an idea of what the entire trail was like.

Branching out
Being stabbed by one (or both) of these via 70 km/h wind gusts would be a unique running experience.

Run 491: Mini-slugs and surprising no-rain

Run 491
Average pace: 5:15/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 6:24 pm
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 26:28
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 12ºC
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 172
Weight: 164.0 pounds
Total distance to date: 3845 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch, iPhone

I know myself well enough to realize the best way to get back into regular after dinner runs is to not think about them.

In other words, just change and go. So I did.

I had incentive to run fast–it had been raining hard most of the day and the clouds overhead were fat and dark, just waiting to dump on me. I fairly boogied and kept up the torrid pace even on the walk back. By some miracle, I stayed dry.

I got off to what felt like a solid start and by the midpoint was actually feeling pretty good. I even turned up the pace in the final km, which was my fastest at 5:01/km. My overall pace was a peppy 5:15/km, nine seconds better than Tuesday and 32 (!) seconds faster than Saturday.

This is also the first time in awhile I’ve done three runs in a week, just like in the good old days.

Despite being 12ºC (hooray for yet more unseasonably cool weather), I actually felt pretty comfortable wearing just a t-shirt (well, and shorts. I’m not ready to start pantsless jogging quite yet).

I am pleased by the lack of cramps or other complications and by the general energy level I maintained. I was expecting a lot worse, really.

There were a lot of tiny black slugs on the trail. I have no idea why. The rain, perhaps. That also helped give the run that old-time feel, like when I would run at the lake and it felt less like jogging and more like “dodge the slug” because you don’t really want to squish a bunch of slugs when you’re running.

Overall, a very solid and encouraging effort. Excelsior!

Run 490: Post-dinner and post-shoelace

Run 490
Average pace: 5:24/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 7:02 pm
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 27:11
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 16ºC
Wind: light
BPM: 166
Weight: 166.9 pounds
Total distance to date: 3840 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch, iPhone

Tonight was one of the first times since the switch to Daylight Saving Time that I actually ran after work. It is surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly) difficult to get motivated to run after working all day and coming home both kind of tired and a bit hungry.

But a small snack later and I was off.

Well, after replacing the shoelace that snapped just as I was about to head out. Both pairs of Horka Speedgoats have now suffered broken laces. Stupid goats. This compares to two pairs of New Balance MT110s that I ran over 1,000 km in with nary a fray in the shoelace fabric.

I scavenged a set of laces from a pair of runners I’m not using and they actually match fairly well. I then tied the right one too tightly, causing that foot to ache a little on top during part of the run. Whoops.

It was mild and cloudy, which also meant little wind. The sky seemed to threaten rain but held off.

I felt much more energetic than Saturday and that showed in my pace of 5:24/km, which is an astonishing 23 seconds faster than my previous run. The gentler and wider river trail lends itself to greater speed but I wasn’t expecting something quite so dramatic. Even my BPM was down to a more reasonable 166 (matching my current weight, sadly).

The trail was sparsely populated, with only a few people out. I know it is terrible in a way but I like having fewer people around when I run. Less chance of a collision, let’s say.

My music of choice was Billy Joel’s very-80s The Bridge. I always skip the song “Modern Women” because I can’t stand it. Just thinking about it sets my teeth on edge. Anyway, it came up and I double-tapped the pause button on the earpods remote, which means “skip to the next song.” Somehow it got interpreted as “fast forward” so I was subjected to the song but in a simulated chipmunk voice. This did not enhance it.

I turned to Siri on the watch to skip to the next song but Siri just shrugged and said, “I dunno what’s going on.” What was going on–or more precisely, not going on–was the Music app on the iPhone. It had crashed again, something it’s done a bunch recently. I figure this is because the phone and attendant contract are paid off and I’m being nudged to get a new one. I’ll have none of it! (for at least four months minimum)

Anyway, I’m pleased by tonight’s run. Thursday, which looks to be soggy and cooler, will be an interesting comparison.

Run 489: Slower but with bonus post-run intervals

Run 489
Average pace: 5:47/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 12:01 pm
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 29:14
Weather: Partly cloudy
Temp: 13ºC
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 167
Weight: 165.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 3835 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch, iPhone

I was bad and did not run during the week so this was my first run in seven days.

My weight and BPM were lower, which is good.

My pace was slower, which is…okay. I actually started faster than last week but flagged noticeably by the third km, which dragged down my average pace. It’s a bit disappointing but not unexpected.

I also deliberately slowed my pace around the 2K mark when I began feeling a shoulder cramp. Cramps usually mean I’m pushing too hard, so I eased up until it went away.

Strangely, I felt a strong urge to pick up the pace on the walk home, which is around 9 km or so. As a result, I started doing quasi-intervals where I walked for a while then would start jogging for stretches of up to half a km. I did this about five times in total and it brought the overall pace of my walk back down to 8:41/km. It would normally be around 9:10/km. It was nutty but also a precursor to starting longer runs.

I’ll want to get a few weeks of multiple runs per week before starting that, I think.

The right heel proved to be a non-issue, though it feels a bit tender tonight. It always seems worse later when I am not walking on it much. As I continue to walk it paradoxically feels better. I’m sure this is a known thing, I just haven’t bothered to look it up yet.

The weather was cooperative, if still unseasonably cool, topping around 13ºC. The sky cleared early so most of the run was sunny, which has been a weird sensation so far this year. A few times it almost felt warm.

And once again on the walk out from the lake, I encountered a pair of cyclists. These dopes, a pair of guys in their teens, were moving along pretty slowly, suggesting they knew they shouldn’t be there but were at least being a little considerate while being general jerks. So pseudo-kudos to them.

Run 488: Poop without the pestilence

Run 488
Average pace: 5:40/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:21 am exciting new addition (actual excitement not as advertised)
Distance: 5.05 km
Time: 28:40
Weather: Overcast
Temp: 10ºC
Wind: light
BPM: 171
Stride: n/a
Weight: 166.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 3830 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch, iPhone

I chose to start a little earlier than normal today because the forecast unsurprisingly promised rain, this time by 1 p.m. or so. These predictions are invariably optimistic, so I expected rain much sooner and then rain for the rest of the day.

I was correct.

In a case of deja vu all over again, when I got to the lake I had to go potty. Unlike the last time, there was both toilet paper and sanitizer, so I got it over with quickly, while pondering what exactly it is about arriving at the lake that makes my bowels and bladder loosen.

Unlike the last time, it was much cooler, only 10ºC instead of 15. We are on the second to last day of April and the average high temperature is supposed to be 15ºC but thanks to climate change or Trump or aliens, the weather so far this year has been much cooler (and wetter) than normal. I expect to see icebergs floating in Burnaby Lake in a few years.

10 is still dandy for running, though, and it also meant no bugs because they are tiny little wimps. I headed off and for the first km held back a bit, hoping to keep more in reserve for the middle of the run. In the end, my pace was almost identical, coming in at 5:40/km vs. 5:39/km last time. Total time worked out to ten seconds (28:40 vs. 28:30). The last four runs have all been pretty consistent so I think if I can keep running three times per week I’ll see the numbers slowly start improving again over the next month, assuming we don’t get spontaneous blizzards icing over the trails in May.

I did notice that by heading out earlier there were a lot more people on the trail, many wearing gloves, which is sad to see on April 29th. There were also quite a few runners, though the side trails remained mostly clear, bless them.

No odd incidents and no cyclists, though one puny off-leash dog kept getting under my feet as I was walking out. I almost said something to the owner but opted to keep it internal because people who knowingly allow their dogs off-leash will just act stupid and defensive no matter how politely you ask that they control their dog, because they are dumb jerks who should (and do) know better in the first place.

As for the rain, a few drops began to fall just as I exited the trail, so I chose to walk to Production Way station and take the SkyTrain home rather than risk a good soak on the last 4 km walking back.

It is now coming down in the proverbial buckets.

In the end, I am not displeased with the effort, but it will be nice to see a little improvement moving forward.

Run 487: Dodging rain and bikes

Run 487
Average pace: 5:39/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:30
Weather: Overcast
Temp: 15ºC
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 170
Stride: n/a
Weight: 166.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 3825 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch, iPhone

Today’s run was paradoxically faster and slower.

It wasn’t really a paradox, though. While I was slower than my previous run–5:39/km vs. 5:36/km, I was running different terrain (lake vs. river trail). If you compare my last lake trail run, I was much faster–5:39/km vs. 5:51/km.

It was mild but overcast, with light wind and the threat of rain. Apart from a few light drops now and then, the rain held off (as I type this the cloud cover has thickened, the wind has picked up and a storm seems imminent). I think the conditions helped to speed me along, as did running the more straightforward north side of the lake.

The stupid cyclists didn’t show up until I was walking back after having just finished the run, a young man and woman. The guy had that smug look on his faces that says, “That’s right, I’m here on a bicycle and I know I shouldn’t be. What are you gonna do about it, haw haw?” If I was a rotten person I’d push them over as they rode past but instead I just silently wish for karma to do its thing, preferably in the form of flat tires, bent spokes or attacking geese.

Speaking of attacks, the bear signs have gone back up. I do not wish to see a bear while running.

I pushed a little on this run and my BPM reflects that, coming in at a rather high 170. I will have to ease up a bit next time, methinks. I also experienced a few moments of mild cramping, another good sign that I’m getting carried away.

Still, I was pleased by the effort. And also by the lack of bugs, puddles, and hurricanes.

Run 486: A mild improvement

Run 486
Average pace: 5:36/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.05 km
Time: 28:21
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 12ºC
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 164
Stride: n/a
Weight: 166 pounds
Total distance to date: 3820 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch, iPhone

I switched back to the Brunette River trail for the first midweek run and conditions were kind of blah. It was 12ºC but rain threatened so I wore a long-sleeved shirt. In the end, it didn’t rain so I would have been fine in a regular t-shirt but I wasn’t uncomfortable at all, so no harm done.

I modified my strategy for avoiding the big zig-zag at the end to reach 5 km (the end-to-end distance on the river trail is about 1.9 km, so to reach five km total I would normally go two full lengths then run back and forth over the last stretch to get that last 1+ km in). Today I spent an extra 10 minutes walking up to about the 1 km mark. I started there and just did two full lengths after, hit 5K and it was good.

The run went better than expected. I could feel a bit of a burn for the first stretch but never pushed so hard that I cramped up. Even so, I got a bit of a second wind partway though, something that hasn’t happened recently. I finished with an average pace of 5:36/km, my best effort so far this year and handily better than the 5:51/km slog of my previous run at Burnaby Lake.

The extra bonus: no bugs!

Overall I am pleased by today’s effort. The right heel did not present any issue during the run, though it is a slight bit tender tonight.

Run 485: Poop and pestilence

Run 485
Average pace: 5:51/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:31
Weather: Cloudy, hazy sun
Temp: 17ºC
Wind: light
BPM: 165
Stride: n/a
Weight: 166.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 3815 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch, iPhone

I returned to Burnaby Lake for the first time in awhile for today’s run and in theory, the conditions were much better than the last run. Instead of cool temperatures and incessant rain, it was cloudy but an incredibly mild 17ºC (which is actually a bit above the monthly average). In practise, it was in some ways worse.

For one, the much warmer conditions saw the sudden appearance of billions of bugs. I had barely started running when one flew into my eye. Several others landed on my glasses and other places. It was thoroughly annoying. Why do these things exist? Why I ask!

Also, the dramatic shift in temperature also contributed to my energy being sapped more readily. I was about a minute slower than the last run and the difference was noticeable early on. At times it felt like a slog. At other times it felt like a slog with lots of bugs.

Still, I persisted and managed a pokey but not jaw-droppingly awful pace of 5:51/km. Despite my right heel acting up in the past week for reasons unknown, it wasn’t a factor and was only a minimal nuisance intermittently on the walk back home.

Being pleasant and Easter Sunday, the trail was quite crowded but people were well-behaved, save for the one woman who suddenly zipped past me on a bike just as I was finishing my run. I shot darts at her with my eyes but she just kept going. I like to think she suffered two flat tires the moment she turned off the trail. Then her bike exploded, somehow. Stupid cyclist.

Overall, a plodding effort but I’m glad I made it out all the same.

As for the poop, when I got to the lake I found I had to pee. No problem, I could use the porta potty. A bigger concern was I also had to go #2. You know, poop. The porta potty was conspicuously filled with a large volume of liquid, almost as if someone had poured a bucket of water in it. Splashback was a legit concern. There was also no toilet paper.

I considered my options as my bowels rumbled in warning. All of them were not good. The nature house has washrooms but it was two km down the trail. Abandoning the run would still require travel over multiple km to find a loo. Being early spring, there wasn’t enough foliage to conceal me if I wanted to make like a bear in the woods. The last option was to simply go and forsake wiping. Yuck.

But I did it anyway because every alternative was worse.

I felt much better after, then the better feeling went away as I ran and plodded (see above).

The extended forecast is calling for rain or chance of rain every single day so my next run is probably going to be both cooler and damper. Yay (sort of).

Run 484: Rain rain rain rain rain rain

Run 484
Average pace: 5:39/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.05 km
Time: 28:34
Weather: Heavy rain
Temp: 7ºC
Wind: light
BPM: 168
Stride: n/a
Weight: 166.2 pounds
Total distance to date: 3810 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch, iPhone

After 18 days of not-running (I was using the unwelcome lump of something or other to justify the inactivity, then when I saw my doctor I forgot to ask if running was okay. Since the answer almost certainly would have been yes and since I’d obviously been running with the unwelcome lump but just not realizing it was there, I made the call to drag my butt outside once again).

Around 9  a.m. I eyeballed the conditions. A steady rain was coming down. I opted to wait to see if it would stop or at least ease up.

It did not.

Finally, shortly after noon, I got dressed and headed to the river trail under a dismal gray sky. Within a block I was quite wet.

But I would get wetter still.

I crossed North Road and proceeded along the short (roughly one block) stretch to the entrance to the river trail. Cars were flying down the hill from the north, as usual, and I observed that at certain points they would hit copious amounts of water on the pavement, causing the water to spray vigorously in the direction of the sidewalk. I made note of this and timed my movement to avoid getting splashed.

I got splashed anyway.

A bracing wall of water sprang from the road, tiger-like, and fell down my right side, soaking it thoroughly. At this point, I was already drenched from the rain so I shrugged it off and continued.

During the run, the sky began to brighten, which usually signals the storm easing up or even passing. This did not happen. It began to rain even harder, the brighter conditions simply improving the visibility of the rain.

It rained the entire run and on the walk back home. My running short and shorts are still a little damp almost 24 hours later.

But it was 7ºC and wind was minimal so it wasn’t too cold, a small but vital saving grace. I wasn’t burning up the trail but likewise, I never felt I was struggling to finish despite the time off since the last run.

In the end, this was a virtual duplicate of the last run. The time of the two runs was separated by a single second, the average pace likewise, though this time I was a smidgen faster at 5:39/km.

I experienced minimal soreness after, which is encouraging. I’ll try to stick to regular runs again as part of my 2017 HealthQuest.

The week looks depressingly wet. If April showers bring May flowers we’re gearing up for Day of the Triffids next month.

But overall, I’m glad I ran and am pleased that the results stayed the same as my last run.

Run 483: Two runs, one week!

Run 483
Average pace: 5:40/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 28:35
Weather: Overcast, some drizzle
Temp: 9ºC
Wind: moderate
BPM: 162
Stride: n/a
Weight: 167.2 pounds
Total distance to date: 3805 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch, iPhone

Yes, it may seem crazy but here it is the same week and I’m posting another outdoor run. Woo.

Today I went to have blood taken for some testing and did what one would naturally do after losing some blood–I went for a run.

(I did eat a banana first.)

I headed out mid-afternoon under gray and threatening skies–they threat never materialized beyond some very light and sporadic drizzle) and even though it was warmer than Saturday at 9ºC, I wore a long-sleeved shirt because the wind was promising to gust again.

It turned out the wind was not a factor at all and I never felt cold. Perhaps because of this, I was faster, beating my sloth-like previous pace of 5:54/km by coming in at a less-slothful 5:40/km. This is still well off my usual 5K pace and I’m feeling tired right now, but I know in time my form will return. I can already tell the legs won’t be as stiff, so hooray for that.

The trail was in respectable shape and I saw no other runners. There were a few people walking their dogs, including several letting their precious scamps run off-leash. I especially liked the guy with two larger dogs letting his dogs squeeze under the fence to frolic around the “Restoration area – no dogs or people” sign. One of the dogs made a desultory attempt to follow as I went by and as I was near the end of the run, I’d likely face the dogs again as I double-back at the end to reach 5K.

Instead, I decided to keep going and hope I could hit the required distance in Lower Hume Park. I did, though with literally no room to spare. I dinged 5K just steps short of the tree that’s fallen across the trail at the bottom of the stairs. But at least I didn’t have to deal with those dogs and their dumb owner again.

My next run is tentatively set for Thursday after work–my first post-work run of the year. It looks to be mild but soggy. I can live with that.