Exercise

Run 446
Average pace: 5:41/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Distance: 10:05 km
Time: 57:15
Weather: Sun with occasional high cloud
Temp: 18-20ºC
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 156
Stride: n/a
Weight: 160.7 pounds
Total distance to date: 3559 km
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6

I’ve been sticking to a counter-clockwise pattern at the lake since the trail resurfacing began in order to minimize my having to dodge heavy equipment and awkwardly-placed piles of dirt but today the urge to mix things up overcame my concern over awkwardly-placed piles of dirt, so I went clockwise.

I again set the run officially for 7K, planned to do at least 8K, with 10K as a special bonus if I was up to it.

I started out right at the 0 marker to easily track my distance (I don’t like looking at the fitness app on the watch while running–it’s weird, I know. I’m afraid I’ll see my pace, become discouraged and then slow down even more, or some other weird psychological thing) and headed off under a sunny morning sky. On the Avalon trail I spied a group of people but I couldn’t tell what they were doing. Were they a group of walkers pondering the map? Searching for someone’s lost keys? They started moving as I got closer and turned off onto the Southshore trail. Drat. This meant I would have to deal with them shortly.

Here’s the thing with walking groups. I’ve mentioned before they tend to blob out all over the trail, actively blocking others in both directions. It seems also that the larger the group, the more oblivious they will be to, probably, anything. Other pedestrians, joggers, wild horses, coyotes, low flying planes.

This was one of those groups. Rather than sow confusion by announcing my impending arrival (usually with “On your left!”) I opted to scoot by on the left, where the trail did not dip into a ditch or anything. It was a tight squeeze and one of the walkers helpfully blurted out “Jogger!” as I was passing through, but I got by and continued on my way. I made it past the first boardwalk but then hit the same detour as Wednesday and had to move onto the Freeway trail. This also rendered me starting at the 0 marker pointless, as I now had no way of knowing exactly how far I’d run. Oh well.

When I returned to the Southshore trail a few minutes later it wasn’t quite as treacherous as Wednesday, though I did get close to an excavator that was backing up down another trail. I felt a little bad jogging over the freshly packed gravel two men were still raking and fluffing up, but hey, gotta break it in sometime.

As I passed the 4K mark it seemed plausible that I might be able to do 10K. The right leg was behaving, I’d found a rhythm that found me breathing comfortably (BPM was down to 156) and then there was a second walking group. This one I met head-on and several dramatically leaped out of my way even though there was no need to. I appreciated the sentiment that I was some unstoppable force.

I continued on and by the time I hit 8K I knew that short of sudden bear attack/walking group consisting of large immovable metallic men, I would hit 10K and I did. The walk home also came in at under 9:00/km, so overall it was a good effort.

The second half of the run was slower and the pace was inconsistently consistent. That is, each km was never more than a few seconds off from the one before or after, but the actual times were a veritable roller coaster, up and down, up and down. The overall pace of 5:41/km was only five seconds off my 8K pace and still ahead of some of my earlier 7Ks, so I’m pleased with that. For some reason my opening km was 5:09/km, one of my fastest yet. I wasn’t even trying to run fast. This also includes where I was slowed by the first walking group. Weird.

Anyway, I’m pleased that I hit 10 km at last. Now I have the weekend to recover, with the next run on Monday, when I’m sure winter conditions will return once again.

Run 445
Average pace: 5:36/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 8.07 km
Time: 45:20
Weather: Overcast
Temp: 15ºC
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 162
Stride: n/a
Weight: 160.5 pounds
Total distance to date: 3549 km
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6

The weather was a replay of yesterday, though without the rain. The conditions were actually nice for running–cool but not cold, overcast but not wet, with just enough of a breeze to be refreshing.

Mindful of having run the last two days, I started out at a deliberate pace and overall held pretty steady after the inevitable 2K adjustment and the 6-7K dip. I finished strong (partial reason below) but just as I came up on 8 km, I started to feel the upper right leg getting stiff/sore, so I called it there. By the end of the walk home the leg was fine, so I’ll aim for 8 and push for 10K again on Friday.

My overall pace was the best for a lake run this year at 5:36/km and I felt pretty good throughout. Surprisingly, I still managed to sweat a fair bit, probably due to the humidity and in spite of the relative chill. I was also surprised by the number of people I encountered on a gray weekday morning. The trail wasn’t packed but there was a relatively steady stream of walkers and joggers. The most annoying was a walking group. These groups that one might imagine would know more than the average person about trail etiquette and unspoken rules, often seem to know the least and tend to spread themselves across the trail in a giant unpassable blob. To their credit, this group was a little more on top of things.

Despite earlier showers, I didn’t have to dodge any puddles, though the trail was still wet in spots. What I did have to dodge were slugs. Lots and lots of slugs. At times I had to exercise great dexterity to avoid sending slugs to their maker, but I think I got through without any slime-trailing casualties.

The detour came right near the end of the run. I decided to call it at 8K and at nearly the same moment came up to a sign directing me onto the Freeway trail, as part of the trail was again closed for resurfacing. The last few minutes prior to my exit via the detour were a tad hairy. I first encountered a park worker raking the sides of a freshly-surfaced section of trail. He had his little gravel-flattening machine parked just past him up the trail (I have no idea what these are called. They’re basically little hand-operated steam rollers except they don’t have a roller, just a flat belt that presses down and flattens the ground or whatever is below it). After this section of the trail came the in-between section that had neither the old surface nor the new surface. Instead it had been gouged out by an excavator and was filled with a number of piles of dirt (base layer) that had not yet been flattened.

The gouging left deep ruts and holes and the dirt piles were giant obstacles. I approached this stretch at full speed and unaware (there is a reason why cyclists are not permitted here and numerous blind corners are one of them). I managed to stay upright through this patch and entered another gouged area that did not yet have dirt piles in it. I passed a side trail and spied an excavator with a huge pile of dirt in its scoop trundling toward the same trail I was on. When I next glanced behind me it was on my trail and seemingly gaining ground. It occupied pretty much the entire width of the trail, so having it catch up would have been awkward or possibly fatal. I fired up the jets to make space between us and that is how the final km of my run was almost as fast as the first one.

Overall, I am pleased with the results, though wary as always of the right leg. I think it’s fine and I’ll have a full day’s rest tomorrow, save for a likely 5K walk, but that shouldn’t affect things. At any rate, this is already a million times better than last summer’s disastrous August.

Run 444
Average pace: 5:17/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 26:40
Weather: Light rain showers
Temp: 15ºC
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 151
Stride: n/a
Weight: 160.1 pounds
Total distance to date: 3541 km
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6

Today marks the first official day of my vacation. It rained, of course.

Seeing that the weather was poop and yet wanting to hit my 10,000 step goal on my Fitbit and meet my three activity goals on my watch (exercise, calories and standing), I mulled what to do. Normally on a non-run day I’ll go for a walk for about an hour but the thing with walks in the summer when it’s raining is there’s no good way to dress. First, I don’t carry an umbrella because I hate them and if I could I’d go back in time and uninvent them because they are obnoxious latent eye-pokers. Second, because it’s summer it’s not really cold so you don’t need to bundle up as you normally would in inclement weather. You wear a jacket and go for a brisk walk and you’ll be sweaty and gross (and wet) in no time.

The alternative was to go for a run because I don’t care about getting wet/muddy when running. I rarely do next-day runs and was especially hesitant as I still consider myself in recovery mode, but around 1 p.m. the steady rain had eased up to a steady but light shower and the decision was made. The one nod to the weather was wearing a long sleeve t-shirt. Off I went on a short 5K run along the river trail.

During the entire 5K run I only encountered a single person, a man walking two dogs, one very large and one rather small. Perhaps the small dog was a snack for when the big dog got hungry. Happily, both were leashed and no trouble.

I worked to keep a steady pace, not wanting to push things and the right leg emerged unscathed. Being that it was only 15ºC and the glare of the sun was only affecting jetliners above the clouds, conditions were surprisingly good, despite the ever-present lack of windshield wipers on my glasses. My pace at the end was 5:17/km, which seemed quite decent. I checked my last 5K back on July 20 and my pace then was 5:28/km, so my timing today was not merely decent, it was significantly better. I think the weather played a major role, much as I hate summer rain on principle. My BPM was also lower at 151.

It’s supposed to be sunny again tomorrow, though not too warm at 21ºC. My plan is to head out earlyish in the morning while it’s still cool. I’ll be planning 8K and pushing to 10K if I feel up to it. It will be interesting to see how today’s run may affect tomorrow’s, if at all.

(I met my step, exercise and calorie goals, the stand goal I’ll hit in a few hours since it’s the one goal that is strictly time-based.)

Run 441
Average pace: 5:37/km
Location: Brunette River trail and Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 7.04 km
Time: 39:34
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 20-22ºC
Wind: light
BPM: 160
Stride: n/a
Weight: 159.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 3521
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6

I changed things up a little today, running another 7K but starting at the river trail and carrying over to the lake. I also started earlier, with the run beginning around 9 a.m. (I had a commitment later that meant I had to take the day off of work, so chose to use the time for a run, though the pull to watch cat videos instead was strong).

The early start meant I successfully dodged the hottest part of the day, with it being warm but still comfortable. I also dramatically improved my pace over the previous 7K, lending credence to the idea that something about the river is either really easy or something about the lake is really hard, though the last km at the lake matched my general performance at the river. I slowed in the middle, as has usually been the case this past month. The overall pace of 5:37/km was an 11 second improvement over Sunday’s.

The right leg felt slightly stiff to start but was fine otherwise.

My entrance into Burnaby Lake Park was memorable in that the sewer (there is a sewer that parallels the course of the Brunette River and at certain key points you can often catch a whiff of it–it smells just like you’d expect a sewer to) was producing a barf-inducing stench not unlike a metric tonne or two of rotten eggs. Keep in mind that at this point I am nearly 2.5 km into the run as I go by and am sucking in air greedily, except now the air is foul beyond description. Once I passed the dam the odor disappeared but it was literally gag-inducing at the time. I’m not even using “literally” in the bizarre new opposite sense where I actually mean “figuratively.” I did actually feel my gag reflex kick in. It doesn’t seem it should ever smell that bad when you’re outside of the actual sewer but I’m no sewerologist.

As expected, getting out in the morning on a weekday meant I encountered far fewer people, only a couple of other joggers and the rest mostly people with their dogs, many off-leash but strangely well-behaved. The trail definitely had a different vibe.

Speaking of the trail, they started work on another section of the Southshore trail. In fact the li’l earth mover was still there, idling at the side of the trail as I scooted past it. A lot of the new gravel had been dumped but not spread out, making for semi-tricky navigation that would have been a lot trickier had I still been running at that point. The section of the trail that splits off Avalon and was closed for a few weeks a couple of years back was again closed, apparently for replacement of the surface and a bridge. The same bridge they replaced a few years ago? That would seem odd, given how new the current bridge is. Either way, I was forced to detour onto the Freeway trail, just like back in 2012. I got impatient with the unexpected extension of my walk back and ended up jogging most of it. This meant my total walk back came in at just over 10 km, which is a pretty decent hike on its own. By the end I was definitely ready for a refreshment and the option of sitting/laying down/napping.

And the rabbit? Along the same stretch of trail as Sunday, although possibly a little farther along, I again encountered a brown rabbit sitting on the trail. Was it the same rabbit? Was I constantly invading his favorite spot to sit and contemplate bunny thoughts? This time the rabbit was more decisive and immediately peeled off into the brush.

I definitely felt I had more energy at the end of today’s run. I’m undecided on what to do for Thursday’s but it is interesting to see more verification that the river trail is apparently a lot easier to run than the lake. With the work on the Southshore trail, I know I will probably stick to running counter-clockwise for the next couple of weeks at least because the idea of running the Freeway trail under the glare of the summer sun does not make my socks roll up and down in delight.

Run 437
Average pace: 5:27/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.06 km
Time: 27:24
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 24ºC
Wind: light
BPM: 157
Stride: n/a
Weight: 160.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 3497
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6

I skipped Tuesday’s run for assorted reasons but was convinced to make up for it today after the weather unexpectedly took a turn for the better. That it should take a turn for the better in mid-July is something but there it was. And so I headed off to the river trail under clear skies, a steady temperature of 24ºC and a slightly higher degree of humidity thanks to the previous night’s rain.

As always I tried to keep to a steady pace but somehow ended up with a much better performance compared to Sunday’s run. The first km was as per usual the fastest but while the other four were slower they were very consistent, varying only by a few seconds or not at all. I felt good throughout and both legs felt a bit stiff at times but were otherwise fine. I ended up with a pace of 5:27/km, besting Sunday’s by 11 seconds. Even better, my BPM plunged from 169 to 157. My doctor will be pleased. I am also pleased.

There’s not much to elaborate on–no runaway dogs, mad cyclists or anything, just a nice solid run with minimal fuss. I will probably shift my next run to Friday evening and see how it feels to get out with only a single full day of rest between runs.

Run 436
Average pace: 5:38/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 5.06 km
Time: 28:32
Weather: Sun and cloud mix
Temp: 21ºC
Wind: nil to light
BPM: 169
Stride: n/a
Weight: 158.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 3492
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6

July has been pretty poop so far in terms of traditional summer weather (sunny, warm) but for running it’s actually been kind of nice.

After last Sunday’s run my right leg felt a bit stiff/sore over the next few days and even my daily walks were slower. I opted to take a week off and so didn’t run again until today. It seems to have had the desired effect as my pace is back to where it was prior to last Sunday and the right leg, although again stiff and a little sore, recovered quickly.

The first km was a decent and measured pace then the next two I fell off quite a bit before finding more pep for the 4th and 5th km. I ended with a pace of 5:38/km, basically equaling my best post-recovery runs. My plan right now is to do a pair of 5Ks over the week then try a 7K next weekend. We shall see how the week progresses.

As alluded to above, conditions were pleasant, 21ºC and little wind. The trail was a bit muddy in spots from an overnight rain and I had to navigate a few puddle remnants but the worst part was the South Shore trail. Park crews starting work on resurfacing it on July 4 and so far the main work has involved running heavy equipment over the trail, leaving huge, ankle-breaking ruts and dips. I nipped around those. Fortunately if I choose to run clockwise or do a full 10K it looks like I can use the same Freeway trail detour I ran in 2012 when they replaced the first boardwalk to entirely bypass the resurfacing work, at the cost of a longer run and a good stretch through an area completely without cover (not a real concern, given the amount of sun we’ve seen so far. A lightning strike is probably a greater risk than sunstroke at this point).

There was some Rocky-something Women’s Run taking place, hence the title of today’s post. It must have been nearing the end because by the time I got back to the dam the person standing there in Official Cheering Capacity had packed up and left. I felt a little guilty passing by so many other joggers but they were there for a good cause and I remember how hard it can be to run when you don’t do it regularly. In fact, on today’s run my mind shifted from the right knee area feeling stiff to more “hey, a week off does seem to affect your cardio” as the last few km, despite being faster, were also more effort.

In all, decent progress and encouraging to see no lingering ill effects in the aftermath of last week’s slowdown.