Exercise

I normally don’t run on Saturday, but the doctor appointment bumped everything a day ahead, so Saturday it was!

Apart from about 50 million more people on the trail, it was fine. The only time it got semi-crowded was at the Deer Lake Brook bridge, when a jogger, a parent and the parent’s wee kid got bottled up while navigating the stairs. This amounted to mere seconds, though. And I passed two other joggers! I mean, they were very slow, but still.

Speaking of slow, the temperature was fine (20-21C) but the humidity was still pretty high around 70-74%. This meant today’s run felt harder than Thursday’s when it was 27C. While my BPM remained the same at 151, my pace dropped to 5:50/km, which is not bad, but not exactly zippy, either.

I am noticing what may be the beginning of a Baker’s cyst behind my right knee, so I will keep an eye on that. It did not affect my run.

Overall, not a bad effort, though as the title indicates, it was very sweaty. I was very frequently wiping away sweat from my eyes. I prefer running when there is less copious sweating.

Stats:

Run 949
Average pace: 5:50/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:03 a.m.
Distance:5.02 km
Time: 29:19
Weather: Sunny with high cloud
Temp: 20-21°C
Humidity: 74-70%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 151
Weight: 166.6
Total distance to date: 6,575 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (170/377/547)

Music: Reckoning, R.E.M.

With my legs mostly recovered, but the sun back and temperature higher, I went into today’s run with somewhat modest expectations.

In the end, it was fine. The temperature/humidity meant it tended a bit toward the DMS¹Dry Mouth Syndrome side, but it wasn’t too bad. I started out a bit slow, but still under the six-minute mark, then began improving over the course of the run, finishing with a pace of 5:49/km, nine seconds better than Friday. BPM was up to 151, but that’s expected given the extra heat and exertion.

I didn’t experience any issues.

Also, there were no smokers or off-leash dogs today, hooray.

Shortly after I finished my run, a guy walking toward me advised of a coyote sitting around the corner. Said corner was probably about 20-30m ahead. I took the corner wide, which was convenient, because I planned on checking out the fountain at the playground and sure enough, a golden brown coyote was chilling out by the side of the trail, just looking around and taking it easy. At some point, it seemed to notice a crow on the field and got up, making a stealthy beeline toward it. You may be thinking, “Wouldn’t the crow just fly away when it got closer?” And yes, this is exactly what happened. Perhaps this is why the world is not overrun with coyotes.

I did go over to a woman walking a bite-sized dog that there was a coyote nearby (I lost track of it after the crow flew off). We discussed a recent grizzly attack (not here) and other animal-related terrors, then she thanked me and I walked home without incident.

In all, a fine start to the week, running-wise.

Stats:

Run 947
Average pace: 5:49/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 9:39 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:16
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 19-20°C
Humidity: 63-60%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 167.6
Total distance to date: 6,567.5 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (162.5/353.5/516)

Music: Out of the Blue, ELO

On Wednesday evening, a water pipe burst on the ground floor of one of the other buildings in our complex. I helped man one of the shop vacs to suck up the water in the hallway, bending and stooping for around an hour or so. The next day my legs were very sore.

Two days later, they are still sore, but I was able to do my stretching exercises this morning without issue, since the sore muscles aren’t the exact same ones I use when running.

My walk to the lake took about a minute longer than usual, due to the legs being ever-so-stiff. For the run, conditions were very nice–cloudy and 16C. But my pace for the first two km was a pokey 6:08/km due to the soreness. By the third km my legs finally started to limber up and I came under six minutes thereafter, with an overall pace of 5:58/km. I consider this pretty good, given how my legs felt.

The conditions and my pace both lead to a lower overall heart rate of 146. Despite the stiffness, the slower pace for the first couple of km actually felt kind of comfy.

I experienced no other issues, other than rampant dogs off-leash. I guess it’s Rules-free Friday or something. There were also three people fishing behind temporary fencing clearly meant to keep people away from Still Creek, and as a bonus, they were smoking. Next time I may just push them in, or sic the geese on them.

Overall, not a bad way to end the week, given the circumstances.

Stats:

Run 946
Average pace: 5:58/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:02 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:00
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 16°C
Humidity: 83%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 146
Weight: 168.1
Total distance to date: 6,562.5 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (157.5/340.5/498)

Music: Long Distance Voyager, The Moody Blues

I got out almost an hour later this morning when my plan was to get out an hour earlier. Oops.

As such, it was a bit warmer and you might be wondering why I mention the humidity, because it was actually less humid than Monday’s run and the reason is by heading out later I was starting to hit that heat/humidity combo that acts like an energy vampire.

As a result, my pace was a somewhat pokey 6:03/km, though I found enough reserves to post 5:52/km for the final lap. BPM was down a bit due to the slog-like nature, as well.

As for the cheaty bit: At the halfway point, I stopped to drink at the fountain by the Nature House, then immediately had to use the loo. This ended up having no discernable effect on my overall pace.

I also saw three topless joggers. One of the perks of running in the summer.

Other than the heat/humidity, no real issues to report and long stretches of the run were pretty quiet, with very few people out under the sun.

Overall, not a bad effort, but I really will try to get out earlier on Friday, I swear!

Stats:

Run 945
Average pace: 6:03/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:53 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:27
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 22-23°C
Humidity: 66-64%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 152
Weight: 168.0
Total distance to date: 6,557.5 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (152.5/327.5/480)

Music: Beauty and the Beat, The Go-Go's

I toyed with the idea of doing a 7.5K run today, but after holding back a bit for the 2nd and 3rd km, decided it would be better to do that later in the week and with an earlier, start, so I picked up the pace and finished with a pace of 5:51/km.

Conditions were similar to Friday in terms of temperature and humidity, but the sun was blazing and it’s weird how much harder it makes running. Shade is nice.

Unlike Friday, there were no bear warnings, but I did see a cite little brown bunny. I’m always surprised when I see them, because in my mind when you see one bunny, there’s like a hundred others you don’t see–yet I rarely see them at the lake. There were also two off-leash dogs, which is dangerous for the dog and the dog owner when there are bears in the area. I wish more dog owners were responsible, but what can youse do?

Overall, a good start to the week.

Stats:

Run 944
Average pace: 5:51/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 9:55 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:26
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 20-21°C
Humidity: 69-66%
Wind: light
BPM: 154
Weight: 168.0
Total distance to date: 6,552.5 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (147.5/314.5/462)

Music: Beauty and the Beat, The Go-Go's

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

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

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

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

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

Stats:

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

Music: 2x4, Guadalcanal Diary

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

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

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

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

Stats:

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

Music: The Queen is Dead, The Smiths

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stats:

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

Music: The Game, Queen

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stats:

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

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