Pre-surgery pre-fun

Fun fact: I have been in four car accidents, including one where the car ended in a ditch, yet have never had surgery.

That will change on Friday…but not because of a car accident.

In fact, the source of the surgery is one of those little mysteries, but in this case, a mystery that needs to be yoinked out of my body.

Nice fatty mass you got there

It all began (vaguely ominous music starts here) about a year and a half ago, when my body thought it might be fun to try on a really good kidney infection. As part of the diagnosis, I got my first CT scan. This revealed a 2 cm mass of fatty tissue in my chest where no masses of fatty tissue should be. My family doctor thought it was nothing to get alarmed about, but did put me on the proverbial slow boat for an MRI, a procedure I would not wish on anyone. This lead to an appointment with a thoracic surgeon, who ordered another CT scan, a PFT and a PET scan. I got a little of everything.

In the end, the conclusion was that although the mass was just sitting there, all quiet-like, it shouldn’t be there, as it could one day turn evil, so it was best to remove it.

The removal is on Friday. A tiny camera may be involved, which is both neat in a modern tech kind of way, but also something I don’t really want to think about too much, since the camera will be inside me.

Pre-surgery pep talk, but without the pep

Today was my preadmission clinic for the surgery, in which a nurse and an anesthesiologist asked me a bunch of questions, told me things, took my weight, measured my height and blood pressure, looked at my teeth and sent me off to surrender blood and have my first-ever EKG (or ECG, if you prefer).

My blood pressure was a bit high, but not alarmingly high, so the nurse took it again after she was wrapping up, thinking, I suppose, that my anxiety level would be lower at the end of our talk. My blood pressure was actually higher still. She suggested getting a home kit for blood pressure just to, you know, see if it’s high when I’m checking it at home and relaxed and wearing slippers or something. She again assured me it was not alarmingly high.

The questions were mostly expected–allergies, any prescription drugs I might be taking, stuff like that. The things they told me were also pretty much what I expected, mostly to do with what to eat/drink or not eat/drink before surgery.

I was advised to leave all tech doodads like my watch and phone at home, and go to the hospital with only my keys and Compass card, like some sort of caveman. They suggested someone (Jeff) could being me a bag of technology (BOT) after the operation, so I don’t have to just lay back and stare up at the ceiling of the semi-private room I’ll be in. I’ll also be able to stare at my phone.

(As a side note, my new phone is so boring and has so little installed on it, that I barely looked at it during the entire time I was at the hospital today, which was a little over three hours. I did adjust the clock on the lock screen, though.)

The clinic itself was supposed to last just under two hours and started at 9:30. By 10:15 the nurse was done and I awaited the anesthesiologist. A few minutes later a receptionist came in and said she was running late and wouldn’t be there until 11:00, so I could wander off for a bit and get drunk or something, if I wanted.

Instead, I found where Admitting is in the main hospital building, which is named after Jim Pattison, because what’s the point of having money if you can’t lord it over the populace by using it to get your name slapped onto every hospital? I asked a nice woman at the Information desk in the lobby and she pointed to Admitting, which was literally behind the desk. I was practically looking directly at the sign. Feeling like an idiot, I thanked her and went to buy the antibacterial stuff I’m supposed to use as part of the two showers pre-surgery (one the night before, one the morning of). Having done these things, I headed back up a bit early and lo, the anesthesiologist came in, also early!

She explained a bunch of stuff, and answered a few questions, such as how long it takes for the IV to knock you out (15-30 seconds) and where they’d likely put the IV. She seemed to think the bulging veins on my tiny, girlie hands would do nicely.

She also went over some pain remedies that might be applied after surgery, if I give consent. A few sounded less optional, as apparently a lot of people can get nauseous or barf after the anesthetic, so they’ll pump me full of something to reduce the chance of barfing. Because the surgery will be in the chest area, the risk of higher-than-normal pain is, well, higher, because every time I breathe in or out, it might hurt. And I breathe like, all the time.

Fun with needles, both theoretical and hands-on

One option she described was an epidural, in which you get an injection near your spine to help relieve pain. This sounds worse to me than the actual pain.

Another was a regional anesthetic, sort of like a Novocaine shot at the dentist, but applied to the chest area. I’d probably be OK with this. I was also shown a pain scale from 1 to 10, complete with a face that looked very neutral at 1 and kind of like the Doom guy after getting killed by 10 (which was labelled “Excruciating”). They aim to keep pain to a 4 (“Moderate”) or lower.

She did try to reassure me that the incision will be small, so it’s not like they’re flaying me open and then having to use 1000 staples to hold everything together afterward. This should help to reduce the overall pain/discomfort post-surgery.

The part that probably bummed me out the most was how both the nurse and the anesthesiologist thought it was likely I’d be kept for two nights, not just one. Boo. I am booing now, but it is quite possible I may ask for a third night when the time comes, depending on how I feel.

With the talking parts done, I went to the lab on the main floor to get blood taken. I took a number, which was 69 (hehe). The number last served was 30, so it looked like a long wait was ahead of me.

Which was accurate.

I was initially sitting and waiting next to an older man who would occasionally cough into both of his hands, then would set these same hands on the armrests of his chair, all the better to smear his germs around. Sometimes he just coughed hands-free.

I moved to a chair across the room.

When I finally went in, a little over an hour after arriving, the tech asked if I had a preferred arm and based on previous experience, I immediately said no, because it would not matter. Both of my arms suck, as determined by science. She tested the right arm, then tested the left arm. Then she went back to the right arm. She got the needle in, then noted a minor complication–I was not producing any blood. She worked the needle a bit, apologizing if it was painful, then struck gold, so to speak, and quickly filled at least four vials. It sounds a bit awful the way I’ve described it, but the worst it felt was slightly uncomfortable for a moment or two. No biggie, especially considering the human pincushion experiences of my recent past.

Next was the EKG. I only had to wait a little over 20 minutes for this and it was easy-peasy. I lay down on the bed, the tech attached 10 electrodes and after maybe 15 or 20 seconds, was done. There was no sensation at all. I was a bit concerned about the electrodes being removed from my chest afterward, as I am a bit…hirsute. But even that part was fine.

And that concluded my visit to VGH for today.

I’m not exactly worried about the surgery, but I am…thinking about it.

I was originally going to end this post with an animated surgery GIF, but that proved to be not one of my better ideas, so use your imagination instead.

Writing Prompt: The text of a letter, email, or diary

A few weeks ago I recalled writing a short story based on an idea I had, but I could not find the story. I went on a hunt for it and for some time came up with nothing. I searched backups and this blog, using every keyword I could think of.

I began to wonder if I’d only thought I’d written the story. I became a little obsessed.

But then a few days ago I found a mention of the story here on the site, in an entry from June 28, 2018: Brainstorming in the USA, specifically:

  • seeing a person on the train, but only as a reflection in the window

This was my first clue that the story actually existed outside my brain. I kept searching and found a reference to my short-lived newsletter, and remembered I’d included a few stories in it. I did a search for the backups to the newsletter and lo, there it was in a file named Prompt 2 of 5000.md

I had written the story in Obsidian, which I used for writing the newsletters. At the top of the file was the second prompt from the book 5,000 Writing Prompts, which is:

  • The text of a letter, email, or diary

I had combined the idea and prompt together and wrote a story I’m now calling Reflections.

Here it is.

Read more

Run 1,038: Bad country song

View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run: Clouds and dander.

I missed Friday’s run for reasons, so I wanted to take it a bit easier today. It helped that my seasonal allergies have been relentlessly beating me up, so I’m not exactly brimming with pep.

I headed out late again and it was a bit warmer at 17-19C. As a result, my pace was nearly the same as Friday at 5:50/km but my BPM was higher at 150. I generally felt fine, though right at the end of the cottonwood Trail, just before the sharp turn to the left and downhill, I suddenly felt very warm, like I was glowing radioactively. It passed and I was back to normal for the remainder of the run. I suspect a combo of no wind/warmth contributed.

Today was also Victoria Day, but although there were more people, it was very manageable, despite a few cyclists (one was slow and looked rather sheepish) and a few off-leash dogs.

Four more cyclists were near the dam at the start. I walked back to the 0K marker to start my run and when I made my approach to the bridge at Silver Creek, which is not far from the dam, they were all walking their bikes back to the dam. I suspect someone told them NO RIDING HERE. They also looked a little sheepish.

And also, another new sign since my last run:

They’re back! Or at least the signs are.

The coyote signs are still up. If I see a coyote riding on a bear, I am giving up running.

Good news: My right shin did not bother me at all on the run. It felt very slightly tender after.

Weird news: The title of this post comes from an incident just over a km into the run when I swallowed something. It could have been a seed or a bug or a bug clutching a seed. All I know is I felt it go into my mouth and into my throat. I decided to try to ignore it, thinking anything I might do could only make it worse. Eventually, I spat to get some stuff out of my mouth and this indeed led to me coughing so hard I had tears in eyes, like a bad country song.

I was largely fine after that and didn’t ingest anything else on the run (to my knowledge), though cottonwood dander was piling up all over the place.

Still, an overall decent outing.

Still Creek, post-run.

Stats:

Run 1,038
Average pace: 5:50/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:56 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:22
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 17-19°C
Humidity: 52%
Wind: light
BPM: 150
Weight: 169.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,015 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (285/513/798)

Music: Shuffle play

Birding, May 16, 2026: FEED ME, written and performed by Young Song Sparrow

Where: Brydon Lagoon, Blackie Spit (Surrey), Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby)
Weather: Cloudy with some sun, 11-16°C

Unlike recent outings, the weather was unseasonably cool today. I still wore shorts.

Brydon Lagoon

Brydon Lagoon, under a brooding sky.

The last time we were at Brydon, we saw a bounty of birds or BOB. Today, the bounty mostly came in the form of every kind of swallow, gulls and Mallards. Except for a few Ring-necked Ducks still noodling around, the winter migrants are gone. We are cootless again.

The wind was quite brisk and it started out only around 11C. This may not sound cold, but we’ve had summer-like weather just long enough to get used to it.

That same wind provided a benefit in trying to shoot swallows, though, as they slowed noticeably when pushing against the wind. Nic took about a billion shots, adjusted his camera’s settings and regularly cleaned stuff from the sensor, which is apparently cursed by black magic to always mysteriously attract stuff to it. But this all paid off, as he got several very spiffy shots.

I only tried a few times, my camera mostly refused to lock on, but I did grab a few where you could look at the photos and say, “That’s a swallow.”

The highlight here, though, was the normally unassuming Song sparrow, as a young and fuzzy one was sitting in a bush, demanding to be fed, and a parent was obliging, stuffing seed and whatnot down its gullet. We both got very nice shots of the feedings. Once sated, it flew off.

As did we. Well, we didn’t fly, we had to drive.

Blackie Spit

Another Xtreme low tide at Blackie Spit.

Here I added a light hoodie to my other light hoodie, as Blackie Spit is on the ocean and even though there was another extreme low tide, the wind was still kicking up high enough to threaten sweeping the cap off my head.

We saw an Anna’s Hummingbird sitting atop a small tree, looking even more like it was ready to kill than usual, but it was likely just leaning forward into the wind to avoid being blown off the tree.

Blackbirds were out and about, some festooned with crumbs and seed all over their bills, as is their way. And we saw our first ducklings, though they were in the south creek, which is mostly obscured by bushes. Nic got one so-so shot, I did not get any, sadly. The ducks seem to be lagging behind the geese in making babbies. This does not bode well in saving us from goose domination.

Although I didn’t get shots, Nic managed to capture some Hudsonian Whimbrels, which are shorebirds with long bills that hook down. Maybe we’ll see them again when the tide is not a kilometre away.

Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake

Sun and clouds, with a grooming Sandhill Crane.

This was our first visit with the Nature House open for the season. We did not go in, but I took a photo of the sign. We observed no Bird Police on the pier, but also didn’t see anyone feeding the birds. There was a pile of seed on the ground, though. To be fair, it looked like healthy seed, not like half a loaf of stale Wonder Bread.

It was still windy as all heck, but had finally warmed up to 16C. With winter migrants gone, I focused mainly on cowbirds, wood ducks and the Sandhill Crane, which was back and very into grooming itself.

There was word of a Red-necked Phalarope at Piper Spit and lo, there she was! We got plenty of photos, but the phalarope stayed conspicuously away from the pier, so they were not great. The phalarope did not drive a monster truck or shout “Yeehaw.”

The one goose nest near the pier now looks empty and we did see a group of rapidly growing goslings by Eagle Creek, with a protective parent going ape on every other bird in the vicinity. The other birds seemed nonplussed.

Nic also took another billion shots of swallows. I took a few. I’ll be more motivated when it’s warmer (and harder to shoot them).

In all, a decent outing, with the weather actually being a tad better than expected.

The Shots

Shot with a Canon EOS R7 with 18-150 mm kit lens and 100-400 mm telephoto. Some scenery captured on a Samsung Galaxy S26.

NOTE: Normally I present the photos in the same order as they were taken, but for this gallery I opted to end with the young Song Sparrow sequence because it’s adorable.

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • American Robin
  • Anna’s Hummingbird
  • Barn Swallow
  • Brown-headed Cowbird
  • Cliff Swallow
  • Common Yellowthroat (heard, not seen)
  • House Sparrow
  • Northern Flicker
  • Northern Rough-winged Swallow
  • Purple Martin
  • Red-winged Blackbird
  • Song Sparrow
  • Tree Swallow
  • Violet-green Swallow
  • White-crowned Sparrow

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

  • Canada Goose
  • Double-crested Cormorant
  • Great Blue Heron
  • Hudsonian Whimbrel
  • Mallard
  • Red-necked Phalarope
  • Ring-necked Duck
  • Sandhill Crane
  • Wood Duck

Common:

  • American Crow
  • European Starling
  • Plenty of gulls
  • Rock Pigeon

Raptors:

  • Bald Eagle

Non-birds:

  • Assorted pollinators, mainly bumblebees
  • A bunny

Things you expect and things you don’t: Windows 11 and Linux

Thing I expect: File Explorer remains a hot mess. It takes a long time quite regularly to do simple things, like display contents of a folder, often displaying “Not Responding” before finally acting.

Thing I don’t expect: Last night I was going through my birding photos with Nic and thought, “I’ll do it in Linux Mint because its file manager is not burning trash.” Which is true. The files copied over from my SD card quickly and I used the built-in Pix program to go through and view the JPG files. Until the entire system locked up without warning or explanation. I ended up rebooting the system.

For all the crap that happens in Windows 11, I don’t remember the last time it hard-locked on me. I’m not saying it hasn’t, but if it has, it’s been too long for me to remember.

And now I’m wondering what caused the Mint crash and will it happen again, etc.

I am consternated.

hello world

Yes, this blog still works for posting things that are not running or birding related.

The lack of posts (other than for the topics mentioned above) has made me think, which happens occasionally. Why am I not posting much? Is it a general sense of contentment that leaves me so fulfilled that I don’t have any inclination to post about concerns, complaints or conundrums here?

As the kids would say, lol no.

I think it’s a few things:

  • A broken habit is hard to restart
  • I have actually been busy, which means I prioritize, and other things have been winning out lately
  • My seasonal allergies have been hitting especially hard lately, which affects mood/desire, etc.
  • Diablo 3

I think about writing a lot. This is actually a good sign, as it usually means I’m on the verge of getting back into the habit.

And now, typing cat:

Run 1,037: The shin, squirrel and shoe

View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run. Cloudy and cooler, with a chance of crazy squirrels.

With my right shin feeling tender, but not on a love story way, after the last run, I got up this morning and went back and forth over whether to run today, do a shorter run or something else.

In the end, I opted to do a short loop counter-clockwise at the lake. This would shave off a not-insubstantial five km of additional walking after the run.

The walk to the lake went fine, though I could feel the right shin. I started off slow, feeling things out. I slowed even more on the second km, not because the shin was hurting, but, as they say, out of “an abundance of caution”. I picked up and returned to my initial pace for the third km and by then the shin wasn’t really bothering me. Was it endorphins masking the pain? Maybe! I picked up the pace for the final two km and finished overall with 5:49/km, a slight improvement over Monday. My BPM, thanks to the cooler temperatures, was down to 144.

Okay, that was the shin, which I will continue to monitor.

The squirrel? As I neared the halfway point of the run on the Piper Mill Trail, I saw a Douglas squirrel on the right edge of the trail. They don’t seem as twitchy about people getting close and sure enough, the squirrel did not immediately react to my presence as I jogged by. Then it got weird. The squirrel took off–in pursuit! Yes, it began running after me. It was so close to my right foot at one point that I was worried I might step on it, so I put on a little extra burst of speed and left it behind. I have no idea what it was doing. Did it think I had nuts? I mean, I do, but they are reserved for human use only.

And finally, the shoe. Not long after the squirrel incident, as I reached my turnaround point, I felt a sharp jab in my left foot, the telltale sign of an especially jagged little piece of gravel getting into the shoe, under my foot, then getting squished into my foot. After a few steps, it shifted and the pain stopped, but IU did not want to risk further incidents, so I paused the run to fish it out.

The left shoe is always double-laced, so I had to work on the carefully tied knot for a bit to get the lace finally untied. Then I had to take the shoe off, get the gravel out (success!) and, because my left foot was on a gravel trail without a shoe, I also had to somehow make sure I didn’t put even more gravel into the shoe when putting it back on. I’d like to say I have the poise and balance of a flamingo and can stand on one leg and remove a shoe without wobbling over, but this is not the case. I wiped my left foot on some nearby grace, did a regular bow (hoping for the best) and finished my run without further squirrels, rocks or other weirdness.

In the end, the shin issue seemed to fade, much as it had on previous runs, so I am cautiously optimistic it will be OK.

We’ll find out Friday!

The view just west of the Cariboo Dam, post-run, looking lush and green.

Stats:

Run 1,037
Average pace: 5:49/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 1:14 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:13
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 14-16°C
Humidity: 73-69%
Wind: light
BPM: 144
Weight: 168.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,010 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (280/500/780)

Music: Shuffle play

Birding, May 9, 2026: Cleaning crows

Where: Rocky Point Park (Port Moody), DeBoville Slough (Port Coquitlam)
Weather: Mostly sunny, 21°C

Today the weather was more seasonal, but still a bit warmer than normal. It was warm enough for a lot of birds to go bathing, however.

Rocky Point Park (and environs)

Looking west across the inlet.

Our first stop was the heron rookery just past Old Orchard Park. We did see plenty of nests and plenty of adult herons, variously grooming, snoozing and staring out, but no baby dinosaurs were visible–yet. We may have to return in a few weeks. Or rent a drone or something. Or a Great Blue Heron costume, along with tree-climbing skills, the latter of which I’m fairly certain you can’t rent.

Bottom line: no baby herons on this trip.

We headed along the trail to Rocky Point Park and along the way spotted a number of Killdeer and out and about and bobbing, along with a flock of seagulls enjoying the cool of the water flowing in from nearby creeks, as well as a murder or two of crows doing the same. The crows would carefully (and sometimes trippingly) make their way to a shallow spot in the water suitable for bathing, then energetically splash about before hopping out to let the next one in. Very civilized. The gulls, being swimmers, were just bathing wherever, or snoozing in the shallows while cooling their butts.

We also saw a number of herons variously stalking, flying or creeping under the pier and disappearing. A bird condo out in the water had what appeared to be at least one Purple Martin couple shacking up.

And as always, the lower number of birds is compensated for in part by some pretty nice scenery.

DeBoville Slough

The DeBoville Slough, sloughing along.

The last time we were at the DeBoville Slough, we were shooting icy fronds. Today I wore sunblock. Apparently there was enough sun to scare off most of the birds, as we saw even fewer than normal, but we did see a peppy spider and a bee both working their way along the trail (unsure why the bee wasn’t, you know, flying). There were also geese honking here and there and the mountains and the slough providing scenic views, but the piling that previously had an osprey nest is nest-free this spring, boo.

Sadly, there wasn’t much activity here, so I can’t really elaborate more. Pretend there are a few paragraphs below detailing birds of paradise or something.

But despite the relative lack of birds, it was still a perfectly pleasant outing.

The Shots

Shot with a Canon EOS R7 with 18-150 mm kit lens and 100-400 mm telephoto.

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • American Robin
  • Black-capped Chickadee
  • Common Yellowthroat
  • Purple Martin
  • Song Sparrow
  • Tree Swallow

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

  • Canada Goose
  • Common Merganser
  • Double-crested Cormorant
  • Great Blue Heron
  • Killdeer
  • Mallard

Common:

  • American Crow
  • Plenty of gulls

Raptors:

  • Red-tailed Hawk (probably)

Non-birds:

  • A distant squirrel
  • Some butterflies
  • A bee trundling on the trail
  • A spider

Run 1,036: Slow-roasted and tender

View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run: Warm and sunny.

My watch wanted me to run for 38 minutes today at a pace of 8.6 km/hour.

Instead, I ran my usual 5K in just over 29 minutes. What the watch apparently didn’t know is that it was much warmer this morning. I started out exactly where I ended overall–5:50/km. A bit pokey, especially compared to Friday, but it’s fine. BPM was higher, likely due to the temperature, at 149, but anything under 150 is still good.

One area of concern is the ol’ right shin. Unlike the last run where it started tender then gradually got fine over the run, today it started out feeling a lot less tender, but then kind of stayed there for the run, a low-grade tenderness as the sun slowly roasted me. I don’t think it affected my pace and as I type this, it’s not hurting or anything, but it is now on my proverbial radar.

Probably (?) unrelated, my left foot was feeling just slightly sore in that “need the orthotic” way after the run. I haven’t used the orthotics since getting the Peregrine 15s because the insoles they came with were a cushy fill-in, but after 275 km of runs and a lot more walking, they may be reaching their EOL. I suppose I should get new shoes, maybe go for something more cushiony this time.

I have surgery in 11 days, which is going to keep me from running for a bit, so the shin issue may be something that solves itself in a roundabout way.

The trail was dry and a bit dusty and the Avalon parking lot has huge piles of gravel ready for the resurfacing of the Brunette Headwaters trail, slated to begin May 19th. The area around the second boardwalk continues to be closed “for repairs” despite no sign of repairs at all. The detour is fairly short, so it’s not a big deal. Also, Hangdog was out.

In all, not a bad start to the week.

Still Creek, post run, being itself.

Stats:

Run 1,036
Average pace: 5:50/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:49 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:21
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 18-20°C
Humidity: 56-51%
Wind: light
BPM: 149
Weight: 169.2 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,005 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (275/493/768)

Music: Glass Houses, Billy Joel

Run 1,035: 7,000 km!

View of the Brunette River, pre-run: So green!

Due to a rather late start, I opted to run the river trail today and also, sometimes it’s just nice to change things up.

Conditions were similar to Wednesday–cloudy and 14C. I got off to a false start because one of my AirPods wasn’t sitting in my ear correctly. After fixing that, I got off to a slightly longer false start when I remembered I had to tie up my shoes, especially the evil left shoe, which requires a double bow.

I then continued my run for real, uninterrupted. The trail was pretty sparse, with a few cyclists and walkers, but no one else.

My right shin felt tender at the start, which was a concern, but it eventually settled down again, so…we’ll see!

I started strong, flagged a little in the second km, then finished strong, with an overall pace of 5:37/km and a BPM matching Wednesday of 145. My last two km were 5:29 and 5:23, respectively. The main difference here was the actual location. The river trail is pretty flat and wide, unlike the trail at Burnaby Lake, which is more like an actual twisty, windy trail. Here’s a typical view of the river trail, taken post-run:

This also reflects my view for most of the run, with few people around.

Anyway, getting in a zippier run and beating the heat again was a nice combo and a good way to end the week. And as the title mentions, this run marked 7,000 km officially tracked, enough to take me across Canada and drop me off somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.

The river, post-run: A bit low, due to a relative lack of rain over the last few weeks.

Stats:

Run 1,035
Average pace: 5:37/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 12:21c p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:13
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 14°C
Humidity: 63-60%
Wind: light
BPM: 145
Weight: 167.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,000 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (270/480/750)

Music: Private Eyes, Hall and Oates