The post-cold slower run

Run 352
Average pace: 5:17/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops and Piper Mill Trail
Distance: 5.13 km
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 24-20ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 373
Total distance to date: 2953

Five days between runs and missing one due to a cold meant that tonight’s 5K was bound to be slower and it was, neatly reversing the progress I’d made the previous run, with a pace of 5:17/km, the same as two runs back and a full seven seconds off my previous 5:10/km.

Although I didn’t feel especially sluggish and conditions were actually quite nice (light breeze, cooler) it was clear the cold and time off had worked against me. Or maybe it was the phone, which I used again. Yeah, that’s it. Stupid phone.

Speaking of stupid, I chose the option to lock the phone during the run, thinking this would prevent it from accidentally activating or doing weird things. But that’s what “slide to unlock” is for. What this meant is that at the end of the run, while still running (don’t want the pace to fall off) I had to enter my 4-digit passcode. This is not easy to do while running. In fact, I found it impossible. I ended up using the pause button on the earbuds to allow me to slow down enough to unlock the phone. I then resumed pace and then properly ended it. This meant the run stretched out a bit farther than normal for a 5K, to 5.13 km.

The other minor technical SNAFU was at the start. Because it’s a bit fiddly getting the phone into the spibelt I opted for the maximum 9-second countdown before the run begins. Despite this the run still started before I could get the phone securely tucked away. Fortunately it didn’t affect my first km pace.

The second and final km both saw big drops of 9% and 6% and here the phone provides a useful breakdown of where exactly I…broke down.

The second km drop-off happened as I hit the final bend on the Conifer Loop, not too long past the 1 km mark. I lost a lot of gas after a good start but maintained a steady pace after that until the last km. That last km drop-off also happened on a side trail when I did my second trip down the Spruce Loop, though I’m sure mucking about trying to actually stop the run had an effect, too.

Overall a disappointing run but not too surprising given the time off and lingering effects of the cold.

Book review: Son of Rosemary

Son of RosemarySon of Rosemary by Ira Levin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Son of Rosemary is the sequel to Rosemary’s Baby, and is set in 1999, 33 years after the original (and was written in 1997).

The book retains Levin’s glib, breezy dialogue, coupled with terse description that keeps the action rolling along. In the story Rosemary falls into a coma in 1971 and only wakes up after the last member of the Bramford coven is killed in a car accident. During her decades-long nap her son has grown up and claims to have resisted his darker tendencies (being the son of Satan and all), has started a religious charitable organization and orchestrated its crowning event, a global lighting of candles to usher in the year 2000 and a new era of peace, love and all that jazz.

Rosemary has her doubts and Andy’s occasionally nutty behavior underscores them. Without going into spoilers, the story gets increasingly dark, the ends with a twist at the end that will delight or infuriate, depending on how you felt about the story up to that point.

I was left nonplussed.

Tonally this is, despite the potential for worldwide domination by big letter Evil, not to mention Armageddon, a lighter read than Rosemary’s Baby. There’s never much connection to the shallow characters, and those who are more fleshed out waver back and forth like pendulums in their thoughts and actions, making it hard to empathize. The twist ending almost feels like Levin saying, “You wanted a sequel? Here ya go, suckers!” Or maybe it’s too subtly clever for me to properly appreciate.

In the end the book is carried on the strength of Levin’s skill as a writer. If you enjoyed Rosemary’s Baby and think you might be interested in a goofy “What if?” scenario on events following that book, give Son of Rosemary a shot. There are otherwise better horror novels out there.

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iPhone, iRun

Run 351
Average pace: 5:10/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Distance: 5.05 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 24-20ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 374
Total distance to date: 2948

Tonight I got all wacky and decided to use my iPhone and the Nike+ app to track my run instead of my iPod because why not? I grabbed my spibelt, slapped the phone in and headed off.

It was a little warmer than the previous run starting out but because I also started later it cooled off quickly and felt quite comfy. Assuming the GPS wasn’t a dirty liar, I actually started out fairly strongly and maintained a consistent pace up until the last km, which is where the course twisted all over the place (including over the dam) and also went up a steep (for Burnaby Lake) trail.

The phone defaults were a bit off, so it credited me 20 more calories burned than reality (it had my weight set to 170 pounds instead of 159) and it was set to not only call out distance but also time, giving me a km by km estimate of my pace. My pace was improved, so this turned out to be encouraging rather than discouraging. I’ve since turned that part off.

My planned route was to go clockwise to where the main trail splits, then turn left and loop back around on the longer Freeway trail. My ability to calculate distance is apparently really bad, as I neared the end of the route with about another km to go. I decided to keep running, headed over the dam and back up the trail counter-clockwise. After a bit I was thinking I should have heard the 400 m warning but that doesn’t seem to happen on the phone app, so I just sort of guessed where to turn around, doubled back and hoped I would complete 5K before ending up out in the street.

I was successful in not needing to run into the street.

Overall the run went fairly well and my pace was a much-improved 5:10/km.

I think I’ll keep using the phone for awhile. Seeing the route drawn out on a map afterward is kind of neat.

The next big test comes on Sunday when I go back to a full 10K. I vow not to sleep in and run when it is Africa hot. Really!

Book review: 2012

2012: The War For Souls2012: The War For Souls by Whitley Strieber

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a nutty action adventure that combines Whitley Strieber’s beliefs about the soul, climate change and life after death with the 2012 doomsday prophecies, parallel universes and an overarching plot that has a pulpy L. Ron Hubbard feel to it, right down to a reptilian-humanoid alternate Earth that wants to crush (and eat) soft, puny humans.

It also features an explosive Ann Coulter cameo that proves Strieber still has a sense of humor.

Some spoilers follow, though most are revealed fairly early on in the story.

The story begins on an alternate version of Earth that is mostly the same but with a few notable differences–two moons instead of one, a different geopolitical make-up (no world wars, the British Empire remains ascendant, peace generally prevails). Fourteen ancient sites around the world suddenly blow up, revealing gigantic lenses that have been put in place thousands of years before to allow the inhabitants of Abaddon (evil snake people Earth) to burst through and nosh on the souls of alternate Earth. The soul is presented as a scientific reality, a kind of plasma that persists after a body expires, though it can be permanently extinguished. The snakes know how to bottle and destroy souls and feed on them. With their world messed up, they plan on using the lenses to take over both of the other Earths.

While the story gets progressively weirder and outlandish as the world of Abaddon is fully revealed, there are still plenty of well-executed scenes depicting alien incursions into both of the “good” Earths, and many of the characters have a loopy “what the hell” attitude that keeps things from bogging down. There is a sincerity in the way Strieber writes about family bonds and how they endure, even if I couldn’t stop picturing the enemies in the story as guys in big rubber snakeman suits.

2012 is not a great book and I felt the execution didn’t quite live up to the presentation but it’s an enjoyable enough read.

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A shorter recovery (from embarrassment) run

Run 350
Average pace: 5:17/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops and Piper Mill Trail
Distance: 5.04 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 23-20ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 373
Total distance to date: 2942

Tonight the bar was set low: run only 5K, beat my horrible pace of 5:37/km of the previous run. Given that I was only running half as far and had yet to turn in any 5K even close to being as awful as 5:37, the odds were in my favor.

Fortunately nothing conspired to prevent the gimme of a better run. My pace was slow for a 5K at 5:17/km but a whopping 20 seconds better than my previous outing. The overall pace was faster than the first km of my last run (5:17 vs. 5:18). I was even trending toward my fastest km on the last one. The only downside was a bit of a sag between the 3 and 4K mark. The run was very consistent otherwise.

My stomach threatened to cramp about halfway through but never quite got there and with the shorter distance my left foot and other assorted body parts all behaved.

As a bonus, the low sun meant lots of shade and cooler temperatures. I sweated more from the effort than from the heat.

Overall, an encouraging effort after Black Sunday. Now I need to start getting the times down again.

A very slow Africa hot run with bonus snake

Run 349
Average pace: 5:37/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops
Distance: 10.04 km
Weather: Sunny and hot
Temp: 27-30ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 743
Total distance to date: 2937

My original plan today was to get up early and run after breakfast to beat the predicted heat (a high of 27ºC). Instead I slept in and didn’t head out until noon. On top of that the temperature climbed higher than forecast, topping out around 30ºC.

This was my worst run of the year, bar none. With six days off and coming off an unimpressive previous pace of 5:21/km, I managed to be significantly slower again. It was hot, I was tired, I started out poorly (5:18 for the first km) and had no hope of recovering. Although I didn’t make any special effort, I did manage to pick up the pace a little in the final km, the one bright spot in an otherwise dismal run.

My left foot began to hurt toward the end, though I don’t believe it was a significant factor on my pace. My stomach felt off but not bad, just weirdly on the verge of cramping or something.

The calorie count is reduced because I adjusted my weight down on the iPod Nike app, from 165 pounds to today’s more svelte 159 pounds. Lighter me = fewer calories burned. I can live with that sort of trade-off.

Other than it being quite warm, the only other notable aspects of the run were a family of cyclists (grr) and how close I came to stepping on a snake (very). Mr or Mrs Snake was not crossing the trail like others have in the past but was fully stopped, perhaps enjoying the relative cool of this particular shaded section. I spotted it around the same time my foot started coming down directly on it. Fortunately snakes can really boogie when they need to and it hustled off before getting accidentally smooshed. That’s all I would have needed, the added guilt of murdering a snake to go along with being tired and over-heated.

Here’s hoping the next run is better. I’m setting the bar low on this one.

A somewhat labored Labor Day run

Run 348
Average pace: 5:21/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops
Distance: 10.04 km
Weather: Cloudy with some sun, humid
Temp: 19-21ºC (felt like 24ºC)
Wind: light
Calories burned: 771
Total distance to date: 2927

Today’s run was disappointing in one way and nicely rewarding in another.

The disappointment came in a slower pace, 5:21/km vs. Saturday’s 5:18/km. I attribute most of this to it being noticeably more humid. The temperature was a bit warmer but it felt warmer and muggier. Looking at my time I clearly started sagging, though during the run it didn’t feel that bad. The foot also began to hurt, but not as much as Saturday. I think I’ve been crunching it in unfavorable ways when sitting at the computer. I need to get slippers or something so I can’t do that.

The other thing of note is how crowded the trail was. Starting out at the dam I saw more people than I think I did on my entire run done at the same time on Saturday. Apparently the thing to do on a statutory holiday is go to the lake and walk or jog. I’m pretty sure I’ve written about this very thing before. It’s weird.

Also, in addition to the usual bear signs:

Bear in area sign
Here be bears (maybe).

A new one was added, warning “Bear sighted in area”, along with a number to call, presumably so they can send someone over to murder the bear that was sighted. I don’t know if they actually murder them, maybe they tranq them and relocate them but shooting things dead seems to be the popular solution these days so that’s what I’m assuming.

Anyway, it adds a little spice to the jog to know an actual bear has been spotted on your route. It won’t be long before the bears head off to hibernate and the signs come down, though, to be replaced with “Yeti in area” signs.

The rewarding part of today’s run was the total distance for the year to date. At 438.7 km I have now passed my run total for all of 2013 (!) with four months to go. In 2013 I ran 436.1 km. Mind you, my average pace in 2013 was 5:08 and this year it’s 5:16 so…eh, you take what you can get.

The no-miracles post-vacation run

Run 347
Average pace: 5:18/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops
Distance: 10.04 km
Weather: Cloudy with some sun, a few sprinkles; humid
Temp: 20ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 772
Total distance to date: 2917

My first week back to work meant I could only run after my shift was over and every day it was pretty much Africa hot except Friday and by then I decided to just run Saturday morning instead and get a full run in instead. With a week between runs, I expected to be soft, flabby and slow.

Instead my pace was nearly identical to my last run, only one second slower at 5:18/km. Conditions were fine, with the temperature staying a moderate 20ºC, a nice breeze blowing at times and a mix of cloud, sun and the occasional light sprinkle.

My left foot was feeling sore before the run–never a good sign–and it became a factor past the midway point. By the 7K mark it was starting to hurt and it probably affected my pace in the last few km. I did turn it up a little for the home stretch but fell a bit short of my opening pace.

By about the 6K mark I began feeling tired and my pace fell off. It never cratered but I clearly did not feel as zippy as I might have. This run also marked the first time my all-time average pace went up, from 5:12/km to 5:13/km. Ouch. My average for the month is 5:20/km and with only one more possible run to go it’s unlikely to change. Alas.

Still, considering a week is a long time in running, I can’t be too disappointed. And on a more positive note this is the first month in a long while where I ran more than 100 km. Woot.

Book review: We Are All Completely Fine

We Are All Completely FineWe Are All Completely Fine by Daryl Gregory

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This short and surprisingly breezy novel answers the question of what you get when you combine group therapy sessions with body horror and unseen monsters trying to bust into our world, Lovecraft-style. In the hands of a lesser writer this might turn into a muddled mess but Daryl Gregory keeps a sharp focus, adroitly mixing humor and horror as a group of five individuals meet to discuss their common monster issues. These issues end up requiring more than just primal scream therapy to deal with. But there is assuredly screaming as well.

My only real complaint with the story is its thinness. It’s short to the point of robbing some of the emotional heft of the characters because events unfold so rapidly and speed toward the end. I wouldn’t say this feels like a first draft because the prose is nicely polished, but it does seem like there’s not quite enough meat on the bone. I was left satisfied but only just.

On the other hand, it’s kind of nice to read something where the author doesn’t spend dozens (or hundreds) of pages world-building and going deep into the backgrounds of every character, no matter how insignificant.

Recommended, particularly for those looking for a fresh take on the usual monsters-all-around-us plot.

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Book review: The Imago Sequence and Other Stories

The Imago Sequence and Other StoriesThe Imago Sequence and Other Stories by Laird Barron

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There is no doubt that Laird Barron is a fabulous author name.

This collection of long short stories is populated by Barron’s tough guy protagonists who plow through Lovecraftian landscapes with their fists out, often telling their stories in the first person as they battle demons both personal and perhaps real. But no matter how tough these guys are, they all demonstrate an equally dense vocabulary and gift for imagery and metaphor that would leave the everyman with his jaw hanging, a “What did you just say?” look etched on his face.

And that is, perhaps, the biggest flaw of this collection. At times it almost feels like Barron is simply taking the same macho-but-well-spoken bruiser and working him through different variations of a surreal (and typically present day) world. Most of the stories take place in the Pacific Northwest, around Olympia and Seattle but the cities are left largely as sketches, more background to the mood, which is forefront. The mood is invariably dark, the only humor bitter and cynical, as these men get caught up in cults, the gaps between worlds best left unexplored and more horrific things.

Barron luxuriously works the description of things both ordinary and uncanny, taking his time to draw the reader in, letting the strangeness of his settings settle around like a big cozy blanket. A blanket with teeth and soaked in something that smells not quite alive, not quite dead.

The major issue I had with the stories is I found the protagonists, for all their bravado and quips, strangely unaffecting. I didn’t care what happened to them. Worse, Barron cheats with the first person perspective, using its intimacy to full effect while ending several tales with no real way for the protagonist to have been left in a state to actually tell them. It’s not quite “and they turned out to already be dead!” but it’s in the same territory.

I can’t deny the care Barron gives to each piece, though. The stories are like lovingly handcrafted carvings, the maker working carefully to get every facet just right. The highlight is probably the title piece, in which a brutish (but literate) small-time collector/muscleman gets a look at a photograph that literally changes him. Barron does a lovely job of drawing out the horror, revealing it though obscure photographs and nightmares. “Parallax” uses a gimmick (see the title) but is an effective and unsettling take on one half of a couple disappearing and the other being fingered for possible murder. “Hallucigenia” has a similar feel to “The Imago Sequence” but does just as well in creating its surreal environments.

Although I am left with mixed feelings on the collection as a whole, I can say without reservation that if you like any of this collection you will invariably like all of it. Barron’s writing is very strong and consistent. I’m just not totally sold on all of his characters and the writerly tricks he employs.

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A somewhat slower end-of-vacation run

Run 346
Average pace: 5:17/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops
Distance: 10.04 km
Weather: Hazy high cloud
Temp: 17-22ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 772
Total distance to date: 2907

Today’s run was a little disappointing in that I fell back four seconds on average to a pace of 5:17/km. All of the conditions were just a little worse than Wednesday–a little warmer, a little less breeze–but not bad. I started out slower but still at a reasonable pace but fell flat between the 6 and 9K mark, where I could definitely feel myself getting tired.

I pushed on for a solid finish, picking the pace up by 3% but it wasn’t enough to overcome the sluggish middle.

Body-wise I felt fine, with nothing causing any undue discomfort.

On the plus side, I crossed the 2900 km threshold and this marked my ninth consecutive 10K run, which I think is the most I’ve done in a row since 2012.

The sleeping in pays off run

Run 345
Average pace: 5:13/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops
Distance: 10.04 km
Weather: Sunny, very humid
Temp: 16-20ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 772
Total distance to date: 2897

I took a slightly different approach to my run this morning by starting an hour later than usual. This meant it would be a bit warmer (bad) but would also be less humid (good) and as a bonus, an extra hour of sleep. The forecast indicated it was only going to get up to 22ºC for the day so the trade-off seemed worth it.

And it was. I shall cherish this rare triumph of planning ahead. It was both cooler heading out–about 16ºC–and not quite as humid. The sun was intermittent, with hazy high cloud dominating and as a special bonus there was a very welcome light breeze blowing through much of the run.

My right hip was feeling a little creaky, probably from the combination of longer runs and the MegaWalks™ I’ve often been doing on the non-run days (I’ve put in probably close to 150 km of walking since my vacation started on August 2) but not enough to affect my pace and it loosened up over the course of the run.

This was my best 10K pace in awhile, nudging my previous best from last week at 5:13/km. Oddly, the third km was once again my fastest and the times between the first three km and the last three km were remarkably consistent, the only downside being the sprint at the end was somewhat less sprinty than usual:

  • 1K 5:08
  • 2K 5:07
  • 3K 5:02
  • 8K 5:16
  • 9K 5:17
  • 10K 5:15

The combination of returning to work next week and the sun starting to set earlier will soon make it a challenge to get in full 10K runs while it’s still light out, but at least the long term forecast looks to be mainly clear with seasonal temperatures, so we may finally have bid farewell to the Africa hot weather for the summer.