Average pace: 4:53/km Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.02 km
Weather: Sunny, humid
Temp: 27ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 363
Total distance to date: 2322 km
Same run as on Tuesday but with the bonus of being two seconds slower on average. Woo. The reason? Not because it was sunny (it was probably ever-so-slightly cooler) but because it was much more humid. I now refer to humidity as the energy vampire.
I also had unexpected accompaniment for the first km or so as my partner Jeff was coming back on the river trail from his bike ride. He swung around and rode alongside me, which made me want to run faster to show off, be faster than the bike and generally be stupid and macho. I probably would have thrown up at some point but he sensed I was distracted and headed off home. After a midpoint sag my pace jumped up and down but despite pushing hard at the end I could not match my previous pace.
The feet were okay, so I’ll chalk this up as a victory all the same.
Average pace: 4:51/km Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.02 km
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 28ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 363
Total distance to date: 2317 km
The last 5K I did it was sunny and 20ºC. Tonight it was 28ºC and cloudy. The absence of sun made pretty much no difference with the temperature so much higher. As a result, I pushed through the thick, muggy air with a pace four seconds slower than last time, coming in at 4:51/km. I pushed at the end to try to at least match the prior time but ultimately couldn’t do it. I did manage to pull off what I think is a first, though–my pace at the end of the run was actually faster than at the beginning.
I slumped a little at the midway point due to the heat but coming back on the river trail the path gently slopes down for stretches, making it easier to pick the pace back up, which I did.
The run otherwise went well. The right tendon felt stiff at the start, probably due to the two days off, but it loosened up in time and wasn’t an issue. The left foot again behaved.
And that’s about it. The run was otherwise fairly ordinary–a good thing!
Average pace: 5:07/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Piper Mill Trail, Conifer and Spruce Loops
Distance: 11.2 km
Weather: Sun
Temp: 27ºC
Wind: light to moderate
Calories burned: 810
Total distance to date: 2312 km
It was hotter today compared to my last run around the lake but there was also a stronger breeze and a lot less humidity. This meant that while my mouth felt like a mini-Sahara, it was much easier to breathe and I didn’t start to wilt dramatically.
I could feel where my left foot would normally start to hurt before I headed out, having walked around a decent bit before the run but it behaved itself, only making its presence known in the last few km and not actually hurting. Likewise for the walk home, though if that had stretched a few more km it may have started to be a bit of a bother.
The right tendon was in good form pretty much throughout.
Looking at the graph of the run it’s a lot smoother than some of the recent runs, more like what I’d consider normal. Coming in at a pace of 5:07/km, a full seven seconds better than the previous run was encouraging, as it seems I may be both getting past the hump in terms of performance and also in my feet healing up and no longer acting as clamps on my natural pace.
I came very close, within maybe 20 paces, of hitting 5K at the unofficial halfway point at Still Creek. When I do that I’ll know I’m really back to form.
The run was otherwise unremarkable, with surprisingly few people out for a late Saturday afternoon. Maybe they were all swimming.
Average pace: 4:47/km Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.03 km
Weather: Sun
Temp: 20ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 364
Total distance to date: 2307 km
The temperature for this shorter run was a mere 20ºC, much lower than some of the last few. As a result neither heat nor its good pal humidity were an issue. As a result, I shaved a second off my recent best 5K pace, coming in at 4:47/km and consistently staying under 5:00 for each km of the run.
I dipped a bit midway through the second and fourth km but only for the space of a few hundred meters and only by 5-7 seconds, not enough to impact the overall pace significantly.
The feet were again fine so this is another run that can be chalked up as an improvement.
I have to say I prefer the Burnaby Lake trails to the Brunette River trail. It’s essentially a gravel road and as such it has potholes. The parks crews have made a few modest attempts in the past year or so to fill the holes but right now every one is very hole-y. And there are a lot of them, enough that if you don’t focus on dodging around them for the majority of the run you’re likely to twist an ankle plunging into one. It takes a little away from the pleasure of a simple run. At the same time you could also argue that it adds a zesty challenge in terms of dexterity and concentration.
Average pace: 5:15/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Piper Mill Trail, Conifer and Spruce Loops
Distance: 11.15 km
Weather: Sun
Temp: 27ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 808
Total distance to date: 2318 km
Another quite warm run, though it was done after work so later in the evening than usual (the running part began at 7:12 p.m.). In addition to being warm it was also very muggy and with little wind to relieve the mugginess. This made the canopied areas of the trail feel a bit like hothouses, with the sticky hot air trapped by the surrounding vegetation.
I mustered through, though, determined to make up for the disappointing slip to 5:22/km on the previous lake run.
And success! I finished with a pace of 5:15. seven seconds better and three seconds better than the pace prior to that. The left foot behaved itself throughout and this is definitely a contributing factor to the improved time. I’m also feeling I’m starting to get past the point where my stamina kicks up another notch, as the overall pace of the run shows a smooth, gradual decline, without a lot of ups and downs, along with the usual spike up, this time starting a full 1.5 km before the end.
Pleased with the progress, especially with the torrid conditions.
Average pace: 5:22/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Ran Piper Mill Trail, Conifer and Spruce Loops
Distance: 11.02 km
Weather: Sun
Temp: 21-25ºC
Wind: light to moderate
Calories burned: 798
Total distance to date: 2284 km
The best part about today’s run was that I managed 11 km and my left foot did not hurt. Woot, I say. It did start to feel a little sore on the walk back when I was on the last block of Fader Street, about 100-200 m from home and even then it was fine to walk on. To quote Portal, this was a triumph.
With the temperature forecast to climb to 28ºC by afternoon, I headed out at 11:30 a.m. and started my run near the parking lot by the lake, heading clockwise. This was a good choice as the sun stayed on my back for the run instead of the opposite, which generally feels a lot worse.
As the temperature climbed I found myself feeling sluggish. The breeze helped but the high humidity of last weekend was gone and the dry heat tends to leave me feeling parched and without energy. As a result my pace was 5:22/km, a full four seconds slower than my last 11K run. Disappointing, especially with my feet bothering me quite a bit on the previous long outing. Maybe I ran faster just to get it over with.
I pulled the calf of my left leg last night and felt it twinge a few times but not enough to account for the slower performance. Likewise, I had a few seconds of cramping but it subsided and never slowed me down.
The graph on the Nike+ site is one of the weirdest I’ve seen. Most commonly the line from the start of the run to the end does a gradual decline, levels off about halfway through then ticks up at the end. This one basically follows the pattern except instead of leveling off, each km looks like a mountain valley, up and down, up and down, like I kept fighting to push ahead and then my body said “Nope!” and eased off. I do not remember experiencing anything like this during the run itself.
I am thinking about possibly running again tomorrow to see how it would compare to today’s.
One other thing I’ll say: when I finished I went to the faucet near the dam and drank about eight handfuls of cold water and it was the best water I’ve had all year. There is something absolutely wonderful about cool, fresh water after a long, dry run.
Average pace: 5:03/km Location: Brunette River trail, Burnaby Lake (CCW) to Conifer Loop
Distance: 8.03 km
Weather: Sun
Temp: 24ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 580
Total distance to date: 2273 km
Knowing that pizza was in the offing for dinner tonight I opted to run a little farther than the planned-for 5K. I walked to the Brunette River trail, relished that it was slightly cooler than yesterday and headed off, continuing to Burnaby Lake where I followed the Spruce Loop and Conifer Loop trails before heading back on the main one. I hit the 8K mark shortly after exiting the river trail.
To my pleasant surprise, my left foot did not get sore over the extended distance. My pace was a little slower than yesterday at 5:03/km but when the extra distance is factored in it works out to be nearly the same, so I’m not disappointed there.
The large dip in speed that happened during the 5-6K mark is something I actually noted during the run. I had just left Burnaby Lake and was running up the sidewalk leading back to the river trail. It’s mostly uphill and steeper than any other part of the run. I felt slower and made a mental note to check if that really was the case. Yes, it turns out gravity works just like the scientists say it does.
Other than that, my pace was pretty consistent, so I’m again pleased with the result.
This was my fourth day of running in the past five days (and fifth run) so I’m taking Thursday night off. I haven’t decided if Friday will be a short run, a long one or an in-betweener. I may not decide until I’m actually running because sometimes I’m nutty like that.
Average pace: 5:00/km Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.04 km
Weather: Sun
Temp: 26ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 365
Total distance to date: 2265 km
Tonight was a short run on the Brunette River trail. Although it was still fairly warm it wasn’t quite scorching and there was even a little breeze blowing.
My pace of 5:00/km bested my best weekend time by six seconds, a nice illustration of how temperature really affects performance. The feet were fine so not much else to add.
Average pace: 5:06/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops and Piper Mill Trail
Distance: 5.1 km
Weather: Sun
Temp: 32-30ºC
Wind: nil
Calories burned: 372
Total distance to date: 2255 km
Average pace: 5:16/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW), Brunette River trail Distance: 5.02 km
Weather: Sun
Temp: 30-28ºC
Wind: nil
Calories burned: 363
Total distance to date: 2260 km
Today I deliberately planned to only run 5K, following the same route as yesterday. There were two changes. The first was starting time. I didn’t head out until about 6:50 p.m. and didn’t start the run until 7:24 p.m., hoping to avoid the sun and the worst of the day’s heat (despite it being even hotter than yesterday). The second was applying a liberal spraying of Off to my legs to avoid adding to my modest bug bite collection.
The change in time seemed to work, slightly. The run still felt more difficult than normal but I did finish with a better pace of 5:06/km, two seconds better than yesterday. I even saw a few other nutty types running. Given that it was 32ºC it actually didn’t feel as bad, again due to the higher than normal humidity.
The run otherwise was a match for yesterday and my feet held up nicely. I began walking back and along the way those same fee started getting itchy. I didn’t want to walk all the way back but neither did I want to cheese out by taking the SkyTrain when I exited the park. So after walking 2 km I set up another 5K run and took off again, running the rest of the lake trail, across Cariboo Road and back onto the Brunette River trail. I got maybe a third of the way up that when I hit 5K and then settled into a brisk walk for the rest of the way back.
The 2 km of walking between the runs didn’t really serve as a proper rest, as I kept moving at a good pace but it did allow me to catch my breath, cool down and settle my heart rate. I expected my time to be worse and it was, coming in at 5:16/km. On the other hand, I’m certain it would have been even worse if I had run the full 10K uninterrupted.
The forecast keeps changing hourly (“It’s going to be even hotter tomorrow! No, it’s not. Wait, yes it is! No, it’s going to be cooler. Wait, we were kidding. Hotter, definitely. Hahaha.”) so I have no idea what to expect come Tuesday but I suspect it will be about the same as it was yesterday–hotter than normal and probably too much to handle a full 10K. But we shall see.
Surprisingly, splitting today’s 10K in two seemed to work for the feet, with both still feeling fine afterward. The right tendon only twinged slightly on the second run while the left foot pretty much behaved itself.
I also managed to break 100 km for the month of June, which was nice and somewhat unexpected, given the number of shorter runs I’ve done. My stats:
103.94 km
5:06/km average pace
Compared to June 2012 when my feet were in much better shape:
After noting that the first day of summer was poop, I will now note that the ninth day of summer has been a bit of an overachiever. I’m not sure if we broke a record but it looks like it will have hit at least 32ºC in New Westminster today. As they say, Africa hot.
Death Valley was expected to get up to 54ºC (130ºF) today, which is not Africa hot but Stupid hot.
This is when the global warming deniers tend to stay quiet.
Given the extreme heat, I did the sensible thing and ran. Three times in the past two days, ho ho.
Average pace: 5:08/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops and Piper Mill Trail
Distance: 5.2 km
Weather: Sun
Temp: 28ºC
Wind: nil
Calories burned: 378
Total distance to date: 2250 km
My plan today was to do a regular run–walk to the lake, run around it then walk back. It was a nice plan. Then we got blasted with an unusually potent high pressure ridge for this time of year and when I headed out around 2 p.m. the temperature had soared to 28ºC.
The good news is my feet held up fine.
The less good news is because after a few km in I decided there was no way I was going to run 10+ km in this crazy heat. On the one hand it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. The old saw is “it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity” but in this case the high heat was matched with more humid conditions than normal and while that, coupled with the lack of wind, made the run much more difficult, it also meant that I felt far less dehydrated than I have on runs with lower temperatures.
Nonetheless, I got to Still Creek, the unofficial halfway point and then walked the rest of the way home. The pace was quite a bit slower than Wednesday at 5:08 but I can’t say I’m surprised or disappointed.
The heat also stirred up the bugs, apparently. For the first time in about two years I got bit, coming home to find a big red bite right in the middle of the right shin. A little Calamine worked wonders and kept me from scratching like mad.
Because I only ran 5K I am tentatively planning to run again tomorrow, either earlier in the morning or, more likely, later in the evening.
Average pace: 4:48/km Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.02 km
Weather: Sun
Temp: 19ºC
Wind: nil
Calories burned: 363
Total distance to date: 2245 km
The conditions, time and course were virtually identical to yesterday’s run and the results were nearly so, though I managed to cut two seconds off my pace, bringing it down to 4:48/km (or 15 seconds faster overall, 24:07 vs. 24:22). The left foot held up perhaps even better than yesterday and the Achilles tendon was fine until I overextended a bit maneuvering around a large puddle and even then it was no more sore than it usually would get, even less so.
I’d elaborate but just read the previous entry. My next run will probably be Friday as I’m not keen on trying three days in a row, at least not yet. I’m undecided on whether Friday’s run will be another 5K run or something longer. The reduced discomfort of the 5K runs is rather appealing, even if the distance seems that much wimpier compared to my usual 11Ks.
