Average pace: 4:50/km Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.03 km
Weather: Sun
Temp: 19ºC
Wind: nil
Calories burned: 364
Total distance to date: 2240 km
I’m trying an experiment where at least one of my weekly runs will be split into two shorter 5 km runs, to help reduce the stress on my left foot and (to a lesser extent) my right Achilles tendon.
With the cushy new shoes on I found that I was able complete the full 5K without my left foot experiencing any kind of discomfort and I ended with a respectable 4:50/km pace. With the unfinished gravel path in Lower Hume Park being rather lumpy, my fastest stretch was actually during the second km.
The only real discomfort take from the utter lack of wind. Once the temperature starts warming up a small breeze makes a big difference. Without it the air feels dead and breathing feels harder, even if it really isn’t.
Not much else to report. A short, decent run.
Oh, one more thing–I’ve decided to retire the “______ run” shtick. I’m just going to use whatever title comes to mind, whether it’s blah (like tonight), zany or just plain ordinary.
Just so the blog doesn’t become 100% jogging posts, I will note that the first day of summer–Friday, June 21–was cool, blustery and damp.
In other words, normal. June is truly the Weather Grab Bag month for the Lower Mainland. I would prefer it grabbed a bit more sun but you takes what you gets. It also beats the wacky flooding going on in Calgary right now.
Average pace: 5:18/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran optional Piper Mill, Spruce Loop and Conifer trails
Distance: 11.05 km
Weather: Cloudy, light sprinkles
Temp: 22ºC
Wind: nil
Calories burned: 798
Total distance to date: 2235 km
With my left foot still being stupid and my new Merrell shoes feeling more barefoot than my other pairs of minimalist shoes, I decided it might be better to run for awhile using more traditional trail runners and so yesterday I picked up a pair of Nike LunaryFly +3’s. Image:
I tried my usual size 8.5 first but they felt a little snug for my liking. The size 9’s seemed better while not feeling at all loose. As a bonus my toes had a little more wiggle room, something that was an issue with the MT 1010s.
Unfortunately my test of the new shoes was somewhat invalidated by my left foot being sore before I headed out, mainly due to doing a lot of household chores in the morning. Nonetheless, the more cushiony feel was apparent immediately and the walk and first 3 km or so of the run were not bad.
The right tendon was rusty and it and the left foot fought for attention for awhile but as always the right tendon settled down once I was warmed up and was a non-factor for most of the run.
Speaking of warmed up, it was 22ºC, which is not that hot, but it was also very humid and there was no real breeze at all. The muggy conditions had their usual energy-draining effect, most obviously seen in the second half of the run where I settled into a very steady but slower pace. That was also aided by the left foot, of course.
Some hours after the foot doesn’t hurt to walk on but I can still feel it. It’s starting to bug me that it’s not getting any better, though I have to admit running regularly is probably not helping a whole lot. I’m quietly hoping the doctor says it’s okay to run and am toying with the idea of splitting one of the weekly runs into a pair of shorter 5K runs to minimize the impact (ho ho) on my feet.
Given the weather and the foot, I can’t say I’m surprised or disappointed by the 5:18/km pace. I do wonder if/when I’ll break the 5:00 minute mark on a longer run again. Thumbs up for the Nike shoes, however. They probably helped, even if only a little, on the walk back with the extra support over a minimalist shoe.
Average pace: 5:01/km Location: Brunette River trail Distance: 5.03 km
Weather: Sun
Temp: 18ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 364
Total distance to date: 2224 km
With my new shoes on and my right tendon feeling better, I decided to risk a short 5K run. The first km or so was not exactly comfortable but once I warmed up I found the right tendon actually felt fine and it remained so afterward. I finished with a respectable 5:01 pace, slower than the last few runs but pretty decent given my condition after the previous one.
I’m writing this post a day later (though posting it to the actual run date) and will say that the muscles in both legs are a bit stiff and the feet are as well. The Merrell shoes are a lot more minimalist than my previous pairs and feel a lot closer to running barefoot. I’ve decided that while this will make them completely groovy for when my feet are no longer sore or ailing, it’s less than ideal while they are.
So in a move that would make Imelda Marcos proud, I am going to buy another pair of shoes, specifically a pair of more traditional trial runners with better support. I’ll wear these until I’m comfortable with the condition of my feet then will switch back to the Merrells.
Average pace: 4:35/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Ran Freeway Trail
Distance: 13 km
Weather: Hazy cloud, sun
Temp: 22-24ºC
Wind: none
Calories burned: 940
Total distance to date: 2219 km
This was a weird run.
I bought new shoes — the Merrell Trail Gloves, a minimalist trail running shoe. The construction of the shoe is immediately noticeably superior to the 1010s I’ve been using, with fabric, stitching, laces and tongue all better. The soles are not as chunky, though they are also made by Vibram, like the 1010s. They retain a lot more of the slipper-like feel of me beloved MT110s. The only downside is they are a bit tight to get the feet into but are cozy (and not too tight) after that.
I was a bit concerned about how the run would go because my left foot was already warbling even before I set out. When I got to Hume Park I noticed that I’d placed the Nike+ sensor up a little higher than I’d meant to on the laces. This meant it would not lay as flat, possibly affecting accuracy.
The weather was warm and with little wind there was a mugginess for much of the route around the lake. It wasn’t horrible but it definitely contributed to leaving me feeling worn out. Also for some weird reason I went clockwise and decided to throw the Freeway Trail detour into the mix, to see how it had changed since the last time I’d run it.
This helped stretch the run out longer than normal, probably not a great idea with the left foot already acting up, but my curiosity has now been satisfied. As it turns out, fresh gravel was poured along almost the entire stretch that I ran along, taking care of all the dips, squishy dirt and uneven surfaces. This was good. Because the trail is not used nearly as much as the others, the gravel was still loose and felt quite lumpy under my minimalist soles. This was less good.
Having already stretched the run out, I opted to skip the three optional loops I normally take on the north side of the lake. I finished at just over 59 minutes and with a pace of 4:35/km, having run a shade over 13 km.
This is the suspicious part. I went back to some of the detour runs I did last June when the first boardwalk was being replaced and compared distances. One run, in which I had included the optional loops, came out to 13.06 km, a scant 60 m more than today’s. It seemed the Nike+ sensor was being a bit generous with the distance, probably by a factor of at least a few hundred meters. However, the time of that run last year was about 64 minutes, so even taking into account the extra distance, my pace was still apparently faster today (back then it was 4:58/km).
But 4:35/km seems way off. I felt fairly springy to start but definitely did not toward the end. I felt hot, sweaty, tired, the left foot was achy (but tolerable) and the right tendon was occasionally pinging, though it ended up fine for the majority of the run.
When I uploaded my data I was informed that I had set four new records for fastest 1K, 5K, 10K and mile:
1K: 3:53
5K: 21:56
10K: 45:47
mile: 6:39
Even more bizarrely, the 1K record apparently came during the 7th km. That’s often been where I’ve started running out of gas, not magically conjuring it. My pace allegedly shot up by 11% then plunged by 13% for the next km. I’m trying to remember where the 7K mark hit and it may have been near Still Creek. A couple on bikes (grr) were there and heading the same way as me. I silently pointed to the two (1) No Bikes signs as I went by but picked up my pace to give myself a little extra distance. The last thing I wanted were a pair of cyclists at my heels on a fairly narrow stretch of the trail. They may have heeded the signs, though, because I didn’t see them again. If they did turn around and leave the trail, they’d be the first cyclists to do so and I offer my e-thanks to them for doing so!
So while 3:53 seems absurdly fast, it is at least possible that it was still my fastest km. I’m going to move the sensor down lower on the shoe and see how it compares on Tuesday. I may calibrate it at the track, too.
For the record, here’s the splits as seen on the Nike+ site:
The one lingering concern is that my right tendon, which did not bother me much at all during the run, is still feeling sore hours later. I suspect I simply overworked it (especially if the times are actually accurate) so I’m hoping it will be okay tomorrow after some rest. I’m going to start icing it after runs, I think.
Also I caught a glimpse of a snake slithering into the grass along the Cottonwood Trail, first snake of the year. It’s not a good thing or a bad thing, just a thing. Plus snakes are cool.
Average pace: 4:46/km Location: Brunette River trail Distance: 5.03 km
Weather: Sunny, some cloud
Temp: 18ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 363
Total distance to date: 2206 km
I was originally going to look for running shoes tonight and run tomorrow (Friday) but the weather was nice, the body was willing and so I went out anyway and did a 5K run on the Brunette River trail.
As is usually the case with shorter runs, my time was a good bit faster, with my average pace 4:46/km. As a bonus my left foot normally doesn’t start to really sing until the 5 km mark, so it only made its presence known just as I was wrapping up.
I drooped a little after the first 2 km–something that tends to happen more often than not so far this year–but recovered and improved my pace for the rest of the run.
There’s not much to add. It was quick, relatively comfortable and helped work off the guilt of eating an apple fritter. Mmm, apple fritter.
Average pace: 5:09/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Ran optional Piper Mill, Spruce Loop and Conifer trails
Distance: 11.06 km
Weather: Sunny, some cloud
Temp: 20-17ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 796
Total distance to date: 2201 km
My left foot was not bothering me before the run and for the first half it lay dormant, only to come active not unlike a foot version of Vesuvius. Around the 5K mark the pain began and unlike previous runs there was a certain rigidity to the foot, where I could not feel any movement in the bone/muscle when flexing. This changed after a few more km when the flexing returned.
By that point the foot remained sore but it was no worse than it’s been before. After the last run I was hopeful that it was genuinely on the mend but it appears to be lingering on awhile yet.
I impressed myself by maintaining a steady pace and pushing through, though, coming in two seconds ahead of the previous run for an average of 5:09/km.
In reference to the title of this post, I am fairly unimpressed with the New Balance MT1010s I started wearing this year. While they aren’t responsible for my foot problems I still don’t care for the fit and feel. The top half is cheap, almost flimsy and the weird stitching of the tongue to the top of the shoe makes lacing difficult and seems prone to tearing. The shoes generally feel more snug than they should and the laces (since replaced as per a previous post) are crappy and cheap — even though the shoes themselves cost more than the awesome MT110s I wore last year.
I’m going to check out a pair of Merrell minimalist trail running shoes this week and if I like them I may ditch the 1010s long before they wear out. They’ve already worn out their welcome, I think.
Average pace: 5:11/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran optional Piper Mill, Spruce Loop and Conifer trails
Distance: 11.06 km
Weather: Cloudy, some sun
Temp: 15-20ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 799
Total distance to date: 2190 km
In this case the goose-stepping was done by actual geese, as described below.
I was going to run on Thursday but logistically Friday was better so I moved the run back one day. Unfortunately I came home from work on Friday, laid down for a quick nap and conked out for several hours, using up all the daylight in the process. This is why you never lay down for a quick nap when you have other things planned.
I set out today during the lunch hour under a dull sky that didn’t really threaten rain. The temperature was a mild 15ºC and rose steadily to 20 over the course of the couple of hours I was out.
As I crossed Cariboo Road to the entrance to Burnaby Lake park I looked to my right and saw what will probably be the cutest thing I’ll see all month. Possibly all year. A family of geese — mom, dad and three goslings, were waddling quickly in single file across the road, with traffic stopped to allow safe passage. Once across they shifted over to the very path I was taking to the lake. I didn’t want to spook them (or worse, be attacked by a couple of hissing adult geese) so I walked slowly a reasonable distance behind them. In the parking lot of the complex to the right was another line of geese, dozens in all, with many a gosling, again marching in single file, all heading back to the lake after an adventure somewhere else.
Once the geese got to the dam I thought about running clockwise but nixed it and instead just gave them a wide berth as I started off.
After Tuesday’s dismal run I was concerned about today, doubly so considering my left foot was already acting up right from leaving the condo. I pressed on, though, feeling more energetic, whether due to the extra days off, more food in my system or just having seen a bunch of incredibly cute baby geese waddling along.
From the first few km I knew I was ahead of my pace and even better that held right to the 10K mark, which came much sooner than on the previous few runs. This was validated when I hit the 11K mark and had a reported time of 57:24 and an average pace of 5:11/km, easily besting my prior times of 5:25, 5:28 and 5:27. It was also a boost over the 5:17 and 5:18 times from a few weeks back.
Overall I felt much better. The knee was not an issue at all, the right tendon made its presence known a few times, but only for moments and not in any way that impacted my run. As for the left foot, it was sore but stretching it out on the run seemed to help. This was the first time in awhile where it didn’t feel like it was holding me back. Maybe it’s actually starting to get better!
Average pace: 5:25/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran optional Piper Mill, Spruce Loop and Conifer trails
Distance: 11 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 25-26ºC
Wind: none
Calories burned: 798
Total distance to date: 2178 km
Blergh.
Here’s today’s run in handy list form because as always, I really like lists:
The Good: My left foot does not seem to be getting worse. It may be getting better but at a rate that can be generously called slow. I also completed the full 11 km loop around the lake. It was also not raining.
The Bad: It was right on the edge of being warm enough to be uncomfortable. That was tolerable, especially with the sun lower for the second half of the run. The bad part was the complete lack of wind combined with the late afternoon warmth meant it was very muggy and the air had that ‘sucking the energy out of you’ quality to it.
Also in the bad department: my right tendon was twinging more often than not. It still isn’t painful but it’s discouraging to spend only a small portion of a run’ in the zone’ where I’m thinking about other things and not the constant ping of various discomforts. The right knee even made its presence known again near the beginning, although it settled down. And not forgetting the left shin which is growing a bit tender due to the number of runs I’ve put in now. This is the closest I have to a normal side effect of the running right now.
The Blah: I have not been as impressed with the MT1010s as I was with my MT110s, possibly the best running shoes evar. I still can’t part with them despite having put a combined 1400 km of running and walking on them. In all that distance I never had the laces come untied.
Today the MT1010 laces came untied. Twice. The first time was the right shoe a little under 2 km in. I ran to the 2K mark and used the bridge near the Nature House to prop my foot up to tie the lace. At the same time I paused my workout. When the lace was tied, I hit the home button on the iPod, as the screen had shut off. This apparently ends a workout. My run was now declared officially complete at a whopping 2 km.
Undaunted, I started a new run and kept going. Exactly 2 km later the left shoe came untied. This time I didn’t pause the workout, I just bent down, tied it as quickly as I could (overheating all the while) and took off again). Amazingly both laces remained tied for the rest of the run.
The one sliver of good news in all this is my pace combined over the two runs looks like it was 5:25/km, a minor improvement over the previous run. But what a miserable trip to get there.
For the next run I’m going to swap the old braided laces from the MT110s to the 1010s to prevent more untyings.
I decided to take advantage of one of my e-reader’s main strengths by finally reading The Stand Complete and Uncut Edition. I bought the paperback of the original The Stand back in 1980 (I was 15), devoured it quickly and loved it – except for the deus ex machina which struck me as pretty dumb. In 1990 I bought the hardcover of the uncut edition. It’s over 1150 pages long and weighs four pounds. Picking it up to read felt like exercise and I didn’t exercise.
It stayed unread for 20 years.
But I noticed the book in the Kobo store for something like $9 and I thought, “Am I willing to add $9 to the $23 I already spent on the hardcover edition I bought and never read in 1990?” That $23 is what you call a sunk cost, so I put down the nine bucks and grabbed it. There is no danger of the e-book version of The Stand putting my back out when I pick it up and for this I am grateful.
Now the questions were: Would this story still resonate with me 33 years later? Would I even recognize the additions/changes in the uncut edition? The answer to both is yes!
Stephen King changed the time frame of the story from 1980 to 1990 when he added those 400 or so pages back to the text and updated some pop culture references to keep things in order. There are a few minor slips here and there and generally the novel still feels like it’s set in 1980. The 70s vibe resonates clearly, swipes at President Bush (the elder) notwithstanding, but in the end it’s not really a negative. Trying to rework the language and flavor of the story to make it better fit 1990 would have been a fool’s errand.
There’s also a certain level of amusement to be found in how King presents ‘old’ characters like Glen Bateman, a sociologist in his 50s (King was 27 or so when he wrote the book). Invariably they are slow, arthritic — physically enfeebled but usually wise. I’d almost forgotten that sense of immortality you have in your 20s. The world and time stretch out endlessly before you. People in their 50s? Almost dead!
The story itself holds up just fine. The massive sprawl of the uncut edition pulls off the impressive feat of never feeling flabby or excessive. King has fleshed out the characters by restoring scenes that don’t change the story but enrich it. Trashcan Man especially benefits from this, adding a layer of pathos to what was largely just a crazy firebug. I was surprised at how Flagg himself comes across (I realize he appears in The Dark Tower series but I’ve not read that, so I only know him from his appearance here) because I remember him being much scarier in the original. Despite having numerous magical abilities he seems strangely weak and unsure here. The new ending that puts him in charge of a primitive tribe on some remote tropic island is downright funny.
And what about that deus ex machina at the end? I remembered it vividly — the literal hand of God appears and blows up the nuclear warhead, vaporizing Las Vegas, ending the stand with a bang. I don’t know if it’s been changed in the uncut edition but in it the hand is never described as being exactly that. One character refers to it as such and the text offers that it did look like a hand but it feels like King hedges a bit by avoiding the precise phrasing that would state YES THIS IS ACTUALLY GOD’S HAND, PRETTY CLEVER EH? It also seems the hand doesn’t directly set off the bomb, it just pushes Flagg’s big ol’ electric spark into it, underlining how playing with fire (Trashy and Flagg alike) is very very bad. In all, the hand didn’t bother me this time.
If you’re looking for an end of the world story with a large cast of endearing/crazy characters (most of whom smoke a lot, something King himself must have been doing at the time because it felt like every character smoked because the author did) and you haven’t read The Stand, I can recommend the complete and uncut edition (the only one you’ll find new) unreservedly. It’s an often bleak but surprisingly brisk-paced ride.
Average pace: 5:27/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Ran optional Piper Mill, Spruce Loop and Conifer trails
Distance: 11.1 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 21-22ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 808
Total distance to date: 2167 km
Today’s run was a disappointment. With the sky clear, temperature warm but not uncomfortably so and a light breeze blowing I couldn’t ask for much better conditions on a late spring day.
The first ominous sign was that merely walking around home and doing simple chores like sweeping led to my left foot feeling mildly sore. I’d also messed up my sleep schedule a bit over the weekend by going to bed hours later than normal. Even after getting up late to compensate I still felt droopy this morning.
The good news is that the left foot did not fare any worse than the previous run. It was a little sore by the end but still much better than previous times. I still opted to walk to the Production Way SkyTrain station instead of back along the Brunette River trail. No sense pushing it for the sake of burning a few more calories.
The right tendon flared up a bit from time to time but again it was never a major issue. Adding in as more delightful complications: the left shin flared a few times, very briefly and not really painfully. I chalk this up to the leg muscles starting to feel the effects of the year’s running. This should smooth out naturally over the summer. The right knee also made its presence known in a minor and brief way. I think this was the same knee that gave me trouble for one run last year. Again, not a big deal, just another kink being worked out. Or so I hope.
The big problem today was just energy. I steadily lost speed over the first half of the run and by the midway point I was so tired I actually contemplating stopping the run to rest before continuing. I didn’t stop, though, and ended up with a pace of 5:27/km, a full ten seconds off the previous run and effectively erasing the progress I made this week.
Oh well.
It will be interesting to see how the next run’s results compare. Also if my legs find new ways to ache and bother me.
Average pace: 5:17/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran optional Piper Mill, Conifer and Spruce Loop trails
Distance: 11 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 17ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 796
Total distance to date: 2156 km
I just barely squeezed out a full 11 km on today’s run by doing a complete loop right back to my starting point near the dam. The good news is twofold: I slightly improved my pace to 5:17/km while adding a little over 1.5 km over the previous run and my left foot/right tendon fared no worse than the prior run. The left foot may have even felt slightly better. A minor triumph at the end saw me wrapping up the run with a modest boost to speed.
What stood out the most were my leg muscles really starting to feel the effort. The increased speed is obviously making them work harder. I also experienced some mild cramping around the abdomen and muscles around my lower back, also likely due to the strain of the faster pace.
With conditions mild and pleasant I can say this was probably my best run since my left foot became a noticeable annoyance.
