I headed out about 45 minutes later today, but still well within the morning window. However, with a high of 31°C expected today, I knew it would be hotter than Wednesday no matter what. And it was!
When I started the run it was already 24°C and climbed to 27°C by the end. Bleah. I started out decently and ended pretty much the same (I’m not entirely sure where I found the reserves to pick up the pace in the final km), and the middle three laps were all right around 6:18 or so. The +5 for Performance Condition is probably because I stopped to take a phone call at about 0.61 km into the run and was on it long enough to bring my heart rate back down, so to the watch it must have seemed like the run was easy-peasy. It was not.
The heat and humidity acted as a kind of cap on my BPM. Since I could not push harder, my heart rate was lower, at 148. And despite the heat, I actually did not feel too bad. I sweated, but my forehead didn’t sweat as much, benefiting from slightly lower humidity, perhaps.
There were a fair number of other sweaty runners out, including the Spitfire, who looked like she was about to blow a gasket–pretty unusual for her.
A little past the 4K mark I saw a guy ahead of me sans top, but not glistening. This is because he was just standing there. He appeared to be checking something on his watch–perhaps starting a workout–then started jogging. I fell in behind him, expecting him to accelerate and leave me literally in his dust (the trail is very dusty right now). But he continued to move in this weird, almost dainty kind of trot, like he was roleplaying a show horse or something. I had no choice but to accelerate slightly and pass him, and this probably led to my faster finish. Once I added the extra speed, I just kept it up, all the sooner to finish the run and get to a water fountain and drink my weight in water.
The overall pace of 6:16/km is something of an improvement, given the conditions, so I’m actually pretty OK with the result.
The forecast for next week seems a bit uncertain, so we’ll see how it pans out. I’ll be happy with anything that isn’t super hot.
Stats:
Run 1,056
Average pace: 6:16/km
Training status: Productive
Performance Condition: +5 (I think this got thrown off, more below)
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:28 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 31:30
Weather: Sunny
AQI: 61 (moderate)
Temp: 24–27°C
Humidity: 57–52%
Wind: light
BPM: 148
Weight: 171.7 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,085 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Scarpa Golden Gate ATR 2 (65/147/212)
Music: Shuffle play