Run 421: Hey Siri, start a 10K run

Run 421
Average pace: 5:48/km
Location: Burnaby Lake CW
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 58:15
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 11ºC
Wind: low
BPM: 161
Stride: n/a
Weight: 165.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 3394
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6

Today I planned an 8K run then just before starting I thought I remembered today was Sun Run day so I wanted to participate by proxy and ended up doing my first 10K run of the year.

The Sun Run is on April 17th.

The weather was cooler and cloudy, which was actually nice for a longer run. I started out feeling comfy but by the midway point my right hip/groin was starting to ache. After several km it seemed to peak and then settled down into more of a distraction. To compensate my left calf/shin started to hurt. Clearly my legs are still adjusting to this whole regular running thing again.

By the end of the run the left leg was fine but the right hip still felt sore. It still feels a bit sore even now as I write this at 8 p.m., some eight hours after the run. It’s feeling better all the time, so I’m not overly concerned…yet.

The good news, though, is my pace was even better than last week’s 8K, breaking the 5:50/km mark for the first time this year at 5:48/km and in terms of cardio I never felt I was laboring or uncomfortable.

This also marked my first completely hands-free run. I started my music and run via Siri and when the music ended and I was still running, I was able to successfully tell Siri to start playing another album, proving technology can still be awfully handy at times, while also demonstrating that despite being in the middle of a run, I was able to speak and still be understood, as opposed to hoarsely gasping out gibberish while I struggled to keep moving.

Strangely, for the first time during a run I felt the tap from the watch indicating another km completed, but only once at the 3K mark. Why I felt it then and then only I cannot say.

The conditions attracted a lot of runners, some walkers (the human kind, not AT-STs) and one little kid shakily riding his bike downhill toward me. Parents, this is why bikes aren’t allowed on the trail. There were also a few dogs sans leash but fortunately no incidents to report.

Despite the sore hip, I’m still pleased overall that I’ve once again hit the 10K mark. I’m not overly concerned about speed or PRs as I was in the past so my main focus going forward is on staying comfortable, injury-free and getting out regularly, rather than going faster and faster until I blow something and sit out for another four to six months.

Leave a Comment