Run 444
Average pace: 5:17/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 26:40
Weather: Light rain showers
Temp: 15ºC
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 151
Stride: n/a
Weight: 160.1 pounds
Total distance to date: 3541 km
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6
Today marks the first official day of my vacation. It rained, of course.
Seeing that the weather was poop and yet wanting to hit my 10,000 step goal on my Fitbit and meet my three activity goals on my watch (exercise, calories and standing), I mulled what to do. Normally on a non-run day I’ll go for a walk for about an hour but the thing with walks in the summer when it’s raining is there’s no good way to dress. First, I don’t carry an umbrella because I hate them and if I could I’d go back in time and uninvent them because they are obnoxious latent eye-pokers. Second, because it’s summer it’s not really cold so you don’t need to bundle up as you normally would in inclement weather. You wear a jacket and go for a brisk walk and you’ll be sweaty and gross (and wet) in no time.
The alternative was to go for a run because I don’t care about getting wet/muddy when running. I rarely do next-day runs and was especially hesitant as I still consider myself in recovery mode, but around 1 p.m. the steady rain had eased up to a steady but light shower and the decision was made. The one nod to the weather was wearing a long sleeve t-shirt. Off I went on a short 5K run along the river trail.
During the entire 5K run I only encountered a single person, a man walking two dogs, one very large and one rather small. Perhaps the small dog was a snack for when the big dog got hungry. Happily, both were leashed and no trouble.
I worked to keep a steady pace, not wanting to push things and the right leg emerged unscathed. Being that it was only 15ºC and the glare of the sun was only affecting jetliners above the clouds, conditions were surprisingly good, despite the ever-present lack of windshield wipers on my glasses. My pace at the end was 5:17/km, which seemed quite decent. I checked my last 5K back on July 20 and my pace then was 5:28/km, so my timing today was not merely decent, it was significantly better. I think the weather played a major role, much as I hate summer rain on principle. My BPM was also lower at 151.
It’s supposed to be sunny again tomorrow, though not too warm at 21ºC. My plan is to head out earlyish in the morning while it’s still cool. I’ll be planning 8K and pushing to 10K if I feel up to it. It will be interesting to see how today’s run may affect tomorrow’s, if at all.
(I met my step, exercise and calorie goals, the stand goal I’ll hit in a few hours since it’s the one goal that is strictly time-based.)
