Run 488
Average pace: 5:40/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:21 am exciting new addition (actual excitement not as advertised)
Distance: 5.05 km
Time: 28:40
Weather: Overcast
Temp: 10ºC
Wind: light
BPM: 171
Stride: n/a
Weight: 166.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 3830 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch, iPhone
I chose to start a little earlier than normal today because the forecast unsurprisingly promised rain, this time by 1 p.m. or so. These predictions are invariably optimistic, so I expected rain much sooner and then rain for the rest of the day.
I was correct.
In a case of deja vu all over again, when I got to the lake I had to go potty. Unlike the last time, there was both toilet paper and sanitizer, so I got it over with quickly, while pondering what exactly it is about arriving at the lake that makes my bowels and bladder loosen.
Unlike the last time, it was much cooler, only 10ºC instead of 15. We are on the second to last day of April and the average high temperature is supposed to be 15ºC but thanks to climate change or Trump or aliens, the weather so far this year has been much cooler (and wetter) than normal. I expect to see icebergs floating in Burnaby Lake in a few years.
10 is still dandy for running, though, and it also meant no bugs because they are tiny little wimps. I headed off and for the first km held back a bit, hoping to keep more in reserve for the middle of the run. In the end, my pace was almost identical, coming in at 5:40/km vs. 5:39/km last time. Total time worked out to ten seconds (28:40 vs. 28:30). The last four runs have all been pretty consistent so I think if I can keep running three times per week I’ll see the numbers slowly start improving again over the next month, assuming we don’t get spontaneous blizzards icing over the trails in May.
I did notice that by heading out earlier there were a lot more people on the trail, many wearing gloves, which is sad to see on April 29th. There were also quite a few runners, though the side trails remained mostly clear, bless them.
No odd incidents and no cyclists, though one puny off-leash dog kept getting under my feet as I was walking out. I almost said something to the owner but opted to keep it internal because people who knowingly allow their dogs off-leash will just act stupid and defensive no matter how politely you ask that they control their dog, because they are dumb jerks who should (and do) know better in the first place.
As for the rain, a few drops began to fall just as I exited the trail, so I chose to walk to Production Way station and take the SkyTrain home rather than risk a good soak on the last 4 km walking back.
It is now coming down in the proverbial buckets.
In the end, I am not displeased with the effort, but it will be nice to see a little improvement moving forward.
