Run 499
Average pace: 5:40/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:50 am
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:33
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 15-17ºC
Humidity: 60%
Wind: light
BPM: 165
Weight: 165.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 3885 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone
I returned to the lake today after a longer-than-usual three-day layoff from running. I skipped Thursday to help take care of my sick partner (it was also coincidentally a monsoon for most of the day). Conditions were generally good–overcast skies meant no bright sun beating down on me, but the air felt a bit muggy with the lingering humidity from recent rain (see aforementioned monsoon).
The first km was not great but decent but the second km my pace dropped massively, mainly due to a cramp in my lower left side. Cramps mean I’m pushing too hard, so I eased up (apparently with relish). My pace recovered a bit and I finished once again with the final km being my best. Still, my overall pace was off at 5:40/km.
On the other hand, I got out, did the run and walked back without any real issue. Even the right heel mostly behaved itself. My walking pace on the route back was also snappier than usual.
I may have also been slowed the last two km or so by by my body’s klaxon letting me know I had a bowel movement pending. As you might guess, running and pooping do not really go well together. In fact, running tends to worsen the conditions that are optimal for a movement of one’s bowels. When I finished the run I crossed the athletic field and used the toilet in the “Men Joggers room” which is a change room with showers and a single toilet stall to fight over. Fortunately the room was empty so no fighting occurred. The walk back was about a million times better than it would have been otherwise.
Also, the poop monsters were out again with their young uns. This is the only time I think of geese as being kind of cuddly. Once the down feathers are gone they become full-fledged poop monsters, bad enough to be featured on the signs warning about wildlife alongside bears and bobcats.
