Run 541
Average pace: 5:00/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 6:04 am
Distance: 5.05 km
Time: 25:15
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 16-14ºC
Humidity: n/a
Wind: light
BPM: 172
Weight: 155.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 4207 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone
With the sun setting at 6:46 p.m. I headed out as quickly as I could for tonight’s run. With clear skies it was only slightly gloomy by the end but it’s pretty clear there’s probably only another week or so left before it’s going to be getting downright dim and then dark for after-dinner runs.
I will have to decide what to do soon.
But not right yet.
Tonight’s run was a bit different, technology-wise, as I picked up a pair of AirPods, Apple’s wireless ear buds. I also synced a bunch of music to my Apple Watch and so headed out without my phone for the first time in a good long time, relying on my Watch’s GPS to track the run and the AirPods to play entertaining music from the Watch. It all went surprisingly smoothly, with no hitches in the sound, the AirPods staying firmly in-ear and even the battery of the watch surviving without taking a big hit. It felt weird to not have the phone, which shows how dependent we’ve become on the infernal devices, yet nice at the same time to just pop on the AirPods and go, no belts or cords to mess with.
A side benefit is the AirPods carry the Workout app’s sounds. I almost never notice the haptic feedback from the watch when running and only occasionally hear the sound that plays at each km interval. It was nice to actually hear all of them clearly for a change, taking me back to the days of using the Nike+ app (maybe one day I’ll try that again, too).
The only real downside is without any cell/internet connectivity the run couldn’t record the weather conditions, but that’s a fair trade-off since I’m actually in the weather and everything while running.
And speaking of which, it was a pleasant clear evening so I felt rather spry. As a bonus, only minimal sweating and it didn’t start until after the 3K mark.
Now, I have no idea how accurate the Watch GPS is vs. the one on the iPhone, but tonight’s pace was a year’s best 5:00/km, with three km coming in under five minutes. This beats my previous best of 5:09/km. If I had known I was so close to breaking the five-minute mark I would have pushed just a tiny bit more but still, it’s a nice round number.
The left leg is still feeling a little stiff but it’s entirely tolerable and recovered quickly after. As long as I don’t go all crazy and start sprinting I think it will be fine.
Overall, a pleasing result, both in terms of the new set-up and the performance. Here’s to getting at least a few more runs in before The Long Dark Winter with guest star Long and Almost as Dark Fall, sets in.
