Run 542
Average pace: 5:22/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:16 am
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 53:54
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 12ºC
Humidity: 70%
Wind: light
BPM: 170
Weight: 154.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 4217 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone
I booked today off to get an extra-long Thanksgiving weekend, so I could make the most of resting and relaxing.
The relaxing started early as I opted to skip my usual Thursday evening run. I compensated today but heading out this morning for a run at the river or lake. I really didn’t know, I just headed out.
It was 12ºC the whole time but with little wind, so it felt cool but not cold. Still, this was one of the first days where the weather had a much more tangible feel to it. The sky threatened rain but the forecast said it likely wouldn’t happen until the afternoon, so I figured I’d probably be good.
Save for a few drops right at the end of the run, I was.
I opted for the lake and originally thought I’d stick to a 5K but instead did a full loop and turned in a pace of 5:22/km, shaving three seconds off my previous best. I was not expecting this.
The trail was pretty quiet, with only a few other runners and a couple of walkers present, one of who I passed twice as she rounded the lake clutching a giant paper cup of coffee and wearing a big jacket with a fur-lined hood pulled up over her head. She looked comfy.
No bears again. They should be heading off for hibernation soon, I think, if they even do that here.
A bunch of new signs have been posted at the entrance to unofficial trails that literally say STAY OUT. I predict they will have minimal effect. Since most of them lead to a pair of railway lines, I suspect Metro Vancouver is trying to cover itself for liability in case someone gets taken out by the Rocky Mountaineer or a 150 car coal train en route to whoever still uses coal for energy.
I started out the run telling myself to stay steady and indeed the first two km were the slowest. In fact, the whole run was strangely reversed, with the first km pace being 5:35/km and the last being 5:04/km (which is fairly blazing for the end of a 10K–maybe I was concerned about the rain starting and my nipples exploding). The fifth km was always weirdly faster than most at 5:12/km. I think for that one I was maybe thinking of only doing a 5K and wanted a strong finish then found myself going on, anyway (my average pace would have been about 5:26/km if I had).
Around the 6K mark the tendon in the left leg started getting stiff, but it leveled off again as it had on the last 10K, and after about five minutes or so it felt much better, as the back half of my run illustrated.
Overall, a perfectly cromulent run and it stayed dry on the walk home, too, which was a nice bonus. I opted not to use the AirPods today because of the potential rain. While I’ve never had a pair of EarPods damaged by rain, it only costs $30 to replace them should they get damaged. The AirPods cost about seven times that, so I’m a bit reluctant to expose them to precipitation. I’m willing to bet they’d be okay, but I need to spend more time using them before I can get past the idea of potentially wrecking them. Get my money’s worth first, you know. I listened to two Tom Petty albums for the run (Full Moon Fever and Into the Great Wide Open) and while I’m bummed that he’s gone, it still seems a little surreal at the same time. Tom Petty dead of a heart attack at 66 just seems off, somehow.
But it’s good music to run to. Thanks, Tom!
