Run 555
Average pace: 5:40/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:06 pm
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 56:53
Weather: Showers
Temp: 5ºC
Humidity: 93%
Wind: light
BPM: 169
Weight: 160 pounds
Total distance to date: 4320 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone
It was another day of The Rains and my dedication to fitness was put to the test when I opened the front door of the condo and was greeted by a downpour.
Given that it was only 5ºC I wore two layers up top (a long-sleeve t-shirt and short sleeve) and that worked well. I wore shorts and my (sexy) legs were also fine. My upper body was a bit cool heading back after the run but that was due more to the sweat cooling and turning clammy, combined with a breeze that was picking up. And the fact that the rain never actually stopped.
So it was a soggy run and the trail at the lake was in full Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde form, the good doctor being the parts that have been resurfaced over the last few years (generally fine) vs. the other parts still untouched, which includes all three side trails and the Cottonwood trail. These combine to form close to half my route and they were filled with trail-spanning puddles that forced me to skirt along the edges.
On the plus side, the recent work at the sports field is mostly working, with no flooding there and only a thin layer of run-off pouring in from the edge of field at the point where the trail bends 90 degrees to the west. A little shoring up there would fix that. The sports fields themselves appeared to be a swampy mess, though the poopmonsters seemed fine with that.
Given the weather there were few people out–a few dedicated dog walkers, a couple of the “I love walking in the rain!” types and some fellow joggers, all of whom were dressed much more conservatively than me. One of those was wearing a jaunty blue jacket that served as a kind of beacon. I spied him ahead of me about two km in and by the 5K mark he had what appeared to be an insurmountable lead. That was fine, I was in steady-as-she-goes mode, seeking only to go through at a comfortable pace. Somewhere around the 7K mark he either stopped briefly or slowed because the gap began to close. I could see I was gaining ground and entertained the possibility and eventually the necessity of passing him.
As with a car passing another on the road, to pass a fellow runner you must accelerate and then remain at the accelerated pace until you have sufficient space between you and the other runner. When I look at the splits for the run this acceleration doesn’t seem to really be apparent, which may explain why I caught up to begin with–he was slowing and I wasn’t. The little bit of gas was probably responsible for my slightly-improved pace of 5:40/km vs. 5:42/km the previous week. One downside was my BPM was back up, but I believe this was due to the pace difference and mire importantly, the much lower temperature. It doesn’t feel like I’m working hard, but my body clearly is.
Also, the nipple guards (band-aids) got their first real test today and actually worked amazingly well. The nipples (why is nipples such a funny word?) experienced no chafing and even more, did not get cold at all, which never happens during a rainy run. It was a surprising delight when I got home. And who doesn’t like being delighted by their nipples?
The unofficial achievement was marking the first time in several years that I have run at least once every month. This year the first two months of runs were done on a treadmill due to The Snows, but I nonetheless got the runs in. Today’s run officially caps out a full 12 months of running. Yay.
Overall, another decent effort. I look forward to perhaps staying dry, hopefully, next time.
