Run 611: Faster with no raccoons

Run 611
Average pace: 5:52/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 6:26 pm
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 29:29
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 22ºC
Humidity: 36%
Wind: light
BPM: 160
Weight: 168.5 pounds
Total distance to date: 4635 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 2, iPhone 8

For the first time since 1907–when wearing athletic shorts outdoors could get you arrested–I did two runs in three days.

Even better, I proved Sunday was no fluke, improving my average pace by another six seconds (though the river trail is more forgiving, as I’ve noted before). Even better than that, my average heart rate was drastically lower, from 177 previously to 160 today.

I started out trying to not go too fast and burn out quickly, but still managed an opening pace of 5:31/km, positively zippy compared to recent runs. The second km it caught up to me as I slid back to 6:06/km.The fourth km was my fastest, which is unusual, at 5:28/km. I don’t have any real explanation for why the pace was like the proverbial roller coaster, except that I may have been automatically putting on the brakes when it felt like I was going too fast.

With no issues–no cramps, knees there but not a problem–this was about as good a follow-up to Sunday as I could have gotten. The weather was much warmer at 22ºC and it was a lot less humid, but with the sun mostly tucked behind high cloud, it actually felt fine. If I continue on a regular run schedule moving forward, my next run would be Thursday, where it is forecast to be 17ºC (good) with light rain (not so good). Motivation will be tricky, but we’ll see if I can build on the smidgen of momentum I’ve built up, instead of buying a giant bag of potato chips and snarfing them on the couch.

Leave a Comment