Run 613 Average pace: 6:11/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW) Start: 11:06 am Distance: 5:03 km Time: 31:05 Weather: Sunny Temp: 22-24ºC Humidity: 49% Wind: light to moderate BPM: 162 Weight: 166.9 pounds Total distance to date: 4645 km Devices: Apple Watch Series 2, iPhone 8
I only have myself to blame.
I was going to run Saturday morning but got up a bit later than intended and started doing chores. Eventually I decided to run on Sunday instead. Easy peasy.
But I had arranged to meet Nic at 1 p.m. Sunday so my schedule would be tight. And I slept in a little later than intended again. Whoopsie. I could do a shorter run at the river, but it seemed a waste on the weekend, so I further resolved to run today, which is the stat holiday known as Canada Day.
Stat holidays tend to be quite busy at the lake, as I’ve noted in the past. And I didn’t get out until a good hour later than I’d planned, putting me square into late morning.
It could have been worse. The initial part of the run was not bad in terms of crowds but by the time I got to the Cottonwood Trail at the 3K mark it became fairly bonkers, with lots of people in both directions, including a large walking group doing that thing all walking groups do–spread out over the entire trail, making it impassable. As I approached them, I simply chose openings where I could to duck through, then ran off the trail where it was safe. Their leader (?) shouted something to them as I approached (in Japanese, I think) but they didn’t seem to respond. For all I know, he may have been saying, “Who wants my leftover liver-flavored chips?”
After that the crowds pretty much cleared up, so it was an odd concentration.
Yesterday Nic and I traversed the seawall and I ended up with 33,553 steps on that day. This is a lot. I wondered if it might affect my run, along with the slightly-longer-than-average three days off. It did!
I started out slower, but remained fairly consistent. It’s like I just didn’t have enough gas to get up to full speed, finishing with a pace of 6:11/km. On the plus side, there were no issues and I literally did not think about my knees at all. Yay!
The splits show how consistent I was:
6:10
6:10
6:15
6:12
6:07
At least I had a semi-peppy finish. I suspect the hotter temperature also had an effect. I started sweating early on and kept on the whole way. This may also be why my BPM was up, though still quite comfortable at 162.
The BPM chart is interesting. The first half of the run I was around 168, then the second half it dropped down to produce the 162 average. I worked a lot harder the first half and appeared to gain some form on the back half.
Also, the dam is undergoing a three month construction project. For now it remains accessible, though they’ve closed off the north stairs and put in some temporary ones, which I used at the start of the run. They are wooden, which actually makes them nicer than the steel stairs I’d normally use.
While I would have preferred a better overall pace, I can’t be too bummed at this run, given the overall balance of positives vs. negatives. Due to the shorter work week, I’ll probably run next on Thursday to get back on schedule.
