Run 638 Average pace: 5:36/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CW) Start: 10:54 am Distance: 10.03 km Time: 56:08 Weather: Partly cloudy, sunny Temp: 13ºC Humidity: 40% Wind: light BPM: 161 Weight: 164.2 pounds Total distance to date: 4780 km Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 8 Shoes: Saucony Switchback ISO (140 km)
I don’t mean it should have rained because I wanted it to rain, the trail was just so packed with people today that a little rain would have kept most of them at home playing Jenga, drinking beer or both. But it was mostly sunny and not too terribly cold, so there was a lot of people.
To be fair, most were quite obliging at making room for me as I passed by. There were a few occasions when a group of three would span the trail and become confused as I got close (“Which way do I turn to get out of the way? Aiieee.”) and one little kid almost tottered right into my path because dad was too busy watching something fascinating on his smartphone, but generally it was fine.
An off-leash dog (almost all were off-leash today) managed to avoid poking me with the gigantic branch it was happily carrying clamped in its jaws, so that was good, too.
As for the run itself, although I had some dips in pace, this run felt a lot more natural in terms of where I was faster or slower. Speaking of faster, I came out of the gate flying. I wasn’t really aiming for that and suspected it would catch up to me quickly (it did) but still, the opening km was 5:07/km, the closest I’ve come to dipping below the 5-minute mark in a long time. I did not experience any of the creakiness starting out as I did on Thursday, so perhaps I was excited at being able to run without restraint.
The second km my pace drooped to 5:34/km–still faster than Thursday–then further still to 5:48/km. But over the next four km my speed improved until I finally started to tire at the 8 km mark. I flagged a bit at 9K (5:55/km) but finished the last km with a pace of 5:43/km and an overall pace of 5:36/km–just one second slower than my 5K three days ago.
I was very pleased with this.
Other than feeling a bit tired around 9K, I actually felt pretty good throughout, with no discomfort or other issues. Stamina was fine. Everything was fine, really.
I chose to wore my heavier long-sleeved shirt, thinking it might be a bit cool and breezy. It was on the walk to the lake and the temperature stayed around 13ºC or so, which is actually fine for running. When the sun came out, I was a smidgen too warm, but not terribly so. The lighter long-sleeved shirt or even a regular t-shirt would have been fine.
On the river trail heading to the lake I saw what I think were the same gaggle of runners I’d seen going topless some weeks ago at the lake. None were topless this morning. The clothing was all over–most had t-shirts and shorts, but some opted for long pants or long sleeves, and one also had a jacket. The guy with the jacket was definitely overdressed. I imagine he runs in a parka in December. At the lake I saw a guy wearing a muscle shirt…and gloves. I mean, even when it’s cool, my hands warm up and start sweating in minutes. With gloves? Yuck.
Walking back from the lake I passed a large group of cyclists, which seemed to provide a kind of symmetry to the runners. I liked that. Plus none of them rode too close or cut me off or anything. Nice cyclists.
Tuesday’s forecast looks good so far. I’m wondering just how gloomy it will be by the time I finish my run. The sun sets at 6:50 p.m., which is about five minutes before I get home (and roughly five minutes before I finish my run). The days of after-work runs are drawing to a close for another year…
