Run 646 Average pace: 6:08/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW) Start: 11:49 am Distance: 5.02 km Time: 30:49 Weather: Cloudy Temp: 7ºC Humidity: 66% Wind: strong BPM: 162 Weight: 169.8 pounds Total distance to date: 4840 km Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 8 Shoes: Saucony Switchback ISO (200 km)
Although I have run and done many walks on the treadmill since acquiring it in early December 2019, it’s been awhile since I’ve done a run outdoors. A large chunk of this has been due to having the flu and then almost immediately getting a cold as follow up.
Today I finally headed back to Burnaby Lake for the first time since December 29th, just over two months ago. Yikes.
The weather was a bit brisk (in fact, three degrees cooler than it was in late December) so I wore two layers, which was a smart choice, especially with a somewhat strong breeze also blowing.
I started out slow to keep myself from tiring out quickly, but that turned out to be a formality, as slow is the only speed I could achieve. The back half of the run felt not exactly like a slog, but slog-like. I kept moving. I was glad when it was over. I surprised myself by actually finding the energy to run a bit afterwards on the way back home.
The pace of 6:08/km is very slow but unsurprising, given the long layoff. Oddly, my BPM remained exactly the same as the last run, a bit up there at 162 but well below a level that I would be uncomfortable with. I did not think about my knees at all during the run and only thought of them briefly on the walk out as I felt the entirety of both legs start to stiffen and get sore in real time.
I expect the soreness to persist through tomorrow.
The trail itself was mostly dry, but sections are still in terrible shape, with parts collapsed and marked by traffic cones, others hastily patched up and the usual boggy parts by the fields requiring fancy footwork to avoid the feet getting mud and water-soaked.
Because it was the weekend and not raining, a decent number of people were out. One dog was kind of snippy toward me and another jogger. I didn’t notice so much because the music blocked out its yapping and it was low enough to be mostly out of my field of vision. I did turn back and see it going after the jogger that passed me in the other direction. Dumb dog (owner).
As always when you encounter multiple groups of people on the trail, some seem unaware that others are in fact using the trail, too. Fortunately I never had too much trouble moving around them, but the baffling inability handle interaction with others in a public space will always continue to annoy me. I try to not let it, but it does.
A mystery of sorts emerged just as I was heading out from the lake. My right hip suddenly became sore. It felt fine on the run and the 5K walk out of the lake, so I’m not sure why it turned on me long after the fact. Maybe it’s a trick hip now. I don’t like tricks. It seems mostly fine now.
Overall, this was not a bad run after more than 60 days off. I was tired, but never felt gross and wanting the suffering to end like nothing else in the world. I just kept going and going and then was done. I’ll try to run again next weekend and see how it compares.
