The last time I ran was five days ago. The last time before that was on June 1, which was also my last run at Burnaby Lake. It had been 70 days since my previous run and I was so out of shape I had to pause the run and walk for a minute or two twice before I could finish. My pace was an incredibly slothful 6:28/km.
Today, 96 days after my last run at Burnaby Lake, I returned with new shoes, in better (but not top) shape and…did better than the previous lake run, but worse than the river run, which is to be expected, given the lake trail is much more windy and hilly (even if the hills are modest).
I ended with a pace of 6:12/km, which is slow (but still much faster than the last lake run), and I did it without stopping, though at around the 3.5 km mark I was starting to feel a bit tired. Shortly after the 4 km mark I felt what seemed to be a very small but sharp piece of gravel in my left shoe and it bit into my foot with every step. I paused at the Still Creek bridge, roughly around the 4.5 km mark, emptied the shoe, then finished the run.
It was mostly cloudy, which was nice, and despite higher humidity, the temperature was low enough to keep excessive sweating from getting excessive.
The walk to the lake was slower than my usual river walks and I think I was unconsciously holding back a little, knowing I needed enough fuel for a 5K run, plus the 9 km or so walk after. I arrived at the lake just before noon and there were people everywhere. The first two km the trail was packed–someone was always in my view ahead. The side trails gave me some respite, but even there I passed a couple.
The numbers tapered off a bit once I moved past the entrance near Piper Spit, then picked up a bit again on the Cottonwood Trail. As expected, the resurfacing of the trail is now complete, which means the entire stretch has gone from 10 million exposed tree roots to none. As a runner, this pleases me greatly. I have some concerns about the edges of the trail, as they seem a bit mushy and I suspect we’ll be seeing some notable erosion when regular rain comes in the fall, but it’s still a massive improvement overall.
After finishing the run, I was a bit pokey again on the first km heading back, but soon found enough energy to run on and off the rest of the way, probably ending with a split of 60/40 to run/walk.
The heel emerged intact and as of now, some hours later as I write this, does not feel any worse for the extended outing.
The people on the trails fell into roughly two groups:
- Those who did their best to go single file or otherwise make room as I passed (pandemic-aware)
- Those who made no effort at all, except to leave just enough room for me to pass
The latter group was far, far greater in number. Did I mention cases of COVID-19 have been spiking like crazy over the past month?
There was also a bonus threesome who were apparently so caught up in their own world that even when I clearly called, “Behind you!” when I was pretty close, did not react or move in anyway whatsoever.
And of course, multiple people on bikes because rules are for losers. As always, I hope all suffered flat tires midway around the lake.
On the brighter side, I saw turtles again, two of them! Seeing turtles makes me happy. I never see them in the actual turtle nesting area, though.
The only after-effects from the run right now is just being really tired. My body is clearly not used to this level of walking and running yet, but I’m getting there.
Run 650 Average pace: 6:04 km (6:12/km) Location: Brunette River Trail (Burnaby Lake, CCW) Start: 12:01 p.m. Distance: 5.02 km Time: 31:05 Weather: High cloud Temp: 21ºC Humidity: 65% Wind: light BPM: 151 Weight: 172.6 Total distance to date: 4860 km Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 8 Shoes: Brooks Caldera 4 (10 km)