My first rule of running on statutory holidays is: Never run on statutory holidays. Today is Labour Day, which is a stat holiday. But it’s also a regular run day for me, the conditions looked surprisingly pleasant, and I didn’t want to reschedule, so off I went for a mid-morning start.
Today’s predicted high/low of 23/12 actually matches the average high/low for this day and indeed, it was an entirely pleasant 17C when I started the run, with humidity probably somewhere in the low 70s (and falling to 68%), and the temperature rising to a still modest 19C by the end.
The lower temperature, combined with a light breeze and partly sunny skies, meant the dreaded H+H combo (heat and humidity) did not manifest. It felt like the first time in a long while when I was running against my own limits, not those imposed by the weather conditions. It was very nice! Even my left hip kept pretty quiet.
I opted to forgo sunblock and that was fine, because the sun was low and not ever-present. I also elected to skip the nipple guards because they’re a nuisance and this was also fine–but only barely. While I sweated far less than on most summer runs, the place where I sweat most is around the chest and both nipples were feeling tingly by the end of the run, but nothing worse happened.
As for the people, the trail was definitely much more crowded than usual, but everyone was aware, courteous and all that. Even the few unleashed dogs (bad dog owners!) were well-behaved and caused no issues.
As for the trees, it looks like the rain that fell yesterday–the first significant precipitation we’ve had in many weeks–was too much for one tree, and it nearly took out one of the markers near the Avalon parking lot at the start of the trail. This is also pretty close to the Jiffy John™ and one can only imagine the horrors if the tree had clobbered that.
Due to its particular position that is in the gap between the parts I run, I didn’t have to negotiate it while jogging, I just stepped over it as I was heading out.
With a relatively blazing pace of 5:53/km–and running the “harder” counter-clockwise route, as well, I am quite pleased with today’s run. Here’s to more comfy weather and complication-free runs.
Oh, and the ex-tree:
Stats:
Run 712 Average pace: 5:53/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW) Start: 10:30 a.m. Distance: 10.02 km Time: 59:00 Weather: Partly sunny Temp: 17-19ºC Humidity: 68% Wind: light BPM: 151 Weight: 160 Total distance to date: 5222 km Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation) Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (330 km)
