Who knew the sun would be my nemesis again in mid-November?
I was very unmotivated to go out for a run today and started late as a result (I have been running in the morning even with the summer heat long gone, as I prefer having the afternoon clear for other stuff). This proved to be an interesting decision.
After talking myself into doing a 5K on the river trail, I then upgraded that to doing a short loop at the lake. After initially thinking of running counter-clockwise, I decided to go clockwise instead and started off, dressed in two layers up top and shorts, which proved sufficient (I had gloves but didn’t wear them).
As I was nearing the 3K mark and thinking about turning around to head back and finish off my loop, I passed a man who mysteriously batted at the branch of a pine tree. To be clear, the branch was hanging over the trail but was well above him. He seemed a bit odd. Then a putt-putt car with a park worker appeared, and I navigated around that. For some reason, these two things suddenly convinced me it would be a bother to turn around, so I just kept going and ended up doing a full 10K.
The start of the run along the Avalon Trail was a bit tricksy due to much of the path being slick and shiny. This effect was further enhanced by a near eye-level sun glaring straight onto it. It was painful to look at, but that segment is not too long and I was into the shady woods soon after. The shady woods felt noticeably cooler.
Many sections of the trail had frost or slick stretches of water, but I kept my footing throughout. The real fun started on the back 5K along the Cottonwood Trail. By now the sun was shining from the south to the north (coming from my right side) and the trees, now sans leaves, contributed to a distinct strobing effect as I ran past them. It made it very hard to even see where I was going as my vision was filled with a constant flashing. It would probably have been actually seizure-inducing to light-sensitive people. I tried putting up a hand to block it, but this made it nearly impossible to actually run. Try it sometime!
After the Cottonwood Trail, it wasn’t so bad, but there would be one more bit of fun and it involved my least favourite four-legged animal to encounter on a run after bears. I was nearing the very end of my run, on a twisty section of trail past the Spruce Loop. Ahead of me, a woman was throwing something down the trail for her dog to chase after, which was already dumb, because she was throwing toward a blind corner. I eyed the dog, who seemed very energetic. I knew an incident™ was in the making. Sure enough, as soon as the dog turned around and saw me, it made a beeline for me, ready to pounce in that “friendly” sort of way. I did my best to pull away, and the woman called the dog. As it turned toward her, I looked back and said, “Leash your dog!” My tone was not particularly neighbourly.
She leashed the dog.
My run literally ended moments later, so I walked to the turtle nesting area, took a few photos, then gave myself a minute to calm down, let her go by, then exited the park.
I only looked at the watch once during the run and saw a pace of 5:55/km for the 5th km, which seemed about average and expected. But my overall pace was a wacky fast 5:44/km. For three of the ten km, I came in under 5:40/km. My BPM was up, unsurprisingly, at 160, which is okay given the speed and cold, but well above what I aim for. I guess if I’m not actively monitoring my speed I tend to just go really fast, a runaway runner.
Annoyingly, my watch failed to measure my heart rate for both the second and third km. Since this is early in the run, I don’t think the missing BPM would have resulted in a higher average. I am about ready to trade my Series 5 Apple Watch in for the 25 cents or whatever Apple will give me. Except then I’d have to buy more Apple stuff. I could buy four polishing cloths, I guess.
Overall, a nutty sort of run, both good and bad. I’m glad I got out, though.
And here’s a shot of the duck pond again, now fog-free, with actual ducks in it, and a patina of ice forming over half of it.
Stats:
Run 732 Average pace: 5:44/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CW) Start: 12:34 p.m. Distance: 10.03 km Time: 57:30 Weather: Sunny Temp: 6ºC Humidity: 55% Wind: light BPM: 160 Weight: 160.2 Total distance to date: 5405 km Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation) Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (77 km)
