For the first time in so long I can’t remember, I decided to bypass all three side trails:
- Spruce Loop
- Conifer Loop
- Piper Mill Trail
This meant I’d do a “shorter” run and also hit my milestones much closer to the trail markers. In fact, I passed the 7K marker at the exact moment I hit 7 km. It felt weird!
The most notable thing about today’s run (other than lucking out and missing the rain entirely, which started about 15 minutes after I got back home), is speed. The side trails are a lot twistier, narrower and hillier than the main trail and perhaps because of this, I did the opposite of what I intended and instead of starting the week with a modest outing, I went all hells bells and by the third km I was feeling tired, which is something that, if it happens, doesn’t occur until maybe the 7th km or so. I confirmed by BPM were high, made an effort to slow on the Cottonwood Trail and managed to bring my BPM down without my pace falling down as well.
I still ended up setting Garmin records for faster 1K, 5K and 10K, plus had my best 10K pace since 2017 at 5:45/km. No real issues during the run, unlike the hip warning of Friday. This time, the watch only suggested 72 hours to recover, instead of 96!
It was cool and, in fact, it felt clammy enough leaving the building that I came back and swapped my dual layers for the long-sleeved shirt and running jacket. It was fine. It felt colder on the way to the river than at the river or lake, as a bit of breeze was blowing. The lake was as calm as ever.
Overall, an unintentionally good start to the week. For Wednesday, I plan on actually easing up for real and will resume running the side trails.
Stats:
Run 742 Average pace: 5:45/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW) Start: 9:43 a.m. Distance: 10.03 km Time: 58:53 Weather: Cloudy Temp: 6-7ºC Humidity: 72% Wind: low BPM: 155 Weight: 162.6 Total distance to date: 5495 km Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation) Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (167 km)
