First, after my last run on August 19, it may have seemed like things were going spiffy. And they were!
Or so I thought.
But after that fourth run in a row, my right knee started to feel not-quite-right. It wasn’t hurting, per se, but was clearly feeling some strain from the runs, and the Baker’s cysts seemed bigger. I decided to take a cautious approach, and kept up with a series of walks and walk/runs, but it wasn’t until today when I somewhat spontaneously decided to, that I ran a full 5K.
It went fine. The right knee is not hurting, though I can feel where it would be, but it seems to have survived both the run and the extended walk around the lake and back home. To encourage myself to not put the metaphorical pedal to the metal, I opted not to time either walk post-run, allowing myself to adopt a more leisurely pace.
Speaking of leisurely paces, I knew to not go all-out for today’s run, but the 10-day layoff insure that wouldn’t be an issue. I could definitely feel those ten days. I started out relatively strong and fortunately capped out at 5:56/km on the third km before picking up the pace a little, then a little more to finish with an overall average of 5:51/km. It was warm, but not hot, somewhat muggy in the shady bits, and I experienced a bit of Dry Mouth Syndrome™ at times, though it was tolerable. I began thinking of how gels might work better than carrying a water bottle in situations like these. Not hair gel, since I no longer need that, but the sporty kind you enjoy on the go. I may look into it. On the other hand, summer is over in three weeks, so maybe I can hold out for now.
The trail was fairly bereft of people, though I did encounter a decent number of other joggers. I also encountered a guy with two kids biking. I told them bikes were not allowed as I ran past, scowling at them on the inside (too much energy to also do it on the outside). No off-leash dogs, though!
Also, I saw two snakes. One was quickly slithering off the trail into the grass, as they usually do. The next was post-run and did the same thing, but seemed a little more relaxed. He (she?) hung out in the grass for a bit, allowing me to get a rare (for this summer) garter snake photo (see below).
Overall, a decent outing, and I’m hopeful that I won’t need to go another 10 days before my next run.
Stats:
Run 880
Average pace: 5:51/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 1:16 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:23
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 23°C
Humidity: 60%
Wind: light
BPM: 154
Weight: 166.4
Total distance to date: 6,260 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (45/93/138)
