This was a hard run. Why? Probably because it was warmer, windier and I have felt weird and lazy all day.
After sleeping in, which is uncharacteristic of me, I saw it was showering a little and thought to maybe wait a bit before running. Then I debated running at all. Finally, I changed, started my warm-up stretches and my right ankle began to hurt like I’d been abusing it (I have not, to my knowledge). I sat back down and pondered. Eventually, I tried again, completed the stretches, and headed out, with vague plans. By this time it was mid-afternoon, a time I generally try to avoid running.
I initially thought I’d do a brisk 7-8 km walk, then changed that to walking to the end of the river trail and doing a 5K run from there, before eventually settling on going to the lake and running a short loop.
For reasons, I started exactly at the 10K marker:
My first km, which includes a prominent uphill section near the start, was a bit sluggish, but I pressed on and found myself pausing briefly, like I was running too fast or too hard. After 10–15 seconds, I resumed. I ended up doing this four times, though once was at the Nature House, in order to get a drink from the fountain, as the breeze was resulting in a bit of Dry Mouth Syndrome.
To my surprise, my second km came in under six minutes, as did each of the rest. That said, I was a second slower than the last run (rounding error) and despite BPM being a bit lower at 151, it felt like a lot more effort. I experienced some mild cramping, though I don’t think it affected my pace, just my will to actually keep running. But I did finish the 5K, so I’ll take it!
The start of the run also saw me carefully navigating through a large group of geese and goslings who were making a section of the trail their own. Nothing happened, though a few goslings scooted a bit and one adult goose bobbed its head in that threatening way at me.
In all, I’d like to say lesson learned, but I guess we’ll have to wait till Friday to find out!
Stats:
Run 921
Average pace: 5:56/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 2:33 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:53
Weather: Sun and cloud mix
Temp: 18°C
Humidity: 63%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 151
Weight: 171.9
Total distance to date: 6,440 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (35/49/84)
Music: R.E.M., Lifes Rich Pageant
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