I pondered what to do today: Regular 5K? Wee 2.5K? 5K but short loop? In the end, I did a regular 5K but adopted a more moderate pace from the outset–the first km was a leisurely 6:13/km and I was remarkably consistent, only picking up the pace a bit for the final lap and ending with an overall pace of 6:11/km. Slower than usual, but it was also warmer and I am clearly not at 100% capacity for stamina post-chest cold yet.
I didn’t have any issues, though, thanks to the more modest pace.
A snake almost got squished, though, as the title notes. I was running through one of those patchy sun/shade areas and did not see a garter snake sunning itself in one of the sunny patches until the last moment. I lengthened my stride into a ind of step/jump to get over it, and it was only as I passed above that the snake finally moved and slithered off the trail. A lucky snake!
Large stretches of the run were curiously quiet, too. I don’t think I saw anyone else on the trail for the first 3 km, then a bunch of people appeared on the Cottonwood Trail, where we all baked a little in the unrelenting sun (don’t worry, showers are called for tomorrow).
I also took a brief break at the Nature House, about halfway through the run, to get a drink at the fountain. This had no appreciable effect on my pace, good or bad.
Overall, it was nice to get back to my regular routine, but this is the most tired I’ve felt post-run in a good while.
Stats:
Run 940
Average pace: 6:11/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:08 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 31:08
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 21-22°C
Humidity: 66-62%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 165.8
Total distance to date: 6,532.5 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (127.5/262.5/390)
Music: Out of Time, R.E.M.
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