10K

Run 701: Caution in the wind

It was 22-24C today, which was fine, but humidity was still 50%, which is kind of gross, but admittedly not as gross as 76%. I decided to start my run at 1 p.m. and an additional benefit was the Cottonwood Trail is nicely shaded at that time.

I deliberately ran slower due to the leg issue on Wednesday and also a mysterious left knee issue that popped up yesterday when I walked to uptown New Westminster (there are two long, steep hills on the way). The good news is the knee was fine, but the upper left thigh was still a little sore, though not as bad as Wednesday. Basically, a bionic replacement for my left leg would be handy, though it would probably misfire and cause me to run in circles or something.

Another change today was an actual breeze! This summer it’s not only been weirdly humid, there’s been very little wind when running at the lake. Today, possibly related to the weather breaking and becoming sunny again, there was an actual wind blowing in from the west. It felt nice!

I did put on the jets just a little for the last stretch, and my final km came in at 5:57/km. My first was a decidedly more casual 6:31/km. In fact, the first half of the run my pace got faster every km, then slowed and plateaued until that final burst.

Overall, it went about as well as I could have expected. Here’s hoping some time off over the weekend will leave my left leg feeling sparkly and fresh.

Stats:

Run 701
Average pace: 6:15/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 1:09 p.m.
Distance: 10.02 km
Time: 62:38
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 22-24ºC
Humidity: 50%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 148
Weight: 163.9
Total distance to date: 5140 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (248 km)

Run 700: The thighs that bind

Best news: No bears!
Good news: Only 22C instead of 32C like on Sunday.
Bad news: Humidity was still 58%. What is the deal with the high humidity this summer?
Ominous news: My upper left thigh was sore right at the start of the run and stayed sore throughout.

I mulled about doing only 5K early on, but pressed through and toward the end the thigh didn’t feel as sore, though I’m pretty sure endorphins had kicked in at that point, numbing my brain to the pain.

I have no idea why the thigh was sore. Maybe I did something in my sleep. I could set up a webcam to find out, but it would probably be like watching a found footage movie and creep me out. Despite the thorny thigh, I still finished with a perfectly cromulent pace of 6:05/km. The difference in temperature really helped, as did the partially cloudy sky. I like the sun, but it’s nice to not have it relentlessly beating down on you while you run. Stamina-wise, I felt fine throughout, so the actual 10 km distance wasn’t an issue.

I’m also impressed at how steady my pace is. I hit exactly 150 for my average BPM, though it dipped a little below and above that at various points.

In all, my official 700th run was good (I probably have a dozen or so that went uncounted in my early days of running). Here’s hoping the thigh behaves better on Friday.

Stats:

Run 700
Average pace: 6:05/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:31 a.m.
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 61:06
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 22ºC
Humidity: 58%
Wind: light
BPM: 150
Weight: 163.7
Total distance to date: 5130 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (238 km)

Run 696: Oh the humidity

I nearly stepped on as snake on my first run today. It was sunning right where my foot was heading. Fortunately, we saw each other in time and adjusted accordingly.

And yes, my first run. Let me explain!

I knew it would be hot today (forecast high of 30C) so I headed out at 8:46 a.m. In terms of temperature, the run started at 22C, which is fine. The first four km also felt fine, if a bit slower. I had already decided to maintain a BPM of 150, so I knew my pace would drop, as I’d need to work harder to maintain the pace in cooler temperatures. All good.

Around the 4K mark, I began to flag. I didn’t feel bad, exactly, and I kept to that 150 BPM. But I noticed a couple of things: the utter absence of any breeze (even when it’s hot, a little breeze is nice) and an oppressive level of humidity, which has so far been the defining feature of the weather this summer. My pace continued to collapse unto itself and by the 6K mark I paused to let my heart rate come down, then set off again. At the 7K mark, I did the same thing, but impulsively chose to stop the run instead of pausing it. I immediately regretted this.

After about a minute to gather my strength, I started another run, adding 3K to make for a combined total of 10K. The stats below are smooshed together from the two runs.

I’m not sure heading out even earlier on Wednesday would help, as it’s bound to be even more humid earlier in the morning, and not much cooler. We’ll see.

On a more positive note, I saw another bunny. It hopped across the trail in front of me. Or maybe it was the same bunny as before. So far, every bunny has been the same brown color, so who can say? Other than the bunny.

And one more positive note: Despite the yuck-o humidity, I didn’t experience any issues on the run–no cramps, pains, twinges and, of course, my mouth did not dry out at all, since it felt like I was running inside a bag of water.

Stats:

Run 696
Average pace: 6:22/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 9:32 a.m.
Distance: 10.07 km
Time: 63:59
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 22-25ºC
Humidity: 64-76%
Wind: nil
BPM: 150
Weight: 164.2
Total distance to date: 5105 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (213 km)

NOTE: Due to a premature stop, the stats above are a combination of a 7K and 3K run with about a minute gap between them.

Run 695: 10K threepeat!

I actually really dislike the world “threepeat.” 😛

But I did indeed do my third 10K run this week, the first time I’ve done such a feat since…August 2017, apparently. Yikes.

I ran counter-clockwise and the weather was similar to Monday, overcast, cooler and even more humid than before. For the first half I sweated like a person who has devoted his entire existence to the idea of sweating as much as possible. Once I got onto the south side of the lake, the sweating diminished, possibly due to a combination of breeze and the humidity starting to ease up a little. I assiduously kept my pace to a heart rate of around 150 or slightly under and discovered two things:

  • After stopping to tie my left shoelace at the 2K mark, I apparently felt zippy enough to get my BPM up to 162. I had to make myself slow down!
  • The trail along the south side of the lake is a lot more technical (very windy and with lots of small hills and dips), so maintaining that BPM of 150 meant my time dipped during this section.

I do like sticking to a specific BPM, though. I think it makes it easier to gauge performance, while insuring I don’t get goofy and overdo it.

As for how I felt, pretty good! In the final km I did push a bit on the speed and that’s the only time I felt a little soreness in that left upper thigh. Apparently if I stick to 150 BPM I remain in the “upper thigh is content” zone.

Overall, a good run and a nice finish to my most runningest week in five years (which is still kind of crazy to think about).

Stats:

Run 695
Average pace: 6:02/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:24 a.m.
Distance: 10.02 km
Time: 60:36
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 17-18ºC
Humidity: 74%
Wind: light
BPM: 149
Weight: 164.8
Total distance to date: 5095 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (208 km)

Run 694: For the first time in two days, another 10K!

View from Cariboo Dam, just prior to starting the run.

It was forecast to get up to 28C today, so I opted for a mid-morning run to beat the heat. Here’s my run report in handy list form, because I like lists.

  • Good News: I ran another 10K. Yay! I can now say it’s been two days between 10K runs, instead of 988 days.
  • Less-Than-Good-News: Around the 5K mark, an upper left thigh muscle began to twinge a bit. It settled after a few km and is fine now. I blame my body for being weirdly asymmetrical. It may also not surprise you that I am also left-handed.
  • Bad News: None, really. This run felt a lot harder than Monday due to the warmer temperatures (though they were not bad), but mainly the still-high humidity. Humidity is like a superpower designed to drain all energy from your body. It works very well!
  • Fun Fact: For whatever reason, I mistype “humidity” almost every time. I didn’t this time because I was concentrating hard enough for Mavis Beacon to sit up and notice.
  • Trail update: They are putting the final touches on the trail resurfacing near the dam. Where will they resurface next? (Please please please be the trail along the athletic fields.)
  • Sensitive subject: A few years ago I had a weird issue when running if my chest got wet, whether through perspiration or precipitation–my nipples would become strangely sensitive. It almost feels like this might be making an unwelcome return. It’s both weird and annoying. So far it is only hinting. I will give it a hint to go away and see if that works.
  • Award time: I got an award in the Apple Watch Fitness app for most calories burned in a running workout, 723. I find this somewhat odd that it didn’t happen years ago. Maybe I have more calories to burn now.

Award:

Finarly I did it.

Stats:

Run 694
Average pace: 6:12/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:00 a.m.
Distance: 10.02 km
Time: 62:08
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 22-25ºC
Humidity: 64%
Wind: light
BPM: 150
Weight: 165.6
Total distance to date: 5085 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (198 km)

Run 693: For the first time in 988 days, 10K!

I knew it had been awhile since my last 10K run, but was astonished to find that it was on November 3, 2019 (Run 642)–988 days ago. Yikes. Reading the entry for that run, there’s nothing to indicate why it was my last 10K run. The next entry, three weeks later, does refer to having recovered from a pulled back muscle and pulled upper thigh muscle, so that those would seem to be it.

I’m not sure why I then spent the last 50 runs continuing to skip 10Ks, because at some point I must have been ready.

Regardless of the long delay, today was that day. I knew I wanted to at least match Friday’s 7K and was feeling pretty good as I started out, running at a moderate pace, and keeping the heart rate below 150. It turned out to be a fairly easy decision to keep pushing and end up doing a full 10 km for the first time in that 988 days. I experienced no issues during the run and feel fine as I write this later that same day. My pace was even decent, at 6:05/km (I was not focusing at all on being speedy, but seemed to find a good rhythm).

The weather was unseasonably cool heading out, and it was kind of misty to start, with the cloud cover quite low. It brightened up toward the end of the run, but remained cloudy and cool. The cooler temperatures actually helped during the run–sweating was minimal, even despite the high humidity.

I didn’t see many others on the trail, so it looks like swapping in early fall weather in the middle of July is the key to keeping people away.

Really, the only downside today was not being able to take any pictures. Well, I could have taken some from the dam or turtle nesting area, but they look pretty much the same as always. I was delighted to see that they are indeed resurfacing the trail right up to the dam, with much of it already done well ahead of the August deadline. Now they just need to work on the stretch around the athletic fields and the entire lake loop will be good until the next big storm wrecks everything.

Stats:

Run 693
Average pace: 6:05/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:32 p.m.
Distance: 10.02 km
Time: 60:56
Weather: Overcast, some drizzle
Temp: 16ºC
Humidity: 86%
Wind: light
BPM: 146
Weight: 165.8
Total distance to date: 5075 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (188 km)

Run 407: The old man and the hip

Run 407
Average pace: 5:43/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 10.02 km
Time: 57:20
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 23-27ºC
Wind: light
BPM: 160
Stride: 175 strides/min
Weight: 152.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 3315
Device used: TomTom Runner Cardio

The good news is despite sleeping in a little, my first holiday run actually happened in the morning and temperatures remained comfortable throughout.

The bad news was the thing of evil known as my right hip. Never known for acts of great villainy before, it made up for it today, doing its best to topple me.

Yesterday I walked my usual run router and noticed that the right hip was feeling a little sore. I believe this stemmed from sleeping funny and twisting my leg in a way that is sub-optimal, similar to how some people will wake with sore backs. This happened last year then went away. It returned this year and while I have noticed it on runs it’s never really interfered, it’s more something I feel.

Yesterday’s walk was a warm-up, though, because today the hip made its presence known so strongly it completely knocked me off my usual pace. My left foot also started hurting between the 2-3K mark, though it leveled off quickly and I don’t feel it was a factor.

By around 9K the hip mysteriously started to feel much better, so much so that I put on the afterburners to get a good finish in. Halfway through this (with 300-400 m left) the hip did a full reversal and felt like it was on fire or going to explode or something. I had a few moments where I wondered if I would even finish the run. I did and also managed a slow walk home.

I’m not sure why the hip has suddenly gone haywire, unless I’m continuing to sleep wrong. I would correct this if I could stay awake while I sleep but you see the problem there.

I’ll see if I bounce back from this quickly or if it turns into some yucky long term situation.

Other than Hell Hip, the trail was rather crowded today with walkers and joggers out enjoying the nice weather of BC Day. Bonus: no cyclists!

The first TomTom 10k10k RunRun

Run 395
Average pace: 5:37/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 56:32
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 25-26ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 756
BPM: 161 <- exciting new stat
Weight: 155.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 3214
Device used: TomTom Runner Cardio

I don’t normally run on Saturdays, but given my shifted-due-to-Africa-hot schedule this week, it was the next logical day to head out.

I headed out mid-morning to beat the expected high of 30ºC, and the temperature was warm but not stupidly hot at 25-26ºC. It felt warmer in the exposed parts of the trail but tolerable.

This was my second run using the TomTom Runner Cardio watch and the first 10K using it. It worked fine, though I sweated more, and it felt like it was slipping a few times. It wasn’t, really, as I had it secured tightly enough to leave a nuclear blast-like afterimage on my arm for a good while after the run ended and the watch was off. It did move slightly, and I pushed it up my wrist periodically to ease my paranoia that it would squip down to my hand and twirl uselessly.

I listened to music this time and it was much more entertaining than my breathing. It’s also nice to have the phone safely tucked away in the belt before the run.

After starting out I decided to try accessing some of the other screens showing assorted stats during the run. The first screen was a menu of different options that contained about a million items. I got scared I’d screw something up and just put it back to the default slowly-filling-circle screen. I’ll read up on the different options before the next run and like a good scout, be prepared.

The run itself was a middling 5:37/km–not great for a 10K but not too bad given conditions, the infrequency of 10Ks this year and the fact that the TomTom GPS is probably more accurate (and less generous) than the GPS in my iPhone. The only issue I experienced was my left foot starting to feel a bit sore around the 7K mark. It held up for the rest of the run, but did hurt noticeably on the walk home. My great footrest experiment continues, so we’ll see if the left foot holds up better on future longer runs.

While the dandy new faucet by the dam has not yet been broken, someone did remove the spigot attached to it that had ensured a narrower water flow good for filling water bottles. The spigot and its rubber washer were sitting on a post next to the faucet. Maybe someone really hates water bottles. I tried reassembling it but couldn’t manage the task, possibly because the threads on the faucet may have been partly stripped or possibly because I am as mechanically adept as a rock.

Overall, I am neither pleased nor disappointed by the run. I am happy that I got in a full 10K but will reserve judgment on the pace until I get more runs in on the watch and/or the temperatures come back down a bit.