3K

Today was the second half of the 5K run I started…a week ago. I swear I’ll be running regularly now!

My goal today was simple:

• Start early to beat the heat (though the high today is 26C, which is not too bad)
• Get an average pace under six minutes

Success!

I started near the Jiffy John® and had the following times for my abbreviated run:

• 1K: 5:54
• 2K: 5:59
• 3K: 5:52

After the second km, I knew I had very little wiggle room, so I put in a wee bit of extra effort and managed to get my average pace to a slow but still under six minute pace of 5:55/km. Woo.

The temperature and humidity were both fine, so no dry mouth or other discomfort, other than just being somewhat out of shape again.

I chose not to time the walk around the rest of the lake, but did time the walk back from the lake, with my Training Status going from Recovery to Maintaining. That’s also fine. Everything was fine, or fine-like.

This was the first run with my snazzy new Speedgoat 6 shoes, and they were…fine! They are basically the same as the Speedgoat 5s, so no real difference in terms of fit or feel, which is good.

Overall, a perfectly cromulent way to start the week.

Stats:

Run 872
Average pace: 5:55/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:08 a.m.
Distance: 3.03 km
Time: 17:56
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 19-20°C
Humidity: 71-70%
Wind: light
BPM: 156
Weight: 168.8
Total distance to date: 6,220 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (5/13/18)

Whoops, it took me two weeks to do the second part of my split 5K. I think I am paranoid about the knees now. Or at least the right knee, aka The Bad Knee.

But today I went out and did the other 3K, and now my total run distance is a nice round number again, my OCD satisfied.

Also, my knees survived. As with the last time, it was more about the stamina and less about how my legs were doing. I started out with a fine pace of 5:42/km, then surprisingly maintained that pace for the second km, flagging a bit at the end at 5:51/km, for a still decent overall average of 5:46/km. I didn’t detect any issues while running, nor any immediately after, as I type this.

Conditions were very similar to two weeks ago, though there was a bit of puddle-dodging after it rained all day yesterday. It was once more an afternoon run, because I both hemmed and hawed before finally heading out. I was planning on taking the side trails and looping back on the main trail, but did the opposite because a person was jogging ahead of me, but was moving slower, so I knew I would pass her, but she was turning off onto the Spruce Loop and there were three people ahead of her, forming a big ol’ bottleneck. I opted to bypass the whole mess by sticking to the surprisingly free main trail.

I am doing weekday birding again on Friday, so unsure of the exact day I’ll head out next, but I’ll be doing a full 5K. We’ll see if my knees explode, implode, or just stay attached. For now, I am cautiously optimistic.

Stats:

Run 864
Average pace: 5:46/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 2:54 p.m.
Distance: 3:03 km
Time: 17:28
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 16°C
Humidity: 57%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 153
Weight: 168.9
Total distance to date: 6195 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (335/626/961 km)