5K

Run 1,020: Drizzle in my shizzle

Brunette River, pre-run: A little showery, a bit breezy.

Sorry, I couldn’t think of a better title. 😛

I did my best to wait out the rain, but it was not to be, so I had an early afternoon run in light rain. It was cooler than normal at only 5C and felt closer to freezing because there were some wind gusts. Not my favourite running conditions!

The suggested workout was recovery, so I took that to heart and adopted a more leisurely pace. By the second km my pace had dipped to 6:03/km, which was a bit too leisurely, so I picked it up and finished with an average of 5:51/km. My BPM was quite low, at 142, reflecting the more casual stride.

I only saw two people on the trail: a guy wearing just a t-shirt (well, and also pants) despite the rain. He was walking a dog on-leash. Good boy (the dog owner)! The other was another jogger, who I passed twice as we were both looping the river trail. He wore a very bright red cap (the nice thing in Canada is a red cap is just a red cap) and pink running shoes. He’s not the first guy I’ve seen wearing pink running shoes recently, so this may be the year when pink is the hot colour for runners. Hot pink, one might say.

I should start looking for new shoes soon, myself. The Peregrine 15s have almost 500 km on them of combined running/walking.

A few other random notes:

  • The third song to come up in shuffle mode was “Echoes”, which kept playing until about a minute after my run ended. I’m not sure if it’s good jogging music, but I couldn’t bring myself to skip forward.
  • The rain stopped almost immediately after my run. I’m glad it stopped, but sometimes I wonder if Mother Nature is really Nelson Muntz.
It is impossible to take a photo of this pond and have it look level. Also, bonus ducks.

Stats:

Run 1,020
Average pace: 5:51/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 1:29 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:23
Weather: Light rain and drizzle
Temp: 5°C (felt like 0°C)
Humidity: 82%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 142
Weight: 170.5 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,925 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (195/295/490)

Music: Shuffle mode, but mostly "Echoes" by Pink Floyd

Run 1,019: A cromulent start to the week

View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run: Work was being done in the area, hence the Metro Vancouver vehicles.

Today was the third time in the past three days I’ve completed the loop at Burnaby Lake, though I wasn’t carrying my camera with me this time.

Instead, it was the start of my weekly set of runs and once again, it was partly sunny, though a bit cooler than Friday, so the two layers stayed on for the duration. Shortly after I ended my 5K I had a guy pass me who was obviously not as sensitive to the temperature, as he was going topless.

There are two kinds of guys that run without a shirt:

  • Guys who want to show off their six-pack
  • Guys who look like they’ve had a few too many six-packs

There is nothing in-between. Average guys seem topless-averse.

Today’s run was clockwise, and very similar to Friday, with only a one-second difference in the average pace and a one beat difference in BPM (both were a bit faster/better today). I didn’t experience any issues, the trail was relatively dry after a few blissful days of not-rain and only one dog was off-leash.

In all, a good start to the week.

Still Creek, post-run: Back to the stillness.

Stats:

Run 1,019
Average pace: 5:44/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:15 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:50
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 7-8°C
Humidity: 62%
Wind: light
BPM: 148
Weight: 172.1 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,920 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (190/291/481)

Music: Voices, Hall and Oates

Run 1,018: Spring 2026! Sun! Puddles!

View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run. The sky cleared up substantially during the run.

It was my first run of Spring 2026 and as a bonus it was both partly sunny and unusually mild, a nice change after multiple days of torrential rains.

I wore two layers (hoodie and t-shirt), which actually turned out to be one too many, as I doffed my Echo hoodie about halfway through the run, meaning I got an early start to my 2026 tan. 😀

I missed Wednesday’s run due to said torrential rains and felt a little sloggy (that’s the best way I can describe it) today but kept up a fairly consistent pace throughout, with an average of 5:45/km and a BPM of 149. Neither is outstanding, but both are perfectly cromulent.

Strangely a lot of dogs were off-leash. Bad dog owners! Fortunately the dogs themselves were well-behaved.

The trail was in pretty good shape despite the heavy rain–or so I thought! It was actually fine right up till the end of the run, where the newly-resurfaced stretch was seeing water ingress:

It should be fine with more normal amounts of rain. I think.

Puddles aside, it was nice to return to the lake, get some sun and round off the week with a decent effort.

View from the bridge over Deer Lake Brook, post-run.

Stats:

Run 1,018
Average pace: 5:45/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:24 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:56
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 12-13°C
Humidity: 89-85%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 149
Weight: 171.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,915 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (185/278/463)

Music: Shuffle mode (R.E.M.)

Run 1,017: Sprinkles (not the kind you put on cupcakes)

Brunette River, pre-run: Swollen like a Botox operation gone wrong. Or something.

We are in the midst of a four day “atmospheric river event” which means rain and plenty of it. I checked the forecast and tried to time today’s run during the one likely gap in the showers. And I mostly got it, woo. It sprinkled briefly around the 2K mark, but was otherwise dry for the run. It rained on the walk back, but it was more a steady drizzle, so I didn’t get drenched like last Wednesday. Nice, I sez.

As for the run, I started out a bit sluggish and flagged a bit on the second km, but picked up speed and finished with a pace of 5:43/km, a little slower than Friday, but also with a BPM of 147, which was appropriately lower. My max heart rate got adjusted on the Garmin watch to 165, so I have a goof amount of headroom.

The river trail was fairly quiet, though I did see a semi-regular out for a walk, all bundled up. Speaking of, I wore my three winter layers because it was around 5C when I was originally going to head out, but rose to 8C by the time I left, so I was a bit overdressed. Still, always better to be over than under in the winter. You can always shed layers, but you can’t magically manifest them out of nowhere (if anyone can do this, please teach me).

In all, a good start to what is likely to be a soggy ol’ week.

Post-run: The river banks are getting more green!

Stats:

Run 1,017
Average pace: 5:43/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 1:17 p.m.
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 28:50
Weather: Cloudy, some sprinkles
Temp: 8°C
Humidity: 87%
Wind: light
BPM: 147
Weight: 170.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,910 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (180/265/445)

Music: Shuffle mode

Run 1,016: Here comes the sun (and skunk cabbage)

View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run: It actually brightened up considerably after I took this shot.

The best thing about today’s run was the absence of rain. It was once again 5C, but for most of the run it was partly sunny, so it only felt cool at the start. Speaking of start, I ran in the early afternoon due to morning showers. There were still some puddles, but puddle-hopping was not too bad.

In the week since I was last at the lake, it looks like the wind claimed a few more trail-adjacent trees, freshly cut up into log-size chunks. Pedestrian traffic was relatively light and only one dog was off-leash and he was being a good boy, walking directly in front of his owner (which made me wonder why he was even off-leash).

I started out at a similar pace to the previous two runs, but unlike those, this time I gained strength as I kept going, instead of flagging, finishing with an overall pace of 5:41/km and a BPM of 150, which is a bit higher, but accurately reflects the extra effort.

I didn’t experience any issues, which is always nice, and enjoyed the walk back, with the amount of green along the trail expanding significantly since my last run–and now including the reappearance of skunk cabbage, a sure sign of spring:

The skunk cabbage cometh. But it’s not actually stinky! Yet.

This was also the first time in a few weeks that I kept to my usual Mon-Wed-Fri running schedule, which I’ll hopefully be better at sticking to as we roll on into spring.

In all, a good wrap-up to the week.

View from ther bridge over Deer Lake Bridge, post-run.

Stats

Run 1,016
Average pace: 5:41/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 1:07 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:35
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 5-6°C
Humidity: 77-72%
Wind: light
BPM: 150
Weight: 170.0 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,905 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (175/262/437)

Music: Seven and the Ragged Tiger, Duran Duran

Run 1,015: Here comes the rain again

Brunette River, pre-run: Rain and plenty of it.

The forecast was calling for heavy (steady) rain today, so there was no avoiding it. I put on three layers, adjusted the belt that holds my phone (by removing the onion tied to it–OK, I just had it tightened up, as it had been growing slack) and headed out, bracing for a lot of wet.

I was not disappointed. Except by how it was much milder and nicer running in mid-January.

I saw one cyclist at the start and one guy out on a walk with a giant umbrella, but otherwise had the trail to myself. It was 5C, the weather app said it felt like 2C, which seemed about right, and the rain, though light, was constant. My running gear is tumbling in the dryer as I’m typing this.

Strangely, my stats ended up nearly identical to Monday, despite the change in weather. My BPM was a bit higher at 147, but my overall pace was the same–5:47/km. My total time was only two seconds off from Monday and that’s probably because I walked the first few steps instead of running. I am nothing if not consistent.

The only problem during the run was just the usual with wet weather–lower visibility, having to navigate around sometimes gigantic puddles and just generally getting soaked and cold. I’m sure it builds character or something.

Anyway, I’m on track for a regular week of running, we’ll see if it continues.

Post-run. Water gushes from a creek feeding into the river.

Stats:

Run 1,015
Average pace: 5:47/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 11:52 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:07
Weather: Steady light rain
Temp: 5°C
Humidity: 90%
Wind: light
BPM: 147
Weight: 170.0 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,900 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (170/249/419)

Music: Shuffle mode

Run 1,013: Well-timed

View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run: Cloudy and calm.

It’s my first regular follow-up run in about a hundred years, woo (meaning a run two days after the previous). The well-timed is in reference to carefully watching the forecast and heading out early in the afternoon after morning showers ended. Not only did I get to skip the rain, the trail was in pretty decent shape, other than the occasional easily navigated puddle.

I flipped the course today, doing another short loop, but going counter-clockwise this time. I shaved five seconds off my pace, which is not bad. BPM was a bit higher, but fine at 150. I definitely felt I was pushing harder than on Monday.

Likely because of the earlier rain, the trail was largely empty, though more people appeared toward the end of the run.

I didn’t experience any issues at all and a single layer would likely have sufficed, but I wanted two in case the showers came back while I was out and aboot.

In all, a fine mid-week effort. Friday is currently looking wet, so we’ll see if I can squeeze in another run between showers.

The view further west of the dam, post-run.

Stats:

Run 1,013
Average pace: 5:42/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 1:18 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:38
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 10°C
Humidity: 81-80%
Wind: light
BPM: 150
Weight: 169.7 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,890 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (160/241/401)

Music: Eat to the Beat, Blondie

Run 1,012: Mild, not wild

View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run: Mild and sunny.

I opted to revert to a 5K run after three days off, to allow myself to warm up a bit before trying 10K again, but I will do 10K again soon™.

In the meantime I ran a short loop at the lake and it was downright spring-like, with a temperature of 11C, little wind and lots of sun. My stats were decent, but not earth-shattering, as my running schedule has been a tad erratic lately. Besides, it’s probably better to not shatter the earth, anyway. Still, BPM of 148 and a pace of 5:47/km is perfectly fine.

I also experienced no issues, though midway through the run I felt a bit tired–perhaps related to my “non-restorative” sleep last night. In any case, I picked up in the last few km.

Overall, a decent start to the week. The weather forecast suggest The Rains are about to return, but hopefully I can find a few patches of dry(ish) conditions to run during the rest of the week.

Brunette River, post-run.

Stats:

Run 1,012
Average pace: 5:47/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW, short loop)
Start: 12:41 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:06
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 11°C
Humidity: 64-61%
Wind: light
BPM: 148
Weight: 170.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,885 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (155/233/388)

Music: Even in the Quietest Moments, Supertramp

Run 1,008: In pursuit of mediocrity

View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run: Cooler than recent runs, but still very calm.

Going into today’s run, I was facing the following:

  • Four days off (one more than I’d like)
  • Several nights of mediocre sleep and stress
  • Still not back into a regular running cadence

And the proof was in the running, with a slower average pace of 5:54/km, my BPM weirdly spiking to 167 at peak around the 2K mark and my average BPM being 154, higher than normal (though the cold might account for some of this).

Despite the mediocre stats, I didn’t have any issues, but I felt the lack of energy in the final km. I wanted to push, but the tank was already empty. Still, considering my worst km was 6:03 (!), the overall average was not that bad.

I also saw my first regular in a while–the spitfire!

Conditions were fine. It was cool, but dry and with little wind. In fact, I almost felt overdressed wearing my running pants and three layers, possibly because the humidity also remained fairly high.

Anyway, it was good to get out. I will try to stick to a more regular routine and hopefully see better stats going forward.

View from the turtle nesting area, post-run.

Stats:

Run 1,008
Average pace: 5:54/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 10:33 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:37
Weather: Mostly cloudy
Temp: 4°C
Humidity: 79-77%
Wind: light
BPM: 154
Weight: 170.1 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,870 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (130/201/331)

Music: About Face, David Gilmour

Run 1,007: The chipper and me

View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run: Calm, cloudy, but not cold.

My watch suggested a rest day yesterday, so I obeyed it. I then decided to run today for a few reasons:

  • To minimize the gap between runs (to three days)
  • The forecast for my usual run day of Friday is poo (well, rain)

So I set off to do a short loop at the lake and fought the urge to do more (I did not do more).

I wore three layers because it was a little cooler and there was a bit of a breeze. This turned out to be OK for the walk to the lake and the run itself, though two layers would have sufficed, but it came in handy on the walk back as I cooled off and the wind picked up again.

As for the run, I chose to go clockwise because I could hear what sounded like wood being cut nearby and I was intrigued. It turned out that half of the Avalon parking lot was closed off for a big ol’ tree chipping ceremony. They were spreading the chips in the forested bit between the parking lot and the trail, maybe as a bed for the bugs and critters or something. I assume the trees being fed into the chipper were sick/dead or had fallen.

Thar she blows!

Possibly due to the cooler temperature, the lack of energizing sunshine or not stretching beforehand (there was clutter in my usual stretching spot and I was too lazy to move the stuff, which is ironic considering I went out and ran 5K immediately after), I was slower, but my pace of 5:46/km is cromulent. I didn’t experience any issues. And the trail was much more sparsely populated compared to Sunday.

In the last km I did something I rarely do–I started to stretch out my gait, effectively speeding up without necessarily putting more energy into the run. I started this with only about 20 seconds left, so it had no effect on my pace, but it felt good and I may experiment more with this in the future.

Overall, a perfectly fine outing.

The lake, post-run. as seen from the turtle nesting area.

Stats:

Run 1,007
Average pace: 5:46/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW, short loop)
Start: 11:26 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:59
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 7°C
Humidity: 76-73%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 168.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,865 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (125/193/318)

Music: Accelerate, R.E.M.

Run 1,006: The Miracle

View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run: Calm, sunny and mild. Pseudo-spring!

I went running for the first time since Monday and it went surprisingly well. In fact, I posted my best pace in some time (5:37/km). I think there were several factors here:

  • Mild temperature–10C!
  • Sunny (so warm in the sun I had to shed a layer)
  • I was obviously well-rested

Because I went on a Sunday and it was sunny after a day of steady rain yesterday, the trail was fairly packed, but it was actually fine. There was only one real traffic jam and I managed to avoid it. Despite the rain, the trail had enough time to largely dry out, so there was no puddle dodging required.

I originally planned a short loop, but changed my mind and just ran a straight 5K. I started planning ahead, thinking how I’d have to loop back a bit to complete all 5 km, in order to avoid the flooded areas along the sports field.

And that’s when I saw it, The Miracle:

Resurfaced trail? Here? What mad sorcery is this?

Yes, since the last time I was here, a park crew came in and resurfaced the entire floody stretch of trail next to the sports field. And so far it seems to be working, as the water was still getting right up to the edge of the trail but so far, not spilling onto it:

We’ll see how long the water remains at bay (water joke).

This may not seem like a big deal, but I’ve been running at Burnaby Lake for 15 years, and they have never resurfaced this stretch, so it is a cause for celebration.

Being able to finish a good run without having to dodge around muck and mire and massive puddles was a very nice way to end today’s exercise.

Still Creek, post-run: Very still.

Stats:

Run 1,006
Average pace: 5:37/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:21 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:16
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 10°C
Humidity: 75-72%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 170.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,860 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (120/185/305)

Music: About Face, David Gilmour

Run 1,005: Big river and bad laces

Brunette River, pre-run: High and getting higher. No cannabis required.

It’s been a week since the last run and despite The Rains, I knew I had to go out today and get wet. And also run.

Which I did.

Big river: After nearly two weeks of dry weather, we’ve had a few days with pretty steady rain, so the river was very high. Not high enough that I was in danger of it sloshing around my feet, but I could hear the water roaring past over the music playing on my AirPods (bonus rant about music in another post).

The laces, which behaved last Monday, behaved for the first half of the run, then the left lace untied itself. I tied it up and about 20 seconds later it came untied again. I pondered and settled on a double bow, which held for the rest of the run. I’ll need to come up with a solution going forward because the lace is coming undone almost every time now.

For the run itself, it was fine. The rain was light but steady for the first half, so there was some puddle-dodging and jumping, and visibility through the glasses was not great. The rain eased to a lighter drizzle after, which was better. Apparently the weather was sufficiently crummy that I saw no one else the entire time I was on the river trail, which is pretty rare.

My pace was slightly better than last week at 5:44/km, and it was fairly mild, though I wore layers to stay dry(ish) underneath.

In all, not a bad start to the week, though I am looking forward to drier runs soon.

The river, post-run: Probably over twice the usual water volume (note: I’m not a riverologist).

Stats:

Run 1,005
Average pace: 5:44/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 12:40 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:49
Weather: Light rain and drizzle
Temp: 8°C
Humidity: 89-90%
Wind: light
BPM: 150
Weight: 168.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,855 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (115/176/291)

Music: Green, R.E.M.