5K

I changed things up today:

• Started in the morning
• Wore new socks!
• Wore new running shorts!
• Uh, that’s about it.

Admittedly, the new socks aren’t particularly noticeable. The new shorts are the latest iteration of the Nike Stride Dri-Fit running shorts I wear. They have changed again since I last bought a pair:

• They now offer a compression short liner, which I did not opt for. I do not want to wear tight-fitting shorts under my loose-fitting shorts.
• The zippered pocket is now in the back (it used to be in the back before, so this is actually a regression to how it used to be placed).
• It has little reflective lines on the back, near the bottom, for improved visibility.
• The drawstring now hangs out the front instead of being tucked inside. I do not like this and have already yanked the drawstring back inside the shorts.

Other than these changes, they’re pretty much running shorts. The zipper feels much smoother and the fabric has that nice new fabric feel to it. Maybe they made me faster, because I shaved five seconds off my previous pace.

The big change, of course, was going out in the morning. It was cooler and I started out (and finished) much stronger than the previous run, with no stops along the way and no individual km over the six-minute mark.

A tendon on my right knee feel a little hinky to start, but it settled quickly and is not an issue now. I otherwise experienced no problems. For a brief time, I even felt kind of good!

My BPM was up to 155, but it maxed out at 160, so I’m not concerned. I definitely felt I was putting in more effort.

Mini poopmonsters are all over the place now, though they were not actually on the trail itself today, which is handy for avoiding getting chased/hissed at by an adult.

Also, the bears are apparently back:

Anyway, a nice way to round out the week.

Stats:

Run 922
Average pace: 5:51/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:26 a.m.
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 29:24
Weather: Sun and high cloud
Temp: 14-15°C
Humidity: 56-54%
Wind: light
BPM: 155 (max. 160)
Weight: 172.4
Total distance to date: 6,445 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (40/62/102)

Music: Electric Light Orchestra, Time

No, I did not pee in any unauthorized manner during the run.

Rather, the title refers to my li’l SPI-Belt water bottle, which has a clip and clips to the belt. Although I’m not using an official SPI-Belt now, it works the same on my current belt. I filled the bottle up, after experiencing Dry Mouth Syndrome (DMS) on my last run and seeing humidity would be about the same on today’s run.

It turned out I never needed the water, because the real reason my mouth got so dry last time was not the humidity, but rather the wind. It was much calmer this morning (I also started about half an hour earlier), which solved the problem entirely.

After about two km, though, the bottle was consistently tugging down on the belt, which annoyed me enough to pause the run, remove the clip, put the clip in a pocket and just carry the bottle in a hand, switching periodically from one hand to the other for the rest of the run. It was a bit awkward, but much less so than the bottle dragging on the belt.

I will have to re-think my hydration needs for future runs.

Meanwhile, the run itself was fine. I achieved my main goal of coming in under six minutes, with a pace of 5:55/km. I did dip to 6:01/km for laps 3 and 4, but picked up the pace to finish and also had a good start at 5:46/km. No issues otherwise.

The trail was not quite as busy as the previous few runs, maybe due to the slightly earlier start. I did encounter a tractor that was mowing. The driver stopped and signalled for me to pass, which was a bit awkward, as the vehicle covered the entire width of the trail, forcing me into the ditch. Fortunately, this part of the ditch was grassy, not swampy. I also had to doge a guy weed whacking near one of the footbridges. That was easier, as he was the one off the trail.

Other than that, the weather was a nice mix of sun and cloud, never getting too hot or cool. I didn’t wear sunblock, but I sense I will need to start slapping it on soon to avoid burning.

Stats:

Run 920
Average pace: 5:55/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:34 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:40
Weather: Sun and some high cloud
Temp: 14-15°C
Humidity: 54-55%
Wind: light
BPM: 153
Weight: 172.1
Total distance to date: 6,435 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (30/41/71)

Music: Scissor Sisters, Ta-Dah

The weather was pleasant today, so I headed out for a nice trail run. I briefly contemplated doing the “easy” route of running the river trail, but ended up going to the lake, running the 5K, then walking the rest of the way around and back. I am at 26,188 steps as I type this.

My calves will voice their concerns later.

I filled my water bottle and almost took it, but humidity was still around 68%, which is a fair bit higher than the last run, so I risked going no-water and it was fine.

I started right at the 0K marker and when I hit 1K, I was a bit surprised that my pace was a rather languid 5:59/km. On the other hand, I can’t say I felt like I was pushing at all, so this wasn’t alarming or anything.

At the end of the second km, my pace was now 6:07/km. This was alarming, so I picked up the pace a little, but was still focusing more on being like a buffalo: slower, steady, and less like a gazelle: faster, nimble. My pace improved to 6:04, but I knew it was unlikely I’d come in under the six-minute mark.

I finished with a pace of 6:01/km. and you know what? It’s fine. I felt good, I wasn’t gasping for breath, my BPM was 152. I’ll get faster again as I get in better shape (and losing a few pounds might help, too).

I also discovered, when looking over my stats on the Garmin Connect site, that the voice that announces my pace every km does not round up or down, but the site does. Here is a chart where:

• Pace = Pace as reported on Garmin Connect
• Pace During Run = Pace as reported during the actual run
• Exact Pace = Pace without any rounding of numbers

Lap	Pace	Pace During Run	Exact Pace
1	6:00	5:59	6:00
2	6:08	6:07	6:07.7
3	6:04	6:04	6.04
4	6:04	6:03	6:03.9
5	5:53	5:53	5:53.4

The differences are slight, but can have a psychological effect. For example, while the Garmin Connect site reports the same pace for laps 3 and 4, the watch reported lap 4 as slightly faster, which proved encouraging and inspired me to push a bit more for a faster finish.

It was again strangely busy on the trail for a weekday morning. I either need to start earlier, or maybe people are just getting out a lot whenever it isn’t raining. A lot of dogs at the lake were off-leash, which is unusual and bad, though the dogs were at least well-behaved.

Oh, and post-run, I spotted multiple murders (or whatever you call them) of goslings. The poopmonsters have been busy! Good for them, I say. You can’t spend all your time honking, hissing and going berserk.

Stats:

Run 919
Average pace: 6:01/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:01 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:18
Weather: Mostly sunny
Temp: 13-14°C
Humidity: 68-66%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 152
Weight: 173.2
Total distance to date: 6,430 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (25/28/53)

Music: Blondie, Eat to the Beat

Today’s run was a little weird and unpleasant.

First, despite it being a weekday morning, the trail was unusually busy. And several people appeared on bikes! I managed, “Bikes aren’t allowed” as they pedalled past me. At least they weren’t riding like maniacs.

Conditions should have been optimal, but the combo of wind and humidity was apparently enough to result in some nasty DMS¹Dry Mouth Syndrome and it got so bad at one point that I paused the run briefly to try to generate any kind of moisture in my mouth at all, because I could not swallow. The pause was about equivalent to the time it would take to tie up a loose shoelace, so I don’t think it gave me much of an edge in terms of pace.

Speaking of pace, this run–probably because of the dry mouth and constant sun–felt a lot harder than Monday’s. I crept past the six-minute mark on the second km and hit it exactly on the third, but thanks to a decent start and recovery at the end, finished with an overall pace of 5:58/km, with a BPM once again of 152.

I toyed with going on a straight 5K, then walking out from the lake, but I’m glad I didn’t, because my watch was already yelling at me for overreaching at the end of the run.

I think I may have to dig out my li’l water bottle and take it on my next run. There is something horrible about trying to swallow during a run and your mouth is so dry you literally can’t. Bleah.

Still, that’s another 5K done, and I didn’t have any other issues, so here’s to Friday’s run being better-hydrated and smoother. I’ll also try to aim for an earlier start.

Stats:

Run 918
Average pace: 5:58/km
Training status: Overreaching
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 11:16 a.m.
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 29:57
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 14-15°C
Humidity: 56-53%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 152
Weight: 170.9
Total distance to date: 6,425 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (20/15/35)

Music: R.E.M., Reckoning

With bonus people, because the Easter weekend is the only one of the year with not one, but two stat holidays.

This time several family groups with wee children did kind of get in the way, but just a little. Dogs were well-behaved, but as often on the river trail, some were off-leash. Boo to the dog owners.

As for the run, I started out a bit slower in order to pace myself (I am still rusty as all get-out) and was mildly concerned when the second km edged just over the six-minute mark, but I picked up the pace to finish and ended with the same average as my 3K run a few days ago: 5:55/km. BPM was up slightly to 152, which is fine as I actually pushed a bit in the second half.

I didn’t experience any issues otherwise.

The weather was mostly sunny and around 10C, which felt a bit cool with the wind before the run, but was fine during.

Overall, it was skookum to get another actual 5K run done. Onward and upward, I say! Or at least onward. Upward would be a bit weird for running.

Run 917
Average pace: 5:55/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 11:04 a.m.
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 29:45
Weather: Mostly sunny
Temp: 10-11°C
Humidity: 68-66%
Wind: light
BPM: 152
Weight: 170.6
Total distance to date: 6,420 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (15/7/22)

Music: Blondie, Parallel Lines

I finarly did it.

For the first time since December 2, 2024 (!) I ran a full 5 km.

I did it by starting at a deliberately slow pace, where my first km was a sloth-like 6:10/km (I am confident I would have been under 6:00 if I’d run at my regular pace). I felt this was vital to having enough gas to finish the run and I think I was right, as my pace fell off for every kim, until the last, where I managed to go fast enough to…match my 4K speed.

The overall pace of 6:21/km will improve in time, but the important thing is I know I can do it.

It also helped that it was super mild, with it rising to 14C by the end of the run, literally twice the usual high temperature for the day. I wore one layer, and it was my long-sleeved short. For the run, a regular tee would have been fine, but the wind picked up a little on the way back and the long sleeves came in handy then.

Likely due to the very mild temperature and no real chance of rain, the trail was moderately busy and I passed multiple other joggers, dog walkers and such. There were no issues anywhere along the router and the trail was in good shape, though I could see signs of recently felled trees in several locations.

As for the littering: a Pepsi paper cup left on the trail near the Jiffy John™. This irked me, because this is right near the parking lot, which has a garbage can. It annoyed me enough that I picked up the cup and disposed of it. To do so, I had to first move an empty pop can from the lid of the garbage can. Seriously, how can you bring a can to the garbage and not put it in? Could the person not prefer the bear-proof handle? Maybe it was a bear carrying the can.

The rickety bridge: The bridge over Deer Lake Brook has been in bad shape since I started running here in 2011. It has not improved with age. Although a few planks and one set of stairs have recently been replaced, the bridge as a whole feels exactly the way it looks when you jog across it. You start thinking things like, “How could is the water underneath it?” The good news is it’s getting replaced, per this sign:

The bad news is the first boardwalk on the same trail has had signs saying “plans for repairs are underway” for more than two years now. Maybe three, actually.

I didn’t experience any issues during the run, likely thanks to my slovenly pace, but as I sit here typing these words, I’m at 30,000+ steps and my legs are starting to feel a wee bit stiff. I suspect tomorrow will be a Rest Day.

Still, it was great to finally get back out and do a “real” run again.

Stats:

Run 908
Average pace: 6:21/km
Training status: Overreaching
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 1:12 p.m.
Distance: 5:02 km
Time: 31:55
Weather: Cloudy, intermittent sun
Temp: 13-14°C
Humidity: 62%
Wind: light
BPM: 152
Weight: 171.4
Total distance to date: 6,395.0 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Switchback (these are old shoes and will be replaced soon™)

How has it been eight days since I last ran? Things have happened! But I’ve still done bits of running here and there, so it hasn’t been all lounging around and eating bacon.

The fountain by the dam is still open, which surprised me. I don’t think it’s ever been left open this late into November before, though I could be misremembering. To be fair, while it’s been cool during the day, we haven’t had temperatures drop below freezing overnight.

Today I headed out reasonably early and the temperature was a lot more brisk than the last time, sitting at 5C. Thankfully, there was little wind, so two layers were fine.

I opted to do a short CCW loop and experienced no issues. There were a surprising number of people out walking, including a walking group I thought I would cleverly avoid by taking the side trails.

They took the side trails.

But I managed to slip by everyone, including a pair of other joggers, woo (they were not jogging fast).

My pace dropped incrementally by four seconds until the fourth km, when I picked up the pace as I passed everyone. The cold didn’t seem to affect my speed, but my BPM ticked up a bit to 153, which is not unexpected.

The sun poked out a bit on the walk home. At the same time it started to sprinkle. As I neared home it changed to hail. I jogged to the building entrance to get under cover. Hail is one of my top worst running conditions.

Overall, a good start to what otherwise appears to be a cold and wet week.

Stats:

Run 902
Average pace: 5:34/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 10:04 a.m.
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 28:01
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 5°C
Humidity: 86-83%
Wind: light
BPM: 153
Weight: 168.0
Total distance to date: 6,360 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (150/277/427)

The 10-day forecast can be surmised as: rain, with additional rain.

However, today–Sunday–we have a window of a few hours when it’s both mild and dry. I seized upon it and ran today, putting up with the extra people, their dogs and such in order to avoid getting drenched.

To further the goal of avoiding all other people and their pets, I ran clockwise, and chose to take the Freeway Trail, running on it until I got to the 2.7 km mark, where I turned back onto the main loop around the lake. This added variety, but also slowed me down a bit as the freeway trail has more hills than the lake loop and also I just seem to run slower on it. Maybe the nearby din of the highway traffic slightly unnerves me or something.

That said, I still had a very good overall pace of 5:34/km, and experienced no issues, other than having to pause for a few moments to step over a fallen tree on the final km. I would have taken a picture, but it was too far to go back post-run, and I was also paranoid about the weather ganging up on me.

The dogs on the trail were well-behaved, but the Weekend People™ had pretty much all dogs off-leash on the still-stinky river trail. Still, no incidents of note, just disapproving glances (from me).

Overall, a good way to end or start the week, depending on your perspective.

Stats:

Run 901
Average pace: 5:34/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW, short loop)
Start: 11:49 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 27:58
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 12-13°C
Humidity: 80%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 167.4
Total distance to date: 6,355 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (145/269/414)

My only real goal today was to run and get back home before The Rains started. On that count, success!

As for the math, I decided to start my route at the dam, skip the side trails, then turn onto the Piper Mill Trail on my return and take the other side trails on my way back, finishing the run exactly where I started.

Except when I got to that point, I was at 4.7 km. I kept going, over the dam, past the fountain, past the 0K marker and finally hit 5K right by the Jiffy John™, which would have been convenient if I had to use the loo, but I did not.

I didn’t have as much gas in the tank for the final km, but if I had, this would have been my fastest 5K with the Garmin watch. I still had a strong pace of 5:32/km, only two seconds short of my best.

The weather was milder and the two layers were unnecessary, but I wanted to be on the safe side in case the rain moved in earlier than forecast. Somewhat unusually for a weekday, there were a fair number of people out walking, which led to a couple of bottlenecks. When you consider the overall loop is 10.3 km, any bottleneck is kind of weird. But no issues were had in navigation. All dogs were behaved.

The only incident I had was a mild bit of pain in one shin briefly along the Piper Mill Trail. It went away, and it feels fine now, so I think it’s just body weirdness.

Overall, a solid run to end the week. Now I eat gallons of ice cream! I kid, I kid. They’ll be litres, not gallons.

Note: 900 runs are official, but also inaccurate, as I didn't track my runs in the early days. I don't think I missed too many, though, so this should be reasonably close.

Stats:

Run 900
Average pace: 5:32/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 10:59 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 27:51
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 12°C
Humidity: 81-79%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 166.6
Total distance to date: 6,350 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (140/261/401)

After calling off Monday’s run due to Xtreme Wind™, I headed out today under a cloudy sky, but no discernible breeze.

I opted to start by the dam for as an old-time throwback to how I used to begin my runs. It was 7C, but my two layers kept me warm.

I surprised myself with an unusually brisk first km, coming in at 5:24/km. That slipped all the way to 5:39/km by the next lap, but I improved my pace after, including a record for the Garmin watch with fastest 1K to date–5:18/km, which is how I finished.

I pushed a bit at the end, but not excessively, and I did pause the run to take a few shots of a fallen tree (photo below), but I don’t think that gave me an appreciable boost.

No issues–either with my body or with dogs/other people/trees occurred, so the run went well, apart from the nice pace.

The most notable thing, other than my zippy performance, was the state of the trail a few days after the storm. I could see a few spots where smaller trees had been cleared, plus a lot of debris still on the trail in places (the Cottonwood Trail was especially bad). Sections of the trail, especially earlier on, had been badly scoured and will need to be repaired, though the uneven bits were at least easy to avoid.

In all, a good run, a reminder that nature isn’t to be messed with, and a refreshing break from The Rains.

Stats:

Run 899
Average pace: 5:31/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:00 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 27:46
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 7-8°C
Humidity: 83-79%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 166.3
Total distance to date: 6,345 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (135/257/392)

I skipped running on Friday, not because I was lazy, but because I was tired of running in the rain. I ran in the rain on Monday and Wednesday and did not want to run in the rain again yesterday. And it rained pretty much the entire day.

But with birding called off this weekend and the weather looking somewhat dry, at least for the morning and early afternoon, I opted to run today.

Success! It did not rain during the run. It sprinkled a little on the walk back, but even that was minimal.

I wore two layers, which proved handy, as it was only 8C for most of the run, my first single digit outing of the fall. Hello November!

Despite several dogs being off-leash, there were no issues, either with the dogs or with my body. I had my usual dip in the middle, but finished strong and, curiously, with the exact same time as the previous run, 28:21 minutes. I don’t know if I could ever pull that off again. My average was somehow a second faster, though, probably due to the magical world of rounding numbers.

The river remains pretty stinky with dead salmon. I repeat, this is probably the worst mating/reproductive system in the world, with the possible exception of the male praying mantis getting his head torn off and eaten by the female after they do the dirty.

Despite the odour, it was a good outing and a nice (and mercifully dry) end to the week.

Stats:

Run 898
Average pace: 5:38/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW, short loop)
Start: 1:03 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:21
Weather: Overcast
Temp: 8-9°C
Humidity: 90%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 167.1
Total distance to date: 6,340 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (130/244/374)