5K

Woo, I have now officially tracked 800 runs and a total of 5880 km. That’s pretty decent for someone who didn’t do any running at all until age 44.

Today’s conditions were different, but not dramatically so. It was slightly warmer and sunny, though it looks like some smoke haze is starting to return. It was still quite humid, so no issues with a dry mouth or anything.

I saw the same pattern as the previous run, where my pace got progressively slower, then turned it around with a strong finish and an improved pace of 5:50/km. This came with a higher BPM of 159, which is not ideal, and I’m not sure why it was higher. It’s not high enough to be worrisome, it’s just higher than I expected, given the overall pace. My opening and closing paces were pretty fast, though, at 5:39 and 5:42 respectively. Probably too fast until I am more confident about my knees, really.

Speaking of knees, They held up again. The right one had the tendon flicker like the previous run, but less so. Likewise, the left hip made itself known, but not so much as the previous run. There was some general stiffness, which again felt like the after-effects of stretching. One day I’ll be flexible enough that it won’t be a thing anymore.

I also had enough pep after to do a little bit of running mixed in with the walk back home. And I didn’t sweat like a hog.

Overall, I’m mostly pleased by this run. Maybe in the next week or so I’ll start increasing the distance and see how it goes.

Stats:

Run 800
Average pace: 5:50/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 9:33 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:20
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 17-18ºC
Humidity: 69-65%
Wind: light
BPM: 159
Weight: 166.8
Total distance to date: 5880 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (15|26|41 km)

Whoops, I accidentally took more time off between runs than intended (four days, one more than my preferred max), but it didn’t seem to affect my performance, as I actually improved over last Thursday’s effort.

Conditions were quite different, too. Over the past three days, we’ve had smoke haze from wildfires blanketing the sky, blotting out the sun and filling the air with the distinct smell of smoke. It’s not ideal for physical activities like running, as you might imagine. I decided to postpone Monday’s usual run, as there was a chance a shift in winds could move the smoke away. And it did!

Today we’re seeing a mix of cloud and some sun, cooler temperatures and, best of all, the smoke is gone, at least for the present. I headed out early, spoiled by not needing water or sunblock. The temperature was near my ideal–15?, with a light breeze and no sun beating down. Humidity was high, but with the lower temperature, sweating was still minimal.

In terms of my body, here’s what I experienced:

• The left hip was stiff again and although I don’t think it affected my pace, it was still annoying and noticeable
• A tendon near the right knee flared up on and off, never getting painful, more of a “Remember me?” sort of thing. For the last part of the run it pretty much faded away

As I type this, the knees seem okay, but we’ll see how they feel later. I did push harder on this run, hence the higher BPM of 156 (vs. 153 on the previous run, under much warmer conditions). I was keeping under 6:00/km and on the final km I really wanted to make sure I kept to that, so I got a bit zany and actually posted my best lap of the run at 5:42/km, probably the fastest I’ve run since my knees started acting up. I promise to be more sensible next time!

As for the title, yes, there were bunnies! I came across one sitting on the gravel along the Piper Mill Trail (it hopped off as I approached, as expected), then two more later on, all of them brown, fuzzy and cute. There were probably a hundred others I didn’t see.

Overall, I’m pleased by the pace, the new shoes, the conditions, and my early start–I was back before 10:30 a.m.!

Now I need to figure out how to handle the rest of the week, run-wise, since my schedule is off-kilter.

Stats:

Run 799
Average pace: 5:52/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 9:13 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:33
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 15-16ºC
Humidity: 72-68%
Wind: light
BPM: 156
Weight: 165.6
Total distance to date: 5875 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (10|17|27 km)

The biggest change with today’s run was new shoes. I have returned to wearing HOKA Speedgoats after skipping several generations, and even though they come in an array of colours, the ones I ended up with are exactly the same as my original pair–but now with no colour bleeding!

The shoes were fine. I retied them after arriving at the lake and had no issues. They don’t feel as dreamy/cushy as I remember, but still offer noticeably more support and cushioning than the Peregrine 12’s. I think my knees and legs in general will appreciate this.

The run was very similar to Monday in terms of conditions, but I ran clockwise (the “easy” way) and watched as my pace slipped every km, then pulled it out for the last one and came in under the six-minute mark at 5:56/km. I sweated a lot, but my BPM was actually lower than Monday, too, at 153.

I did pass a shirtless runner again, though it was post-run and he had one of the strangest patterns of body hair I’ve seen, Hair on the stomach, then a line to the chest and more there, kind of like an hourglass. I couldn’t tell if it was intentional or nature just having a cheap laugh. But it was distinctive!

I drank at nearly every water fountain I could–the dam, the playground, the Nature House, Hume Park. I’ll have a more detailed ranking–with pictures!–soon.

The other notable change is my post-run stamina is starting to improve. I notice this on both the walk out from the lake and the walk home atfer. If my knees continue to improve, I may start running longer–not jumping directly to 10K, but ramping up a bit.

Overall, I am satisfied with today’s effort and happy to have shoes that don’t scoop in gravel.

NOTE: I have changed how I track distance with the shoes, going from one number to three, with the split being run/walk/total, to better reflect how much wear the shoes actually take.

Bonus shot:

Stats:

Run 798
Average pace: 5:56/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:32 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:50
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 24-25ºC
Humidity: 65-62%
Wind: light
BPM: 153
Weight: 166.8
Total distance to date: 5870 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (5/13/18 km1The split is run/walk/total)

Conditions were back to normal, so I slathered on the sunblock before heading out today, though I skipped the water bottle, as humidity was still sufficiently high (and remained so for the duration). I opted to go clockwise and started stronger than expected with an opening pace of 5:45/km. This fixed itself shortly after. 😛

I was somewhat concerned going in, but not because of the knees. My left hip was acting up just walking to the lake, but it actually didn’t prove to be a factor in the run. Various tendons and muscles protested a bit during the run, mostly from stretching, I think, and as I type this the knees themselves seem to be holding up.

My shoes both have conveniently gravel-sized holes in them. The left one has a hole that is becoming more of a rift, and after the run I emptied a lot of small gravel from it. The right shoe has a single, smaller hole, yet a sizeable chunk of gravel managed to perfectly negotiate the hole and get under my foot. What I’m saying is it’s time for new shoes.

I felt okay during the run, though my pace dropped with each km, until I finally reversed in the last one and came in under at 5:55/km, a bit slow for the “easy” way, but I’ll take it. OTOH, my BPM was a mere 149, so maybe I was just slacking!

I saw a family of four on bikes post-run near the athletic fields. They were resting alongside the trail when I started my walk out, and I never saw them again, so maybe they did not actually attempt to further ride on the trail like the bad, very wrong people they were!

A few dogs were off-leash, too, but fortunately well-behaved. I guess it was Rules-free Friday or something. I also had to dodge both a guy with a weed whacker and another with a full-size mower thingie on a tractor. So much dodging.

Surprisingly, after the run, I had enough pep to keep up a decent walking pace. This is encouraging!

Anyway, the run was overall fine. Next week is looking to be very hot, and I am not looking forward to it, but we shall see.

Stats:

Run 796
Average pace: 5:55/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:05 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:43
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 21ºC
Humidity: 64%
Wind: light
BPM: 149
Weight: 167.0
Total distance to date: 5860 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (530 km)

Today’s run was a change-up, weather-wise. With the forecast ominously calling for “heavy rain” I expected a good soaking and indeed, it was showering as I headed out. But the rain soon tapered off to an intermittent drizzle, and it remained pretty much dry for the run itself.

Temperature-wise, it was a whopping 10 degrees cooler than Friday’s run, at 17C. This was nice. The humidity was literally twice as high, at 90%. This was…fine. It felt a bit muggy, but wasn’t that bad, and was definitely better than dreaded Dry mouth Syndrome.

I chose to do a short counter-clockwise loop at the lake and it went fine. My pace was improved on Friday, which was nice, and I came oh-so-close to getting under 6:00/km again. The knees behaved, though the left hip was acting ornery. It settled down on the walk back home.

The trail proved to be in good shape, despite the rain–no puddle dodging required!

Overall, not bad, especially considering I missed Monday’s run and had four days off–a little longer than I’d like.

Stats:

Run 795
Average pace: 6:00/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 11:41 a.m.
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 30:15
Weather: Cloudy with some light drizzle
Temp: 17ºC
Humidity: 90%
Wind: light
BPM: 152
Weight: 166.8
Total distance to date: 5855 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (525 km)

It still beats tripping on a tree root or falling over a dog, though.

I was doing stuff in the morning and kept thinking, “I need to get out and do my run before it gets hot” and all of a sudden it was past noon and oops.

It was just past 2 p.m. and 27C when I ran, which is the hottest it’s been in a while. Humidity was 45%, so I brought the water bottle. Oddly, though I sipped from it a few times during the run, my mouth never got super dry and at times it felt more humid than the numbers indicated. Weather is weird, yo.

But the hot sun had a definite effect, and I knew I was in for a slower run when my first km on the “easy” way around the lake was 5:59/km. My average heart rate was down to an even 150, though. I couldn’t muster the effort to raise it much beyond that, really.

While both knees came through fine, I did notice my upper left leg/hip was sore. It’s possible I may have tweaked a muscle in it before the run, maybe while stretching. I don’t think it’s serious, but it probably had some impact on the overall run, and was more noticeable on the walk home. My training status remains Productive, though!

At several points during the run I thought about pausing and taking a break, but kept putting it off and then the run was over, so that worked out. I’m no quitter, etc. etc.

I am tired, though. At least I have multiple days to rest now.

And I was finally able to take a photo of the new playground, because apparently no one wants to play when it’s 27C.

Stats:

Run 794
Average pace: 6:06/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 2:13 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:42
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 27ºC
Humidity: 45%
Wind: light
BPM: 150
Weight: 168.2
Total distance to date: 5850 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (520 km)

The right knee was fine.

But I again felt like the run was taking more effort than it should have. Temperature was fine, humidity should have been okay, starting at 56%–not too high, not too low. My BPM of 151 overall indicates I was not exerting myself too much–and yet for much of the run it felt like a bit of a slog. Am I just that much off my peak? Is the humidity being tricksy and affecting me more than I realize?

I may try running earlier in the morning on Friday to get some kind of comparison.

Given that my knee held up, I can’t complain too much. I did a short loop and the Garmin Forerunner approved, keeping my training status at Productive.

Overall, not bad, just…fine.

And now, a map to illustrate all the highlights (?):

Stats:

Run 793
Average pace: 6:00/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop1Short loop means I ran about half the distance, then doubled back to finish the run.)
Start: 11:10 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:10
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 22-23ºC
Humidity: 56-52%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 166.3
Total distance to date: 5845 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (515 km)