5K

UPDATE, later that evening: The right knee ain't right. It is very stiff and will not flex back like the left one, which is relatively fine. There is also a mass on the back of it that is either inflammation, fluid buildup or an incubating alien. I'll be setting up an appointment with my doctor to have it probed. I suspect inflammation, as applying a heat pack to it seems to have reduced it, though the knee itself is still sore/stuff. Exciting (and terrible) times in Kneeville!

I missed my last two runs:

• Friday: My nose was busy torturing me, so I opted to skip.
• Monday (yesterday): I wanted another day to recover from the pummelling at the, uh, hands of my nose

Which means the last time I ran was last Wednesday, nearly a week ago. I would be rusty, but only planned for a 5K, and deliberately waited until late morning to head out, hoping the warmer weather would further incentivize me to take it slow ‘n steady–and it did!

In fact, it was 20C, which is exactly double what it was last Wednesday. I actually sweated. I felt a little tired after the 4K mark. I was glad I was not running 10K.

The humidity level was way down, too, at around 50%¹Weirdly, the Garmin app reported humidity as 80%, which is way wrong, and also reported the temperature as 14C, also way wrong. The actual Forerunner watch had the temperature right, at least. This meant that I experienced for the first time in a very long time the dreaded DMS (Dry Mouth Syndrome). It wasn’t that bad, but I was looking forward to slurping from the drinking fountain by the playground, conveniently just past the 5K mark where I would be stopping. Except they were literally demolishing the playground and the fountain–if it was even still working–was fenced off and inaccessible. I was sad. Several kids were standing nearby, bawling their eyes out²OK, not really.

I slathered myself liberally with sunblock before heading out, so escaped an embarrassing early spring burn, and my knees also survived. However, on the walk back, I discovered a certain walking pace (on the faster side) made the knees start to actually hurt. Adjusting the speed down a little made a significant difference, so I think I found the magic spot where the muscles and tendons get stretched in a way they really don’t like right now. Noted for future reference.

The actual run part went reasonably fine. I had a BPM of 151–I was finding it difficult to keep it down, probably due to a combination of it being much warmer and me being flabby and having to work harder. But still, perfectly cromulent. And the sun actually felt nice, not oppressive. It looks like it will be cooler and possibly damper for my next run.

Bonus post-run shot of the lake, now getting covered in baby lily pads:

Stats:

Run 775
Average pace: 5:54/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:47 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:40
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 20ºC
Humidity: 50%
Wind: low
BPM: 151
Weight: 167.3
Total distance to date: 5760 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (432 km)

The weather was slightly warmer today, but with the sun tucked behind the clouds, it still felt a bit chilly, so two layers did not feel over-dressed.

I opted to do a regular 5K around the lake and walk the rest of the way out–what I had planned to do on my aborted Friday run.

It went well, for the most part. Again, I did not feel any real stiffness while running, but tried to keep my pace reasonable. I mostly did this, though was faster than last Wednesday. My legs did start feeling stiff post-run, but strangely, around the last km or so the stiffness suddenly started dissipating, as if the muscles were magically starting to limber up.

If I had to guess, I’d say I should be able to run on Wednesday. The Forerunner classified today’s run as “strained”, like it knew something was up!

As for limbs, while mine remained intact, there’s a tree just before the second boardwalk (when heading clockwise) that has a very big branch that has been leaning more and more precariously over the trail. I already had to swing over to the left to avoid bonking my head on it (I prefer not to duck ‘n run if I can help it). Today, that branch is gone! It has been sent to tree heaven courtesy a parks worker and their chainsaw.

Overall, I didn’t feel bad, though obviously the shorter and more intermittent runs of late mean I’m not exactly at peak performance right now. I’m content to slowly build back up as the weather (hopefully) improves.

I’m undecided on Wednesday. I will probably wait to see how I feel that morning.

Bonus view of Still Creek, post-run:

Stats:

Run 773
Average pace: 5:45/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:43 a.m.
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 28:59
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 9-10ºC
Humidity: 87%
Wind: low
BPM: 153
Weight: 165.8
Total distance to date: 5750 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (422 km)

UPDATE, April 20: The muscles and tendons around the knees were feeling stiff post-run and it probably didn't help that I walked to the store after instead of just resting. Today (the 20th) the stiffness is easing, and I have applied some Voltaren for the first time to help my legs feel better and sexier. I am still planning for a run on Friday (tomorrow). We'll see how that goes!

After giving myself some extra time to rest and recovery, I went out for another short-loop 5K run at the lake today.

I started out a bit too fast, as per usual, but managed to dial it down sooner than on previous runs, which helped keep the pace a little more moderate. My overall BPM was actually slightly higher than the last run at 152, but that’s more a reflection of the significantly cooler weather and higher peaks.

Speaking of weather, the last run was gloriously sunny and mild. Today it was unseasonably cool, cloudy and breezy. But at least it didn’t rain!

I ran an oddball route, starting from the Jiffy John™ and going past the 3K marker, down to Phillips Point, then skipping all three side trails on the way back. Just for variety, really. There were more people out than I expected, but it was lunch hour, too.

I feel that wearing two layers was the right call, but I may have been okay with just one. Maybe.

As for the knees, they held up fine. I felt a bit creaky at the start, but that was just from having extra days off, the knees never hurt at all during the run.

My plan for Friday is to do another 5K, but to go halfway around the lake and walk the rest of the way out, then back to 10K runs next week.

Stay tuned to see if my body remains intact!

Stats:

Run 772
Average pace: 5:49/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:52 p.m.
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 29:16
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 7ºC
Humidity: 72%
Wind: low to moderate
BPM: 152
Weight: 164.8
Total distance to date: 5745 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (417 km)

After my last tw0 10K runs, I noticed the muscles around my knees were feeling stiff. I actually felt fine during each run, but there was some lingering stiffness in both legs for days after. I did the suggested workout on Monday, skipped Wednesday’s run, then did a 5K today to see how it would go.

I aimed for a BPM of 150 to make sure the pace was slower (averaged 151) and for the first km, came in at 5:37/km, which is not slow. I managed to get more on track after that.

And with the later afternoon start, some sun and mild temperatures, conditions were quite pleasant. The knees actually felt fine during the run and while I could feel some stiffness in the walk after (more so in the right knee than the left), they actually don’t feel any worse than before. I think as long as I don’t overdo it, they will be okay. I’ll try some massages and cold/hot compression between runs and see how that helps, too.

Overall, I am encouraged, because I have only ever had knee issues with running once before, so it’s not a normal thing at all.

After I hit the turnaround point at 3 km, I debated briefly about going on and finishing the 5K halfway around the lake, which would also necessitate a 5K walk around the rest of the lake. This would not be taking it easy in any way. Sense prevailed, and I turned back at the 3.13 km mark. It does speak to how I felt fine, though.

I also wore a single layer, which was plenty. We are getting close to t-shirt weather. Gotta work on that farmer’s tan!

Stats:

Run 771
Average pace: 5:41/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW, then CCW)
Start: 1:46 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:36
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 13ºC
Humidity: 67%
Wind: low
BPM: 151
Weight: 164.8
Total distance to date: 5740 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (412 km)

I got the urge to do some kind of exercise today and didn’t want to be stuck mid-evening on the treadmill, so off I went for a late afternoon 5K run on the weekend, something I basically never do.

And it was fine!

I did a short loop counter-clockwise, running to the 3K marker, then turning back. I had a decent BPM of 152 and matched my last 5K pace of 5:38/km, with only the second “okay, put on the brakes a bit” km being the outlier at 5:52/km.

No issues at all and despite wearing two layers, I didn’t feel overdressed, as there was a bit of a chill in the air, especially with the sun hiding behind the clouds most of the time.

The OCD part: My total distance to date had been 5695 km prior to today’s run, meaning every time I ran 10K, it would never be a nice, even number. By doing a 5K today, it now stands at not just a nice even number, but one that’s easy to remember: 5700 km. Woo!

Stats:

Run 766
Average pace: 5:38/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 4:03 p.m.
Distance: 5:04 km
Time: 28:21
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 9ºC
Humidity: 71%
Wind: low
BPM: 152
Weight: 163.5
Total distance to date: 5700 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (372 km)

I decided to start the week with a li’l 5K run and after getting to the lake, made the decision to go on a short loop clockwise after seeing multiple people with dogs going counter-clockwise. I was willing to risk unknown dogs vs. known dogs.

It was a good call, as there was only one dog and it was well-behaved. Good boy! (or girl)

Because I was only doing 5K, I didn’t try too hard to stick to 150 BPM and ended up with the exact same BPM as my last run, 153, though my pace was much faster at 5:38/m. I got an award for my fastest 1K, woo (5:25/km, almost like the olden days).

Weather-wise, it was mostly drizzle, and it lasted most of the run, but it wasn’t bad. I wore two layers, but without any real wind, it didn’t feel cold at all.

Overall, I felt zippy and had no issues, so a good start to the week.

Stats:

Run 764
Average pace: 5:38/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:58 a.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 28:21
Weather: Cloudy, light showers
Temp: 8-10ºC
Humidity: 86%
Wind: low
BPM: 153
Weight: 163.5
Total distance to date: 5685 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (357 km)

My first run since our latest (and hopefully final) snow of the season, and a few general observations:

• Mild! It was 9C, the warmest it’s been all year. It was nice. EDIT: I thought about this later and remembered we had some record high temperatures in January. I checked and on my January 13th run it was 10C (at 9:00 in the morning). So I actually had to wait almost two months for it to get nearly that warm again.
• Late! I didn’t actually start the run until 1:41 p.m., the latest in quite a while. I was just busy in the morning, and jogging when it would be milder in the afternoon had a certain appeal.
• Destruction! See below.

There was still some snow on the trail, as the photo below illustrates, with probably more being on the side trail and the south shore, but not enough to make the run unnavigable or anything, just a tad annoying in certain spots. It did help keep me from running too fast early on, though. The snow was both compacted, yet somewhat squishy, so there was no way to get a good grip on it.

I dressed in two layers and think I may have been fine in a long-sleeved t-shirt. Because of the week off, I chose on-the-fly to just do a 5K, and given the greater snow on the south side of the lake, I’m okay with that. I’ll do 10K next time, assuming we don’t have a blizzard in the interim.

As for destruction…yes! The heavy snow brought down more trees and branches, several of which were still down on the trail today, which is a little odd, given the snow happened last week. Multiple branches on the first boardwalk effectively made it one-lane in places, and a number of trees are leaning precariously over the trail, dangling their branches directly at head level, forcing you to bob around them. I mean, it keeps you focused, because you really don’t want to stab yourself in the face with a branch at a running pace.

I had no issues, other than the right ankle feeling a little creaky. Nothing serious, just kinks being worked out after the week-long layoff (the treadmill doesn’t really count).

In all, a decent run on an iffy trail. I’ll be glad when the weather is better, the trail is tidier, and I can focus just on running, not being stabbed by nature.

Stats:

Run 760
Average pace: 5:51/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 1:41 p.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 29:28
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 9ºC
Humidity: 57%
Wind: low
BPM: 151
Weight: 163.7
Total distance to date: 5650 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (322 km)

This morning I contemplated what to do today, run-wise, after the technical SNAFU that was Wednesday’s run, everything from just taking a break, to doing a normal 10K, to a 5K to using the Apple Watch instead.

In the end, I opted to take it easier by running a 5K and used the Apple Watch only, to see how it would compare to the Garmin, particularly in terms of heart rate.

My average BPM was 150, which is the exact target I try to hit, so that was nice. The run doesn’t show any weird spikes or dips in heart rate, also nice.

It felt very cold and clammy and took me awhile to warm up. That said, my pace was fairly brisk and consistent throughout. It was kind of a weird run. I did not feel zippy at all, despite what the numbers say (average pace of 5:38/km) At the same time, I also did not feel slow, per se, just…cold and blah. I mixed things up a wee bit, post-run, by diverting onto the Freeway Trail. It’s not especially scenic in the summer and it’s really not scenic at all in the winter, but at least it was a change of pace. And I had the entire trail to myself for the entire 2 km.

At least the sun came out after the run, and I got a few nice shots of the lake.

And proved that my heart is normal, but my Garmin Forerunner, at least on Wednesday, was not.

It was also interesting to do a run with the Apple Watch after using the Garmin for a few months. If I ignore the erratic heart rate monitoring on Wednesday, I’d have to say the Garmin is a better experience almost completely across the board for running:

• The Memory-In-Pixel display of the Garmin may not be great indoors, but outdoors, even on gloomy days, it’s very readable, much more than the Apple Watch’s AMOLED display (which is great indoors)
• Speaking of readable, all the stats on the Garmin are rendered in bigger, thicker fonts, so at-a-glance info is much easier to parse vs. the Apple Watch’s thin, uniform fonts.
• The Apple Watch still keeps up interval info for an irritatingly long time
• The vibration feedback is about 1,000 times more prominent on the Garmin compared to the delicate haptic caress of the Apple Watch (and I have the haptics cranked up to full).
• The Apple Watch does always show the time, which is handy
• Accessing music is also much easier on the Apple Watch
• Pausing/unpausing a workout is simpler on the Garmin
• The post-workout info is a lot more detailed on the Garmin

Man, my hands are still cold as I type this. I’m glad my running for the week is done. I’m going to go give my hands a nice hot shower.

Bonus shot of the lake, post-run:

Stats:

Run 758
Average pace: 5:38/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:05 p.m.
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 28:22
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 5ºC
Humidity: 87%
Wind: low
BPM: 150
Weight: 162.2
Total distance to date: 5635 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (307 km)

Today I was feeling rather unmotivated to run. I mulled various options:

• Don’t run
• Do a regular 10K run at the lake
• Do a 5K run at the river instead
• Do a 5K short loop at the lake
• Do a regular 5K at the lake then walk the rest of the way back

I did the last and bolded option, after initially leaning toward a river run.

I wore my rain jacket, which proved very handy, but only wore one layer underneath, which was the right call, as the jacket gets a tad warm after I get a tad warm.

It showered on and off during the run and when it showered it would come down pretty good, so I alternated from mostly dry to rather soggy. I had no issues on the run, though, and saw few other people, mostly just a few fellow joggers.

I opted to not check on my heart rate at all, only checking in on my pace, which was a relatively zippy 5:49/km. My BPM was 149 overall and stayed pretty consistent, peaking only slightly higher at 151. It was kind of nice to do a shorter run for a change. and have a chance to walk and take a few photos on the way out.

It also allows me to get my total distance to date back to a nice, round figure. In this case, that would be 5590 km.

Wednesday I should be back to my usual 10K, rain or shine (currently it looks like partly sunny, woo).

Stats:

Run 753
Average pace: 5:49/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:06 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:15
Weather: Intermittent showers
Temp: 6-7ºC
Humidity: 91%
Wind: low to moderate
BPM: 149
Weight: 163.9
Total distance to date: 5590 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (262 km)