Run 502 Average pace: 5:40/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 9:21 am
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:36
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 21-23ºC
Humidity: 44%
Wind: light
BPM: 163
Weight: 166.2 pounds
Total distance to date: 3902 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone
The forecast high for today was 31ºC, which is not only Africa hot, it’s especially hot for June. It’s also way hotter than I like for running. I’m not planning on doing a desert marathon so I’m good with running under milder conditions.
My plan was to get out earlier so I could finish my run while the temperature was still bearable. I headed out around 8:45 a.m. and started the run at 9:21. It was already 21ºC and rose to 23ºC over the run but that’s a fair bit better than 30 or 31.
And I still saw someone running in a jacket.
I felt a lot more energetic today compared to Thursday and this was reflected in the first km, by far my fastest (5:18/km). But I bogged down over the next two km and by the fourth felt a bit like a baked potato, my energy leaking out like a slowly-deflating balloon wearing jogging shorts.
It was around that point that I opted to stick to 5K instead of pushing to 7K. On the one hand I kind of regret not going farther because the temperature only rose a few more degrees (it’s since gone up to 28 now that it’s past noon) but there are times when you know it’s better to listen to the signals your body is giving you and this seemed like one of them.
My pace did improve in the last few km, so overall it was a mediocre-ish 5:40/km.
The trail was not too busy, just a few small groups of walkers and the occasional over-dressed jogger.
Weirdly, I’m almost tempted to go back tomorrow to try a 7K. I’d have to get up super-early to do it before the writing group, though, and the odds of that are…not great.
Run 496 Average pace: 5:33/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 6:25 pm
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 27:59
Weather: Sunny, high cloud
Temp: 28ºC
Humidity: 27%
Wind: light
BPM: 160
Weight: 164.5 pounds
Total distance to date: 3870 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone
The weather roller coaster continued tonight, with temperatures reaching a midsummer-like 28ºC. It felt really humid but apparently humidity was only 27%. The air was thick and heavy so it felt more like 2700%.
I was seven seconds slower than my last run, something I attribute about 100% to the weather. It was a slog. My left knee creaked for a few seconds but was fine and I felt a mysterious slight pull on the left side of my groin from time to time, odd because I have had no fun with my groin recently that would cause it to be sore. Since the issue was intermittent and minor, maybe my form was off due to all the panting and sweating.
I missed another weekend run and feel guilty about it. The last few weekends have been stupidly busy for me, but I do plan on heading out this coming weekend, whih probably means rain (current forecast for Saturday is, in fact, rain).
For fun here are the temperatures of my last four runs, all done at the same time of day:
22ºC
12ºC
18ºC
28ºC
You tend to notice temperature variations of 10 degrees from one run to the next.
Run 454 Average pace: 5:23/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5:04 km
Time: 27:12
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 33ºC
Wind: light
BPM: 157
Stride: n/a
Weight: 157.7 pounds
Total distance to date: 3630 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch and iPhone 6
Let me illustrate the temperature for tonight’s run with an actual illustration (technically a screenshot from my Apple Watch of the Weather Underground app):
In the evening I usually head out at 6 p.m. Tonight I headed out about 45 minutes later, hoping it might cool a bit. 33ºC is not exactly cool.
I dutifully headed off on my 5K run, choosing to use the built-in fitness app instead of the Nike Run Club app because it was too hot to fiddle with anything I couldn’t use Siri with. Siri is nice when you’re lazy and she’s feeling cooperative.
I was grateful for most of the run being in the shade. I still sweated copiously.
Though my pace was much slower than Tuesday, it was still a respectable 5:23/km and in an unusual twist, my pace actually picked up in the latter half (the temperature dipped slightly, which may have helped a little).
Considering the heat, I’m fairly pleased with how the run went, especially given how strongly tempted I was to loaf at home instead. Sunday is promising to be much cooler and I ain’t complaining.
Run 452 Average pace: 6:01/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW) – no side trails taken
Distance: 10:03 km
Time: 60:34
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 30ºC
Wind: light
BPM: 158
Stride: n/a
Weight: 157.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 3620 km
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6
I slept in a wee bit this morning–only by about 15 minutes–but it immediately put the kibosh on my plan to run earlier than normal to beat the heat. It wouldn’t have mattered, anyway. The day started hot and has only gotten a little bit hotter still since then.
When I headed off counter-clockwise at the lake the temperature was 30ºC and stayed there (I’ve made it red above to indicate that yes, it was pretty warm). The first km, through a relatively breezy section of trail, was actually fairly zippy, but after that my pace dropped off steeply. It was really quite warm. The lack of any appreciable breeze did not help, either. At times the air felt thick and hot and then a mysteriously cool breeze would blast in from somewhere off the trail, only to vanish a moment later.
Weather is weird.
Despite having a “people working” sign up today, I saw no sign of the re-surfacing crew on the Southshore trail. It looks pretty much done to me.
Around the halfway mark I entertained the idea of ending the run early, but pressed on. By the 7 km mark–my slowest by a fair bit–I was giving this much more serious thought but I kept on and once I reached the 8K mark my pace actually improved and I managed to pant my way to a full 10K. My pace was terrible, of course. I think I’ve broken 6:00/km once before. Regardless, 6:01/km is definitely one of my slowest runs ever. To be fair, I haven’t run often when it’s this hot, either. Nor would I want to ever again. It was yucky.
Compounding things, I wore my replacement pair of Hokas, which ironically have an even worse case of color bleeding than my original pair. I wore them because a shoelace snapped on the originals. My left foot, perhaps not used to this crazy, color-staining new shoe, was a bit sore for stretches of the run and that may have ticked my pace down even more. Other than the foot and oppressive heat, I didn’t experience any other issues. My BPM was similar to Wednesday because while I had to work harder with the heat, I was slow enough that it kind of balanced out.
I did get through without seeing any pythons, bobcats or giraffes, so there’s that.
I return to my usual run schedule next week and haven’t decided whether to start Sunday and miss my usual two-day break or wait till Tuesday and get a three day rest bonus. If it’s still 30ºC on Sunday that may make the decision a little easier.
UPDATE, June 22, 2024: I have changed the title again. Sorry, Nic! I wanted something that would show up more easily in searches. Nic's title was Just scraping by.
UPDATE, July 8, 2022: I have changed the title of this post from the original of Tree root: 1, me: 0. Credit to Nic Demers.
Run 449 Average pace: 5:43/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CW) Distance: 10:09 km Time: 57:52 Weather: Sunny Temp: 27ºC Wind: light to moderate BPM: 158 Stride: n/a Weight: 159.6 pounds Total distance to date: 3590 km Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6
I was concerned about two things today: my right leg and the temperature. As forecast, it turned out to be very warm so I was glad to head out in the morning. Even then it was already 27ºC but fortunately it stayed there for the length of the run.
The right leg started out fine, which surprised me. I could eventually feel it but not until I was more than 6 km in and it was much milder than on Wednesday. I’d say it was of almost no consequence.
Expecting to detour along the sun-drenched Freeway trail, I opted to run clockwise, to get the extra-hot part out of the way first. As it turned out, the detour wasn’t in effect today so I was able to run the usual route. The excavator that trundles loads of dirt or gravel from a location off the Freeway trail and to the Southshore trail once again had a near-close encounter with me as it came off a feeder trail directly toward me. I was faster so ducked by but I swear that thing has a GPS lock on me. It is always right there no matter when I show up.
Despite the heat and much sweating I felt decent as I continued on, never straining or struggling. I encountered a curiously still snake that didn’t move as I approached it. Maybe it was zonked out from the sun? I hopped over and continued on. Around the 8K mark I dragged my left foot once, which is an indication I’m getting a bit tired. This is bad on a trail with many bumps and uneven surfaces (thank you park workers for helping make the trail smoother, safer and sexier), so I made an effort to pick up my feet. This turned out to be an omen of sorts.
As I entered the Conifer Loop I checked the distance and saw I was at 9.18 km, right about what I expected. I continued down the trail, heading toward the Spruce Loop and the final stretch. I was about 500m from finishing (roughly 2-3 minutes) when it happened.
The tree root.
The Conifer and Spruce Loops are side trails and while some work has been done on them (a foot bridge on Spruce was recently rebuilt as part of the current construction/resurfacing), the trails are in fairly rough shape, with lots of ruts, some loose gravel and tree roots poking through.
I have tripped up on tree roots before, my foot just catching enough to cause me to stagger before righting myself and continuing on.
That did not happen today.
Instead, my left foot firmly wedged against a root, causing my entire body to twist to the left. This made regaining my balance impossible. I was going to fall. And I did. The whole thing happened in less than a second. I remember hearing myself let out an “Oof!” and having enough time, somehow, to stick out my left hand to absorb the impact and prevent my face from hitting the gravel. My cap and glasses popped off. I skidded to a stop and laid there on my right side, looking over to the cap and glasses.
I picked up the glasses and they seemed undamaged, so I popped them back on, did the same with the cap, stood up, then without even bothering to dust off, I resumed the run because I was not going to let a spill at the 9.5K mark end my run early, especially if, as it seemed, I was just bruised and a bit battered.
I finished with a pace of 5:43/km, almost identical to Wednesday, and with a lower BPM of 158. Considering the heat and the fall, that’s pretty decent. My slowest km was actually at the 5K mark.
When I hit 10K (and those few minutes getting there seemed to stretch on unto forever because I really wanted to check out what exactly I’d done to myself) I walked over the dam to the snazzy new fountain and used the bottle-filling part to wash off the affected parts: my right leg, my right arm and left hand. I walked home at a brisker pace than normal, had a warm bath (avoiding using the usual Epsom salts and thus also avoiding screaming) then finally inspected my body in detail.
The right leg looks like a bear raked it with its claws, a set of nasty-looking scrapes along the upper half of the calf.
The right elbow and part of the forearm are nicely banged up.
The top of the right shoulder (covered by my t-shirt) sustained some abrasions, though it doesn’t look like the skin broke.
There’s a sore spot on the right hip that will bruise but again, no broken skin because it was under my shorts (the shorts came through fine, just a little dusty).
The left hand has five puncture wounds where the gravel hit. Three are small, though one still had some gravel embedded, the fourth was more sizable and the last is big enough to be kind of grossbuckets.
There’s probably more I’m missing. The bruises tomorrow should look great, and sleeping tonight will probably be fun.
I have applied copious amounts of Polysporin to everything.
Overall, I consider myself pretty fortunate. I didn’t sprain or break any bones, I didn’t hit my head, none of my stuff was damaged and on top of all that, I still finished with a decent pace.
I’m planning on my usual run on Monday and admit I’ll be feeling a little paranoid every time I see a tree root peeking above the trail surface. This is the first time in nearly 450 runs spread over the course of nine years that I’ve actually gone down (not counting that stupid dog) so hopefully this was just a rare convergence of circumstances that is unlikely to ever repeat.
I’ll know in three days!
I’ve put three images of “what happens when my body hits gravel at high speed” in the spoiler tag below (EDIT: This apparently broke ages ago, but I’ve now fixed and hidden the images again, for now – July 26, 2024).
My slightly shredded body
I will tell people I fought a shark. Yes, while trail running.Elbowing my way to various scrape and lacerations.Yeah, just kind of gross, isn’t it? You can even see a tiny bit of gravel still stuck in there. Kids, don’t try this at home!
Run 442 Average pace: 5:48/km
Location: Brunette River trail and Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 7.03 km
Time: 40:47
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 27-24ºC
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 154
Stride: n/a
Weight: 159.7 pounds
Total distance to date: 3528
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6
I skipped my usual Thursday run so to keep on track I ran today instead. It was sunny and quite warm, so I expected to be slower and was duly rewarded with a pace of 5:48/km. On the plus side my BPM was down from 160 to 154. On the snake side, I had my first snake of summer slither across the trail in front of me. It’s funny because I had just been thinking about how I hadn’t seen any snakes this year. On my next run I’m going to think about how I haven’t seen a pot of gold this year.
My right calf was stiff and a little sore heading out but I don’t think this affected my pace as much as the heat and copious sweating as I worked to maintain a respectable pace. I never struggled, exactly, but much of the run felt labored. Did I mention the sweat? I sweated a lot.
The calf was sore even before the run, so I think I had one of those weird night things where your body contorts unnaturally while you’re sleeping (yes, sleeping). It doesn’t feel bad now so I’m not overly concerned.
The trail was sparsely populated tonight, possibly due to the people having vacated for the long weekend or maybe just the “it’s finally hot, let’s stay inside and bask in the AC” effect.
I’m now on my summer vacation so I’m switching my run time and days to mornings and Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The first run of last year’s vacation resulted in an injury that ended my running for the rest of the year. I’m hoping that doesn’t happen again this year. Or ever again. I’ll even trade a pot of gold to make sure it doesn’t.
Overall, not a bad run given the conditions, but I’m looking forward to running mornings when the temperatures are more temperate.
Run 439 Average pace: 5:28/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 27:32
Weather: Sunny, humid
Temp: 26ºC
Wind: light
BPM: 158
Stride: n/a
Weight: 160.5 pounds
Total distance to date: 3507
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6
Back to the river trail and my pace was almost identical to the previous river run, coming in at 5:28/km vs. 5:27/km previously. Conditions were warm and humid, though not as humid as Sunday’s run. My right calf was a little stiff before the run but oddly enough it limbered up and actually felt better after the run.
As I write this later in the evening the effect of a day of walking and the warm run have left me pretty tired. I think it’s a good tired.
There was a fair amount of activity on the trail, with a mix of other runners, cyclists, people walking dogs and people walking themselves. All were well-behaved, even friendly. It was weird but pleasant.
I felt no discomfort during the run, save for it being warm but it stayed tolerable, probably in large part to the sun not shining directly down on me for most of the run. I am pleased to see a bounce back to a better performance and now I’m curious as all get-out how the next run at the lake will be.
Run 433 Average pace: 5:51/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Distance: 5.26 km
Time: 30:50
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 21-26ºC
Wind: light
BPM: 169
Stride: n/a
Weight: 161.1 pounds
Total distance to date: 3477
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6
I held off running for longer than planned due to a combination of weather (resuming runs in the rain makes for fine alliteration but it’s hard to motivate yourself to begin again while getting soaked) and general trepidation (mainly the fear of resuming too soon and risking aggravation of injury).
But today I finally committed to myself to head out on a basic 5K for the first time in six weeks.
I started by sleeping in. Whoops.
I eventually headed out around noon and started the run clockwise at Burnaby Lake around 12:30. Today also happened to be the day the summer switch got flipped back to ON and it was 21ºC when I started and rose to 26º by the end. It felt quite warm and I was thirsty and sluggish and the idea of aggravating injuries seemed the stuff of fantasy because I felt like I was barely moving.
My pace turned out to be 5:51/km, ten seconds slower than my last run but in line with what I’d expect after the month and a half of inactivity. My heart rate was up significantly, from 160 bpm on the previous run to 169 bpm today, but that can be attributed to the heat and greater overall strain in running.
On the plus side the only negative effect was my left foot feeling a little sore but not enough to slow me down or really make a difference. It was more like an annoying bug you can’t swat away. That analogy sucks but mainly it wasn’t an issue. I did not feel any other pain or soreness during or after the run, so that was encouraging.
The current plan is to resume a regular set of 5K runs and see how they go and eventually move back to 10K. I’ll try another 5K on Tuesday and see if it goes well. If so then yay. If not, then boo. It’s pretty simple.
The trail was in good condition overall, most of the puddles having dried up after recent rains–except for one giant puddle that was hidden around the corner, at the end of the path that leads out to the athletic fields. This puddle was big enough to be unavoidable and had the curious effect of leaving my feet utterly soaked even as I felt as parched as a nomad wandering the desert without a handy bottle of Gatorade.
Overall I am pleased that I got through and got through without any pain. We will see what Tuesday brings.
It got up to 31º C today, nearly 10 degrees above the average. Even the breeze was hot. Given that this is still the first week of June you might think this would be an omen pointing toward a very hot summer. However, the forecast is calling for rain and below seasonal temperatures just days from now, so who knows.
One day we’ll have smart robots that will know exactly what weather is coming. And they will use it against us because robots don’t care if it rains.
Run 424 Average pace: 5:22/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 27:02
Weather: Sun and high cloud
Temp: 19ºC
Wind: low
BPM: 158
Stride: n/a
Weight: 166.9 pounds
Total distance to date: 3415
Device used: Apple Watch and iPhone 6
Another curiously warm early evening run. My goal was the same as it has been the last few runs, which is to maintain a steady but not especially blazing pace, all the better to keep my lower body intact. I figured since it was actually for-real warm out that I might naturally run slower anyway.
I was wrong. Instead, although I was fairly steady, I improved to an overall pace of 5:22/km, my best for a 5K this year. The right leg felt slightly creaky but not actually sore. Paradoxically, my BPM was back down again, to 158. I guess my body is finally getting used to running again.
Also, no dogs. Yay. Sorry, dogs, you’re just a tad too unpredictable in your unleashed state, which many of your silly owners leave you in.
Not much else to report, just generally pleased again by the results.
Note: The original post showed the temperature as 194ºC. This has been corrected to 19ºC. Running in temperatures approaching 200 Celsius is neither recommended nor endorsed.
Run 402 Average pace: 5:28/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 27:31
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 28-30ºC
Wind: nil to light
BPM: 157
Stride: 179 strides/min
Weight: 154.9 pounds
Total distance to date: 3272
Device used: TomTom Runner Cardio
Today’s run featured:
the first time my New Balance MT 110 shoelaces came untied (in over 460 km of use)
a mad cyclist furiously biking up from behind me
temperatures that started at 28ºC mid-morning and climbed to 30ºC–still in the morning
a decided lack of breeze
On the plus side, at least I didn’t get hit by a blimp.
The first km was surprisingly swift at 4:39/km but after that the halo effect of that first 1000 meters wore off and the reality of Africa hot set in and my pace slowed steadily. It became obvious pretty quickly that a full 10K would be ugly, not to mention sweaty and uncomfortable. I toyed with the idea of at least stretching to 7K but as I neared 5K along the completely exposed trail alongside the athletic fields I opted to stop short and walk the rest of the way. I think I made the right call.
As it was, my pace overall was a sluggish 5:28/km, slower than some recent 10K efforts. The forecast for the rest of the week looks to mirror what we had prior to the weekend, with temperatures in the mid 20s rather than high 20s and low 30s. My pace should hopefully bounce back like some springy sort of thing.
Other than being stupid hot for the millionth time this summer, I didn’t have any issues of note, apart from my left shoe coming untied for the first time ever. What’s odd is I even made sure they were tied securely before heading out. I’m just going to blame the heat on this, too.
On the other hand, when I later went to the store wearing my walkin’ shoes, they both came untied simultaneously. Maybe it’s secretly National Untied Shoelace Day.
On the subject of shoes, with the heels of the MT 110s starting to get nice and smooth (this is not a good thing for the heels of running shoes) I am hoping to get a new pair in the next week or so, likely something light but non-minimalist for a change of pace.
Run 398
Average pace: 5:33/km
Location: Brunette River tail, Burnaby Lake (CW)
Distance: 7.03 km
Time: 39:07
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 30-31ºC
Wind: nil to light
BPM: 155
Stride: 177 strides/min
Weight: 154.2 pounds
Total distance to date: 3238
Device used: TomTom Runner Cardio
Another crazy set of back-to-back runs. Obviously the heat has made me mad.
Conditions were much the same as yesterday but since I started earlier I managed to hit the peak heat of the day, hooray. The combination of less recovery time and even hotter temperatures meant I was slower–5:33/km vs. 5:26/km and I felt a bit off stomach-wise. I almost thought of calling it at 5K but pressed on and finished the intended 7K.
A few interesting things: the first km broke the five minute mark, coming in at 4:58/km. This apparently left me utterly drained, as the second km dropped to 5:32/km. My steps also went from 197 to 177/min. You would think fewer steps would imply greater speed but I apparently defied that logic. I had shed nearly two pounds overnight so maybe I just felt lighter, even though I moved slower. I did get a bit of a spring in my stride for the last km, however, so the finish was strong, if sweaty.
Right now the forecast for the weekend is calling for highs of 22 and 24ºC, which would feel almost bone-chilling after the last few weeks. I’m kind of eager to run without it being Africa hot. I would not normally be saying this in early July but these are strange days, weather-wise and the days have ominously stretched into weeks.
Four runs in six days (34 km total) is probably the most running I’ve done in a week and I did it while it was stupidly hot, so in a perverse sort of way I am a bit proud of that.
