Arctic cold

Average pace: 4:36/km

Location: Brunette river trail, Lower Hume Park
Distance: 11.18 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 15-12ºC
Wind: light to nil
Calories burned: 758
Total distance to date: 1840 km

With the sun setting at 7:31 tonight I decided to skip Burnaby Lake altogether and try my luck on the Brunette river trail. Fortunately the crane truck that had been blocking the way was gone and I was able to get to the bridge, which is now securely fenced off and has its deck removed. This gave me a little under 2 km of running room before having to loop back. I initially planned on a 5K run but ended up changing my mind mid-run and decided to keep going until I hit 10K or it got too dark, whichever happened first. By the time I got back to Lower Hume Park I came in just a bit over 11K and with a brisk pace of 4:46/km, only one second short of my record pace on Sunday.

There were a fair number of cyclists on the trail and I ended up seeing most of them twice — once as they rode past me then again as they came back, almost certainly unaware that the bridge was closed and no one shall pass (pending repairs). Only one well-behaved off-leash dog, too!

I got home four minutes before the sun set but thanks to clear skies I had plenty of light for the entire run. My hands were actually cold for the first km. It’s been quite awhile since that happened. I also turned up the hot water a tad in the shower afterward. The passing of summer always leaves me a little sad. And cold.

I haven’t decided the rest of my run schedule for this off-kilter week but Thursday seems likely.

Chart (records are in pink)