Run 854: Whoopsie again

Brunette River, pre-run.

I kind of missed three runs in a row. I am a bad runner.

I made amends today!

I waited till early afternoon to hit the river trail, where it was still only 5C, as winter is determined to go out with a big ol’ hissy fit. At least it wasn’t raining (or snowing).

My expectations were to just get in and out without any complications. Success! I started with what would be my average pace of 5:51/km, then dropped to a lowly 6:03/km. This incentivized me to pick up the pace enough that my last lap was a brisk 5:37/km.

Everything remained in working order and despite the nine days between runs, I felt pretty decent throughout. I am pleased.

Friday is calling for a high of 6C with rain, so I am not overly enthused about that, but we’ll see. Maybe the forecast will completely change to something delightful in the next two days.

The river, post-run, dressed for the last few weeks of winter.

Stats:

Run 854
Average pace: 5:51/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 1:32 p.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 29:25
Weather: Mixed cloud and sun
Temp: 5ºC
Humidity: 62%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 152
Weight: 170.7
Total distance to date: 6160 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (295/542/837 km)

Run 851: The wind beneath my cell reception

Brunette River, pre-run.

I missed Monday’s run because I spent most of the day working on time-sensitive stuff. This meant I had four days off between runs, and the casual observer might think, “That means you should be well-rested and do great!” But what it really means is it puts me right on the edge where my fitness level starts to dip just a bit because I’ve taken too long between workouts. That’s right, your body punishes you for getting too much rest by making your next workout feel harder! This is why people give up on New Year resolutions.

But I was undeterred. It was milder than Friday, the sun was out again, and again due to time, I opted for a run on the river trail. I hit a complication even before I started. One of the last things I do before a run is check the temperature and humidity. When I went to do this, my iPhone 12 reported no cell connection. I have no idea why. Power-cycling the phone1Really, any time you have a tech problem, always try turning it off and back on first. It’s a meme, but it also fixes a surprising number of issues! fixed the issue, and I was off.

I had opted to wear two layers because it was 5C when I headed out and this ended up being a good call, because, as a change of pace, it was windy and in mid-February, the wind is still pretty cold! The humidity was also much lower than normal, around 40% or so. This had no real effect, other than my lips being very slightly drier than normal.

There were two minor issues on this run:

  • At one point, I threatened to develop a stitch. It resolved itself in a few seconds, though. (Stitches usually mean I’m running too fast.)
  • At another point, I felt a bit of a kink in my right knee. This seems unrelated to my knee issues last year, I think it was just an artifact from stretching or something. It was very intermittent and didn’t affect my pace.

Overall, this was a pretty good run. I had a good pace, solid BPM and no dogs off leash!

Brunette River, post-run.
Run 851
Average pace: 5:44/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 11:09 a.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 28:52
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 7-8ºC
Humidity: 43-40%
Wind: moderate
BPM: 152
Weight: 171.6
Total distance to date: 6145 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (280/517/797 km)

Run 849: Sunny and productive

Brunette River, pre-run. Maybe looking just a smidgen like early spring.

Quite often it happens this way: I don’t feel like running, I faff about doing other stuff, I finally convince myself to get out, then have a really good run.

That basically happened today. By the time I headed out, it was just past 11 a.m. But it was unexpectedly sunny, and the temperature had warmed to a relatively mild 7C, so conditions were good. In the interest of time, I ran the river trail, and it was fairly quiet, despite the later hour.

I came out of the gate a little hot with a pace of 5:38/km, which led to a bit of a sag for the next two km, but recovered for the final two and ended with a flourish, with my overall pace being 5:44/km, besting my last two runs. My BPM also edged down a little lower at 149. I was almost two pounds lighter than on Monday’s run, so I was slightly more aerodynamic, too.

With no issues to report, this was a perfectly fine mid-week run.

Brunette River, post-run.
Run 849
Average pace: 5:44/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 11:19 a.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 28:51
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 7-8ºC
Humidity: 70%
Wind: light
BPM: 149
Weight: 172.3
Total distance to date: 6135 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (270/500/770 km)

Run 844: Slushy and tired

Brunette River, pre-run

Between the snow and other stuff, it has been 22 days since I last ran outside (I did do a 5K treadmill run last week). With the snow finally melted enough, I took to the river trail (along with about three other guys) to get in a 5K run.

And even though my BPM was a perfectly fine 151, it felt a lot harder than it looked. My training status, per my Garmin watch, has been Strained for a week or so now, and today’s run did not change that, though it should hopefully shift to Recovery soon™.

Although most of the snow is gone, there’s enough slush along the trail to still require threading the slush at times, and one spot in particular it was still mysteriously forming a pancake-like patch to slip on. I figure it should finally be completely gone in the next few days. It made today’s run more challenging, but mostly more annoying.

The first km started fine, then on the second km, something happened. I’m not sure what, exactly, but my pace cratered. Observe:

Every km before and after was in the 5:52-5:55 range. Maybe I was having trouble navigating the slush? Maybe I just wanted to curl up in a ball?

Overdressed alert: At the 2K mark, I came to the conclusion that I had overdressed. I saw another guy wearing shorts and a long-sleeved short and thought that was the right way to do it (though he was also wearing gloves, and 7C is way too warm for gloves unless wind chill is like -10C or something). I wore my Nike shirt, OR jacket and running pants. When I reached 2K, I paused the run to tie my jacket around my waist, and it made me feel lighter and faster. I mean, I was faster than the second km, so maybe it worked! I will keep this in mind for the next run. The light rain was inconsequential in terms of how I dressed.

As I was nearing the 1 km mark, I encountered a group of people that had spread themselves across the entire width of the trail. Three of them were in my “lane” and I wasn’t going to move. The first two moved aside as I neared. The last one, a guy holding an umbrella, actually exclaimed (a loud sound of being startled) and literally leapt out of the way. It was the kind of thing you normally only see in a sitcom. It amused me. Maybe it threw me off and affected my pace. Maybe comedy and running don’t mix.

Anyway, it was good to finally get out again, even if conditions were kind of bleah. Hopefully the trails will at least be free of snow the next time.

Stay in your slushy lane
Run 844
Average pace: 6:00/km
Training status: Strained
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 12:02 p.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 30:09
Weather: Light rain
Temp: 7ºC
Humidity: 93%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 173.4
Total distance to date: 6110 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (245/454/699 km)

Run 840: Overdressed for thee, not me

Brunette River, pre-run. Gloomy, but oh so mild.

I was originally going to postpone today’s run, to give myself some extra time to recover from Monday’s torrid outing, but it was extremely mild, and I felt guilty, so I went out and did a relatively mellow run on the river trail.

It was cloudy but 11C, which is about twice the normal high for this day and warm enough to be an early spring temperature, rather than one you’d expect here a few days before winter officially begins. This meant I only wore a single layer up top and it was fine. I probably could have worn my usual running t-shirt and still been fine.

I did see two other guys running, both wearing jackets and, I assume, sweating profusely. One even had gloves on. Gloves! At 11C! Crazy.

Anyway, I didn’t stretch before running and my left thigh felt a bit stiff starting out. This is also, coincidentally, the part of my legs that gets worked on in the roller stretching exercise I’ve been skipping (I am still doing the others). I suppose I should get back to doing it again. I did pick up the pace toward the end (the final km was 5:38/km), but I am content with the average of 5:48/km, especially with an average BPM of a mere 147.

Overall, I’m glad I got out, because who knows how many more absurdly mild days like this we’ll get in the next month or two.

Brunette River, post-run. All frothy and such.

Stats:

Run 840
Average pace: 5:48/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 12:21 p.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 29:09
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 11ºC
Humidity: 88%
Wind: light
BPM: 147
Weight: 171.8
Total distance to date: 6090 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (225/415/640 km)

Run 836: Cold with a side of heavy rain

Brunette River, pre-run

I did not do my usual Friday run because I wanted to run some errands and given the weather forecast, it made more sense to do them on Friday when it was sunny, rather than Saturday when it was forecast to be cold and rainy and horrible.

Today it is Saturday and as I headed out for a rare weekend run, it was drizzling. By the time I got to the river trail, the drizzle had turned to rain. As I started to run, it turned to Heavy Rain™. There was a pause about midway through where it eased yup that lasted about 30 seconds or so, as if the storm was catching its breath. Then it resumed pouring down.

So I got quite wet. And at 3C, it was not exactly balmy, either. My pace was a bit slower, mostly due to a slowdown in the second km, but was otherwise fine. My BPM of 154 was appropriate for the conditions and unlike Wednesday’s run, there were no heart rate shenanigans with the Garmin Forerunner.

I didn’t experience any notable issues during the run, other than mild regret for not having gone out on Friday. I kept the hood up again for the first half or so, then pulled it down, because it wasn’t doing much, anyway. I honed my dodging skills as the run progressed and puddles formed and expanded before my eyes.

Other people running, a mix between people wearing shorts vs. tights/running pants. I wore my running pants and do not regret the decision.

Overall, one of those “glad it’s over” runs. Monday looks to be cloudy and much milder, so yay for that.

Outflow pond, post-run, with bonus train. An accurate reflection of conditions.
Run 836
Average pace: 5:51/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 9:45 a.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 29:24
Weather: Rain
Temp: 3ºC
Humidity: 84-86%
Wind: moderate, with gusts
BPM: 154
Weight: 170.4
Total distance to date: 6070 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (205/372/578 km)

Run 834: Puddle dodging and hood a-flappin’

Brunette River, pre-run

Looking at the forecast, there was no way I was going to avoid the rain today unless I just didn’t run at all.

Which I gave some thought to.

But I did run, and it did rain steadily throughout–while only rising to a chilly 3C.

I wore shorts (which were fine–the walk to the river trail was a little chilly, but not too bad) and my long-sleeved shirt with my OR jacket. The OR jacket did a pretty good job of keeping me dry. When I got home, I found only a few light damp spots on my arms and chest, almost like a light (if very cold) sweat.

As for the run, it actually went better than expected. Despite the chilly conditions, my BPM was a nice 151, without any weird spikes, and my pace was 5:43/km, just edging my fogariffic Wednesday run. There was wind, so visibility was not too bad. There was a lot of puddle dodging and for the first 2 km, I kept the hood of the jacket up, which produced a strange, rhythmic sound as I ran. Eventually, my head bobbing was jostling it enough that I finally pulled it down. I actually preferred having it down instead of weirdly bobbling on top of my head.

There were a few others out getting soaked, including the guy I now call Green Shorts. He apparently starts his route somewhere in the Sapperton neighbourhood, as I passed him post-run in Lower Hume Park. He was not just wearing his green shorts again, he was entirely green, so maybe he is also a leprechaun or just prepping really early for St. Patrick’s Day.

It is surprisingly rare for me to see the same person running more than once

Anyway, the run went better than expected, so I am pleased. I am also still frickin’ cold as I type this, so a nice shower is next.

Mini waterfall raging post-run, reflecting conditions

Stats:

Run 834
Average pace: 5:44/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 10:07 a.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 28:48
Weather: Rain
Temp: 3ºC
Humidity: 96%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 169.5
Total distance to date: 6060 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (195/360/555 km)

Run 832: Overdressed, plus the pace car that was me

Brunette River, pre-run

For the fourth time in a row, I felt little motivation to go out and run, but I ran anyway. I copied last Monday by doing the river trail again, with the plan to be done and back by noon. Mission accomplished!

There is a rare fog advisory in effect today and remembering my last experience in the fog, I wanted to be prepared. As it turned out, I was over-prepared:

  • I ran on the river trail, rather than at the lake, thinking it would be less misty at the river. It turned out to be not foggy at all.
  • I wore my running pants because it was only 4C, and I expected it to be very humid and damp (chilly). The pants were unnecessary. I’m not saying I should have run pants-less, but shorts would have been fine.
  • I also wore my running jacket (the one for cold/wind, not the one for rain) and it kept me nice and comfy walking to the river trail, but it was actually a little too warm for the run itself. Noted for future reference. I think my double layer approach would have sufficed.

As for the run, I started strong and wavered a bit in the second km, but mostly kept my form. I didn’t have any weird spikes in my BPM, keeping to a range of 153-161 with an average of 153.

A young guy dressed in bright green shorts and almost-matching cap went jogging by me as I was heading back on the final stretch. He seemed way too happy. No one is that happy when jogging. He was obviously moving at a faster pace and I expected him to catch up and pace me if he also looped back.

He did loop back, and he did catch up–but then he never passed me. Instead, he hung back at a respectful distance, using me as a kind of pace car. Before realizing he was doing this, I deliberately slowed my pace, hoping he would pass, but he didn’t, so I resumed my normal gait. When I reached the gate near North Road and turned around, he did not follow, so I assumed he either ran beyond the trail or was taking a break. Shortly after I finished my run, he showed up and ran by, still looking happy as the proverbial clam.

The happy runner, snapped as he ran by me post-run:

I do like the colour of the shorts, though. Especially among men, you usually see black, black and black. I wear black.

Overall, this was a decent start to the week, with a decent result–5:42/km–and no issues to report. Wednesday is looking like it might be the coldest run of the fall yet, but still sunny. We shall see!

Brunette River, post-run, with bonus heron

Stats:

Run 832
Average pace: 5:42/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 10:47 a.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 28:42
Weather: Low cloud and fog
Temp: 4-5ºC
Humidity: 92-90%
Wind: light
BPM: 153
Weight: 169.5
Total distance to date: 6050 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (185/343/528 km)

Run 829: Smoking (not me)

Brunette River, pre-run

I last ran on Thursday, meaning I had three days off instead of the usual two, yet I was utterly unmotivated. I also had poor sleep all weekend. But instead of staying home and eating cookies, I decided to do a “quick” run on the river trail. It was cool ‘n crisp heading out, but I wore my usual two layers up top and shorts, and it was fine.

I started out a bit slower than normal and felt a bit creaky while I warmed up. I didn’t push, partly due to the cold and partly due to the lack of motivation. My left knee did feel a bit sore for a bit, but it smoothed out and was fine after.

The trail was relatively quiet, mostly just the odd person or couple out for a chilly morning stroll. The sun was low, but wasn’t too much of an issue, glare-wise.

A couple of odd and random things:

  • My pace of 5:50/km not only matches last Thursday’s run, the actual total time of 29:21 minutes also matches. It is very rare and kind of freaky to duplicate results like that–and it happened on two very different trails, no less.
  • As I was heading into my final km, I could smell smoke–cigarette smoke. Yuck. It took a while, but I finally caught up and passed the woman who was smoking ahead of me. She butted out just as I passed, content to stop feeding her imminent lung cancer for the moment. The thing here is just how amazingly far the odour of her smoke carried–probably several hundred meters, at least. Again, yuck.

Not a run for the record books, but at least I’m back to my regular run schedule. The rest of the week should be similar–mostly sunny and kind of chilly. I can deal with that.

Another shot of the river, post-run

Stats:

Run 829
Average pace: 5:50/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 9:51 a.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 29:21
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 6-7ºC
Humidity: 84-83%
Wind: light
BPM: 152
Weight: 169.2
Total distance to date: 6035 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (170/318/488 km)

Run 816: Turkey run

Brunette River, pre-run

Alternate title: People Not Knowing How to Dress for the Weather

To be fair to said people, today was an odd combination of mild–18C–and yet kind of soggy. It was cloudy as I headed out to the river trail, but it finally started to drizzle right at the very end of my run, so my plan to start early to beat the rain was mostly successful.

Today is Thanksgiving Day, which meant there would be more people out (never run on a stat) and indeed that was the case. The river trail is nice ‘n wide, though, so there were no issues. Some people were overdressed as if it was more like -18C, many were not prepared for rain, but there were also a few fellow joggers out, looking happy and smiling because it’s a holiday and conditions were pretty nice for running.

I had four days off, which is one more than I prefer (more than three days and I feel I start to lose my fitness, which is backed up by studies and other scientific junk), but given my activity over the past few days (a lot of walking) and the way my right knee was feeling, I felt it prudent. I was actually faster today than last Wednesday’s run (5:45/km), though my BPM also climbed, to a still-decent 154.

As for the knees:

  • Left knee: Fine!
  • Right knee: Interesting! It definitely felt sore to start, and even the right shin was feeling it, but over the course of the run it started to improve, as did my pace. By the last two km it seemed pretty OK and as always I was left with whether it really was OK or was it adrenaline/endorphins kicking in? I don’t think 5K is long enough for adrenaline to really work, so I am leaning toward the knee mostly being stiff and not being horrible and badly hurt.

All that said, the right knee is definitely not back to normal, so I’ll probably stick to 5K runs for the time being and see how it goes for a bit longer. The frustrating part is knowing I can do 10K and being held back by the knee. Stupid knee. Affectionately pets knee, it’s not really stupid

Brunette River, post-run. Fall all over the place.

Stats:

Run 816
Average pace: 5:45/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 9:56 a.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 28:54
Weather: Cloudy, some drizzle
Temp: 17-18ºC
Humidity: 74%
Wind: light
BPM: 154
Weight: 167.2
Total distance to date: 5960 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (95/179.5/274.5 km)

Run 812: Unplanned mini-run!

Brunette River, pre-run

I did a spontaneous mini-run today!

Yesterday I thought about doing shorter runs on my off-days–currently Tuesday and Thursday–with the idea being I’d either go half my usual distance (so 2.5 km) or run for a set amount of time (something that would at least equal the half distance, like 15 minutes).

I ultimately opted to go for distance, because it would keep things neater and tidier in the stats (that didn’t happen today, for reasons I will explain below).

The idea behind these mini-runs is:

  • To improve my overall fitness
  • To help get me energized at the start of the day
  • To see what fun things will happen to my body

It’s mostly the second one. I feel that on non-run days I start out a bit blah and listless. Running focuses me and gets me energized. If I keep the runs short and on the river trail (as I did today) they can give me a boost without eating up too much time.

Also, the stats are faster, which is a nice because fast is GOOD. Right?

Speaking of stats, the shorter run resulted in a lower BPM of 154, and a faster average pace of 5:29/km. I also got an award for my fastest 1 km yet, at 5:22/km.

With a run like this, there isn’t really time for any issues to develop. The biggest one was technical. I wanted to end the run at 2.5 km and got a text alert shortly before that. The alerts cover the top of the watch display where distance is shown. I don’t know how to dismiss the alerts, and this one seemed to sit there forever. I finally just guessed I’d hit 2.5 km and paused the run, to find I was actually at 2.59 km. Not a big deal, but it rankles me in an OCD way. I have since learned how to dismiss alerts during a run. For posterity, in case I forget, or if anyone else wants to know:

How to clear a message alert during a run on a Garmin Forerunner 255:

• Press the Down button (this shows the message)
• Press the Back button (this clears the message)

I will probably keep doing these mini-runs for a while to see how they go. In a way, it feels like cheating because they’re so quick. I’m sure my body will show me otherwise soon enough.

NOTE: I forgot to stretch before the run. We'll see if that has any impact later!
Run 812
Average pace: 5:29/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 11:34 a.m.
Distance: 2.59 km
Time: 14:13
Weather: Cloudy, some sun
Temp: 13ºC
Humidity: 87-85%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 154
Weight: 167.9
Total distance to date: 5937.6 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (72.6/142/214.6 km)

Run 811: A quiet run along the river

Brunette River, pre-run

I opted to run on the river trail to condense the amount of walking and time needed. I think it was the right call.

Conditions were similar to Monday temperature and humidity-wise, but instead of rain, it was partly sunny, which was nice. There was a breeze, but no big gusts or anything.

The river trail was surprisingly quiet, especially given that the weather was not bad (the first few days of fall have been mostly bad). I set out with no particular goal in mind, other than maybe having a lower BPM than the last few runs. I achieved this with a BPM of 156 and overall pace of 5:43/km. A big aid in getting that pace was the first km, where I was not trying to run fast, yet ended up with a blistering (for me) pace of 5:28/km. At the high end, I got up to 5:56/km by the 3rd km, before picking the pace back up to finish.

The left hip was probably the quietest it’s been in a while, no doubt due to the smooth terrain of the river trail, while the right knee twinged briefly mid-run, and then was fine after.

Overall, a good run and I’m glad I didn’t have to face back-to-back runs in the rain. I can run in the rain, but I don’t like it.

Brunette River, post run (looking east)
Run 811
Average pace: 5:43/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 12:28 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:47
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 15ºC
Humidity: 81-82%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 156
Weight: 166.7
Total distance to date: 5935 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (70/138/208 km)