Brunette River Trail runs

Yet another late start and as I headed outside, it was sprinkling a little, so I went back in, grabbed my Echo hoodie and headed off. Almost immediately the sprinkles stopped and I felt overdressed for the entire time I was out.

Welcome to early fall running.

I opted for the river trail and despite Performance Condition being +2, I still felt kind of slothful-even with a good night’s sleep, too. I was over six minutes for the second and third km, and just barely squeaked in under at 5:59/km for the overall average. I have no idea why it is taking so much more effort to get to a decent pace now. Is it the humidity? Am I now super sensitive to temperature change of any sort? Is my body still clogged full of cookies and slowing me down?

The good news is I experienced no issues, did pick up the pace and had an overall BPM of 147, which is pretty good. The weather meant the trail was nearly empty–I only saw one other runner and a cyclist for the entire time I was out.

Also, I saw at least seven squirrels before and after the run (curiously, none during the run. Maybe the river trail is not their preferred environment). After the run I spied a black squirrel clutching a chestnut in its mouth and being harassed by a crow clearly coveting the prize. The squirrel took advantage of its lower height by hiding under a parked car. The crow moved on. Score one for the squirrel’s winter stash.

Stats:

Run 1,071
Average pace: 5:59/km
Training status: Maintaining
Performance Condition: +2
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 11:44 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:05
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 16°C
Humidity: 90–88%
Wind: light
BPM: 147
Weight: 170.9 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,162.5 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Scarpa Golden Gate ATR 2 (142.5/288.5/431)

Music: Shuffle play

The first run of fall was stinky. I don’t mean performance-wise, because even though I felt lethargic starting out, I finished with a respectable pace of 5:57/km and an excellent BPM of 143. No, it’s because the air had a distinct smell of smoke from…somewhere. Combine that with the usual equally distinct sewer odour near the start of the river trail and it was an olfactory assault right from the start.

I’m not sure if this affected my performance (the weather app on my phone said conditions for running were “fair” and air quality was listed in yellow as “moderate”) but it certainly didn’t help, nor did it give me exciting mutant abilities, either.

I wore my Echo hoodie for the run, mostly in case of showers, but apart from a few random drops, it did not rain. It stayed cloudy and 14°C through the run, though, which was quite pleasant.

I did not encounter many people and the run was pretty uneventful. I picked up the pace in the last few km and this pushed me under the six-minute mark, so yay for finding a little energy.

Anyway, not bad for a midweek effort.

Stats:

Run 1,068
Average pace: 5:57/km
Training status: Productive
Performance Condition: Unknown
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 11:11 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:57
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 14°C
Humidity: 88–85%
Wind: light
BPM: 143
Weight: 172.1 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,145 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Scarpa Golden Gate ATR 2 (125/261/386)

Music: Shuffle play

I headed out later than planned, never stretched beforehand, and got into the middle of a bit of drama between two people I was not actually involved in before I could even head out, so today’s run was a bit off-kilter. I chose to do the river trail in the name of expediency and adopted a more casual pace.

In the end, I kind of wished I’d pushed a little more at the start, because I could have come in under the six-minute mark, instead of ending with 6:02/km. This is still fine, of course, and despite being warmer and less humid, my BPM was a nice low 145 overall.

The run was otherwise unremarkable and the (still slightly) stiff left knee did not factor in. I passed another runner I sometimes see on the river trail who always has this big, cheerful smile when he passes, as if jogging is the happiest thing in the world. It unnerves me as much as it delights me. I do not smile like that. Ever.

In all, a decent end to the week.

Stats:

Run 1,066
Average pace: 6:02/km
Training status: Productive
Performance Condition: +1
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 11:36 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:18
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 20–21°C
Humidity: 57%
Wind: light
BPM: 145
Weight: 171.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,135 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Scarpa Golden Gate ATR 2 (115/244/359)

Music: Shuffle play

Well, not that high. But the run went better than I was expecting.

I waffled on whether to run, but finally headed out a little past 11 a.m. and opted to run the river trail. A change of pace is always good. Conditions were decent–cloudy and around 16°C. I encountered only a few others during the run, although one was a guy I see fairly regularly on the river trail who walks with a pair of walking sticks and always says hello. Friendly people are the best.

I started out better than expected at 5:53/km, but dipped below the six-minute mark for the next two km. I felt like I had enough gas to push a little and ended with an overall pace of 5:56/km, which I declare perfectly cromulent. My left knee is not feeling as stiff today and for the run did not present any issues. The right knee felt a bit off for the last little bit of the run, but it didn’t persist and I don’t think it’s anything.

My BPM was a bit lower at 148 and I hadn’t noticed before, but the elevation on the river trail is nearly evenly split between ascending and descending (the lake, by comparison, is much more about the descending). I don’t think this means anything, I just noticed it.

In all, a good start to the week.

Stats:

Run 1,064
Average pace: 5:56/km
Training status: Productive
Performance Condition: 0
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 11:28 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:49
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 16–17°C
Humidity: 73–69%
Wind: light
BPM: 148
Weight: 171.7 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,125 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Scarpa Golden Gate ATR 2 (105/227/332)

Music: About Face, David Gilmour

For a change of pace (and to avoid it getting hotter) I opted to run the river trail today after getting off to a late start in the morning.

And it went well! I had two laps that came in under the six-minute mark, my overall pace was 6:05/km, which beats my previous run and is also the best since the surgery. My BPM was 149, as befits the less-demanding river trail.

I was even able to do math in my head–while running!–and figure out where I needed to turn back in the final km to end close to where I started, for maximum efficiency. And my calculation was pretty close!

I had no issues on the run and didn’t encounter many people. Because this trail is essentially a gated service road, it’s rare to experience actual crowding, but there weren’t even enough people to form a crowd. It was warmer than Saturday at 21°C, and humidity was lower at 55%, but neither had a real impact.

In all, a good start to the week.

Stats:

Run 1,059
Average pace: 6:05/km
Training status: Productive
Performance Condition: +3
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 11:09 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:33
Weather: Mostly sunny
Temp: 21°C
Humidity: 55%
Wind: light
BPM: 149
Weight: 170.7 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,100 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Scarpa Golden Gate ATR 2 (80/176/256)

Music: Into the Great Wide Open, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Due to a rather late start, I opted to run the river trail today and also, sometimes it’s just nice to change things up.

Conditions were similar to Wednesday–cloudy and 14C. I got off to a false start because one of my AirPods wasn’t sitting in my ear correctly. After fixing that, I got off to a slightly longer false start when I remembered I had to tie up my shoes, especially the evil left shoe, which requires a double bow.

I then continued my run for real, uninterrupted. The trail was pretty sparse, with a few cyclists and walkers, but no one else.

My right shin felt tender at the start, which was a concern, but it eventually settled down again, so…we’ll see!

I started strong, flagged a little in the second km, then finished strong, with an overall pace of 5:37/km and a BPM matching Wednesday of 145. My last two km were 5:29 and 5:23, respectively. The main difference here was the actual location. The river trail is pretty flat and wide, unlike the trail at Burnaby Lake, which is more like an actual twisty, windy trail. Here’s a typical view of the river trail, taken post-run:

Anyway, getting in a zippier run and beating the heat again was a nice combo and a good way to end the week. And as the title mentions, this run marked 7,000 km officially tracked, enough to take me across Canada and drop me off somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.

Stats:

Run 1,035
Average pace: 5:37/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 12:21c p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:13
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 14°C
Humidity: 63-60%
Wind: light
BPM: 145
Weight: 167.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,000 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (270/480/750)

Music: Private Eyes, Hall and Oates

Sorry, I couldn’t think of a better title. 😛

I did my best to wait out the rain, but it was not to be, so I had an early afternoon run in light rain. It was cooler than normal at only 5C and felt closer to freezing because there were some wind gusts. Not my favourite running conditions!

The suggested workout was recovery, so I took that to heart and adopted a more leisurely pace. By the second km my pace had dipped to 6:03/km, which was a bit too leisurely, so I picked it up and finished with an average of 5:51/km. My BPM was quite low, at 142, reflecting the more casual stride.

I only saw two people on the trail: a guy wearing just a t-shirt (well, and also pants) despite the rain. He was walking a dog on-leash. Good boy (the dog owner)! The other was another jogger, who I passed twice as we were both looping the river trail. He wore a very bright red cap (the nice thing in Canada is a red cap is just a red cap) and pink running shoes. He’s not the first guy I’ve seen wearing pink running shoes recently, so this may be the year when pink is the hot colour for runners. Hot pink, one might say.

I should start looking for new shoes soon, myself. The Peregrine 15s have almost 500 km on them of combined running/walking.

A few other random notes:

• The third song to come up in shuffle mode was “Echoes”, which kept playing until about a minute after my run ended. I’m not sure if it’s good jogging music, but I couldn’t bring myself to skip forward.
• The rain stopped almost immediately after my run. I’m glad it stopped, but sometimes I wonder if Mother Nature is really Nelson Muntz.

Stats:

Run 1,020
Average pace: 5:51/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 1:29 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:23
Weather: Light rain and drizzle
Temp: 5°C (felt like 0°C)
Humidity: 82%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 142
Weight: 170.5 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,925 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (195/295/490)

Music: Shuffle mode, but mostly "Echoes" by Pink Floyd

We are in the midst of a four day “atmospheric river event” which means rain and plenty of it. I checked the forecast and tried to time today’s run during the one likely gap in the showers. And I mostly got it, woo. It sprinkled briefly around the 2K mark, but was otherwise dry for the run. It rained on the walk back, but it was more a steady drizzle, so I didn’t get drenched like last Wednesday. Nice, I sez.

As for the run, I started out a bit sluggish and flagged a bit on the second km, but picked up speed and finished with a pace of 5:43/km, a little slower than Friday, but also with a BPM of 147, which was appropriately lower. My max heart rate got adjusted on the Garmin watch to 165, so I have a goof amount of headroom.

The river trail was fairly quiet, though I did see a semi-regular out for a walk, all bundled up. Speaking of, I wore my three winter layers because it was around 5C when I was originally going to head out, but rose to 8C by the time I left, so I was a bit overdressed. Still, always better to be over than under in the winter. You can always shed layers, but you can’t magically manifest them out of nowhere (if anyone can do this, please teach me).

In all, a good start to what is likely to be a soggy ol’ week.

Stats:

Run 1,017
Average pace: 5:43/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 1:17 p.m.
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 28:50
Weather: Cloudy, some sprinkles
Temp: 8°C
Humidity: 87%
Wind: light
BPM: 147
Weight: 170.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,910 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (180/265/445)

Music: Shuffle mode

The forecast was calling for heavy (steady) rain today, so there was no avoiding it. I put on three layers, adjusted the belt that holds my phone (by removing the onion tied to it–OK, I just had it tightened up, as it had been growing slack) and headed out, bracing for a lot of wet.

I was not disappointed. Except by how it was much milder and nicer running in mid-January.

I saw one cyclist at the start and one guy out on a walk with a giant umbrella, but otherwise had the trail to myself. It was 5C, the weather app said it felt like 2C, which seemed about right, and the rain, though light, was constant. My running gear is tumbling in the dryer as I’m typing this.

Strangely, my stats ended up nearly identical to Monday, despite the change in weather. My BPM was a bit higher at 147, but my overall pace was the same–5:47/km. My total time was only two seconds off from Monday and that’s probably because I walked the first few steps instead of running. I am nothing if not consistent.

The only problem during the run was just the usual with wet weather–lower visibility, having to navigate around sometimes gigantic puddles and just generally getting soaked and cold. I’m sure it builds character or something.

Anyway, I’m on track for a regular week of running, we’ll see if it continues.

Stats:

Run 1,015
Average pace: 5:47/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 11:52 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:07
Weather: Steady light rain
Temp: 5°C
Humidity: 90%
Wind: light
BPM: 147
Weight: 170.0 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,900 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (170/249/419)

Music: Shuffle mode