Burnaby Lake runs

How has it been eight days since I last ran? Things have happened! But I’ve still done bits of running here and there, so it hasn’t been all lounging around and eating bacon.

The fountain by the dam is still open, which surprised me. I don’t think it’s ever been left open this late into November before, though I could be misremembering. To be fair, while it’s been cool during the day, we haven’t had temperatures drop below freezing overnight.

Today I headed out reasonably early and the temperature was a lot more brisk than the last time, sitting at 5C. Thankfully, there was little wind, so two layers were fine.

I opted to do a short CCW loop and experienced no issues. There were a surprising number of people out walking, including a walking group I thought I would cleverly avoid by taking the side trails.

They took the side trails.

But I managed to slip by everyone, including a pair of other joggers, woo (they were not jogging fast).

My pace dropped incrementally by four seconds until the fourth km, when I picked up the pace as I passed everyone. The cold didn’t seem to affect my speed, but my BPM ticked up a bit to 153, which is not unexpected.

The sun poked out a bit on the walk home. At the same time it started to sprinkle. As I neared home it changed to hail. I jogged to the building entrance to get under cover. Hail is one of my top worst running conditions.

Overall, a good start to what otherwise appears to be a cold and wet week.

Stats:

Run 902
Average pace: 5:34/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 10:04 a.m.
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 28:01
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 5°C
Humidity: 86-83%
Wind: light
BPM: 153
Weight: 168.0
Total distance to date: 6,360 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (150/277/427)

The 10-day forecast can be surmised as: rain, with additional rain.

However, today–Sunday–we have a window of a few hours when it’s both mild and dry. I seized upon it and ran today, putting up with the extra people, their dogs and such in order to avoid getting drenched.

To further the goal of avoiding all other people and their pets, I ran clockwise, and chose to take the Freeway Trail, running on it until I got to the 2.7 km mark, where I turned back onto the main loop around the lake. This added variety, but also slowed me down a bit as the freeway trail has more hills than the lake loop and also I just seem to run slower on it. Maybe the nearby din of the highway traffic slightly unnerves me or something.

That said, I still had a very good overall pace of 5:34/km, and experienced no issues, other than having to pause for a few moments to step over a fallen tree on the final km. I would have taken a picture, but it was too far to go back post-run, and I was also paranoid about the weather ganging up on me.

The dogs on the trail were well-behaved, but the Weekend People™ had pretty much all dogs off-leash on the still-stinky river trail. Still, no incidents of note, just disapproving glances (from me).

Overall, a good way to end or start the week, depending on your perspective.

Stats:

Run 901
Average pace: 5:34/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW, short loop)
Start: 11:49 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 27:58
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 12-13°C
Humidity: 80%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 167.4
Total distance to date: 6,355 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (145/269/414)

My only real goal today was to run and get back home before The Rains started. On that count, success!

As for the math, I decided to start my route at the dam, skip the side trails, then turn onto the Piper Mill Trail on my return and take the other side trails on my way back, finishing the run exactly where I started.

Except when I got to that point, I was at 4.7 km. I kept going, over the dam, past the fountain, past the 0K marker and finally hit 5K right by the Jiffy John™, which would have been convenient if I had to use the loo, but I did not.

I didn’t have as much gas in the tank for the final km, but if I had, this would have been my fastest 5K with the Garmin watch. I still had a strong pace of 5:32/km, only two seconds short of my best.

The weather was milder and the two layers were unnecessary, but I wanted to be on the safe side in case the rain moved in earlier than forecast. Somewhat unusually for a weekday, there were a fair number of people out walking, which led to a couple of bottlenecks. When you consider the overall loop is 10.3 km, any bottleneck is kind of weird. But no issues were had in navigation. All dogs were behaved.

The only incident I had was a mild bit of pain in one shin briefly along the Piper Mill Trail. It went away, and it feels fine now, so I think it’s just body weirdness.

Overall, a solid run to end the week. Now I eat gallons of ice cream! I kid, I kid. They’ll be litres, not gallons.

Note: 900 runs are official, but also inaccurate, as I didn't track my runs in the early days. I don't think I missed too many, though, so this should be reasonably close.

Stats:

Run 900
Average pace: 5:32/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 10:59 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 27:51
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 12°C
Humidity: 81-79%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 166.6
Total distance to date: 6,350 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (140/261/401)

After calling off Monday’s run due to Xtreme Wind™, I headed out today under a cloudy sky, but no discernible breeze.

I opted to start by the dam for as an old-time throwback to how I used to begin my runs. It was 7C, but my two layers kept me warm.

I surprised myself with an unusually brisk first km, coming in at 5:24/km. That slipped all the way to 5:39/km by the next lap, but I improved my pace after, including a record for the Garmin watch with fastest 1K to date–5:18/km, which is how I finished.

I pushed a bit at the end, but not excessively, and I did pause the run to take a few shots of a fallen tree (photo below), but I don’t think that gave me an appreciable boost.

No issues–either with my body or with dogs/other people/trees occurred, so the run went well, apart from the nice pace.

The most notable thing, other than my zippy performance, was the state of the trail a few days after the storm. I could see a few spots where smaller trees had been cleared, plus a lot of debris still on the trail in places (the Cottonwood Trail was especially bad). Sections of the trail, especially earlier on, had been badly scoured and will need to be repaired, though the uneven bits were at least easy to avoid.

In all, a good run, a reminder that nature isn’t to be messed with, and a refreshing break from The Rains.

Stats:

Run 899
Average pace: 5:31/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:00 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 27:46
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 7-8°C
Humidity: 83-79%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 166.3
Total distance to date: 6,345 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (135/257/392)

I skipped running on Friday, not because I was lazy, but because I was tired of running in the rain. I ran in the rain on Monday and Wednesday and did not want to run in the rain again yesterday. And it rained pretty much the entire day.

But with birding called off this weekend and the weather looking somewhat dry, at least for the morning and early afternoon, I opted to run today.

Success! It did not rain during the run. It sprinkled a little on the walk back, but even that was minimal.

I wore two layers, which proved handy, as it was only 8C for most of the run, my first single digit outing of the fall. Hello November!

Despite several dogs being off-leash, there were no issues, either with the dogs or with my body. I had my usual dip in the middle, but finished strong and, curiously, with the exact same time as the previous run, 28:21 minutes. I don’t know if I could ever pull that off again. My average was somehow a second faster, though, probably due to the magical world of rounding numbers.

The river remains pretty stinky with dead salmon. I repeat, this is probably the worst mating/reproductive system in the world, with the possible exception of the male praying mantis getting his head torn off and eaten by the female after they do the dirty.

Despite the odour, it was a good outing and a nice (and mercifully dry) end to the week.

Stats:

Run 898
Average pace: 5:38/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW, short loop)
Start: 1:03 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:21
Weather: Overcast
Temp: 8-9°C
Humidity: 90%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 167.1
Total distance to date: 6,340 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (130/244/374)

Although the stats make today’s run look very similar to Monday’s, there are a few key differences:

• I ran at the lake, not the river trail, which is a tougher course, so having a slightly better pace means I actually did more than a little better.
• It showered lightly today, Monday was a constant downpour.
• I actually got warm enough today that I took the jacket off halfway through the run (it came in handy on the walk back when the rain picked up, though).

I was hoping to beat the rain today, but alas, did not. Because it started right as I stepped outside, I came back in and switched from two layers to one layer + jacket. I need a lighter jacket for running that can still hold up to rain, though. As noted above, I doffed it partway through the run.

As for the run, the full house is in reference to my lap times:

1. 5:41
2. 5:41
3. 5:36
4. 5:36
5. 5:36

I can’t remember the last time when I had so many laps match up like that. Kind of weird and random. The overall pace of 5:39/km was nice, as was the 150 BPM. I had no issues, though I admit I kept looking at my watch for the last km, so I may have been pushing a bit to maintain that 5:36 pace for three consecutive km.

The rain wasn’t too bad, though it’s always preferable to have no rain. As expected with this weather, the trail was pretty lightly populated.

Overall, a decent effort. I’m hoping that Friday’s run will be drier, but the current forecast makes that seem…unlikely. We’ll see!

Stats:

Run 897
Average pace: 5:39/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 10:58 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:21
Weather: Rain showers
Temp: 10°C (feels like 7)
Humidity: 74%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 150
Weight: 167.1
Total distance to date: 6,335 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (125/236/361)

Two things I wasn’t as a teenager.

My goals today were:

• Start a bit earlier
• Pretty much maintain the same easier pace as Monday
• Get back before possible showers

I achieved two out of three. But it’s not what you might expect.

I got my Garmin Forerunner 255 about two years ago (November 2022) and it has been tracking my runs dutifully since. Today I got two new records on it, one for fastest 1K and another for fastest 5K. How did this happen? I’m not entirely sure!

When I headed out, I mulled just doing the river trail, in a sort of “just get it done” way. Someone had a large dog off-leash, though, and though the dog seemed well-behaved, they can act differently/squirrelly when you are running, so I kept walking to the lake. I initially chose to do a short loop clockwise, but partly through it, and with the skies actually mostly sunny, I decided to just keep going and did a regular 5K.

My first surprise came at the 1K mark, with a pace of 5:33/km, much zippier than expected. My second km was 5:39/km, but the surprises just kept coming. I must emphasize that I was not trying to run faster at all. Conditions were obviously better (the performance rating for the run was +3) and temperatures were lower at 13-14C (which is perfectly comfortable for a run), but still.

The fourth km came in at 5:26/km, which made my eyebrows pop in surprise, possibly with a cartoon sound effect. I normally push just a little for the final stretch, and my last km came in at 5:19/km–the record 1K pace.

The overall pace was 5:30/km, which is 16 full seconds faster than Monday’s run. Which is a lot.

I obviously didn’t encounter any issues during the run. I did encounter other runners, including a topless guy (I mean, 13-14C is fine, but I’m not sure I’d want to do it topless) and the spitfire (technically post-run). My legs felt slightly stiff toward the end of the walk back, but seem fine as I type this. We’ll find out tomorrow.

For now, I will bask in this brief moment of glory.

Stats:

Run 893
Average pace: 5:30/km (record with Garmin Forerunner 255)
Training status: Strained
Location: Burnaby Lake
Start: 11:04 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 27:39
Weather: Mostly sunny
Temp: 13-14°C
Humidity: 82-80%
Wind: light
BPM: 153
Weight: 167.3
Total distance to date: 6,325 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (110/215/325)

1. Strained is defined as “Your training load is optimal, but your HRV status indicates accumulated fatigue. Be sure to give yourself enough time to recover.” ↩︎

I was back to a morning run today, albeit a late morning. I pondered whether to give myself an extra rest day, as I was surprisingly sore after Saturday’s run, but in the end I couldn’t resist the call of sunny, summer-like weather.

My plan was to do a short loop and to run at a more relaxed pace. Mission accomplished on both counts, with my pace coming in at 5:46/km, three seconds slower than Saturday. Unlike recent runs, I didn’t sag midway through, but actually picked up the pace after the second km, and had a stronger finish (5:37).

No issues to report: well-behaved dogs and dog people, no bikes, no crazy number of slugs to dodge. It was unusually warm, but only for this time of year. It felt nice, and this may be one of the last warm-feeling runs of the season, so I savoured the sun instead of cursing it, as I sometimes do in the summer.

I can tell I’m going to be a bit sore again, but hopefully not as much as after Saturday’s run, so I should be okay to go again Wednesday.

In all, a perfectly cromulent start to the week.

Stats:

Run 892
Average pace: 5:46/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake
Start: 11:41 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:02
Weather: Mostly sunny
Temp: 18-19°C
Humidity: 62-59%
Wind: light
BPM: 154
Weight: 167.0
Total distance to date: 6,320 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (105/202/307)

I didn’t run at all last week. I had reasons, some good, some not so good.

Today, I opted out of birding and by mid-afternoon I felt I should run, which would make it almost seem like I’d run on Friday. I headed off under cloudy skies and conditions that were otherwise similar to the last run.

I definitely felt the difference in having a week off, with a slower pace, higher BPM and feeling the burn just a little more. But it was fine, and I’ll get my proverbial groove back if I resume my regular schedule again.

A few things of note:

• The trail was busier, as I started at 3:26 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon. This wasn’t an issue, though.
• There were horses! Specifically, two. One was being walked by the rider, the other had the rider on it and was near the start of the Avalon Trail. She saw me coming, stopped the horse and let me pass, which was nice. It got weird shortly after when I heard the sound of rapid clip-clopping. When I looked behind me, the horse was…not exactly galloping, but definitely moving faster than a trot. I was wondering if she was now trying to pass me. I’ve never seen anyone ride a horse like this on the Avalon Trail before. It weirded me out. I picked up the pace and hoped she would move down one of the horsey trails, which she did. This led me to deciding to go all the way around the lake rather than run a short loop, to avoid more horses on return. I don’t mind horses, but they are big and scary, and I am just a frail little runner.
• I started fast, got slower till the fourth km, then picked up the pace to finish. Pretty standard after some time away.
• About 2 km into the walk back, I experienced a lot of abdominal cramping. It went away after maybe 120 minutes or so, but was rather unpleasant.
• No dog incidents for a change. Yay.

In all, a decent run on a decent day and a decent return.

Stats:

Run 891
Average pace: 5:43/km
Training status: Recovery
Location: Burnaby Lake
Start: 3:26 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:44
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 17°C
Humidity: 63%
Wind: light (basically none)
BPM: 156
Weight: 166.4
Total distance to date: 6,315 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (100/194/294)

Good news! Only two dogs tried to attack me. Wait, that’s not good news, that’s terrible news.

Lousy dog owners.

The real good news is both dogs were on leash and I had enough room to keep clear.

As for the run itself, it was full of surprise and adventure, even when dogs weren’t wanting to tear chunks from me for unknown reasons.

First, I had my keys secured in the zippered back pocket of my shorts, as usual. The pocket keeps them very secure–they don’t move at all while I run. Except today they did. It felt odd. I wondered why they were moving. At one point it was clear they had shimmied to the mid-point and were starting to tickle just above my butt, which proved a bit distracting. But not for long!

Because shortly after that, I felt the keys shift, drop and fall onto the trail. I picked them up, felt the new hole in the back pocket, then put them into the zippered pouch with my phone, where they stayed for the remainder of the run. Bottom line: I need new shorts. Or duct tape.

Adventure: I got my orthotics way back in 2016. They should probably have been serviced, or whatever the term is, about two years later. Eight years later they still haven’t been and are getting beaten and worn. Today I opted to not wear them for the first time in those eight years, and instead wore a pair of Dr. Scholl’s Walk Longer™® insoles. My feet felt fine for the run. The walk back the left foot felt…different, but not achy or horrible. Now that I’m home and typing this, both feet feel fine, so I’ll keep the insoles in the shoes for now and see how it goes (my secret theory is the orthotic in my left shoe was actually contorting my toes in a way that may not have been good for them, as they seem less sensitive than before).

Conditions today were much nicer than earlier in the week, with near-seasonal temperatures and a pleasing mix of sun and cloud. My pace flagged around the 4K mark, but I compensated even more than I anticipated in the final km with a blazing pace of 5:24/km. My overall pace was 5:39/km, my best for the week.

Overall, I am pleased with another full week of running under my virtual belt.

Stats:

Run 890
Average pace: 5:39/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake
Start: 12:52 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:25
Weather: Sun and scattered cloud
Temp: 18°C
Humidity: 67-64%
Wind: light
BPM: 149
Weight: 165.9
Total distance to date: 6,310 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (95/181/276)

More leaves are self-explanatory. There are a lot of leaves that ain’t waiting till fall officially gets underway. Fortunately, the worst spots seemed to be on the post-run parts of the trail, but it did make me wonder if fallen leaves were on my list of worst trail running weather conditions. They are not! Probably because the hazard has been more potential than realized.

I had another nutty idea on starting the run. I originally planned a short loop and my idea was to go CCW, but start rough 1 km further back, so that by the time I cleared the Piper Mill Trail, I could just immediately circle back on the regular part of the trail. But as I neared the 0 km marker (the “official” beginning of the lake loop), I realized I was dumb, because I had assumed there was a one km gap between the 10K and 0K markers¹My brain tries to be logical to a fault, sometimes.. There is not! It is more like 0.38 km. With this realization, and the weather being pleasant, I decided to just go all the way around the lake (but still only a 5K run).

The results were nearly identical to Monday, just a tad faster. I am good with that.

Again, there were a fair number of people out, a mix of walkers, joggers and people with dogs, but no issues encountered. Plus, I got a chance to feel “fast” when I eventually caught up and passed someone on the Cottonwood Trail. If he had been a little farther ahead, I would have probably finished my run before catching up to him. I take these victories where I can.

Finally, the last of the 50s: My birthday is tomorrow, so this is the last run I’ll do as a 50-something. The fact that I am still running is reason enough to celebrate, as far as I’m concerned. Go me!

Stats:

Run 887
Average pace: 5:41/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:01 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:34
Weather: Sunny, some cloud
Temp: 17°C
Humidity: 78-75%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 165.9
Total distance to date: 6,295 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (80/174/254)