Burnaby Lake runs

Also known as the 1984 run, not because it had an Orwellian feel to it, but because the music was David Gilmour’s About Face and Hall and Oates Big Bam Boom, a pair of albums from 1984. If only I’d had a sweatband and legwarmers with me.

As it was, I wore two layers up top (long and short-sleeve shirt) and shorts, and they were fine for the conditions. It was actually pretty mild and again, virtually no wind at all.

Today was the first day I wore my shiny new Garmin Forerunner 255 running watch. It’s been quite awhile since I wore something other than my Apple Watch for a run, but after the recent glitches and with it not monitoring my heart rate for multiple kilometres, I decided it was time to try something else.

I set up the watch in the morning, connected it to Apple Health and my iPhone so the data from the runs would show up as activity. I set a few preferences, then off I went, tracking my usual walks to and from the lake and the 10K around it. I was originally going to just do a 5K at the river, but talked myself into going for the full deal. Probably residual guilt over all those Pringle pizza-flavoured chips I ate yesterday.

Happily, the watch worked exactly as expected, no hiccups or weirdness. The run synced quickly to the Garmin Connect app on the phone and better yet, I can view the copious details on the Garmin Connect website. Finally, a map that isn’t stupidly small and dark!

The embed doesn’t seem to work in WordPress, so it only shows as a link for now, but I’ll see what I can do.

The only odd part is the BPM was 150–which is good–but my pace was 5:49/km–which is also good!–but normally my BPM would be higher at that pace. We’ll see if it levels out over a few runs. It was milder today, so that may have helped, too.

Garmin embed:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/embed/10026529411

As for the suicidal squirrel, I’ve noticed that the Piper Mill Trail seems to be a popular hangout for squirrels, and today I counted at least four of them. One, a small red squirrel, decided to panic as I approached (the squirrels at the lake tend to be skittish) but instead of diving into the brush, it dove…directly into my path. Thanks to some fancy footwork, I managed to avoid tripping on it. Silly squirrel. That would have been embarrassing, though.

“How did you hurt yourself running?”

“A squirrel.”

“I see.”

The run itself felt good again, no issues at all, other than the two boardwalks being a bit slippery. There was a woman curbing her German Shepherd just past the bridge at Deer Lake Brook, and the dog was sitting obediently beside her, but he had an eye on me. She pulled on the dog slightly as if to draw him closer to her. I knew what was coming. As I ran by, the dog immediately lunged toward me and I deked successfully, keeping myself out of the WSZ (Wet Snout Zone). No other snout incidents occurred.

Overall, another solid effort and I got 11 badges and apparently ascended to Badge Level 2 on Gsrmin Connect. Go me!

View from the dam:

Stats:

Run 734
Average pace: 5:49/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 1:08 p.m.
Distance: 10.04 km
Time: 58:26
Weather: Overcast
Temp: 9ºC
Humidity: 93%
Wind: light to nil
BPM: 150
Weight: 161.0
Total distance to date: 5425 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (97 km)

The forecast called for mostly cloudy/cloudy today, which was fine by me, as I wanted to avoid the strobing effects and glare of Friday’s run. Just as I got to the lake, the sun started peeking out from behind the clouds and I cried out in my heart, “No!”

But then it clouded up again for the actual run. Also, I started the run over two hours earlier than Friday, to avoid the sun being higher in the sky. Anyway, it worked. No strobing! No glare! Just a nice, uneventful run.

Because I ran counter-clockwise, it was easier to keep control of my pace and my overall BPM dropped back down to 154, while my average pace fell to a still perfectly cromulent 5:57/km.

As an experiment, I overdressed to see if I would be overdressed.

I was overdressed.

Let me explain. I was expecting it to be 4-5C, but it turned out to be 6-7C. The difference might seem small, but it’s right at the border between what feels most comfortable to wear. I opted to err on the side of caution to see if overdressing a bit would actually feel a bit uncomfortable, but it was fine.

Even though it was Monday, everyone on the trail, whether running or walking, seemed to be all smiles and happy to be out. I mean, I don’t blame them. It was dry, relatively mild and no wind at all, so great conditions for a mid-November walk.

What I wore:

• Running jacket
• Long-sleeved shirt
• Running pants

What would have been fine (especially with no wind):

• Long-sleeved shirt
• Sleeveless base layer
• Running shorts

Wednesday’s conditions so far are looking very similar, with a decent chance of rain but similar temperatures on Friday. I will dress with my refined weather knowledge.

A shot of the Avalon Trail looking in the clockwise direction. I didn’t curse the distant cyclists because they are allowed on this part of the route (I also realized that they are very distant, so you may not even be able to see them).

And a shot from Cariboo Dam, illustrating just how little wind there was:

Stats:

Run 733
Average pace: 5:57/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:13 a.m.
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 59:48
Weather: Cloudy, some late sun
Temp: 6-7ºC
Humidity: 78%
Wind: light to nil
BPM: 154
Weight: 161.7
Total distance to date: 5415 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (87 km)

Who knew the sun would be my nemesis again in mid-November?

I was very unmotivated to go out for a run today and started late as a result (I have been running in the morning even with the summer heat long gone, as I prefer having the afternoon clear for other stuff). This proved to be an interesting decision.

After talking myself into doing a 5K on the river trail, I then upgraded that to doing a short loop at the lake. After initially thinking of running counter-clockwise, I decided to go clockwise instead and started off, dressed in two layers up top and shorts, which proved sufficient (I had gloves but didn’t wear them).

As I was nearing the 3K mark and thinking about turning around to head back and finish off my loop, I passed a man who mysteriously batted at the branch of a pine tree. To be clear, the branch was hanging over the trail but was well above him. He seemed a bit odd. Then a putt-putt car with a park worker appeared, and I navigated around that. For some reason, these two things suddenly convinced me it would be a bother to turn around, so I just kept going and ended up doing a full 10K.

The start of the run along the Avalon Trail was a bit tricksy due to much of the path being slick and shiny. This effect was further enhanced by a near eye-level sun glaring straight onto it. It was painful to look at, but that segment is not too long and I was into the shady woods soon after. The shady woods felt noticeably cooler.

Many sections of the trail had frost or slick stretches of water, but I kept my footing throughout. The real fun started on the back 5K along the Cottonwood Trail. By now the sun was shining from the south to the north (coming from my right side) and the trees, now sans leaves, contributed to a distinct strobing effect as I ran past them. It made it very hard to even see where I was going as my vision was filled with a constant flashing. It would probably have been actually seizure-inducing to light-sensitive people. I tried putting up a hand to block it, but this made it nearly impossible to actually run. Try it sometime!

After the Cottonwood Trail, it wasn’t so bad, but there would be one more bit of fun and it involved my least favourite four-legged animal to encounter on a run after bears. I was nearing the very end of my run, on a twisty section of trail past the Spruce Loop. Ahead of me, a woman was throwing something down the trail for her dog to chase after, which was already dumb, because she was throwing toward a blind corner. I eyed the dog, who seemed very energetic. I knew an incident™ was in the making. Sure enough, as soon as the dog turned around and saw me, it made a beeline for me, ready to pounce in that “friendly” sort of way. I did my best to pull away, and the woman called the dog. As it turned toward her, I looked back and said, “Leash your dog!” My tone was not particularly neighbourly.

She leashed the dog.

My run literally ended moments later, so I walked to the turtle nesting area, took a few photos, then gave myself a minute to calm down, let her go by, then exited the park.

I only looked at the watch once during the run and saw a pace of 5:55/km for the 5th km, which seemed about average and expected. But my overall pace was a wacky fast 5:44/km. For three of the ten km, I came in under 5:40/km. My BPM was up, unsurprisingly, at 160, which is okay given the speed and cold, but well above what I aim for. I guess if I’m not actively monitoring my speed I tend to just go really fast, a runaway runner.

Annoyingly, my watch failed to measure my heart rate for both the second and third km. Since this is early in the run, I don’t think the missing BPM would have resulted in a higher average. I am about ready to trade my Series 5 Apple Watch in for the 25 cents or whatever Apple will give me. Except then I’d have to buy more Apple stuff. I could buy four polishing cloths, I guess.

Overall, a nutty sort of run, both good and bad. I’m glad I got out, though.

And here’s a shot of the duck pond again, now fog-free, with actual ducks in it, and a patina of ice forming over half of it.

Stats:

Run 732
Average pace: 5:44/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 12:34 p.m.
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 57:30
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 6ºC
Humidity: 55%
Wind: light
BPM: 160
Weight: 160.2
Total distance to date: 5405 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (77 km)

I woke up to a severe weather alert this morning that didn’t involve rain. I was intrigued!

Fog Advisory
Severity: Moderate
Possible threat to life or property
Alert in Effect
From 3:26 AM (PST), November 16, until 4:59 PM (PST), November 16
Description:
Near zero visibility in fog is expected or occurring.
Where: Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria.
When: Now until late this morning.
Hazard: Hazardous travel due to zero visibility in fog.
Remarks: Dense fog has developed due to a ridge of high pressure that is trapping moisture near the surface. The fog is expected to dissipate late this morning.

I can’t recall the last time I ran in dense fog. I thought it might be fun, so I headed out early to make sure it wouldn’t dissipate before I could get to the lake.

It turned out to be slightly horrible!

On the plus side, I dressed for the cold (it was 0C when I headed out and 1C when I started the run) by wearing three layers up top and my running pants. I was not cold at all. It also helped that there was virtually no wind at all.

Visibility on the trail was actually fine, the fog would only be a hazard for people driving 80-100 km/h on the highways. I don’t run quite that fast and never on a highway, so I was good.

However, what is fog? It’s low level fine mist. When you walk in it, you don’t really think about it. When you run in it, that mist will adhere to things like glasses–which I wear!–and start obscuring your vision.

When I reached the bridge at Deer Lake Brook, I stopped to take a quick photo and to use the soft part of my gloves to wipe this misty residue off my glasses, because it was having the effect of making the fog seem about five times thicker than it was. I managed to turn the mist into a smeary mess, but with a clear bit at the top of the right lens, allowing me a tiny window to navigate through. I did this for about a km, then stopped on the next bridge at Still Creek, and gave the glasses a more thorough wipe. This fixed the smear and reduced the enhanced fog effect to about two times, which was good enough to finish the run.

Knowing this, I will not knowingly run in the fog again. Time to update my running conditions list again! But now I’ve done it and have the knowledge and experience to share and cherish.

As for the actual run part, I went clockwise and just maintained a steady pace. This was made easier by the reduced visibility.

Around the 2K mark a man walking the other way warned me of ice past the bridge. I thanked him and indeed there was a rather slick stretch. I tread carefully, remained upright, and encountered good conditions for the rest of the run.

My pace was 5:57/km, which given conditions, is pretty good. BPM was 154, also fine, considering the temperature ranged from 1-4C. Summer it ain’t.

Here’s that view from the bridge at Deer Lake Brook:

And a bonus photo of a spooky-looking pond, often occupied by not-so-spooky ducks:

Stats:

Run 731
Average pace: 5:57/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 9:07 a.m.
Distance: 10.04 km
Time: 59:44
Weather: Foggy
Temp: 1-4ºC
Humidity: 84%
Wind: light to nil
BPM: 154
Weight: 160.2
Total distance to date: 5395 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (72 km)

I felt hesitant about today’s run and even thought about skipping it, or fudging it somehow. Instead, I got dressed and headed out, opting to go clockwise around the lake. While I didn’t plan specifically to do a full 10K, I was fairly confident it wouldn’t be an issue–and it wasn’t!

At first I wasn’t going to look at the watch at all and just do the run by feel, but I couldn’t help peeking when the alerts popped up, though I didn’t check BPM until the run was over. I never pushed and I never felt fatigued, so that was nice.

In the end, I tied my best 10K pace of the year at 5:49/km, and had a nice BPM of 151. However, the watch failed to record my heart rate for the entire second km for ?reasons?

The minor cheating:

• I paused at the bridge over Deer Lake Brook to take two photos of the lake. This is really mild cheating, as I was probably stopped for less than 30 seconds before continuing.
• My total distance to date would have been 5349, but I rounded it up to make it 5350, thinking that since I always round down, I must have at least an extra km to spare. Don’t tell anyone I did this!

The weather was similar to Monday, though it started slightly cooler, and this time the forecast indicated it would be cloudy, but dry, with rain coming later in the afternoon. Every time I manage to dodge the rain going forward, I will consider myself lucky!

Although I’m annoyed by the ongoing watch glitches, I am pleased with this run. I didn’t push, yet had a good pace and felt good, too.

That photo of the lake mentioned above:

Stats:

Run 726
Average pace: 5:49/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:27 a.m.
Distance: 10.06 km
Time: 58:26
Weather: Cloudy, some sun
Temp: 8-9ºC
Humidity: 74%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 160.2
Total distance to date: 5350 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (27 km)

I split the difference between a 5K and 10K today, running 7K and cleverly thinking I’d get my total distance stat to something nice and even. But I misremembered and should have run 8K for that, so now it is listed as 5339 km and it makes my OCD twitch a bit.

That said, the run itself went fine overall. I felt good and could have gone the full 10K without any issue. It was considerably cooler at 9C, but I wore two layers up top and never felt cold. My pace stayed fairly steady, too, with only a slight dip midway through. My BPM was a little higher than the norm, but I chalk that up to not having run this much in a few weeks, plus the significantly lower temperature. It was still fine, though.

I only saw two other people running.

The weather had called for showers and while it did rain before I headed out, it changed to intermittent spitting on the way to the lake, then stopped entirely, making for a pleasantly dry run, save for a bit of puddle navigation.

There were a few small technical hiccups:

• At about the 3 km mark I felt what seemed to be a piece of gravel slipping into my right shoe. After a few more steps it slipped under my heel and began boring into it with each step. I paused the run to remove it. My glasses steamed up, which I found mildly amusing. No further gravel made its way in, but I’ll keep an eye on the new Peregrine 12s to see that they aren’t like the old Brooks Cascadia Scoopers¹not the actual name but it could have been! I used to run with, that seemed specifically designed to scoop gravel off the trail and deposit it into your shoes.
• Before leaving home, I always check the AirPods to make sure both buds are fully charged. There is an issue where sometimes, for reasons Apple has never explained nor remedied, one of the buds will fail to charge, so it will sit snug in the charging case and deplete itself. This morning I did not check the AirPods before leaving. You can guess what happened next. It took about 10 minutes to get the right bud back up to 55%, which was enough to last the run and the walk home. While the glitch is Apple’s fault, I should have known better than to invoke it by not checking first.
• Between the 6 and 7K mark I went to check my heart rate and saw instead the little spinning circles that means, “Heart rate? What is this heart rate thing? Are you sure there is a heart here?” I hit pause and just as I did I could see the BPM kick in. I unpaused, and it was 168, which is basically impossible. But I just ignored it as the anomaly it was and hoped it would correct itself, but it shows the 7th km as 165, which still seems way too high for how fast I was running. I really don’t want to get a new watch, but I’m not sure if I trust this one anymore.

Despite the glitches, it was nice to get out and aboot again. We’ll see how the weather is on Wednesday, as we’re now in “the weather can change multiple times a day” part of the year.

After last night’s rain, the dam was releasing a lot more water than it has of late:

Stats:

Run 725
Average pace: 5:54/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:41 a.m.
Distance: 7.04 km
Time: 41:37
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 9ºC
Humidity: 92%
Wind: light to nil
BPM: 155
Weight: 159.9
Total distance to date: 5339 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (17 km)

After examining my Brooks Caldera 5’s, I noticed that the heels are basically gone from both shoes. This is suboptimal for providing cushioning to said heels. Today I wore my old Saucony Switchbacks, which I last wore on Run 670 back in December 2021. I have a pair of Peregrine 12’s on order from Amazon but have yet to get a shipping date for them, which is odd, so may look elsewhere or perhaps return to the Speedgoats for that pillowy goodness they offer.

Pillowy goodness is not something the Switchbacks offer. At size 8.5 they fit a little more snugly, but with enough room for my toes to wiggle. The drop is minimal, and the padding overall is thinner than the Calderas. They’re not full minimalist shoes, but at one point on the run my left foot rolled over a rock and I definitely felt it more than I would have with the Calderas.

I really like the lacing system, though, especially since the Caldera laces are weirdly long and the whole lacing/tongue system feels cumbersome.

The shoes held up fine, though my left foot continues to not hurt exactly, but is clearly feeling the problems of yore before I got my orthotics. I should book an appointment with Kintec soon and look into getting them updated.

I did feel some strain in my lower right leg muscles post-run, but they seem to have worked themselves out now, so it’s something I’m noting but not concerned about…yet.

As for the run, it was 15C, my self-proclaimed ideal running temperature and despite sweating due to the high humidity, it felt nice. I ran with no particular goal, except to not push and try to stay close to 150 BPM without being too strict in monitoring it. I ended with an overall BPM of 151 and a pace of 5:54/km, which is perfectly pleasing to me on a mid-week run.

The trail was perhaps busier than expected despite my earlier start, but the crowd skewed heavily toward the exercise type, and it was another gorgeous sunny morning. One young guy jogged past me with a jacket that he will regret having worn. I’m surprised I didn’t see any guys running topless, really. It feels nice in the sun at 15C, not hot.

I sometimes post shots taken before or after the run looking from the Cariboo Dam toward Burnaby Lake. Today here’s a shot looking back to the dam instead. It’s not exactly the Hoover Dam, though it’s probably holding back as much water right now. /sadclimatechangejoke

Stats:

Run 723
Average pace: 5:54/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 9:42 a.m.
Distance: 10.06 km
Time: 59:17
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 15ºC
Humidity: 85%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 158.6
Total distance to date: 5327 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Switchback ISO (230 km)

A couple of things stood out on today’s run:

• The freakishly summer-like weather. It got up to 24C while I was out, the normal high for October 3 is 17C. I was sweating a fair bit.
• A growing awareness that my left foot is getting sore. It’s not affecting my runs yet, but it may be an indication that the orthotic in the left shoe (which is custom-designed to deal with my uniquely weird left foot) is wearing out and may need to be replaced.
• Heading out later, especially when the weather is nice is not a particularly bright move, as there were significant more people out and aboot on the trail, including a woman who managed to not see me even though I WAS RUNNING DIRECTLY TOWARD HER. Like, we were facing each other. It was actually kinds of funny. I ducked out of the way at the last moment, I could hear her apology as I darted past, so that was nice.
• I stuck to a kind of 150 BPM/just run whatever felt right pace and came in with half the run at or over 6:00/km and an overall pace squeaking just under at 5:59/km. Somehow I’m disappointed. I blame the heat, which is not something I expected to say in early October.

Speaking of the weather, here’s the 10-day forecast:

No sign of precipitation anywhere! Three days of 25C weather, including two in the second week of the month. Crazy!

The Apple Watch behaved as far as heart rate goes, but failed to record the weather, which it often does. I’m not sure how or why it’s so inconsistent grabbing weather data. It captured weather for the walks before and after the run, so…

I’m glad I got out and did the run, but today was not especially invigorating.

I did cheat and take a shot from the bridge at Deer Lake Brook, though, showing the thinning of the lily pads on Burnaby Lake (and also what I assume is smog or smoke haze from forest fires):

Stats:

Run 722
Average pace: 5:59/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:15 p.m.
Distance: 10.06 km
Time: 60:10
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 22-24ºC
Humidity: 46-65%
Wind: light
BPM: 150
Weight: 157.8
Total distance to date: 5317 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (425 km)

I set off today planning a more casual sort of run to end a week that has seen me feeling pretty tired and droopy. I ended up doing better than expected.

The weather was nice–16C and sunny, but with enough canopy that I was still in the shade for much of the run. Humidity was high, so I did sweat more than I’d have preferred, but it, uh, clears the pores or something.

Fridays are usually the busiest in terms of other people being out and aboot, I assume because more people take Friday off to get a coveted three-day weekend. Today the number of people was even higher than that would account for–then I remembered that today is the first statutory holiday for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (spoiler: this is definitely not one of those “feel good” official holidays). Lots of people were wearing orange t-shirts–and so was I1 In my case, it was a coincidence, since my usual running shirt is orange.

Most people were pretty good, but a few fell into that “OMG a jogger, what do I do? WHAT DO I DO?!” category. We all got through unscathed.

At one point after exiting the Cottonwood Trail, I just stayed on the left side of the trail, there were so many packing it. Kind of weird, though the sunny conditions at this late time of the month probably brought out even more.

My left hip signalled a bit of displeasure partway through, but was not too bad. I felt a bit creaky, but turned in a good pace despite that. Run smarter, not harder, or something. It also helped that I encountered no park workers, vehicles, construction or other detours/obstacles, just lots and lots of people. Dodging a guy is one thing, dodging a giant mowing machine of death is another.

Here’s a photo from atop the dam shortly before I started the run.

Stats:

Run 721
Average pace: 5:53/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:38 a.m.
Distance: 10.06 km
Time: 59:10
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 16ºC
Humidity: 76%
Wind: light
BPM: 152
Weight: 157.0
Total distance to date: 5307 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (415 km)

Today’s run was sponsored by Meh. Or maybe Metamucil.

I headed out early to beat the relative heat, with the forecast calling for a record-breaking 28C today. It was 15C when I headed off, 17C at the start of the run and 20C by the end, so temperature-wise it was fine. There was intermittent sun and high cloud, which was also fine. I sweated a bit, but not excessively. Fine.

Not fine:

• Heart rate monitor issues at the start again. I paused the run 17 seconds in to run the heart rate app. It took a rather long time to find a heartbeat, but once it did, it seemed fine at first, then the heart rate did that weird “to the moon” thing, so I pulled back hard on my pace to get it down into a normal range, then increased my tempo to my usual running pace, after which the BPM behaved normally, pretty much for the rest of the run. No idea what is happening here, other than the hardware may be bugging out after three years.
• Also during the first km, my right ankle was cranky. I have no ideas why. It went away. I have no idea why.
• Around the 4K mark, the skin under the watch was so itchy I paused the run, took off the watch, saw that there was a red spot, scratched it, broke the skin, then wondered if the heart rate sensor would be more or less accurate if my blood was on it. Also, I adjusted the watch to fit a tiny bit more snug and the itching stopped.
• Around the 5K mark I had to use the loo, with no loo in sight. This meant the second half of the run was me asking myself repeatedly, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?”
• The 7 km segment was unusually slow. I have no idea why.

Overall, I am nonplussed. It wasn’t a bad workout per se, but it just felt very blah. Maybe it’s just Monday. At least the bear signs are gone now. That means no more bears, right?

Oh, and completing the run did give me this:

Stats:

Run 719
Average pace: 6:00/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 9:50 a.m.
Distance: 10.06 km
Time: 60:21
Weather: Sun and high cloud
Temp: 17-20ºC
Humidity: 75%
Wind: light
BPM: 149
Weight: 158.4
Total distance to date: 5292 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (400 km)

Conditions were quite different for today’s run. It was an unseasonably cool 15C (which is actually aces for running) and cloudy, with no real chance of the sun coming out. Wind was light. In all, very nice conditions, if the rain held off.

The rain held off. It actually started to shower about half an hour after I got back.

I was determined to do two things today:

• Run to a BPM of 150
• Make sure my heart rate was being tracked from the start of the run

On the former, I averaged 151, which is pretty close. But there is an asterisk to go alongside that, in part because I found it strangely challenging to maintain 150 in the first half of the run, and then there was the start, which ties into the second thing. To better insure tracking of my heart rate right from the get-go, I ran the heart rate app, got my heart rate, then started the run. This initially seemed to work.

Later, when I checked during the first km, the BPM was grayed out at the last reported rate and the little heart symbol was spinning. I stopped, did the routine with the heart rate app and resumed my run. As I hit the 2K mark I saw it had stopped again, so did all the steps yet again and just as the day before, it finally seemed to lock in and was fine after that.

But it now reports a BPM of 109 for the first km, which is too low. I mean, I did pause during that time, which would have lowered the overall rate, but I think it’s just missing a lot of data. I don’t know if the watch is going hinky (it’s three years old) or if it’s watchOS 9 shenanigans, since I updated it a few weeks ago. Blergh. I don’t really want to get a new watch, especially as I consider a Garmin for running. Blergh, I say.

As for the run, I actually sweated more despite the cooler temperatures, due to the high humidity, but it still felt quite comfortable. I wore my long-sleeved shirt, too, which is a tad warmer than my usual t-shirts. I felt pretty comfortable throughout and was thinking how I haven’t mentioned the left hip lately. I did feel it a bit toward the end, but more in a “Remember this old war wound?” way, not actively hurting. It’s fine now.

I ended with a pace of 5:49/km, which is much better than I expected for the given BPM (even if it may not be entirely accurate), so I am pleased with this workout. I’m also happy to have done all three runs this week. Go me!

I checked the heels of my Brooks again. I may need a new watch and new shoes soon. The heels are worn to the point that I probably shouldn’t use them much longer. The 390 km below is strictly for runs, but they probably have a few more hundred km from walking.

Stats:

Run 718
Average pace: 5:49/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:04 a.m.
Distance: 10.06 km
Time: 58:32
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 15ºC
Humidity: 85%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 159
Total distance to date: 5282 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (390 km)