Burnaby Lake runs

Winter is back and blasting us with The Cold™ again, but no snow so far (they saw it may be coming, boo).

After a lazy week in which I did a treadmill workout on Monday and nothing at all on Wednesday, I set out to get back into the routine and did a full 10K this morning.

And it went fairly well!

It was sub-zero the entire time, and I wore my running pants and three layers up top. Two layers may have sufficed, but the walk to and from the lake would definitely have been chillier. It was slightly breezy in New West, but there was really no wind at all at the lake itself. My hands warmed up faster than expected.

I set out to run at a modest pace and kept to that. The Garmin Forerunner did not freak out on my heart rate this time. It claims a peak of 169, but that happened near the end when I was accelerating to pass another runner, and it quickly fell back after I resumed my normal pace. My overall pace was 154 BPM, a bit on the higher side, but understandable given the cold.

The weird thing is it didn’t feel as horrible as last Friday’s run. That one sucked corn dogs.

I didn’t have any notable issues here, and it was nice having the phone in the front pocket, where I could easily change music volume if needed (I did do that once). My laces came loose and I had to retie at Eagle Creek (near Piper Spit) but no interruptions otherwise.

Overall, it was nice to be back out. Here’s hoping I’m not facing snow drifts on Monday.

Stats:

Run 759
Average pace: 5:53/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:45 a.m.
Distance: 10:03 km
Time: 59:03
Weather: Sunny
Temp: -3 to -1ºC
Humidity: 38%
Wind: low
BPM: 154
Weight: 162.2
Total distance to date: 5645 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (317 km)

This morning I contemplated what to do today, run-wise, after the technical SNAFU that was Wednesday’s run, everything from just taking a break, to doing a normal 10K, to a 5K to using the Apple Watch instead.

In the end, I opted to take it easier by running a 5K and used the Apple Watch only, to see how it would compare to the Garmin, particularly in terms of heart rate.

My average BPM was 150, which is the exact target I try to hit, so that was nice. The run doesn’t show any weird spikes or dips in heart rate, also nice.

It felt very cold and clammy and took me awhile to warm up. That said, my pace was fairly brisk and consistent throughout. It was kind of a weird run. I did not feel zippy at all, despite what the numbers say (average pace of 5:38/km) At the same time, I also did not feel slow, per se, just…cold and blah. I mixed things up a wee bit, post-run, by diverting onto the Freeway Trail. It’s not especially scenic in the summer and it’s really not scenic at all in the winter, but at least it was a change of pace. And I had the entire trail to myself for the entire 2 km.

At least the sun came out after the run, and I got a few nice shots of the lake.

And proved that my heart is normal, but my Garmin Forerunner, at least on Wednesday, was not.

It was also interesting to do a run with the Apple Watch after using the Garmin for a few months. If I ignore the erratic heart rate monitoring on Wednesday, I’d have to say the Garmin is a better experience almost completely across the board for running:

• The Memory-In-Pixel display of the Garmin may not be great indoors, but outdoors, even on gloomy days, it’s very readable, much more than the Apple Watch’s AMOLED display (which is great indoors)
• Speaking of readable, all the stats on the Garmin are rendered in bigger, thicker fonts, so at-a-glance info is much easier to parse vs. the Apple Watch’s thin, uniform fonts.
• The Apple Watch still keeps up interval info for an irritatingly long time
• The vibration feedback is about 1,000 times more prominent on the Garmin compared to the delicate haptic caress of the Apple Watch (and I have the haptics cranked up to full).
• The Apple Watch does always show the time, which is handy
• Accessing music is also much easier on the Apple Watch
• Pausing/unpausing a workout is simpler on the Garmin
• The post-workout info is a lot more detailed on the Garmin

Man, my hands are still cold as I type this. I’m glad my running for the week is done. I’m going to go give my hands a nice hot shower.

Bonus shot of the lake, post-run:

Stats:

Run 758
Average pace: 5:38/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:05 p.m.
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 28:22
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 5ºC
Humidity: 87%
Wind: low
BPM: 150
Weight: 162.2
Total distance to date: 5635 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (307 km)

With bonus bladder hijinks!

It was cooler today, so I wore my windbreaker. In retrospect, I think two layers would have been sufficient, as there was little wind.

I started a little later, but was otherwise planning a pretty ordinary run. I made a tactical error before heading out by drinking way too much soda (aided by not heading out until later), which meant my teeny-tiny bladder sought relief three times before I started my run and twice during the run. It was kind of ridiculous.

What was also kind of ridiculous is the heart rate reported by my Garmin Forerunner 255, which has generally been pretty accurate. All started well, with my first km being 5:45/km and my second slowing a bit to 5:51/km. I was planning on a fairly mellow run today and wasn’t even going to really check on my BPM much at all and so far, all seemed to be proceeding normally.

After the third km dinged, I saw my pace was 5:39/km, which is faster than intended. I checked my heart rate and noticed as I pulled the sleeve of the jacket back that the last digit was an 8. Could my BPM be 148? That would be too low, given the speed and cold. 158? A little high, but quite plausible, given conditions. But no, it was 168, which is, as scientists say, way too high.

I then deliberately slowed my pace but my BPM stayed stubbornly high. I later paused the workout for Bladder Crisis #1. This brought my BPM down to 136. But it started climbing higher again, even as my reported pace was perfectly average. It peaked at 175. I then not only paused the run, I came to a full stop and waited 10-15 seconds. I checked the heart rate on my Apple Watch, on my right wrist. It reported 136. That seemed about right. The Forerunner reported 153, which would be accurate if I was actually running and not standing still. At this point (roughly halfway through the run), I took the Forerunner off, wiped the bottom of the watch to maybe help the sensors, and wiped down my left wrist for good measure. When I resumed running, the Forerunner now went in a new direction: opposite! It now claimed my heart rate was 80, which is basically impossible if I’m even just walking at a brisk pace. Over the course of a few km, it barely got up to 100 BPM.

With about 3.5 km to go, I decided to track the rest of the run on both devices. The Apple Watch ended up reporting an overall average BPM of 148. This seemed about right. The Forerunner was still under-reporting my heart rate. After nearly two km, it was reporting around 100 BPM, which is silly. It kept creeping up a tiny bit. Finally, with a little under 2 km to go, I paused for Bladder Crisis #2. After resuming the run, the Forerunner suddenly seemed to recognize my actual heart rate again and reported an average of 152 or so for the remainder of the run.

I have no idea why any of this happened. I do know that the Apple Watch seemed to be reporting a heart rate that was in range of what I was expecting, meaning the Garmin watch was not reporting an anomalous heart, but an anomalous reading. It got very weird when it went super-low. By my estimate, it was off by about 50 BPM at that point.

If I figure out what caused this, I’ll report back. Note that the walks both before and after the run reported perfectly normal heart rates, so this seemed to be specific to the run for some reason.

as for the actual run itself? It was fine. No issues, and the cold was not a problem. I’m undecided on whether all the pausing helps or hurts my overall pace. On the one hand, it gives me a chance to rest, presumably providing more energy than I’d have otherwise. On the other hand, it takes me a little time to get back up to speed, cancelling out at least some of that extra energy advantage. Overall, it probably makes little difference.

As for my real heart rate, I would guess somewhere between 149-152 BPM overall. 137 would be seriously impressive at this stage of my running career.

Stats:

Run 757
Average pace: 5:49/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:29 a.m.
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 58:18
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 3-4ºC
Humidity: 79%
Wind: low
BPM: "137" (see text for why this is in quotation marks)
Weight: 162.9
Total distance to date: 5630 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (302 km)

There is a high wind warning in effect today, though the wind isn’t supposed to really pick up until the afternoon. Still, I thought it might be a bit breezy this morning and as I moved toward the southern side of the lake I did encounter a little wind, but not much. It was almost kind of nice at that point.

My goal for Monday was to ease into the week, try to stay around 150 BPM and just take whatever time I got, as long as it was under 6:00/km.

I accomplished this and gave myself a make-believe pat on the back!

In fact, I was only slightly slower than Friday, at 5:48/km, and my average BPM was down to 149. I didn’t have any issues, save having to suddenly use the loo just past the 8K mark. Because it was later in the morning, there were more people out and a few were semi-oblivious to my presence, but calamities were avoided.

In all, a nice intro to the week.

Stats:

Run 756
Average pace: 5:48/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:49 a.m.
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 58:13
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 6-7ºC
Humidity: 84%
Wind: low to moderate
BPM: 149
Weight: 162.7
Total distance to date: 5620 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (292 km)

I was expecting a low-key run this morning, with middling to average performance, mainly due to the last few days being stressful, this morning being very stressful, and getting up two hours earlier than normal (at 5 a.m.), ergo not getting enough sleep.

In fact, even though I wore the Garmin Forerunner to bed, it didn’t record any sleep data, like it was telling me I literally didn’t sleep long enough for it to count.

There was also a 50% chance of precipitation, but I gambled and wore my windbreaker with one layer. It actually started clearing up as I ran, so I won, woo.

I headed out earlier than ever, about 10 minutes before sunrise (it’s already light at that time) and started the run at 8:20 a.m., opting for counter-clockwise. For most of the first half, I just kept a steady pace and did not check my BPM.

At the 1K mark, a shoelace came untied, which was odd, but that was the only real issue. Unlike Wednesday, there was pretty much no wind at all, and by the 4th km, I was warm enough that I actually took off my jacket and tied it around my waist. I didn’t put it on until I was about 2 km away from home, when I finally had cooled down enough to start feeling the morning chill again.

I almost stopped to take a photo from the bridge at Still Creek, as the sun and clouds were reflecting in a postcard-perfect way, but decided to just keep on going.

In the end I surprised myself by nailing my target BPM of 150, and hitting an average pace of 5:46/km, which is not as blazing fast as Wednesday, but still quite zippy–and fast enough to earn the fastest 1K award.

Other than the conditions being mild (no hands tucked in the sleeves) and just generally getting in better shape, I have no explanation for the improved performance, but I think these two things are the major factors. Both are good and nice!

Beating potential rain is also a nice bonus.

We’ll see what Monday brings.

Stats:

Run 755
Average pace: 5:46/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 8:20 a.m.
Distance: 10.04 km
Time: 57:52
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 5-6ºC
Humidity: 83%
Wind: low
BPM: 150
Weight: 162.7
Total distance to date: 5610 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (282 km)

For today, I had no particular goal other than three basic things:

• Run 10K
• Go clockwise around the lake
• Target around my usual 150 BPM

I achieved all of these things (my BPM was 151, which is pretty close!) and yet, somehow, I also had my fastest 10K in probably more than six years. My average pace was 5:39/km and my 3rd and 5th km came in at weirdly fast averages of 5:33 and 5:34/km.

I ponder over such a strong performance by thinking, “What was different?” The answer is: not much! A few things:

• I logged just over 8 hours of sleep last night
• Yesterday was a relatively low-impact day, with little exercise
• I only ran a 5K on Monday
• Instead of a bowl of Cheerios, I had a small glass of chocolate milk and a banana for lunch
• I headed out later than usual, starting the run at 12:29 p.m.
• Conditions were fairly mild (no rain, little wind, not especially cold)
• My weight was down to its lowest of the month (162.1 pounds)

The only ones that really stand out to me are the full night of sleep and the later start. I have no idea if I can replicate today’s result, but since I didn’t actually push today (that 151 BPM) I guess we’ll find out soon enough!

I only had a couple of minor hitches during the run:

• At the 5K mark a stitch threatened in my gut, but never really materialized
• In the final km my left hip sent out a reminder, but it, too, didn’t amount to much
• My left shin felt ever-so-slightly tender at the start of the run, but this went away as I warmed up

Overall, this was kind of kooky and unexpected, but nice. I’ll take it!

Stats:

Run 754
Average pace: 5:39/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 12:29 p.m.
Distance: 10.04 km
Time: 56:45
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 7ºC
Humidity: 80%
Wind: low to moderate
BPM: 151
Weight: 162.1
Total distance to date: 5600 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (272 km)

Today I was feeling rather unmotivated to run. I mulled various options:

• Don’t run
• Do a regular 10K run at the lake
• Do a 5K run at the river instead
• Do a 5K short loop at the lake
• Do a regular 5K at the lake then walk the rest of the way back

I did the last and bolded option, after initially leaning toward a river run.

I wore my rain jacket, which proved very handy, but only wore one layer underneath, which was the right call, as the jacket gets a tad warm after I get a tad warm.

It showered on and off during the run and when it showered it would come down pretty good, so I alternated from mostly dry to rather soggy. I had no issues on the run, though, and saw few other people, mostly just a few fellow joggers.

I opted to not check on my heart rate at all, only checking in on my pace, which was a relatively zippy 5:49/km. My BPM was 149 overall and stayed pretty consistent, peaking only slightly higher at 151. It was kind of nice to do a shorter run for a change. and have a chance to walk and take a few photos on the way out.

It also allows me to get my total distance to date back to a nice, round figure. In this case, that would be 5590 km.

Wednesday I should be back to my usual 10K, rain or shine (currently it looks like partly sunny, woo).

Stats:

Run 753
Average pace: 5:49/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:06 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:15
Weather: Intermittent showers
Temp: 6-7ºC
Humidity: 91%
Wind: low to moderate
BPM: 149
Weight: 163.9
Total distance to date: 5590 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (262 km)

I think this may have been my earliest run. I started at exactly 8:30 a.m. I didn’t have any particular goal, just to finish in under an hour, ideally. Which I did.

But it was obvious I was tired. I got up early this morning for reasons I won’t get into it and was cranky. I had breakfast and was out the door just a few minutes after the sun rose.

Along the river trail, I got consumed by my thoughts to a degree that hasn’t happened during a workout in quite some time–probably years. I was pretty much doing the opposite of what I should be doing on a run, getting stressed out and worked up.

I brought myself down, then went to the Jiffy John™, expecting to use the loo, but strangely I did not have to go, so I just started a clockwise run around the lake.

The trail had a few fringes of snow remaining, but was otherwise clear. I got off to a perhaps too-good start of 5:46/km, and that winded me. It took awhile to recover, but I ended nearly the same, at 5:48/km along the 10th km. My overall average was 5:56/km, a bit slow, particularly with the higher BPM of 155, but as mentioned, I was tired and stressed out. The run was really to work through the stress as much as the exercise.

In terms of issues, I did get one of those weird phantom pain flashes in my right hip in the 2nd km a few times, the kind that makes your leg twitch, as if it would buckle of the pain was worse. After a few hundred meters, this went away. Maybe I slept on it funny. I seem to sleep funny a lot.

I then had what I thought might be a UBE¹Unexpected Bathroom Event with around 2 km to go, but it turned out to just be gas or something. It passed. Geddit??

Overall, not the worst run, not the best. I did three this week and no rain, so yay for that (but boo for the snow in the middle run).

Here’s to less stress, more rest and better runs (not the bathroom kind) next week.

Stats:

Run 752
Average pace: 5:56/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 8:30 a.m.
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 59:23
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 3-5ºC
Humidity: 82%
Wind: low
BPM: 155
Weight: 163.9
Total distance to date: 5585 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (257 km)

Today’s run was kind of weird for a couple of reasons:

• There was snow on the ground. I had not expected this after Monday’s run.
• I had to pee–twice! I’ll later ask ChatGPT if the cold makes your bladder more sensitive. UPDATE: Here’s what ChatGPT said: “No, cold temperature does not affect the need to urinate. The sensation to urinate is controlled by the bladder filling and stretch receptors signalling to the brain. However, being in cold weather may make you feel the need to urinate more frequently due to the body trying to reduce heat loss by decreasing blood flow to the skin, which can cause a mild stimulation of the bladder.”

We received a dusting of snow yesterday, and I was hoping/expecting it would be pretty much gone by the time I went for my run today. And it is gone–from the roads and most sidewalks. But not from trails, where a thin patina remains. Fortunately, it’s above freezing now, so the snow hasn’t compacted and become crunchy, which made running on it possible.

Less fortunately, there’s just no way to get the same traction on snow, so even though I put in a similar effort (my BPM was 152, the same as Monday). ,y overall pace was 6:10/km, my slowest in quite some time. The only time I broke the 6:00/km mark was the final km at 5:56/km. That’s apparently when I finally figured out how to really move in the snow.

The first pit stop occurred just past the 1K mark, the second one just past the 7K mark, both happening near convenient and seldom-used side trails. No other issues presented themselves, though I can say the run just felt like more work today. The snow is marginally pretty, but it is pretty lousy to run in, really.

Hopefully it will be gone by Friday.

Clothing note: I wore three layers up top. With no real wind, I think two would have been fine for the run.

Here’s a bonus shot of the Avalon Trail, just after I finished the run:

Stats:

Run 751
Average pace: 6:10/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:24 a.m.
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 1:01:51
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 3ºC
Humidity: 93%
Wind: low
BPM: 152
Weight: 164.6
Total distance to date: 5575 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (247 km)

I wore three layers up top and my running pants and did not feel overdressed at all.

It also stayed below freezing for the entire run, starting at -3C and only warming up slightly over the course of my jog.

Despite the frosty conditions (I earned the Frosty badge on my Garmin Forerunner for my first sub-freezing walk), I didn’t experience any issues during the run. At first, I didn’t pay much attention to my BPM, just going with what felt right and assuming that it might track a little higher due to the cold. It did, but only by a very minor amount, coming in at 152 BPM and a pace of 5:56/km, which equals Friday’s pace when it was 11 degrees warmer.

The only real complication was the cold tends to agitate my WSB (World’s Smallest Bladder) and midway past the 7K mark, I approached the turnoff to Phillips Point and thought, “Hmm, Phillips Point or PP as one might call it. Pee pee…” and made a slight detour to heed nature’s call. I had a very nice view of the lake for the short time I was there.

In terms of traffic, my early start meant I encountered some other early risers, including two small groups of runners, all of them bundled to the hilt. The one wrinkles was a woman walking a black poodle about the size of a small horse and that was off-leash. It kind of got in my way and she said, “Sorry” but it would have been better if the dog had just been on leash and under proper control.

Still, it was a good start to the week, and while I can’t say I’m crazy about running in the cold, it went about as well as could be expected.

Stats:

Run 750
Average pace: 5:56/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 9:19 a.m.
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 59:31
Weather: Sunny
Temp: -3ºC
Humidity: 63%
Wind: low
BPM: 152
Weight: 163.5
Total distance to date: 5565 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (237 km)

Today’s run brings me to an official™ tracked total of 5555 km. Easy to remember!

The titular target was hitting an average heart rate of 150 BPM, which I did! This happened in a way that was kind of a fluke:

• I had no weird spikes that would skew the average higher
• I had some sections of the run where my BPM was surprisingly low, like 141 (I swear I was not lollygagging)
• I had to stop to heed nature’s call between the 5th and 6th km. This allowed my heart to recover a little, also bringing down my average heart rate

Still, I’ll take it!

Again, no issues today. I was going to wear my long t-shirt and a base layer but stepped outside, decided it felt cold, and swapped to my windbreaker. I think if I could teleport to the lake, I’d be fine with the t-shirt, but the walk there can be quite cool. I didn’t feel overdressed in the jacket, but I probably need a new one. This one is about a size too small (it’s too short, not that I’m too girthy for it).

As mentioned, despite being 8C and little wind being present, it felt somehow colder and clammier. The sky was gloomy, but the “we promise, no rain” forecast stayed true. I’d say the Friday crowd was down a bit, and most people were fairly bundled up.

Overall, though, another good run.

Stats:

Run 749
Average pace: 5:56/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:07 p.m.
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 59:34
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 8ºC
Humidity: 91%
Wind: low
BPM: 150
Weight: 163.1
Total distance to date: 5555 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (227 km)

After skipping Monday’s run, I was eager(ish) to get out today. I checked the weather forecast and it said 5C and cloudy. I checked it again, because outside it looked like it had been raining recently. The forecast literally said 0% chance of precipitation. “You better not be wrong!” I told the weather app. The weather app said nothing in response.

But it was right. It didn’t rain. I wore my windbreaker jacket and Nike shirt and actually feel that two layers (long sleeve and sleeveless) would have been fine.

They are digging up right around the part of East Columbia Street where I cross to get to the river trail, part of my 4 km walk to the lake. There’s no real alternate route without making a very long diversion, so the construction is a bit annoying. On the other hand, they had flag people on the road right at the entrance to the river trail and they actually stopped traffic to let me cross. I felt a tiny bit special!

I ran clockwise, not realizing I had done so last time, but no big deal. It’s not like my body will forget how to turn to the left after two cockwise runs. If it does, I will report so after Friday’s run. I again aimed at an average BPM of 150 or so, and came pretty close at 152. My pace improved slightly to 5:53/km, but the Forerunner said I needed 73 hours to recover. I may have to fudge that a little.

During the third km, my BPM started climbing steadily again and I still have no idea why. It peaked at 171, I adjusted my pace slightly (I was never running “fast”) and it shortly dropped back down to the low 150s. Is the heart rate monitor being goofy? Is my heart being goofy? Replacing the Forerunner is a lot simpler than replacing the latter. Will see if this happens again.

Other than this glitch, no issues at all. Everything worked as intended. I even passed not one, but THREE different runners. Granted, the first one looked pretty old (good for him being out and running!), another was running with a dog and had actually paused when I passed her on the bridge at Deer Lake Brook, and the third was probably the only one close-ish to my age and was merely moving at a slower pace, not like dying or anything, so that one almost counted.

Still, passing other runners is rare and it secretly delights me.

Overall, another solid effort to start off the new year.

Stats:

Run 748
Average pace: 5:53/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:23 a.m.
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 59:04
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 5ºC
Humidity: 94%
Wind: low
BPM: 152
Weight: 163.2
Total distance to date: 5545 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (217 km)