My goal today was to actually make myself slow down and run at a more moderate pace. On Wednesday, my Garmin Forerunner told me I needed 96 hours of recovery time from my run, and I was all, “You’re not my mom!” but still, I thought it wise to pull back. And when I saw my BPM briefly spike around 170 at the 4K mark, I put on the brakes, then kept a steady, slower pace going forward (my overall BPM was 154, which is fine). My overall pace was still 5:56/km, which is perfectly cromulent.
I didn’t experience any issues until the last km, when my trick hip made a brief appearance. I suspect this has to do with how I sometimes sit at my computer desk and will make adjustments. It didn’t have any effect overall on the run, other than as a tiny red flag.
Weather-wise, I was hoping to beat the rain and mostly did. It showered a little, but for probably less than 10 minutes overall. I wore the two layers/shorts combo and again this was fine. It was much milder today–already 8C when I started, and the difference in temperature was noticeable.
Altogether, a nice conclusion for the week.
Stats:
Run 741Average pace: 5:56/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:05 a.m.
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 58:53
Weather: Cloudy, intermittent showers
Temp: 8-9ºC
Humidity: 87%
Wind: low
BPM: 154
Weight: 163.2
Total distance to date: 5485 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (157 km)
With the weather being sunny (woo), I set out to do my first 10K in a few weeks. While there was a bit of a chilly breeze on the walk to the lake, it was quiet once I got there.
For clothing, I wore shorts and two layers up top. This was sufficient.
I set out and, just to be different, opted to skip the first two side trails, the Spruce and Conifer Loops. Before I made it to the 1K marker, I passed four other runners, which may be the densest ratio of other joggers I’ve ever seen (extrapolate that over my run and that would have been 40 other runners). None of them were running together, making it even weirder.
This wasn’t the only people-based weirdness, though. On at least three occasions I had two people walking ahead of me who were utterly unaware of my approach–even after I warned them verbally. Multiple times.
“Behind you!” No reaction.
“Behind you!” Still no reaction. Getting very close now.
“Excuse me!” No reaction.
“Coming through!” At this point I have to actually put on the brakes to avoid collision–this particular incident was on one of the boardwalks and there is literally no room to run around. The guy on the left fairly leapt out of his skin at my last warning and practically hopped out of the way. his friend said something funny, but I couldn’t make it out.
This happened several other times, where repeated warnings produced no reaction at all. I’m not sure how some people–especially when they’re with someone else, so clearly not lost in their own thoughts–can become so utterly oblivious to their environment when walking outdoors. What if I had been a hungry bear? A hungry jogging bear.
As for the parts where I was able to run without having to duck around others, it went well. No issues at all, and though I never felt tired, the last few km I could already feel my leg muscles reminding me that’s what a 10K run feels like.
I intended to make this an easy, mellow kind-of run, but instead just ran like I normally do and ended with a pace of 5:46/km, which is my fastest 10K in quite a long time. The Garmin app bestowed me with badges for fastest 1K, 5K and 10K. I like badges.
Post-workout, the Forerunner advised 96 hours to recover, which is twice as long as I would normally wait for my next run. I’ll mull its advice.
Overall, a good run and a nice return to 10K.
Stats:
Run 740Average pace: 5:46/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:02 a.m.
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 57:51
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 4-6ºC
Humidity: 79%
Wind: low
BPM: 154
Weight: 165.5
Total distance to date: 5475 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (147 km)
On the river trail, en route to my run at the lake. It was a little wet.
The forecast said it would rain today. It was accurate!
I dressed in my long-sleeve shirt, light rain jacket and shorts. This proved fine. It was around 4C to start but warmed up a few degrees over the course of the run. I never felt cold, really. I did get wet. Very wet.
It poured for the entire walk to the lake and all of my 5K run. Funnily enough, the rain stopped almost exactly when I finished the run, as if the rain was synced to it. Showers returned on and off later, but still, I found the timing amusing.
Which means I didn’t mind running in the rain too much. It wasn’t windy, which helped with visibility (less rain on the glasses) and the jacket held up well, keeping me dry on the inside. I did not see another jogger on my entire loop around the lake.
While I feel I could have done 10K, I held to 5K to avoid overexerting myself. I did run most of the second half of the loop after, anyway. When I started the workout on my Forerunner watch, it actually said REST and told me to take it easy, why are you running, are you crazy? I clicked it away, assuring it I knew what I was doing, mostly.
Other than having to dodge a lot of debris again (including another new ex-tree_, I had no issues on the run and my energy level was improved over Wednesday. Other than the rain, it was actually pretty nice!
Back to 10Ks and probably more rain next week. As long as it’s not snow…
Stats:
Run 739Average pace: 5:50/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:00 a.m.
Distance: 5.04 km
Time: 29:23
Weather: Rain
Temp: 4-7ºC
Humidity: 98%
Wind: low
BPM: 155
Weight: 165.5
Total distance to date: 5465 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (137 km)
For the first time in 16 days, I ran outside. Woo!
And an interesting run it was.
I originally planned to do a 5K on the river trail, if enough snow had melted. Indeed, that was the case, but with some snow still on the trail, I thought I might continue to the lake, to see if it might be better there. Initially it seemed to be the case, so I headed out for a 5K, with the possibility of doing more, if I felt perky enough.
I did not feel perky enough. But after clocking in a respectable 5K, I found that after around half a km of walking, I got my second wind and ended up running most of the rest of the way around the lake.
My initial blog entry for this run was going to be “Picking my steps” because the first half of the run I encountered some stretches of trail that still had enough snow to require caution, or to find a nice clear rut left by one of the putt-putt cars the parks workers use to get around. But as I continued to run, “Trail of destruction” felt like a much better fit.
Conditions were decent–cloudy and around 5C, with little to no wind. I wore two layers and running pants, but shorts and even one layer would have been fine. As mentioned, snow in some spots meant I had to be careful at times, but it didn’t affect my pace that much, really.
But I have never, in over ten years of running at Burnaby Lake, seen so much destruction in the form of downed trees, branches, bushes and other debris littering the trails. Even a lot of stuff that hadn’t collapsed was now leaning precariously over the trail, often right at eye level.
Several large trees that have been leaning over the trail for years are leaning more prominently now, and I suspect they won’t last much longer. A lot of this will be cleaned up soon, no doubt, but at the same time, we’re not even two weeks into winter, so there may be a lot more havoc to come.
Still, it was nice to finally get back out again. Friday is looking soggy so boo on that, but I’ll head out, anyway, probably doing a full 10K this time.
Stats:
Run 738Average pace: 5:55/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 9:34 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:45
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 5ºC
Humidity: 98%
Wind: low
BPM: 155
Weight: 164.1
Total distance to date: 5460 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (132 km)
After two weeks, the snow has finally retreated enough that I can run on the trails again. Yay.
I could definitely feel the two weeks of not-running, though. Not as yay.
But I made it without any issues, so here’s a list of conditions and observations:
It was foggy. Ack. Unlike the November fog run, it was lighter this time, so my glasses didn’t become coated. It just lent a somewhat spooky ambience to the run.
I started out slow and never really got faster, but stayed fairly steady. I only had one km under the 6:00/km mark (the fourth, on the Cottonwood Trail)
The trail was mostly clear, though some snow persisted on parts that get less sun. I was able to navigate these without issue.
I started to feel a bit tired between the 6’7 km mark, but maintained pace and a steady BPM of 151 overall, which is good considering the cold.
Speaking of cold, I wore two layers up top and that was fine. My hands never really warmed up, though. I blame the fog, somehow.
A few dog owners had their dogs off-leash, but fortunately no problems arose because of this. The fog began to lift slowly over the course of the run, but it wasn’t until the walk back that the sun actually broke through. This probably worked to my advantage, since it kept the sun from “strobing” through the naked trees on the run.
Overall, it was nice to get back out, but I definitely felt missing those five runs that got called due to snow. Here’s hoping no more snow this year (or next year, while I’m at it).
The view from the bridge at Deer Lake Brook. There’s a lake in there, trust me!
Stats:
Run 737Average pace: 6:05/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 9:57 a.m.
Distance: 10.04 km
Time: 61:06
Weather: Foggy
Temp: 2-4ºC
Humidity: 91%
Wind: nil
BPM: 151
Weight: 162.8
Total distance to date: 5455 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (127 km)
Another weirdly calm morning at Burnaby Lake. View from the Cariboo Dam.
Today’s run was going to be chilly, with the temperature only 1ºC at the start, and 3ºC by the end, a difference I did not notice!
I dressed thus:
Three top layers: sleeveless base, long-sleeved shirt, running jacket
Running pants
In the end I feel I could have worn two layers up top and shorts might have been okay. The only problem is the 4 km walk to the lake before. Near-freezing temperatures on my bare legs that long would probably lead to a lot longer warm-up period during the run, and it’s not like I was sweating a lot or something.
It was sunny and once again, the lack of any sort of wind was conspicuous and weird. In anticipation of getting that flickering effect from the sun shining through the now naked trees on the Cottonwood Trail, I opted to stick to a counterclockwise route. I did encounter some strobing on the south shore, but it was a lot more intermittent. There was frost in some shaded areas of the trail, but it wasn’t that bad as far as being slippery goes. Even the boardwalks were decent.
A bigger hazard may have been the Slightly Dim People out walking. Because it was sunny, there were more people out, which is fine, because it still wasn’t exactly crowded. I don’t know if the cold makes it harder to hear, but virtually no one heard me approaching from behind and most people were walking in pairs and hogging the trail, as people do. This didn’t lead to any situations, I just noticed everyone seemed a bit more oblivious today. Maybe it’s a Monday thing.
Unlike Friday, I had no weird heart rate spikes. At around the 7.5 km mark my BPM went up to 157 but it didn’t stay there and within a minute was back to the 150 range, which actually turned out to be my overall average. Nice!
As an experiment, I wore my Apple Watch on my right wrist, but locked the display so it wouldn’t record official workouts. I was hoping it would only track my move stats (steps) as these mysteriously don’t carry over from the Garmin watch, leaving a massive gap in my step total (on a lake run I usually put in about 20,000 steps). I was skeptical, but it actually worked. The Fitness app has my exercise accounted for by the Garmin watch, while the steps were tracked by the Apple Watch. I’m not sure if I want to wear two watches for every workout, but at least I know it does what I hope it would.
This was a solid start to the week, but there are portents of snow in the forecast. We’ll see what happens on Wednesday.
Stats:
Run 736Average pace: 5:47/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:50 a.m.
Distance: 10.04 km
Time: 58:08
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 1-3ºC
Humidity: 56%
Wind: light to nil
BPM: 150
Weight: 161.5
Total distance to date: 5445 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (117 km)
It was déjà vu in reverse as I matched Wednesday’s pace of 5:49/km, but running counter-clockwise. This was my second workout with the Forerunner 255, and it worked fine. I adjusted the stats it shows while running to include average pace and active heart rate, which are both useful for me.
The addition of the heart rate allowed me to observe an odd spike where it jumped from an average of around 150 to 171. It then dropped to 165 or so and after a few minutes (and with me only easing up slightly on my pace) it jumped back down to the 150 range. The section where it spiked was near the first boardwalk and I was not running fast, so unsure if this was a glitch with the watch or my heart. I will monitor, obviously! My overall BPM was 152, which is perfectly normal.
Other than the mystery spike, the run actually went well, no other issues. It was raining before I headed out but looked to be easing up, so I went with:
Running jacket with long-sleeved shirt
Shorts
This turned out to be more than I needed, as it was fairly mild and even though I felt AN ACTUAL SLIGHT BREEZE several times, it wasn’t really cold, so a long-sleeved shirt probably would have sufficed.
It’s rather amazing that I completed three runs in the third week of November and did not experience any rain.
The trail did require some minor puddle jumping here and there, and I got my feet briefly tangled up in a few twigs and debris from the rainstorm, but overall it was in pretty decent condition.
Overall, a solid effort and a nice way to end the week.
The view from the dam looking down the river, two gates open after the storm:
Stats:
Run 735Average pace: 5:49/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:43 a.m.
Distance: 10.04 km
Time: 58:22
Weather: Overcast
Temp: 8ºC
Humidity: 86%
Wind: light
BPM: 152
Weight: 161.1
Total distance to date: 5435 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (107 km)
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.
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 734Average 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 733Average 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 732Average 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 731Average 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)
Weirdly, I started today’s run exactly one hour earlier than Wednesday’s. This wasn’t planned, it’s just weird.
We are between storm systems now (one yesterday, one slated to arrive tomorrow night) but I wasn’t taking any chances and headed out early, while the skies still looked benign. The storms have brought warmer, moister air, which would be my bane in the summer. Now, though, it meant it was a balmy 10C and I was fine wearing only one layer up top. There was also little wind, which helped, too.
I ran counterclockwise and could definitely feel the wee bit of extra effort needed on the second half, but I kept a steady pace and emerged with a perfectly cromulent pace of 5:54/km. Even better, my average BPM was a mere 149. Woo.
I had a few technical glitches with the Watch, because I always have technical glitches with the Watch now. It updated to watchOS 9.1 last night and remember the old days when updates meant new features and bug fixes, not new features and new bugs?
Glitch 1: I try to transfer an album from the phone to the watch before heading out. I get a spinning circle. The transfer never starts. I try twice, same thing. I give up and go for the run.
Glitch 2: Just before starting the run, I always get prompted on which AirPods to connect. I tap the ones that are currently stuck in my ears, then…nothing. After a few moments, I hear a sad little bonk sound. I navigate back to the main watch face, pull down the notifications and see one reporting that it could not find my AirPods, what’s happening, where are they?! I go back to the music app, tap play and the music starts without issue.
Glitch 3: I need to pause the run. I also pause the music playing from the watch by clicking the play/pause control on one of the AirPod buds. When I’m ready to resume, I click the AirPod again to unpause and it resumes playing music…from the iPhone. This happened twice. I had to unpause the music on the watch directly to get it to resume playing. To be fair, this glitch predates watchOS 9.1. Maybe Apple considers it a feature.
Glitches aside, the run was fine. The only issues were not related to my body falling apart. I had to pause the run twice:
One time was to retie my right shoelace. It was a bit too tight and was just annoying enough that I had to do something.
The other times was 1.23 km into the run, on the Conifer Loop, when I encountered this:
I clambered through on the far left.
Yesterday’s deluge managed to fell these once mighty trees, who apparently made a death pact together. But it was also a murder-suicide, because the upper tree in the shot landed on a tree on the opposite side of the trail, uprooting it and knocking it down, too. They will probably be cut up later today, more food for the forest.
Now I wonder which tree is next with tomorrow’s storm.
Stats:
Run 727Average pace: 5:54/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:27 a.m.
Distance: 10.04 km
Time: 59:02
Weather: Sun and cloud
Temp: 10ºC
Humidity: 85%
Wind: light
BPM: 149
Weight: 159.2
Total distance to date: 5360 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (37 km)
