Burnaby Lake runs

I figured I was ready for another 5K, so I attempted one today and succeeded, woo. Also good: my training status is productive, which pleasantly surprised me, and my BPM was a nice 149.

I was slower, but deliberately so. The first two km especially were done at a very measured pace, coming in at 6:30/6:29/km. I did get faster each km and by the fifth I’d improved to 6:12, basically matching the pace of my previous shorter run.

The weather was fine. I got lucky in that there was just enough high cloud to blot out the sun for pretty much the entire run. Much of it burned off shortly after, so the walk back was under sunny conditions. It was 19-20°C and humidity was in the mid-60s, which helped prevent any dry mouth.

There was a fair number of people on the trail, but it’s midsummer and the weather is nice, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Everyone was friendly and courteous. I even saw the spitfire, but for a change she was walking and I was running. It felt weird.

The trail was in decent shape after Sunday’s day-long showers, but I had to double back on my walk out because apparently they are finally addressing the floody parts of the trail to the north of the rowing club:

I started to get a bit tired the last few km walking back home and may regret it tomorrow, but I’m pleased at how today’s run went. Yes, my pace of 6:22/km was slower, but it was planned and all other signs are good.

Oh, and the title of the post? When I was walking the river trail to the lake, a guy jogged past me. Pretty nondescript–dressed in a dark t-shirt, black shorts, black running shoes, no cap. A few moments after he passed, I caught the distinct and piquant body odour emanating from him. I think the light breeze managed to waft it perfectly to my nose, as I can’t remember the last time I could smell a runner. But I did today.

Stats:

Run 1,048
Average pace: 6:22/km
Training status: Productive
Performance Condition: +1
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:01 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 32:02
Weather: High cloud, some sun
Temp: 19–20°C
Humidity: 67–63%
Wind: light
BPM: 149
Weight: 169.7 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,045 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Scarpa Golden Gate ATR 2 (25/68/93)

Music: Shuffle play

I headed out a bit later than usual, under cloudy skies and pretty much no wind at all (which would have actually been nice later in the run).

I was somewhat surprised when my 4 km walk to the lake was categorized by my Garmin Forerunner as “unproductive”, which a site describes thusly:

Load is elevated, but VO2 max is flat or declining. Consistent with accumulated fatigue or insufficient recovery between sessions.

It’s been three days since I ran, so I’m assuming I was sufficiently recovered, and I’m just generally flabby and soft. I know this will eventually improve.

I opted to go clockwise and wanted to do my first full 5K since the surgery in May. I started out at a moderate pace of 6:17/km, then got maybe a bit too casual after that, slipping to 6:31/km. Yoinks. I actually did not feel bad, though it was humid, and I was all sweaty ‘n such. I picked up the pace for the third and fourth km, and slipped only a tad for the final stretch, during which I had to leap over four (!) large puddles on the very floody part of the trail past the rowing pavilion.

Speaking of rowing, they were having some kind of event and there were tents and people and lots of skiffs or whatever they can their boats. I also, for the first time ever, jogged past a line of porta-potties.

My overall pace was 6:24/km, which is four seconds slower than Tuesday’s run, but it was also my first 5K, so the pace seems reasonable. If I hadn’t slacked so much during the second km, it’s possible my pace would have beaten Tuesday’s. Regardless, it’s fine. I am still out of shape and performance will improve.

The right shin was very slightly tender to start, but settled down fairly quickly and did not impact my pace. Once home, it seems like I might have a Baker’s cysts behind my right knee, which would be weird given how little I’ve run since the surgery. I’ll wait and see if it still seems to be there later. It did not have any impact on my run (the knee and leg both felt fine, apart from the initial tenderness in the shin).

I also saw a turtle. Neat! But it was an invasive Red-Eared Slider, which normally live in the U.S. southeast. They have taken residence at Burnaby Lake mostly through people abandoning them as pets here. Boo for the people doing that. They generally aren’t doing damage or anything, though apparently the young might gobble up some of the food local species might eat. The native Western Painted Turtles don’t mind, though, because they apparently hang out together.

I also saw two topless joggers, one of which inevitably was wearing a heart rate monitor. The topless joggers love showing those off.

In all, I’m glad I got the 5K in and I am hoping the runs going forward are uneventful, apart from maybe seeing more topless runners. Or turtles. But not topless turtles.

Stats:

Run 1,043
Average pace: 6:24/km
Training status: Overreaching
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 12:01 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 32:10
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 20–21°C
Humidity: 67–63%
Wind: light
BPM: 149
Weight: 169.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,030 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Scarpa Golden Gate ATR 2 (10/20/30)

Music: Shuffle play

I missed Friday’s run for reasons, so I wanted to take it a bit easier today. It helped that my seasonal allergies have been relentlessly beating me up, so I’m not exactly brimming with pep.

I headed out late again and it was a bit warmer at 17-19C. As a result, my pace was nearly the same as Friday at 5:50/km but my BPM was higher at 150. I generally felt fine, though right at the end of the cottonwood Trail, just before the sharp turn to the left and downhill, I suddenly felt very warm, like I was glowing radioactively. It passed and I was back to normal for the remainder of the run. I suspect a combo of no wind/warmth contributed.

Today was also Victoria Day, but although there were more people, it was very manageable, despite a few cyclists (one was slow and looked rather sheepish) and a few off-leash dogs.

Four more cyclists were near the dam at the start. I walked back to the 0K marker to start my run and when I made my approach to the bridge at Silver Creek, which is not far from the dam, they were all walking their bikes back to the dam. I suspect someone told them NO RIDING HERE. They also looked a little sheepish.

And also, another new sign since my last run:

The coyote signs are still up. If I see a coyote riding on a bear, I am giving up running.

Good news: My right shin did not bother me at all on the run. It felt very slightly tender after.

Weird news: The title of this post comes from an incident just over a km into the run when I swallowed something. It could have been a seed or a bug or a bug clutching a seed. All I know is I felt it go into my mouth and into my throat. I decided to try to ignore it, thinking anything I might do could only make it worse. Eventually, I spat to get some stuff out of my mouth and this indeed led to me coughing so hard I had tears in eyes, like a bad country song.

I was largely fine after that and didn’t ingest anything else on the run (to my knowledge), though cottonwood dander was piling up all over the place.

Still, an overall decent outing.

Stats:

Run 1,038
Average pace: 5:50/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:56 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:22
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 17-19°C
Humidity: 52%
Wind: light
BPM: 150
Weight: 169.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,015 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (285/513/798)

Music: Shuffle play

With my right shin feeling tender, but not on a love story way, after the last run, I got up this morning and went back and forth over whether to run today, do a shorter run or something else.

In the end, I opted to do a short loop counter-clockwise at the lake. This would shave off a not-insubstantial five km of additional walking after the run.

The walk to the lake went fine, though I could feel the right shin. I started off slow, feeling things out. I slowed even more on the second km, not because the shin was hurting, but, as they say, out of “an abundance of caution”. I picked up and returned to my initial pace for the third km and by then the shin wasn’t really bothering me. Was it endorphins masking the pain? Maybe! I picked up the pace for the final two km and finished overall with 5:49/km, a slight improvement over Monday. My BPM, thanks to the cooler temperatures, was down to 144.

Okay, that was the shin, which I will continue to monitor.

The squirrel? As I neared the halfway point of the run on the Piper Mill Trail, I saw a Douglas squirrel on the right edge of the trail. They don’t seem as twitchy about people getting close and sure enough, the squirrel did not immediately react to my presence as I jogged by. Then it got weird. The squirrel took off–in pursuit! Yes, it began running after me. It was so close to my right foot at one point that I was worried I might step on it, so I put on a little extra burst of speed and left it behind. I have no idea what it was doing. Did it think I had nuts? I mean, I do, but they are reserved for human use only.

And finally, the shoe. Not long after the squirrel incident, as I reached my turnaround point, I felt a sharp jab in my left foot, the telltale sign of an especially jagged little piece of gravel getting into the shoe, under my foot, then getting squished into my foot. After a few steps, it shifted and the pain stopped, but IU did not want to risk further incidents, so I paused the run to fish it out.

The left shoe is always double-laced, so I had to work on the carefully tied knot for a bit to get the lace finally untied. Then I had to take the shoe off, get the gravel out (success!) and, because my left foot was on a gravel trail without a shoe, I also had to somehow make sure I didn’t put even more gravel into the shoe when putting it back on. I’d like to say I have the poise and balance of a flamingo and can stand on one leg and remove a shoe without wobbling over, but this is not the case. I wiped my left foot on some nearby grace, did a regular bow (hoping for the best) and finished my run without further squirrels, rocks or other weirdness.

In the end, the shin issue seemed to fade, much as it had on previous runs, so I am cautiously optimistic it will be OK.

We’ll find out Friday!

Stats:

Run 1,037
Average pace: 5:49/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 1:14 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:13
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 14-16°C
Humidity: 73-69%
Wind: light
BPM: 144
Weight: 168.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,010 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (280/500/780)

Music: Shuffle play

My watch wanted me to run for 38 minutes today at a pace of 8.6 km/hour.

Instead, I ran my usual 5K in just over 29 minutes. What the watch apparently didn’t know is that it was much warmer this morning. I started out exactly where I ended overall–5:50/km. A bit pokey, especially compared to Friday, but it’s fine. BPM was higher, likely due to the temperature, at 149, but anything under 150 is still good.

One area of concern is the ol’ right shin. Unlike the last run where it started tender then gradually got fine over the run, today it started out feeling a lot less tender, but then kind of stayed there for the run, a low-grade tenderness as the sun slowly roasted me. I don’t think it affected my pace and as I type this, it’s not hurting or anything, but it is now on my proverbial radar.

Probably (?) unrelated, my left foot was feeling just slightly sore in that “need the orthotic” way after the run. I haven’t used the orthotics since getting the Peregrine 15s because the insoles they came with were a cushy fill-in, but after 275 km of runs and a lot more walking, they may be reaching their EOL. I suppose I should get new shoes, maybe go for something more cushiony this time.

I have surgery in 11 days, which is going to keep me from running for a bit, so the shin issue may be something that solves itself in a roundabout way.

The trail was dry and a bit dusty and the Avalon parking lot has huge piles of gravel ready for the resurfacing of the Brunette Headwaters trail, slated to begin May 19th. The area around the second boardwalk continues to be closed “for repairs” despite no sign of repairs at all. The detour is fairly short, so it’s not a big deal. Also, Hangdog was out.

In all, not a bad start to the week.

Stats:

Run 1,036
Average pace: 5:50/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:49 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:21
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 18-20°C
Humidity: 56-51%
Wind: light
BPM: 149
Weight: 169.2 pounds
Total distance to date: 7,005 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (275/493/768)

Music: Glass Houses, Billy Joel

Despite a later start, today’s run was cooler–a mere 14C, which is practically seasonal. It was also cloudy, so no need for sunblock.

I was pleasantly surprised when I got to the lake, because the drinking fountain by the dam was working again. I celebrated by sipping water from it. To my further delight, the fountain was still operating after my run, so I sipped again. Oh happy day.

The watch suggested a recovery run and because I missed Monday, I was good with that, so I adopted a somewhat more leisurely pace. My overall pace of 5:45/km is maybe a tad misleading, as I did pick up for the final km, coming in at 5:31/km, which brought my average down a good bit. Still, I felt fine throughout, had no issues and my BPM was a spiffy 145. Thank you, clouds and lower temperatures.

There were no shirtless joggers today.

I still have yet to see a coyote. I’m not saying I want to, I just haven’t.

In all, a fine mid-week effort.

Stats:

Run 1,034
Average pace: 5:45/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:03 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:57
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 14°C
Humidity: 76-74%
Wind: light
BPM: 145
Weight: 168.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,995 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, Samsung Galaxy S26, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (265/473/738)

Music: Kick, INXS