Burnaby Lake runs

I got an earlier start today and slapped on the ol’ sunscreen. The conditions were near ideal–mild, some high cloud, and I felt decent starting out, once again at a slightly more relaxed pace.

The good news is I was under the six-minute mark for each km and improved my post-stomach virus average to 5:50/km. By the fifth km, I was starting to feel a little bit tired, but in retrospect it’s because I was pressing so hard to keep from flagging that my pace for the final lap was 5:39/km. Nice!

Overall, no issues on the run, not as many people out, likely due to the earlier start, and generally, it went well. As my pace improves, I’ll begin planning an eventual increase to 7.5 km, which I’ll probably do twice, then make the leap to 10K, hopefully without any body parts exploding, imploding, falling off or swelling up.

Also, a little way after finishing the run, I saw a cute bunny noshing on grass on the side of the trail. I guess it was so consumed (!) by the food that it was unmoved by my presence, so I got a picture (it’s not a great picture, but it’s recognizably bunny):

Overall, a good start to the week. Here’s hoping I am not further plagued by misadventures and can just, you know, go for runs every other day like a normal, healthy human being.

Stats:

Run 928
Average pace: 5:50/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 9:44 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:22
Weather: Sun with high cloud
Temp: 15-16°C
Humidity: 71-67%
Wind: light
BPM: 152
Weight: 168.9
Total distance to date: 6,475 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (70/132/202)

Music: Out of the Blue, ELO

I had no particular goal today, except to hopefully be faster than Tuesday–and I was!

With my BPM edging up only slightly to 151, I managed to shave 13 seconds off Tuesday’s pace and come in under six minutes, at 5:58/km. Not bad. The second km was the only one over six minutes, but as on Tuesday, I improved on the stretch.

I opted to go clockwise and apparently the resurfacing has moved over to the Freeway Trail, as I didn’t have to detour at all, which was a nice bonus. The weather forecast had it as mostly sunny and a high of 24, so for the first time this year, I slapped on some sunblock before heading out.

It turned out to be 18 and cloudy. Still, better safe than sorry. It was still humid enough to stave off any dry mouth and for the most part, the run was comfortable, with no issues. At one point I ingested a piece of cottonwood dander, which is suboptimal, but at least we’re no longer seeing giant clouds of the stuff.

Around the 3 km mark, I was approaching a bend in the trail and saw on the opposite side a tan-coloured dog. A moment later my brain corrected this to coyote, but it was adopting a very passive posture, so I just keep jogging. As I got nearer, it turned and casually walked just far enough off the trail to be tucked in the brush, but still visible. It watched me pass and probably re-emerged shortly after. It looked kind of mangy, but I’m not sure if that’s because they shed in the warmer months or because it was malnourished or something. I kind of felt bad for it. I’m not sure how much they have to eat around the lake. Plus, you can’t go far without bumping into people, which must be annoying for them. I mean, I’m annoyed by people.

Speaking of people, there were more than a few today and some were doing weird things, like crowding on the boardwalk and not making room or, as I approached from behind, splitting and forcing me to run between them (this is bad for several reasons). I also had to dodge around an off-leash dog. Despite these things, I remained unperturbed and maintained my zen.

In all, a good run to end the week.

Stats:

Run 927
Average pace: 5:58/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:34 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:00 (the watch said 29:58, so it must have rounded up later)
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 18°C
Humidity: 58%
Wind: light
BPM: 151
Weight: 167.2
Total distance to date: 6,470 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (65/119/184)

Music: Ta-Dah, Scissor Sisters

A week ago I had a great run, with a good pace. I was hitting my stride. I noticed my stomach felt a bit funny as I walked home, but didn’t think much of it at the time.

By 8 p.m. I was violently ill.

Today was my first run (I skipped yesterday because I felt I was not quite ready and also tomorrow, which is a normal run day, is supposed to be weirdly hot, so I’m doing Tues/Thur instead of Mon/Wed) since then, so I approached with a bit of caution. The plan was to take it easy, which I did.

In fact, I found the first km downright pleasant and discovered that was likely due to a leisurely pace of 6:15/km. I then dipped further to 6:19/km before finally finding a little more mojo and finished thusly:

• 6:13
• 6:08
• 6:00

This gave me an average of 6:11/km, which is very slow, but fine. I didn’t want to push. My BPM was lower, too, at only 149. The weather was sunny, but pleasantly so, and it was humid enough to avoid DMS¹Dry Mouth Syndrome.

The resurfacing is continuing apace, and the detour on the Freeway Trail is much shorter now (I ran CCW, so was unaffected for the jogging part). They’ll likely switch from the Southshore Trail to the Freeway Trail soon, as they were patching potholes on the latter.

There were a decent number of people on the trail, as the weather was quite nice, including one naughty cyclist riding along the sports fields. A guy was walking ahead of me, post-run, and I angled myself a bit to force the cyclist over to the edge of the trail. He noticed this, as he muttered about mew not getting out of his way as he rode past. I informed him that cycling was not allowed on the trail. Hopefully he got attacked by the geese further up.

But in all, a rather pleasant run and a nice return.

Stats:

Run 926
Average pace: 6:11/km
Training status: Peaking
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:33 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 31:05
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 16-17°C
Humidity: 58%
Wind: light
BPM: 149
Weight: 167.3
Total distance to date: 6,465 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (60/106/166)

Music: Fables of the Reconstruction, R.E.M.

I missed my usual Monday run (this is not becoming a pattern, I swear!), but like with Friday’s missed run, made up for it by going out the next day.

The forecast was around a 50% chance of light rain, but it didn’t look too bad, so I gambled and went out wearing just the usual t-shirt and shorts. It actually turned out to be partly sunny, so my gamble paid off, woo. Once I got to the lake, I opted to go clockwise, then remembered the detour on the Southshore Trail due to resurfacing…and went, anyway.

My first km was 5:49/km, which is not bad, but not fast. I felt fine, though, so just kept motoring along. My watch gave me a +7 on conditions for the run, which is possibly the highest it’s ever been. I was skeptical, but intrigued.

The second km was also 5:49/km, which is definitely a good sign. Shortly after this, I had to divert onto the Freeway Trail. The detour lasted a little over a km and I made it back onto the Southshore Trail just before the second boardwalk. My pace was 5:48–slightly faster!

By the time I was nearing the 4 km mark, I was feeling a little tired. I made a deal with myself: If my pace was slower, I’d briefly pause to rest, then continue. But my pace was 5:43/km–faster still! So I kept going, pushed a bit and ended with a final lap of 5:37/km, the first time I’ve gotten below 5:40 in a while. My overall pace was 5:46/km, eight seconds better than Saturday.

No issues experienced, though the lake was kind of overflowing, forcing me to divert slightly to avoid a few mega-puddles that had formed on the trail. Since it was an early afternoon run, I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of crowds, but it was overall pretty quiet, likely due to the morning showers.

Overall, a good run. I attribute my success to the soothing stylings of The Moody Blues’ album Long Distance Voyager, which I listened to for the run.

Stats:

Run 925
Average pace: 5:46/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 1:10 p.m.
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 28:58
Weather: Mostly cloudy
Temp: 13°C
Humidity: 72-69%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 150
Weight: 172.8
Total distance to date: 6,460 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (55/93/148)

Music: Long Distance Voyager, The Moody Blues

I headed out a little later than intended, but still safely ensconced in the morning hours, plus as a bonus, it was cloudy and cool (for running, this is a legit bonus).

I opted to run counter-clockwise and started near the fountain by the dam, instead of the 0K marker. This saved me from having a prominent hill to climb up right near the beginning of the run. This turned out to be wise, as my energy level was a tad low.

I missed Monday’s run for reasons (pretty good reasons, really!) but this meant I’d had six days off since my last run, which is about three more than I’d like. I felt the time off.

The good news is that despite having three km just over the six-minute mark, I still came in under, at 5:57/km, thanks to a decent-ish start and a finish where I put in a little extra effort.

I had only one notable issue during the run, just over 2 km in: my shorts started chafing around the crotch. This is not a good place for chafing! I paused the run for a few moments to adjust and it seemed fine after, but it was weird. I don’t like weird on my runs, unless it’s something like someone else jogging up beside me to give me a cheque for a million dollars or something. That is the kind of weird I can handle.

The only other issue was post-run, and it was steering clear of these guys, who popped out onto the trail just as I approached:

In all, a not bad effort for mid-week and the time off. I look forward to the time when running 5Ks feel “easy” again.

Stats:

Run 923
Average pace: 5:57/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:53 a.m.
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 29:57
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 12-13°C
Humidity: 80-76%
Wind: light
BPM: 154
Weight: 171.9
Total distance to date: 6,450 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (45/75/120)

Music: The Beach Boys, Sounds of Summer

I changed things up today:

• Started in the morning
• Wore new socks!
• Wore new running shorts!
• Uh, that’s about it.

Admittedly, the new socks aren’t particularly noticeable. The new shorts are the latest iteration of the Nike Stride Dri-Fit running shorts I wear. They have changed again since I last bought a pair:

• They now offer a compression short liner, which I did not opt for. I do not want to wear tight-fitting shorts under my loose-fitting shorts.
• The zippered pocket is now in the back (it used to be in the back before, so this is actually a regression to how it used to be placed).
• It has little reflective lines on the back, near the bottom, for improved visibility.
• The drawstring now hangs out the front instead of being tucked inside. I do not like this and have already yanked the drawstring back inside the shorts.

Other than these changes, they’re pretty much running shorts. The zipper feels much smoother and the fabric has that nice new fabric feel to it. Maybe they made me faster, because I shaved five seconds off my previous pace.

The big change, of course, was going out in the morning. It was cooler and I started out (and finished) much stronger than the previous run, with no stops along the way and no individual km over the six-minute mark.

A tendon on my right knee feel a little hinky to start, but it settled quickly and is not an issue now. I otherwise experienced no problems. For a brief time, I even felt kind of good!

My BPM was up to 155, but it maxed out at 160, so I’m not concerned. I definitely felt I was putting in more effort.

Mini poopmonsters are all over the place now, though they were not actually on the trail itself today, which is handy for avoiding getting chased/hissed at by an adult.

Also, the bears are apparently back:

Anyway, a nice way to round out the week.

Stats:

Run 922
Average pace: 5:51/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:26 a.m.
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 29:24
Weather: Sun and high cloud
Temp: 14-15°C
Humidity: 56-54%
Wind: light
BPM: 155 (max. 160)
Weight: 172.4
Total distance to date: 6,445 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (40/62/102)

Music: Electric Light Orchestra, Time

No, I did not pee in any unauthorized manner during the run.

Rather, the title refers to my li’l SPI-Belt water bottle, which has a clip and clips to the belt. Although I’m not using an official SPI-Belt now, it works the same on my current belt. I filled the bottle up, after experiencing Dry Mouth Syndrome (DMS) on my last run and seeing humidity would be about the same on today’s run.

It turned out I never needed the water, because the real reason my mouth got so dry last time was not the humidity, but rather the wind. It was much calmer this morning (I also started about half an hour earlier), which solved the problem entirely.

After about two km, though, the bottle was consistently tugging down on the belt, which annoyed me enough to pause the run, remove the clip, put the clip in a pocket and just carry the bottle in a hand, switching periodically from one hand to the other for the rest of the run. It was a bit awkward, but much less so than the bottle dragging on the belt.

I will have to re-think my hydration needs for future runs.

Meanwhile, the run itself was fine. I achieved my main goal of coming in under six minutes, with a pace of 5:55/km. I did dip to 6:01/km for laps 3 and 4, but picked up the pace to finish and also had a good start at 5:46/km. No issues otherwise.

The trail was not quite as busy as the previous few runs, maybe due to the slightly earlier start. I did encounter a tractor that was mowing. The driver stopped and signalled for me to pass, which was a bit awkward, as the vehicle covered the entire width of the trail, forcing me into the ditch. Fortunately, this part of the ditch was grassy, not swampy. I also had to doge a guy weed whacking near one of the footbridges. That was easier, as he was the one off the trail.

Other than that, the weather was a nice mix of sun and cloud, never getting too hot or cool. I didn’t wear sunblock, but I sense I will need to start slapping it on soon to avoid burning.

Stats:

Run 920
Average pace: 5:55/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:34 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:40
Weather: Sun and some high cloud
Temp: 14-15°C
Humidity: 54-55%
Wind: light
BPM: 153
Weight: 172.1
Total distance to date: 6,435 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (30/41/71)

Music: Scissor Sisters, Ta-Dah

The weather was pleasant today, so I headed out for a nice trail run. I briefly contemplated doing the “easy” route of running the river trail, but ended up going to the lake, running the 5K, then walking the rest of the way around and back. I am at 26,188 steps as I type this.

My calves will voice their concerns later.

I filled my water bottle and almost took it, but humidity was still around 68%, which is a fair bit higher than the last run, so I risked going no-water and it was fine.

I started right at the 0K marker and when I hit 1K, I was a bit surprised that my pace was a rather languid 5:59/km. On the other hand, I can’t say I felt like I was pushing at all, so this wasn’t alarming or anything.

At the end of the second km, my pace was now 6:07/km. This was alarming, so I picked up the pace a little, but was still focusing more on being like a buffalo: slower, steady, and less like a gazelle: faster, nimble. My pace improved to 6:04, but I knew it was unlikely I’d come in under the six-minute mark.

I finished with a pace of 6:01/km. and you know what? It’s fine. I felt good, I wasn’t gasping for breath, my BPM was 152. I’ll get faster again as I get in better shape (and losing a few pounds might help, too).

I also discovered, when looking over my stats on the Garmin Connect site, that the voice that announces my pace every km does not round up or down, but the site does. Here is a chart where:

• Pace = Pace as reported on Garmin Connect
• Pace During Run = Pace as reported during the actual run
• Exact Pace = Pace without any rounding of numbers

The differences are slight, but can have a psychological effect. For example, while the Garmin Connect site reports the same pace for laps 3 and 4, the watch reported lap 4 as slightly faster, which proved encouraging and inspired me to push a bit more for a faster finish.

It was again strangely busy on the trail for a weekday morning. I either need to start earlier, or maybe people are just getting out a lot whenever it isn’t raining. A lot of dogs at the lake were off-leash, which is unusual and bad, though the dogs were at least well-behaved.

Oh, and post-run, I spotted multiple murders (or whatever you call them) of goslings. The poopmonsters have been busy! Good for them, I say. You can’t spend all your time honking, hissing and going berserk.

Stats:

Run 919
Average pace: 6:01/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:01 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:18
Weather: Mostly sunny
Temp: 13-14°C
Humidity: 68-66%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 152
Weight: 173.2
Total distance to date: 6,430 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (25/28/53)

Music: Blondie, Eat to the Beat

Today’s run was a little weird and unpleasant.

First, despite it being a weekday morning, the trail was unusually busy. And several people appeared on bikes! I managed, “Bikes aren’t allowed” as they pedalled past me. At least they weren’t riding like maniacs.

Conditions should have been optimal, but the combo of wind and humidity was apparently enough to result in some nasty DMS¹Dry Mouth Syndrome and it got so bad at one point that I paused the run briefly to try to generate any kind of moisture in my mouth at all, because I could not swallow. The pause was about equivalent to the time it would take to tie up a loose shoelace, so I don’t think it gave me much of an edge in terms of pace.

Speaking of pace, this run–probably because of the dry mouth and constant sun–felt a lot harder than Monday’s. I crept past the six-minute mark on the second km and hit it exactly on the third, but thanks to a decent start and recovery at the end, finished with an overall pace of 5:58/km, with a BPM once again of 152.

I toyed with going on a straight 5K, then walking out from the lake, but I’m glad I didn’t, because my watch was already yelling at me for overreaching at the end of the run.

I think I may have to dig out my li’l water bottle and take it on my next run. There is something horrible about trying to swallow during a run and your mouth is so dry you literally can’t. Bleah.

Still, that’s another 5K done, and I didn’t have any other issues, so here’s to Friday’s run being better-hydrated and smoother. I’ll also try to aim for an earlier start.

Stats:

Run 918
Average pace: 5:58/km
Training status: Overreaching
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 11:16 a.m.
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 29:57
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 14-15°C
Humidity: 56-53%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 152
Weight: 170.9
Total distance to date: 6,425 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (20/15/35)

Music: R.E.M., Reckoning

With bonus people, because the Easter weekend is the only one of the year with not one, but two stat holidays.

This time several family groups with wee children did kind of get in the way, but just a little. Dogs were well-behaved, but as often on the river trail, some were off-leash. Boo to the dog owners.

As for the run, I started out a bit slower in order to pace myself (I am still rusty as all get-out) and was mildly concerned when the second km edged just over the six-minute mark, but I picked up the pace to finish and ended with the same average as my 3K run a few days ago: 5:55/km. BPM was up slightly to 152, which is fine as I actually pushed a bit in the second half.

I didn’t experience any issues otherwise.

The weather was mostly sunny and around 10C, which felt a bit cool with the wind before the run, but was fine during.

Overall, it was skookum to get another actual 5K run done. Onward and upward, I say! Or at least onward. Upward would be a bit weird for running.

Run 917
Average pace: 5:55/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 11:04 a.m.
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 29:45
Weather: Mostly sunny
Temp: 10-11°C
Humidity: 68-66%
Wind: light
BPM: 152
Weight: 170.6
Total distance to date: 6,420 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (15/7/22)

Music: Blondie, Parallel Lines