Burnaby Lake runs

After my last tw0 10K runs, I noticed the muscles around my knees were feeling stiff. I actually felt fine during each run, but there was some lingering stiffness in both legs for days after. I did the suggested workout on Monday, skipped Wednesday’s run, then did a 5K today to see how it would go.

I aimed for a BPM of 150 to make sure the pace was slower (averaged 151) and for the first km, came in at 5:37/km, which is not slow. I managed to get more on track after that.

And with the later afternoon start, some sun and mild temperatures, conditions were quite pleasant. The knees actually felt fine during the run and while I could feel some stiffness in the walk after (more so in the right knee than the left), they actually don’t feel any worse than before. I think as long as I don’t overdo it, they will be okay. I’ll try some massages and cold/hot compression between runs and see how that helps, too.

Overall, I am encouraged, because I have only ever had knee issues with running once before, so it’s not a normal thing at all.

After I hit the turnaround point at 3 km, I debated briefly about going on and finishing the 5K halfway around the lake, which would also necessitate a 5K walk around the rest of the lake. This would not be taking it easy in any way. Sense prevailed, and I turned back at the 3.13 km mark. It does speak to how I felt fine, though.

I also wore a single layer, which was plenty. We are getting close to t-shirt weather. Gotta work on that farmer’s tan!

Stats:

Run 771
Average pace: 5:41/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW, then CCW)
Start: 1:46 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:36
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 13ºC
Humidity: 67%
Wind: low
BPM: 151
Weight: 164.8
Total distance to date: 5740 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (412 km)

The original title of this post was going to be April showers, but it stopped raining about two km in. The sun even threatened to come out, but it was only a threat.

The skunk cabbage is now at the stage where it earns its moniker. It’s not terrible, but when you move past a large clump of them, you definitely notice the odour. At least I was running.

My goal today was to do a more casual run, to just take it easy. I kind of broke my own promise on that. I did start a little bit slower, but then went on to finish with a pace very close to Monday’s.

It was busier than I expected, too, especially given the weather, though it was a stat holiday (Good Friday). A lot of people were running, many of them overdressed. I almost felt overdressed wearing two layers up top.

I did have one minor complication in the final km when my left hip started feeling a bit wacky, but it worked itself fairly quickly and did not affect my pace.

I had to dodge a few puddles, but it wasn’t that bad, and when I stopped to tie my right lace just short of the 5K mark, I noticed someone running ahead of me–the spitfire! In all the years I’ve seen her running, I have never actually been behind her. I kept pace past the fields and down the Cottonwood Trail, but once the trail started getting windy, I lost sight of her, as she had enough distance on me. She was also pulling away a bit near the end because I tend to go into cruise control on the Cottonwood Trail, and she apparently does not.

I did not see her at the end, which made me very slightly sad.

Overall, it was a fine run, even if I did break my own promise on how to run it.

Oh, and another sign of spring: They finally unlocked the fountain. Yay! The water was very cold and delicious.

Stats:

Run 769
Average pace: 5:41/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:00 a.m.
Distance: 10:03 km
Time: 57:04
Weather: Showers and cloudy
Temp: 8ºC
Humidity: 92%
Wind: low
BPM: 153
Weight: 164.8
Total distance to date: 5725 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (397 km)

The forecast today was Mostly Sunny but for the first 4 km of the run it was Completely Cloudy and a bit on the chilly side. Then it did clear up and the forecast became accurate. The difference in how warm it felt was remarkable, even if the temperature didn’t actually change much. I’m still glad I wore two layers.

As a slight change of pace, I decided to skip the Piper Mill Trail, partly because I started well back of the 0K marker and really, just to be a different.

I established a good pace early and managed to maintain it throughout, even in parts where I’d normally flag a bit. My BPM was going into the mid-150s, but today I was okay with that. My overall BPM ended up being a perfectly fine 153 and my pace of 5:39/km is my best 10K performance since I started running 10Ks again last year¹Actually, I also hit 5:39/km on Feb. 8th, but that was running clockwise, or the “easy” way around the lake..

No issues at all, really, and I even set up a playlist, so the music wouldn’t abruptly end with 2 km left.

There were perhaps more people on the trail than expected, but I had no problems with navigating around them, and even the trail itself is in better shape, with some of the sunken bits patched up and all the stabby branches now pruned away, at least until the next big storm hits.

This was also my first run after ditching the Apple Watch, and it was nice to just go out instead of fiddling with a watch on each wrist.

Overall, I am quite pleased.

Stats:

Run 768
Average pace: 5:39/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:34 a.m.
Distance: 10:04 km
Time: 56:48
Weather: Cloud and sun mix
Temp: 7ºC
Humidity: 61%
Wind: low to moderate
BPM: 153
Weight: 164
Total distance to date: 5715 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (387 km)

I got the urge to do some kind of exercise today and didn’t want to be stuck mid-evening on the treadmill, so off I went for a late afternoon 5K run on the weekend, something I basically never do.

And it was fine!

I did a short loop counter-clockwise, running to the 3K marker, then turning back. I had a decent BPM of 152 and matched my last 5K pace of 5:38/km, with only the second “okay, put on the brakes a bit” km being the outlier at 5:52/km.

No issues at all and despite wearing two layers, I didn’t feel overdressed, as there was a bit of a chill in the air, especially with the sun hiding behind the clouds most of the time.

The OCD part: My total distance to date had been 5695 km prior to today’s run, meaning every time I ran 10K, it would never be a nice, even number. By doing a 5K today, it now stands at not just a nice even number, but one that’s easy to remember: 5700 km. Woo!

Stats:

Run 766
Average pace: 5:38/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 4:03 p.m.
Distance: 5:04 km
Time: 28:21
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 9ºC
Humidity: 71%
Wind: low
BPM: 152
Weight: 163.5
Total distance to date: 5700 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (372 km)

First, the weird part: Without planning it in any way, I started today’s run at 11:58 a.m.–the exact same time I started Monday’s run. Freaky.

It was a gorgeous day and I think we may, barring a weird cold front, be firmly into one-layer territory. I probably would have been okay even wearing a regular t-shirt. The sun was nice, I actually sweated!

And speaking of sweating, I can’t say why, exactly, but this run tuckered me out by the end. I was aiming to stay around 150(ish) for BPM and the first half went fine, but by the 8th km my pace drooped to 6:03/km. I didn’t feel bad, nothing felt like it was going to fall off, but I was clearly not gliding along effortlessly. I picked up the pace for the last km and ended with an overall pace of 5:50/km and a BPM of 153, both of which are perfectly cromulent.

These stats also match my last 10K–another weird coincidence–except there, I was superfast at the 8K mark, not super-slow. Maybe dropping the frequency of the runs has left me slightly out of tune. Or it’s somehow spring allergies. Or aliens.

It was a bit busier on the trail, no doubt due to the near-perfect conditions. I did pass three people, too! One was a younger couple running and to be fair to them, they were pretty casual (when I first saw them ahead they were walking). I still felt a tiny ego boost passing them, though. The other person was on a bike (boo) and as I passed, I noted to them that bikes were not allowed on the trail. She responded by laughing because that’s what bike-riding rebels do, I guess.

Shortly after this, I emerged onto the parking lot by the rowing club, which bifurcates¹Fancy $10 word! the trail. I paused the run where the trail resumes, to see if she would attempt to continue, but when she emerged into the parking lot, she appeared to amble off toward the rowing club itself. I don’t know if it was a ruse or not, but considering I’d already passed her once, I chose not to stick around.

Then I came home and napped after cleaning up, which I almost never do after a run anymore. I almost feel like going back to nap right now. But I won’t!

I am curious to see how Friday goes, though. The weather looks worse and I may head out earlier as it won’t make much difference.

Stats:

Run 765
Average pace: 5:50/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:58 a.m.
Distance: 10:03 km
Time: 58:32
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 12-13ºC
Humidity: 63%
Wind: low
BPM: 153
Weight: 163.0
Total distance to date: 5695 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (367 km)

I decided to start the week with a li’l 5K run and after getting to the lake, made the decision to go on a short loop clockwise after seeing multiple people with dogs going counter-clockwise. I was willing to risk unknown dogs vs. known dogs.

It was a good call, as there was only one dog and it was well-behaved. Good boy! (or girl)

Because I was only doing 5K, I didn’t try too hard to stick to 150 BPM and ended up with the exact same BPM as my last run, 153, though my pace was much faster at 5:38/m. I got an award for my fastest 1K, woo (5:25/km, almost like the olden days).

Weather-wise, it was mostly drizzle, and it lasted most of the run, but it wasn’t bad. I wore two layers, but without any real wind, it didn’t feel cold at all.

Overall, I felt zippy and had no issues, so a good start to the week.

Stats:

Run 764
Average pace: 5:38/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:58 a.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 28:21
Weather: Cloudy, light showers
Temp: 8-10ºC
Humidity: 86%
Wind: low
BPM: 153
Weight: 163.5
Total distance to date: 5685 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (357 km)

Feeling my way means I set out to mostly run by feel, instead of monitoring stuff like pace and heart rate by checking the watch regularly and adjusting accordingly. I didn’t have any particular goal with today’s run, I just wanted the usual–keep the BPM close to 150, have a decent pace.

As it turns out, I am apparently not very good at going by feel, or at least today I wasn’t.

For BPM, it skewed slightly on the higher side at 153, mostly due to going a bit fast in several sections. My pace was all over the place. I tried to start slow, but my first km was still 5:40/km, then the second km was 5:33/km. I was more successful at moderating my pace after that, though the 6th and 8th km were also faster than expected. Conversely, the 9th km was a sluggish 5:59/km, which surprised me. I was running out of gas, and given how often I’d been stepping on the gas (without meaning to) this should not have been surprising at all.

In the end, my pace was a perfectly cromulent 5:50/km overall. But the watch again said I need 72 hours or so to recover. It says that after every run, pretty much. I think next week I may go back to my traditional Mon-Wed-Fri runs and see what it says then.

As for the conditions today: sunny! It was quite pleasant and while there were people out and aboot, no issues or complications arose. I started my run shortly after noon, as it was still 0C when I got up and I was willing to wait for warmer temperatures because spring is almost here, baby.

Here is a visual breakdown of my per-lap performance:

Stats:

Run 763
Average pace: 5:50/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 12:10 p.m.
Distance: 10:03 km
Time: 58:26
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 9-10ºC
Humidity: 62%
Wind: low
BPM: 153
Weight: 163.1
Total distance to date: 5680 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (352 km)

My first 10K in two weeks, thanks to that kooky snow.

A few observations in list form because I like lists:

Trail Conditions:

• It was sunny and mild! It started out at 9C and ended at 10C. I could feel warmth from the sun.
• There was an actual slight breeze on the Cottonwood Trail
• The snow was gone, save for a small easily-avoided strip at the start of the Spruce Loop
• I wore one layer up top (long-sleeved) and this was sufficient
• The trail was still littered with debris and broken pointy branches were still ready to gouge eyeballs in several places. But it was also dry, so I didn’t end the run with mud splattered halfway up my legs.

My condition:

• Despite really not trying to, I started out very fast, getting an award for fastest 1K ever
• I felt good to start, but at one point the big toe on my right foot started to hurt. It cleared up, but was weird.
• At the 6K mark, I started to feel stomach cramps. They cleared up after a short time.
• The cramps returned briefly at the 9K mark
• The cramps returned a final time just as I was finishing the run, rather intense. This didn’t seem to be caused by the run, so maybe I ate something bad or drank too much before heading out (just fluids, not like bourbon or something)
• I definitely felt a bit fatigued in the last few km
• BPM was a bit higher at 154, but not really surprising; my pace was a solid 5:49/km.

My equipment condition:

• The Garmin Forerunner had my heart rate spike all the way up to 176 (!) near the start. I was running at a good clip, but this still seems excessive.
• Despite this, I simply kept running, moderated my pace and saw no further upward spikes. It was solidly in the mid 140s to low 150s after that.
• I experienced multiple instances of the music not playing properly. At one point it simply stopped altogether. I paused the run, chose a song, and it played normally after that.
• It also stopped when I attempted to skip to the next track on the AirPods.
• A third time it stopped altogether. I can’t recall the last time I had so much trouble with the Music app. Annoying, I sez!

Overall, it was nice to get a full 10K in, and we shouldn’t see any more snow disruptions until next winter. Onto spring, warmer temperatures and all that!

Stats:

Run 761
Average pace: 5:49/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:05 a.m.
Distance: 10:03 km
Time: 58:20
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 9-10ºC
Humidity: 67%
Wind: low
BPM: 154
Weight: 163.1
Total distance to date: 5660 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (332 km)

My first run since our latest (and hopefully final) snow of the season, and a few general observations:

• Mild! It was 9C, the warmest it’s been all year. It was nice. EDIT: I thought about this later and remembered we had some record high temperatures in January. I checked and on my January 13th run it was 10C (at 9:00 in the morning). So I actually had to wait almost two months for it to get nearly that warm again.
• Late! I didn’t actually start the run until 1:41 p.m., the latest in quite a while. I was just busy in the morning, and jogging when it would be milder in the afternoon had a certain appeal.
• Destruction! See below.

There was still some snow on the trail, as the photo below illustrates, with probably more being on the side trail and the south shore, but not enough to make the run unnavigable or anything, just a tad annoying in certain spots. It did help keep me from running too fast early on, though. The snow was both compacted, yet somewhat squishy, so there was no way to get a good grip on it.

I dressed in two layers and think I may have been fine in a long-sleeved t-shirt. Because of the week off, I chose on-the-fly to just do a 5K, and given the greater snow on the south side of the lake, I’m okay with that. I’ll do 10K next time, assuming we don’t have a blizzard in the interim.

As for destruction…yes! The heavy snow brought down more trees and branches, several of which were still down on the trail today, which is a little odd, given the snow happened last week. Multiple branches on the first boardwalk effectively made it one-lane in places, and a number of trees are leaning precariously over the trail, dangling their branches directly at head level, forcing you to bob around them. I mean, it keeps you focused, because you really don’t want to stab yourself in the face with a branch at a running pace.

I had no issues, other than the right ankle feeling a little creaky. Nothing serious, just kinks being worked out after the week-long layoff (the treadmill doesn’t really count).

In all, a decent run on an iffy trail. I’ll be glad when the weather is better, the trail is tidier, and I can focus just on running, not being stabbed by nature.

Stats:

Run 760
Average pace: 5:51/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 1:41 p.m.
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 29:28
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 9ºC
Humidity: 57%
Wind: low
BPM: 151
Weight: 163.7
Total distance to date: 5650 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (322 km)

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)