cranky feet

The dusty run

Location: Burnaby Lake, CCW
Distance: 11.02 km
Weather: High cloud, some sun
Temp: 14ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 770
Average pace: 5:26/km
Total distance to date: 1212.06 km

Another run, another personal best for the year to date, another ‘500 km’ completed according to Joan Benoit Samuelson (she has congratulated me on the last four runs, which, if accurate, would mean I had completed 2,000 km. As you may suspect, this is not entirely accurate) and more sore feet. So mostly good news.

Although it started out mild, high cloud and a strong breeze convinced me to wear a long-sleeved shirt for the run. This was the right call for the first part of the run but overall I’d have been fine in a regular t-shirt.

With the sore feet it went like this: no real issues on the walk to the lake. Once at the lake the right foot was pretty much fine but the left foot was sore. It took several km to get past the initial soreness to where the bloodflow/endorphins/magicke started kicking in and I could more effectively ignore it. This is reflected in my slow first km — 5:17. However, I hit my plateau fairly quickly (I don’t recall the last instance where I posted the same time for three different km) and ran steady from there forward, so I ended up two seconds faster than Wednesday and five seconds faster than Monday. The incremental improvements are nice.

Knowing from the last run that the feet would be feeling it more once I resumed walking I pushed on for an extra km, turning in my first 11K run since last summer. Even better, I shaved a second off my 10K pace in the process. The walk back was a bit of a trial but once more my feet recovered quickly after I got home and was able to get off them. I’m hopeful that a weekend of relative inactivity will go a good way toward the healing process.

Chart:

Apr 27 Apr 25 Apr 23 Apr 20 Apr 18 Apr 16 Apr 6 Apr 4 Apr 2
1 km 5:17 5:06 4:59 5:09 5:12 5:15 5:12 5:17 5:03
2 km 5:21 5:15 5:11 5:12 5:21 5:23 5:19 5:19 5:17
3 km 5:23 5:19 5:17 5:18 5:25 5:31 5:23 5:24 5:25
4 km 5:22 5:20 5:20 5:22 5:28 5:36 5:25 5:26 5:30
5 km 5:23 5:22 5:22 5:25 5:29 5:41 5:26 5:27 5:33
6 km 5:23 5:24 5:22 5:27 5:30 5:45 5:28 5:29 5:37
7 km 5:24 5:25 5:25 5:29 5:31 5:49 5:29 5:31 5:41
8 km 5:25 5:26 5:27 5:33 5:32 5:53 5:30 5:33 5:46
9 km 5:26 5:28 5:29 5:35 5:33 5:57 5:32 5:35 5:50
10 km 5:26 5:28 5:31 5:37 5:33 5:59 5:33 5:36 5:53
11 km 5:25 — — — — — — — —

The soggy gosling run (not Ryan Gosling)

Location: Burnaby Lake, CW
Distance: 10.03 km
Weather: Rain, light to heavy
Temp: 12ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 701
Average pace: 5:28/km
Total distance to date: 1201.4 km

The good news: the new shoes continue to hold up well, even in squishy wet weather like today’s run featured.
The bad news: my feet are still sore.
The better news: this isn’t affecting my times.

I hit two milestones today. I have now crossed the 1200 km mark with the Nike+, finishing today’s run at 1201.4 km. I also had my best run of the year, finishing under 5:30 for the first time, ending with an average pace of 5:28/km.

It was already raining when I headed out so I wore a long sleeved t-shirt and it worked fine. The rain eased up to a light shower partway through, so it wasn’t so bad. To keep the iPod nano functional (the clickwheel may be innovative but it doesn’t take much for it to stop working) I put in in a plastic baggie then put it in my shorts pocket. This actually worked!

My feet were sore again and it bothers me but not enough to slow me down. With the left foot in particular I had to make an effort to keep the toes splayed out flat instead of bunching them up. After getting off the feet for a bit post-run it doesn’t take them long to feel okay again so I’m hoping they’ll toughen up/recover fairly quickly.

As for the goslings, there were two geese families on the trail. The first I came across around a corner where the trail abuts the lake directly — they were at the water’s edge and heading in. The mother briefly did that COME AT ME BRO thing but I dashed by too quickly to cause much concern. The second set I saw from a distance and I eased off my pace a bit so as to not alarm them. I don’t know why I did this as I doubt the geese had a clue what I was doing, I was just a scary biped running toward their precious young. They ambled a bit to the side but did not otherwise panic.

Given the weather, it is no surprise I covered 4 km before I saw another person. What was surprising is it wasn’t a fellow jogger, just someone out getting drenched on a walk.

Chart:

Apr 25 Apr 23 Apr 20 Apr 18 Apr 16 Apr 6 Apr 4 Apr 2
1 km 5:06 4:59 5:09 5:12 5:15 5:12 5:17 5:03
2 km 5:15 5:11 5:12 5:21 5:23 5:19 5:19 5:17
3 km 5:19 5:17 5:18 5:25 5:31 5:23 5:24 5:25
4 km 5:20 5:20 5:22 5:28 5:36 5:25 5:26 5:30
5 km 5:22 5:22 5:25 5:29 5:41 5:26 5:27 5:33
6 km 5:24 5:22 5:27 5:30 5:45 5:28 5:29 5:37
7 km 5:25 5:25 5:29 5:31 5:49 5:29 5:31 5:41
8 km 5:26 5:27 5:33 5:32 5:53 5:30 5:33 5:46
9 km 5:28 5:29 5:35 5:33 5:57 5:32 5:35 5:50
10 km 5:28 5:31 5:37 5:33 5:59 5:33 5:36 5:53

The ‘it only hurts when I run’ run

Location: Burnaby Lake, CCW
Distance: 10.02 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 13ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 700
Average pace: 5:37/km
Total distance to date: 1180.97 km

The good news: no hail!

Better news: It was mild and sunny, perfect conditions for running.

Bad news: both of my feet were sore and cranky by the end of the run. It actually hurt more to walk after so I was half-tempted to keep running home (that would have added 4+ km so I ultimately decided against it).

I am almost certain that the soreness in my feet is not due to last Sunday’s hike, doing weird things to my feet while I sleep or a result of alien visitation. What I do think is a distinct possibility is that my trusty New Balance shoes, which I have been using since May 2009, may finally and officially be wearing out. On the Nike+ alone I have tracked 1180 km on them and I ran from May to September 2009 before getting the Nike+ setup, so that’s probably enough to put me past 1200 km. On one pair of shoes.

So getting new shoes is a top priority. I’m not going to try those wacky Five Fingers or a variant because at this point I’m more interested in getting back to peak condition than having my feet cry even more but it’s an option for further down the road (or trail).

As for the actual run, I conducted a bit of an experiment and while the end result is one I’m not happy with, it was not unexpected, so I consider it a success.

If you look at the chart below, specifically my most recent 5:33/km runs you’ll see that my pace is slower in the first half but flattens out nicely in the second. Today I tried — and succeeded — in bringing up my times in the first half of the run. I could feel my lungs working harder and the vague threat of a cramp here and there. By doing so, however, I tapped out my reserves for the second half and while the pace flattened, it did so at longer intervals, leading to a slower pace of 5:37/km. From this point forward I think I’m going to stick to starting at a moderate pace and build toward a stronger finish.

Overall, I am pleased that I was able to complete another week of runs without any major incidents.

Chart:

Apr 20 Apr 18 Apr 16 Apr 6 Apr 4 Apr 2
1 km 5:09 5:12 5:15 5:12 5:17 5:03
2 km 5:12 5:21 5:23 5:19 5:19 5:17
3 km 5:18 5:25 5:31 5:23 5:24 5:25
4 km 5:22 5:28 5:36 5:25 5:26 5:30
5 km 5:25 5:29 5:41 5:26 5:27 5:33
6 km 5:27 5:30 5:45 5:28 5:29 5:37
7 km 5:29 5:31 5:49 5:29 5:31 5:41
8 km 5:33 5:32 5:53 5:30 5:33 5:46
9 km 5:35 5:33 5:57 5:32 5:35 5:50
10 km 5:37 5:33 5:59 5:33 5:36 5:53