Run 397: Like swimming but with sweating

Run 397
Average pace: 5:26/km
Location: Brunette River tail, Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 7.03 km
Time: 38:17
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 30-27ºC
Wind: nil to light
BPM: 157
Stride: 197 strides/min
Weight: 156.1 pounds
Total distance to date: 3231
Device used: TomTom Runner Cardio

Stats! I have removed calorie burn, as it is predictable and not overly informative as to how the run went. I have added stride and BPM (beats per minute/heart rate).

After missing my usual Tuesday run I went out and ran today (Wednesday) instead.

Although the temperature went down over the course of the run it never felt any different. It was hot and muggy in the sun, it was hot and muggy in the shade. It was just darker in the shade, that’s all. If I had to use one word to describe the quality of the conditions, it would be grossbuckets.

There are forest fires a-raging to the north and the smoke is thick enough that on Monday it was settled over the area like a fog. A very smokey fog. By Wednesday the density had eased a bit and the smokey aroma was mostly gone but the sky was still white instead of blue and the air was thick in a way that air should never be.

Surprisingly, I pulled off a decent pace of 5:26/km. This is not blazing fast (no pun intended) but considering the volume of sweat produced, I think it was pretty good. I didn’t experience any issues on the run except for it being hot and grossbuckets. When I passed by the dam I spied a pair of women sitting on the top of a picnic table, both of them smoking. There are fires all over. The air still lingers with the scent of forest fires, there’s been a no smoking ban in parks for weeks and weeks and yet there they were, happily indulging in budding lung cancer.

I note again the only times I’ve seen people smoking at the lake this year has been after the smoking ban went into effect. I expected to encounter a cyclist on the trail later and was rewarded thusly. I gave the cyclist my patented “What the hell are you doing here?” look. He seemed puzzled. I wished for his tires to spontaneously deflate but this did not happen.

Since I wasn’t doing an endurance-ish run, my BPM was up slightly, to 157 but still below my first few runs where it was hitting 160/161.

Overall, not a bad effort given the yuck of the weather.

In which I decide to run twice when it’s 32 Celcius

Average pace: 5:06/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops and Piper Mill Trail
Distance: 5.1 km
Weather: Sun
Temp: 32-30ºC
Wind: nil
Calories burned: 372
Total distance to date: 2255 km

Average pace: 5:16/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW), Brunette River trail
Distance: 5.02 km
Weather: Sun
Temp: 30-28ºC
Wind: nil
Calories burned: 363
Total distance to date: 2260 km

Today I deliberately planned to only run 5K, following the same route as yesterday. There were two changes. The first was starting time. I didn’t head out until about 6:50 p.m. and didn’t start the run until 7:24 p.m., hoping to avoid the sun and the worst of the day’s heat (despite it being even hotter than yesterday). The second was applying a liberal spraying of Off to my legs to avoid adding to my modest bug bite collection.

The change in time seemed to work, slightly. The run still felt more difficult than normal but I did finish with a better pace of 5:06/km, two seconds better than yesterday. I even saw a few other nutty types running. Given that it was 32ºC it actually didn’t feel as bad, again due to the higher than normal humidity.

The run otherwise was a match for yesterday and my feet held up nicely. I began walking back and along the way those same fee started getting itchy. I didn’t want to walk all the way back but neither did I want to cheese out by taking the SkyTrain when I exited the park. So after walking 2 km I set up another 5K run and took off again, running the rest of the lake trail, across Cariboo Road and back onto the Brunette River trail. I got maybe a third of the way up that when I hit 5K and then settled into a brisk walk for the rest of the way back.

The 2 km of walking between the runs didn’t really serve as a proper rest, as I kept moving at a good pace but it did allow me to catch my breath, cool down and settle my heart rate. I expected my time to be worse and it was, coming in at 5:16/km. On the other hand, I’m certain it would have been even worse if I had run the full 10K uninterrupted.

The forecast keeps changing hourly (“It’s going to be even hotter tomorrow! No, it’s not. Wait, yes it is! No, it’s going to be cooler. Wait, we were kidding. Hotter, definitely. Hahaha.”) so I have no idea what to expect come Tuesday but I suspect it will be about the same as it was yesterday–hotter than normal and probably too much to handle a full 10K. But we shall see.

Surprisingly, splitting today’s 10K in two seemed to work for the feet, with both still feeling fine afterward. The right tendon only twinged slightly on the second run while the left foot pretty much behaved itself.

I also managed to break 100 km for the month of June, which was nice and somewhat unexpected, given the number of shorter runs I’ve done. My stats:

103.94 km
5:06/km average pace

Compared to June 2012 when my feet were in much better shape:

140.54 km
4:54/km average pace

The Big 2012 Running Summary Thing

The good news is I should be running again in about a month, with my Achilles tendon all healed up and ready to go.

The bad news is that means a lot more boring posts about running for everyone to read! At least I’m honest enough to admit I’m the only one fascinated by them.

Despite ending on an injured note, 2012 was by far my best year for running. I improved in every area and ran every month except for December. My only regret is that I missed hitting 1,000 km by a single measly run. So close!

The stats, as pulled from my Nike+ profile:

988.96 km total distance
4:57/km average pace
68,844 calories burned

73% of runs in the afternoon
15% in the morning
12% in the evening

Number of months I ran 100+ km: 7

Month when my overall average pace dropped below 5:00/km: June

Best month: September (4:38 average)

I don’t know why I added the random bold. I just like it.

Here’s to 2013 besting 2012, running-wise!

May running summary

Here’s my running summary for the month of May, which I declare a Good Month™ for jogging.

Total runs: 12
Fastest run: 4:52/km (May 30th)
Slowest run: 5:20/km (May 20th)
Difference between average pace of fastest and slowest runs: 28 seconds/km
Fastest 1st km: 4:37/km (May 30th)
Slowest 1st km: 4:58 (May 2nd)

Total distance: 135.72 km
Average pace: 5:03/km

May vs. April:

Total runs: 12/10
Fastest run: 4:52/5:13
Slowest run: 5:20/5:59
Difference between average pace of fastest and slowest runs: 28/46 seconds
Fastest 1st km: 4:37/4:59/km
Slowest 1st km: 4:58/5:17/km

Total distance: 135.72/102.32
Average pace: 5:03/5:35/km

May was an improvement across the board and notable for finally breaking the 5:00 minute mark for average pace, getting in under 5:00 minutes on every first km, setting a new record for first km and getting in 12 runs vs. 10, though admittedly I was out for a week in April due to hurting my lower back. May was also the first full month wearing my new trail runners and have no doubt contributed positively to the results.

Onward to June!

April 2012 run summary

I’m going to start doing a brief monthly summary of my runs because I loves me some stats and it will help to make improvements, etc. easier to see.

In April I ran 10 times. I missed a full week of runs after hurting my back, otherwise I’d have had 13 runs. Showing nice progress, my fastest run was the most recent.

My slowest opening km was done on a run that was also my second fastest overall for the month, reinforcing that the key is to not have a fast start, but to find a good pace and stick to it.

Stats:

Total runs: 10
Fastest run: 5:13/km (April 30)
Slowest run: 5:59/km (April 16th — this was after a back injury 9 days prior and a 15 km hike the previous day)
Difference between average pace of fastest and slowest runs: 46 seconds/km
Fastest 1st km: 4:59/km (April 23)
Slowest 1st km: 5:17/km (April 4 and 27)