I was suspicious when my Garmin Forerunner declared a rest day today, as it’s normally a run day. But then I noticed the area around my right knee felt a little…tweaked. The Baker’s cyst (I really hate that word, but at least I don’t have my surname attached to it) never fully went away, but it feels a bit more fulsome right now, so it’s possible I may have aggravated it with all of my recent activity. That will teach me to exercise!
(To be fair, it’s not really hurting or anything, it just twinges a little at certain angles ‘n such.)
I’ll take it easy-ish tomorrow and see how it goes, but I’m still planning on a run on Friday.
One of the nice things about having a blog is it remembers things that I don’t, freeing my brain up to store vast amounts of random trivia, which makes me a hit at parties.
I did remember that I hurt my knee about one year ago and was able to go back to April/May 2023 and find fun stats I’d forgotten:
It was the same knee, the right knee, which is now the wrong knee. For some reason, I thought I’d hurt the left knee last year. This is sort of good news, because it means the left knee has remained healthy.
The right knee is not hurt as much compared to last year. I know this because I did a coffee table test with my legs last year when I could not raise the right leg from the knee at all and right (ho ho) now, I can raise both equally, even though the bumpity-bump of the right knee is still there.
I started stretching exercises before I resumed running. I should probably start that again.
I didn’t run for 25 days. When I did, I ran a 5K at the lake, then walked the rest of the way.
As of today, it’s been 17 days since I ran. I think I’m ready to run again? I don’t think I’ll run today, but maybe I’ll go for a run and jog a little? So many questions. I’ll start by doing some stretching exercises and report back.
Hoping for good knees
I gave myself some extra time off (four days between runs) and here's how the right knee performed:
For the first km or so, it felt stiff and a bit achy. It didn't affect my pace and it wasn't painful, but it was there. After this, most of the rest of the run it settled down and felt fine. Were endorphins masking the discomfort? Possibly. If so, they did a great job! I did feel some mild discomfort return when I had to unexpectedly detour and divert up a reasonably steep hill near the 4 km mark. It settled back down after that.
View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run
My original plan today ranged from:
Maybe rest another day
Just do a moderately-paced walk. Walking is still exercise!
A run on the river trail
I headed off under cloudy skies on this last day of spring, and when I got to the river trail I felt I wasn’t ready, so I kept walking. I also realized that when I paused the workout to wait for the light to change at Braid, I forgot to restart it, meaning I lost nearly a km on the walk. Whoops!
I kept walking and then decided I would run a short loop at the lake, clockwise. This is the “easy” direction. As I began, it occurred to me that it might be easier to just run the whole 5K clockwise, because if I stop and turn halfway through, I’m now going counter-clockwise and much more uphill. Bad! So that’s what I did. I then broke the walk back home into two parts again–5K around the lake, then a rest and 4K for the rest. I also moved slower for both than I normally would.
The right knee was feeling stiff but not painful as the km piled up, but I elevated and iced it when I got home, so it doesn’t feel too bad now as I type this, about an hour later.
The run was fine–153 BPM, 5:46/km pace. I am fully confident I could do more if I wasn’t being extra cautious right now.
It was 15C and 73% humidity, so conditions were actually quite nice. Some fancy young guy whizzed by me in the other direction (I’ve seen him before). He might be fast, but he dresses like a noob, because he was wearing a jacket and it was way too warm to run with a jacket. Another guy passed me around the 1K mark, but I passed him around the 4K mark when he was doing the walking part, so that felt nice. He was not wearing a jacket, but he was wearing a backward baseball cap.
As for the slugs: yes. They were everywhere. I dodged many.
As for the bridge out: Technically, it was just closed “for a few days” for repairs. This is the rickety ancient bridge over Deer Lake Brook. I’m not sure what they can do in a few days to make it seem safe. Maybe encase it in concrete? I have to believe Metro Vancouver Parks has plans to eventually replace it.
Overall, things went better than expected. The knee survives. I am tentatively going to say it’s not getting worse. But is it getting better? Answer unclear…for now.
One of the million or so slugs, seen post-runBonus shot of Still Creek, also post-run
Stats:
Run 784Average pace: 5:46/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 2:26 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:00
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 15ºC
Humidity: 73%
Wind: light
BPM: 152
Weight: 164.5
Total distance to date: 5805 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (477 km)
Hoping for good knees
I figure while my knees are being a bother, it might be easier for future reference to have an easy-to-reference update on them at the top of the run summary. so here it is!
This was the first time recently that I resumed a normal run cadence (one day on, one day off). The knee was feeling OK heading out to the lake. Around the 3K mark it started to ache a bit, but that seemed to work itself out after about half a km. It was more of less OK for the rest of the run. It felt a bit stiff on the walk back, but is not overly sore or anything post-run.
I did a few things differently today:
As noted above, I returned to a normal running schedule, taking one day off before heading out again
I returned to the lake for the first time in just over a week
I risked not wearing sunblock because the forecast said it would be mostly cloudy (it was mostly sunny)
I ran in the morning! My start time was just after 10 a.m.!
The last point is significant, because it meant the humidity was still around 64%, while the temperature was a comfy 16C. Even with the sun, this made for good running conditions and no dry mouth.
I did a short 5K loop, starting counter-clockwise, and was able to run on the freshly-resurfaced Piper Mill Trail. Strangely, it didn’t feel much different, with a lot of it still kind of lumpy and even looking a bit unfinished. Maybe it is unfinished? I did encounter a tractor hauling gravel that I had to let pass, but it was going to the connector trail leading to the Nature House, probably resurfacing that part with Bonus Gravel left over from the work on Piper Mill Trail.
As mentioned in the callout, the knee started to ache a bit around the 3K mark, but settled back down and didn’t seem to affect my pace. I could feel the difference running here vs. the river trail. I worked harder (average BPM of 155) and was slower at 5:51/km–though that pace is still much better than the horribad results from last Wednesday, when the humidity was negative five thousand or so.
Considering I’m not hobbling or in any particular pain or discomfort post-run, I am potentially pleased at this outcome. I’ll see how the right knee feels later.
On a more positive note, today marks me officially1Unofficially it’s higher, because I didn’t track my runs when I first started way back in the olden time of 2009 hitting 5,800 km run. Woo.
Stats:
Run 783Average pace: 5:51/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW then CW)
Start: 10:14 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:23
Weather: Sunny, with some high cloud
Temp: 16-17ºC
Humidity: 64-62%
Wind: light
BPM: 155
Weight: 166.2
Total distance to date: 5800 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (472 km)
A scary-sounding storm was forecast to come rolling in tonight, with heavy rain and winds up to 70 kph. I checked current conditions and it looked to be mild and cloudy before then, so pretty good for running!
Let me back up a bit. I ran today, Tuesday, and skipped my usual run yesterday to give my right knee an extra day to recover, as it was feeling stiff ‘n sore after Friday’s run. I think this was wise.
As I type this now, shortly after getting home from the run, I can report:
The run went well
The right knee is currently doing OK, though the stiffness/soreness usually comes later, so I will update this post as needed
As for beating the storm, technically I accomplished this. The storm has yet to arrive. But, dear reader (or LLM1Large Language Model. This is a very 2023 post.), I kid you not–a shower started a few moments before I started my run, then ended a few minutes after I was finished, like I had my own private little rain cloud following me2I checked and it appears the forecast has completely changed, with the Big Storm basically being cancelled. Well then..
It was actually slightly better than Friday, though, more shower, less rain, if you know what I mean.
The stats, both for the weather and the run, are nearly identical to Friday, so it was kind of a déjà vu thing. I did not feel as creaky starting out, though again the calf and shin muscles of the right leg (not the knee) took a few minutes to warm up. I suspect the tightness there may be contributing to the knee issues, so the stretching exercises will hopefully help there.
Overall, I am pleased with the result, especially since I was fearing the worst with regard to The Knee.
Stats:
Run 782Average pace: 5:45/km
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 1:093 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:55
Weather: Light showers
Temp: 18ºC
Humidity: 74%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 152
Weight: 165.7
Total distance to date: 5795 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 12 (467 km)
If I sit on the couch, rest my legs horizontally on the coffee table, then lift my left leg from the foot to the knee, my left leg soars majestically into the air. When I do the same with my right leg, it’s more like a home-built plane that theoretically can fly but mostly bounces along the ground. Which is to say, I can’t raise the right leg as high, it is clearly limited by the movement of the knee, which is not rotating as it might, due to Runner’s Knee1Officially known as Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome.
But in two days I go in for my first-ever physiotherapy appointment where a sports doctor (I am hoping he will be wearing a sweatband on his forehead and be wearing those cool socks all the runners wore in the 70s) will spend half an hour assessing my current condition, make recommendations and perhaps offer guidance on when it is safe to run again. I suspect a foam roller is in my future, and I am hoping I can start running again soon. Three weeks feels a lot longer than three weeks. It feels like my last run was in 1890, with coal-fired plants belching soot into the sky behind me.
Not my knees. Also, those socks. Photo by SHVETS production on Pexels.com
I went to the doctor today, and he looked at my knees. He poked them, prodded them, all the things you expect a doctor to do. He posed questions to me regarding my running habits. He looked dubiously at the sneakers I wore to the appointment and asked, “Do you run in those?” and I assured him I do not (which reminds me, it’s probably time to look for a new pair of trail runners again).
In the end, he said that, while there was a slight chance that my right knee is suffering from the start of arthritis, it is more likely that I am afflicted with “runner’s knee.” After 5760 km run1Not really a humblebrag, since that’s spread over 14 years, I suppose it’s not entirely unexpected. The main remedy is to rest, stretch and get bionic knees.
Actually, this article says what I really need is RICE:
Rest: Avoid repetitive stress on the knee.
Ice: To reduce pain and swelling, apply an ice pack or a package of frozen peas to the knee for up to 30 minutes at a time and avoid any heat to the knee.
Compression: Wrap your knee with an elastic bandage or sleeve to restrict swelling but not too tightly as to cause swelling below the knee.
Elevation: Place a pillow under your knee when sitting or lying down to prevent further swelling. When there is significant swelling, keep the foot elevated above the knee and the knee above the level of the heart.
As of this coming Tuesday, it will be two weeks since my last run. I will probably wait a little longer still, then gradually start running again, first 5K, then 10K, then upping the frequency and hopefully my knees will be cool with it. Or else it’s RICE time.
My doctor also suggested physical therapy, which might include massage and that might be nice, so I’m looking into that, too.
As a bonus, I also have what he says is a baker cyst, which sounds like something you’d see in the world’s worst, most horrifying bakery. While my doctor thought it was no big deal, the causes listed on the Mayo Clinic link above do concern me somewhat:
This can be caused by:
Inflammation of the knee joint, which can occur with various types of arthritis (arthritis would be bad, although in this case, also very sudden)
A knee injury, such as a cartilage tear (anything inside your body tearing is bad, though cartilage can heal)
He said to just treat the knee and the pesky fluid should go away without any direct intervention, such as a judo chop.
Anyway, bodies are dumb. I’ve only had one knee incident before in 14 years of running, so I guess in a way I’m lucky. Maybe I’ll get new and comfier shoes before that next run, something nice and pillowy, like the old colour-bleeding Speedgoats I had way back when.
Run 595 Average pace: 5:41/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 12:34 pm
Distance: 5:04 km
Time: 28:38
Weather: Cloud, some sun
Temp: 17-19ºC
Humidity: 71%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 160
Weight: 161.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 4555 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
I missed Thursday’s planned run due to a mysterious soreness in my abdomen that became more noticeable when walking or especially when walking quickly. I figured it would make for an unpleasant run. It diminished yesterday and today I felt it was worth risking.
My best guess (I’m not a doctor and I don’t play one on TV) is it’s my bladder acting up, possibly a minor infection caused by being a man of my age. My plan was to let it go a few days and see if it got worse, then make a trip to the clinic if it did. Since it didn’t get worse I went for a run instead.
And while I felt it in a distant sort of way it only happened briefly and ended up not being a factor at all.
The knees, though, were a bit creaky, possibly from the four days off, though they also didn’t seem to slow me down.
The forecast warned of possible thunderstorms and while it showered in the morning, the afternoon consisted on non-threatening cloud and occasional sun. The breeze was up, but the conditions were overall quite pleasant for running.
Despite being only a degree or two cooler than Monday, there were no topless runners today. The threat of rain did mean the balance between runners and walkers was much closer, though.
I got off to a zipper-than-expected start, my first km coming in at 5:28. As expected, this emptied most of the tank for the next few km, though I picked up to 5:38/km by the last km and finished overall at 5:41/km, two seconds better than Monday’s pace and the third consecutive run where my pace has improved. BPM was back down to 160 and other than the aforementioned knees, no real issues, though I felt I worked a bit harder at points today.
If I stay on schedule the next run will be on Tuesday, when the sun sets at 7:33 p.m. That’s still well after I would be done, but it’s getting close to where the gap is only about 30 minutes. Once again summer has gone by way too fast.
Run 593 Average pace: 5:46/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 12:51 pm
Distance: 5:02 km
Time: 29:01
Weather: Sun and cloud
Temp: 18-22ºC
Humidity: 60%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 161
Weight: 162.9 pounds
Total distance to date: 4545 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
After battling and re-battling a cold, I was finally back out running for the first time in two weeks.
Surprisingly, my pace was also three seconds better. I find this doubly surprising, not just because I wasn’t expecting to be faster after a two week layoff, but I was deliberately not trying to push in the early part of the run, to minimize issues arising from rust/decrepit age and so on.
The knees made their presence known early on, but after a few km they were no longer an issue. I also experienced no cramps or other problems and my stamina held up nicely. Overall, a solid run and under welcome conditions–mild temperatures, a decent and refreshing breeze, and no tangible smoke haze (it’s still there, but it’s not enough to really notice–the mugginess and most especially the discernible smoke odor are currently absent).
I went clockwise, so delighted in spending much of the run on the freshly-resurfaced areas. The small dogleg just before you emerge alongside the sport fields is still closed off, though. I have no idea why this particular trail repair is taking so long, but I suspect it will look mostly the same when completed, but still be different, somehow (my hunch is shoring it up so it doesn’t flood, so it may be raised up a bit).
The one odd part of the run, such as it is, was during the third and fourth km. My pace dropped off significantly–more than I would have guessed if you had asked–and I can’t pin it to any one thing. Here are the splits:
5:39
5:42
6:01
6:00
5:30
The first two km are consistent and then my pace drops a whopping 19 seconds, holds there, and then improves by an even more impressive 30 seconds as I move through the home stretch. I’m not surprised the pace picked up in the final km, as I was pushing at that point, but by 30 seconds seems a bit nutty.
Other than sudden slow leg syndrome (SSLS), this was a perfectly decent run, especially after the two weeks off.
As a bonus, the bridge at Silver Creek is finished and the replacement has a rustic charm the older one didn’t really have.
Run 586 Average pace: 6:03/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:19 am
Distance: 5:02 km
Time: 30:25
Weather: Sunny with high cloud
Temp: 20-25ºC
Humidity: 53%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 164
Weight: 162.1 pounds
Total distance to date: 4510 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
Rather than exactly duplicating the last run, I decided to actually start on the other side of the dam, at the official 0K marker. I then took the three side trails (Spruce and Conifer Loops, Piper Mill Trail) as usual. This should have resulted in me hitting 5K before the actual 5K marker. Instead I hit 5K pretty much right at the 5K marker, so another 300 m or so seems to have gone missing again. This was backed up again by the fact that even though I immediately switched the activity to an Outdoor Walk, I was passing each km marker by a good 300+ m before dinging the next km on the app.
My theory is I have no theory. It’s just weird. I’m going to try the next lake run with just the watch, to see if it’s GPS produces different results. If they’re the same, then I’m just going to assume the earth’s rotation has changed or some kind of witchcraft is at play. If they’re different, then obviously I’ll have to spend $1300 and get a new phone this fall.
The run itself was technically faster. The pace was the same at 6:03/km, but today the overall time was a whopping seven seconds swifter. The splits were very consistent, all clustered between 6:00-6:06/km. I felt mostly fine, though I felt I was flagging a little around the 3K mark. One annoyance dogged me for about the first three km–the underside of my right foot was strangely sore, in a kind of “funny bone” way. It wasn’t painful and in fact it almost made me want to giggle in the same way hitting your elbow does. I think it may have slowed me up a little. I’m not sure what I did to my foot last night. Just another part of this weird run.
Even the trains were weird. I started on the Spruce Loop and there was a train trundling off to the right, as happens semi-regularly. I ran almost a full km before the train finally moved on–and it wasn’t exactly tootling along like it was being driven by a nice old grandma. What I’m saying is it was a mega-long train. Later, I became strangely entranced by a train while running the Cottonwood Trail. The trains do not normally entrance me, I’m not sure why this one did. As it happens, I looked down just in time to avoid stepping on a snake that was being unusually tardy in slithering off the path. It was also a drab brown instead of that splendorous black and gold, so it was obviously going camo. I think stepping on a snake is considered bad luck. Especially for the snake.
Finally, as I moved onto the trail adjacent to the sports fields and the final stretch, the geese were again lounging about in their new favorite spot, directly on the trail. As I approached the two geese actually in my way I clapped my hands, the universal gesture for “I have the right of way, you stupid geese” and they very casually waddled just enough to let me by. They were acting so chill, so cool, I had to check to see if they were wearing Ray Bans. Still, it beats them attacking me with their beaks.
The resurfaced South Shore Trail is pretty much done now and is all run-ready. The signs say they are also working on the Pavilion Trail, which is quite gnarly, so I’m curious to see how that goes.
Here’s a before/after shot of the same section before and after it was rolled/compressed.
I was farther back in the first shot, the pile of gravel was not twice as massive before they rolled it.
For someone in an ORV the resurfaced trail is now 200% less fun.
I actually had a good amount of stamina after the run, so I fell into a pattern where I would start running when I hit the next km )on the watch) and run until I felt like stopping, though sometimes I challenged myself with specific mini-goals (“Run to the end of the next boardwalk” or “Run until the bear stops chasing you”, things like that). My fastest walking pace was 6:36/km, which is actually not far off from my worst run pace, so I did quite a bit of running.
I’m not feeling any particular ill effects now and I’m going to start stretching to see how that affects the knees.
In theory my next run will be on Tuesday but it looks to be hot and I’ll be back at work, so no guarantees. I’ll definitely run in my mind, though. Yes.
Run 584 Average pace: 6:12/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:21 am
Distance: 5:04 km
Time: 31:18
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 24-28ºC
Humidity: 50%
Wind: light
BPM: 167
Weight: 162.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 4500 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
I hit a new milestone today, or, I suppose, a kilometerstone, passing 4,500 km officially run. It’s actually more than that, but I wasn’t really tracking much (or at all) in the early days. 4,500 km is enough to pretty much go from the west coast of Canada to the east coast, depending on where exactly you start and stop. It did take me nine years to reach this, so jogging may not be the most practical way (for me) to cross the country.
My last run was 22 days ago, on June 22, and with the return of warm, sunny weather, my goal today was to simply finish and not feel horrible after. Mission accomplished!
While the pace of 6:12/km is certainly not blazingly fast, it *is* ten seconds better than my previous run at the lake, which is kind of impressive given that happened 27 days ago. I actually did not feel bad and managed to pick up the pace in the last km, too. I did feel the knees, but they were no better or worse than the last half dozen runs or so. I was surprised my stamina held up as the temperature climbed from 24ºC to 28ºC during the run. Equally surprising was the minimal sweating, perhaps due to the humidity hovering around 50%, coupled with a light and refreshing breeze. For an Africa hot run, it was pretty tolerable.
Also, a few new things on the trail since my last run. The UH OH BEARS sign is out again for the season, and the stretch of trail from the western boardwalk to the area resurfaced last year has also been resurfaced, with one small section still waiting its top coat of compressed gravel/dirt. This was a pleasant surprise, though it did mean the one unique corner on a hill was smoothed out. It was also fun to cut in short when going counter-clockwise, but now it’s just a regular corner.
The Cottonwood Trail remains as rooty as ever, but they are running out of sections to resurface, so it may get done in the next year or so, if they stick to the same rough schedule.
Overall, this was a pleasant return and went much better than it might have, given the conditions and the time between runs. Now to build on this without my knees collapsing.
The best part actually came after I finished the run. There was a woman jogging ahead of me, but her pace was what one might describe as languid, so languid that I actually caught up and passed her–while walking. That’s definitely a first. Shortly after passing her I turned a corner and saw the poopmonsters were again cluttering up the trail at the north end of the sports fields. I eased up to let the “jogger” go first and draw their fire. It turned out that not much of anything happened. You can see one goose in particular still flapping its wings in umbrage in this shot as she passes by, but the rest just went about with their usual goose-standing, goose-grooming and, of course, goose-stepping:
Run 583 Average pace: 5:33/km Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 5:04 pm
Distance: 5:05 km
Time: 28:03
Weather: High cloud, some sun
Temp: 20ºC
Humidity: 53%
Wind: light
BPM: 168
Weight: 164.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 4495 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone 8
There were a few changes for today’s run: I went on the river trail, it was significantly cooler than the last run, and I ran on a Friday, which I normally don’t do. This was my first run during the week, which means I had four days off since the last run, one day more than I’d like. But I was well-rested, at least.
High cloud effectively blotted out the sun, making the run even more comfortable than it would have been otherwise.
I had a few goals:
keep my BPM under 170
try to come in under 6:00/km for the first time in a hundred years or so
not feel the need to shout obscenities at the end
Happily, I accomplished every goal, though my BPM increased over Sunday’s run from 164 to 168. That was likely due to the pace. Where last Sunday I eked out a terrible 6:18/km, today–hoping for something in the 5:50ish range–I came in at a better-than-expected 5:33/km. I don’t think I’ve ever improved my pace from one run to the next by 45 seconds before.
I actually picked up the pace in the second km, going from 5:30 to 5:25 before starting to feel a bit tired during the fourth km. I slowed, but that gave me enough gas to finish the fifth km with a pace of 5:31/km, nearly matching my start.
Best of all, I felt no cramps, discomfort or anything else bothersome, other than the knees feeling a bit sore but not actively shrieking in pain for me to stop. I did watch a bug come at my face and bounce off my cheek, just below my right eye. That was a little weird.
In all, it was a tremendous relief to finally get back under the 6:00/km pace again. The previous six runs were all between 6:00-6:22/km. The last time I managed to be under was when I hit 5:49/km back on April 14, more than two months ago. Ay caramba. The last run on the river was way back on March 24 and I was a little faster then at 5:27/km.
I’m planning on running again on Sunday and will decide on whether I want to try the horror of Burnaby Lake again or stick to the river trail. The river trail is better for the ego, but the lake is more interesting. Hmm.
