it’s not the heat it’s the humidity

Run 711: 7-11 joke goes here

In which humidity continues its winning streak.

Today my BA (Bear anxiety) was low, but I was also curiously unmotivated and didn’t actually head out until after 11 a.m. By the time I started my clockwise run, it was already 26C and humidity was still 50%. Who would win, me or humidity?

Okay, I spoiled the answer already, but at the start I felt pretty good and my opening pace was 5:51/km, but by the second km it plunged to 6:13/km after I set a usual pace of 150 BPM. As I continued, the thought of doing 10K dimmed, and ultimately I settled on 5K, with a bit of a boost at the end to lift my overall pace to 6:09/km. After walking for a km, I found some renewed energy along the shady Cottonwood Trail and actually ran the entire 7K stretch, albeit at a more casual pace. The one downside was the industrial stink coming from across the road, probably from one of the constructions sites. It wasn’t fresh asphalt, but it had a similar and horrible chemical odor that pervaded almost the entire length of the trail.

In the end, not a bad result, and I definitely feel better after than I did on Wednesday, but still kind of blah. At times it really felt fine, and at others the air was absolutely stifling. Do not like.

I am very tired of high humidity for runs, though. Fortunately, the weather should start changing in the next few weeks as we move toward fall, then I can start complaining about how cold it is, as nature intended.

Also, I saw a heron right belong Cariboo Dam at the end of my run. Enjoy this blurry, zoomed-in photo from my iPhone:

Stats:

Run 711
Average pace: 6:09/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 12:14 p.m.
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 30:54
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 26-27ºC
Humidity: 50%
Wind: nil to light
BPM: 151
Weight: 159.6
Total distance to date: 5212 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (320 km)

Run 524: Strangely familiar

Run 524
Average pace: 5:36/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:05 am
Distance: 10.02 km
Time: 56:18
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 18ºC
Humidity: 69%
Wind: moderate
BPM: 159
Weight: 157.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 4083 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone

Today I ran the same distance but in the opposite direction compared to Wednesday and managed an identical pace of 5:36/km. Not only that, even the total time of the two runs was basically the difference in a rounding error. Today it took me 56:18 minutes and on Wednesday it took me 56:17 minutes, a whopping one second difference.

What’s even more interesting (to me, anyway) is that I arrived at the identical pace through very different means. Wednesday’s run felt harder and I was tired by the end. Today’s run, under cloudy skies and a steady 18ºC was much more comfortable, so in theory today’s run should have been faster–in fact, I was expecting it to be.

The difference?

On Wednesday I started out a lot faster for the first three km and flagged a lot more for the final three. Today I started out slower but then fell into a much more even rhythm over the length of the run. The stronger finish, though, wasn’t enough to compensate for the slower start so the two runs, with greatly varying lap times, ended up with the near-exact same result.

I was a little disappointed but 5:36/km is still a good pace so I’m not exactly hopping mad over it. Also, the humidity was quite high, so despite the cooler temperature I still sweated more than I’d have preferred.

The usual trail closure at the Spruce Loop fork was in place but there was a second detour waiting for me near the 5K mark. “Closed for repairs” said the sign directing me away from the trail along the athletic field, right on the first corner. Over yonder I could see similar signs directing people away. Trucks and people were milling about at several points on the section of the trail. This struck me as curious, as they had just resurfaced the stretch just days ago. Maybe they did it wrong. I’ll find out soonish!

It meant I had to run across the field itself to continue on. Fortunately there was neither a soccer match in progress, an unexpected marmot hole waiting to snap my ankle or any other impediments. I did have to run past a nearby gathering of poopmonsters and one honked a few times, perhaps as a gang warning of sorts. I ignored it’s menacing squawk.

Running on grass actually feels a little weird when you’re used to gravel and dirt.

With the weather being worse there were fewer people out. Only one wayward dog today and no cyclists–hooray!

Except for the aforementioned sweating, I encountered no issues, so Week 2 of 10K runs is now done. I’m hoping to start Week 3 with a new pair of shoes as the right shoe in particular is starting to honk like a poopmonster.

The too hot to run run

Run 337
Average pace: 5:22/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce Loop, Conifer Loop and Piper Mill Trail
Distance: 2.53 km
Weather: Sunny and very muggy
Temp: 31ºC
Wind: nil to light
Calories burned: 195

I thought I had my salvation with me for this run–a water bottle, woo! I tried using it with the included belt but the belt just felt too weird and bulky so I ended up just carrying the bottle. It wasn’t a big bother, I just switched off hands occasionally. As a bonus, each hand I switched from suddenly felt much lighter.

But having the water bottle ended up not helping because unlike Tuesday’s run, this one was much more humid, so I wasn’t drying out the same way. Instead I was sweating out my own body weight in, uh, sweat. It was so muggy and hot that I began to feel a little nauseous about 2 km in and decided to pull the plug at the halfway mark and walk the rest of the way.

Of the summers I’ve been jogging, this has been the Africa hot-iest by far. But with three weeks of vacation ahead I can now start running in the morning before the earth is fully baked. I’m hoping it makes for a welcome change.

The understandably terrible run

Run 336
Average pace: 5:27/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce Loop, Conifer Loop (2) and Piper Mill Trail
Distance: 5.03 km
Weather: Sunny and very muggy
Temp: 27ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 387
Total distance to date: 2814

It was 27ºC when I headed out on tonight’s run. Warmer than I’d like but not as warm as some previous runs. I was hoping it would be semi-tolerable. I wore my New Balance MT110 minimalist shoes for the first time in a long time, to see if the extra room helped my accursed left foot.

The good news is I finished the run without fainting, throwing up or spontaneously exploding.

The other good news is the MT110s were fine. My foot started to feel a little sore after the run but only a little. I remember why I like minimalist shoes. They’re light, flexible and provide a firmer, more natural grip on the trail. I’ll keep wearing them for now.

The best news of all: the laces never came untied!

The bad news: this was the most uncomfortable run I’ve had all year. It was very warm but worse, very muggy. This is in part due to the time of day–between 5 and 6 p.m. the sun is low and the earth is fully baked, yet to to cool off for the evening. The wind also tends to die down late afternoon. I was sweating like crazy, my mouth was parched, my stamina was sucked away over the course of the 5 km like I had a vampire hanging off my neck the entire time. While km to km my time didn’t drop drastically (in the usual 2-3% range) I started out slow (5:14 for the first km) and added 4-8 seconds each km, ending with a dismal pace of 5:27/km.

This time it definitely wasn’t the equipment, it was all me. I almost packed it in at the 3K mark but pressed on, even as I felt queasy from the heat. I even managed a minor uptick in speed for the last 400 m.

If conditions are the same on Thursday I am taking water with me, even if I’m forced to wear one of those giant foam hats with the beer cans on the sides. Except using beer would probably not be a good idea.

On a scale of one to five collapsed joggers, I rate tonight’s jog four out of five collapsed joggers.

The first official treadmill run

(NOTE: This post was actually published in December because I was too caught up in shenanigans in November to pay attention to my blog, but I’ve posted it on the actual day of the run to keep it accurate that way.)

With daylight after work growing short enough now to make post-work runs no longer feasible–the two places I normally run both lack any kind of lighting and would be Very Dark and possibly Very Hazardous to run–I finally did something I’d always wanted to: run on a treadmill.

I picked out a suitable machine at the Canada Games Pool, overlooking all the people happily splashing about in the pools below, no doubt happy because they were not using treadmills.

The machine was very big and sturdy. It had a lot of controls and settings but I figured things out enough to get started with a minimum of fuss. The most important controls were arrows that controlled the speed of the treadmill. I also noted the location of two bicycle-like handlebars to grip. I would come to know these intimately very quickly.

Getting started was the most difficult task and underlines how unnatural a treadmill is. On a trail run I control every aspect of my movement. I can slow and speed up on a whim, I got dodge and leap and generally do what is needed on a moment’s notice, something that is eminently practical on a trail that varies constantly in terms of condition.

The treadmill, on the other hand, controls you. Once the surface starts sliding back, you have two choices: start walking or slide off. As the speed of the treadmill increases, your choices become: start jogging or slide off at a high rate of speed as one might see in a bloopers video.

I had to use the handlebars.

I never did figure out the right tension/speed to match my usual running pace, I just kept cranking the speed until I felt I was running at what felt like something resembling a typical pace. I ended up with a time of 5:11/km which felt slower than it should have been but because I’d never used the iPod on a treadmill before I was merely content that it was in the right ballpark, to mix my athletic metaphors.

The motion of the running is odd. It feels unnatural and bouncy. The constant motion is strange. You can’t moderate your pace because that means sliding off, you just relentlessly continue. I suppose that makes it good for pushing yourself to beat PRs or something. There is always the option to ramp the speed down but that means leaning forward slightly to hit the big down arrow. It sounds simple but running in place is amazingly good at making simple things more difficult than you’d imagine.

The most unexpected part, however, was the dehydration. I’ve used the ellipticals at the pool before and after 39 minutes of use I’d be a bit parched but nothing more. The building interior is a somewhat humid environment with all the water and warm temperatures. This made no difference on the treadmill. Either that or they had magically removed all traces of humidity from the building while it was closed for renovations, replacing it with a dry, desert-like air.

After an official time of 17:18 I slapped the Stop button. Fortunately this causes the treadmill to slowly wind down so I didn’t go flying off into the pool. The reason I ended my run with only 3.3 km covered is my mouth had become so dry it was difficult to swallow and it became so uncomfortable I literally could not stand it. Never on the hottest summer day with the sun blazing down on me have I felt my throat and mouth so cotton ball-dry.

I am reluctant to try the treadmill again though I suppose it deserves at least one more go before I decide to shun it unto forever. I will have a honking big bottle of water with me if I do.

The slow start run

Distance: 11.03 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 21ºC
Wind: none
Calories burned: 771
Average pace: 5:17/km
Total distance to date: 955 km

Bleah: The Sequel.

Tonight’s run was pretty much a repeat of the previous, with a few minor variations that ultimately led to a near-identical result.

I got a cramp very near the start of the run and as a result the opening km was a (now) sluggish 5:04/km. To put this in perspective, this is only two seconds off my fastest overall pace. The cramp persisted for more than the first half of the run and returned in slightly milder form for the last 1+ km. I kept pushing steady through the cramping, though, and managed to hold myself to a time of 5:17/km when it could have been much worse.

On the plus side, it wasn’t quite as warm or buggy as the previous run. If I can get a decent start next time and avoid cramping up I should be in good shape. I had some Coke Zero in the afternoon before running but I didn’t think it was close enough to affect me. I’ll be skipping it altogether next run day, so I’ll find out then.

Chart (blue indicates the run was done clockwise; purple = Burnaby Lake):

km Aug 8 Aug 4 Aug 1 Jul 27 Jul 20 Jul 17 Jul 14 Jul 11 Jul 9 Jul 6
1 km 5:04 4:51 4:51 4:56 4:53 4:56 4:45 4:54 4:58 5:08
2 km 5:05 4:54 4:52 4:54 4:56 4:54 4:47 4:56 4:58 5:11
3 km 5:07 4:59 4:56 4:55 4:55 4:58 4:56 4:51 4:58 5:03
4 km 5:09 5:04 4:58 4:56 5:00 4:58 4:54 5:01 5:07 5:17
5 km 5:11 5:07 5:00 5:00 5:01 5:00 4:54 5:03 5:10 5:20
6 km 5:12 5:09 5:01 5:02 5:02 5:02 4:59 5:03 5:12 5:22
7 km 5:14 5:11 5:04 5:04 5:03 5:04 5:00 5:04 5:15 5:25
8 km 5:16 5:13 5:06 5:06 5:05 5:06 5:02 5:06 5:17 5:27
9 km 5:16 5:14 5:07 5:07 5:06 5:08 5:04 5:08 5:19 5:30
10 km 5:17 5:15 5:09 5:09 5:06 5:09 5:06 5:10 5:20 5:31
11 km 5:17 5:16 5:10 5:10 — 5:10 5:01 4:59 — —

The head-down, cramped-up run

Distance: 11.02 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 24ºC
Wind: none
Calories burned: 770
Average pace: 5:16/km
Total distance to date: 944 km

Bleah.

It was quite warm tonight and there was no wind at all at Burnaby Lake so the canopied sections of the trail were especially humid. This alone would have likely shaved a few seconds off my pace but what really did me in tonight was a cramp that showed up early and persisted through about 3 km. My start time was fine — 4:51 through the first km, then it dipped by 3, 5 and 5 seconds over the successive km, torpedoing any chance of finishing with a decent time. Once the cramp cleared my pace held up much better and in fact I generally only lost a second per km over the second half, which is pretty good, especially given that the southern part of the trail is more uphill.

Given the pleasant (for walking) weather, there were a few more people out but no incidents to report. The buggy section of the run was indeed super-buggy but keeping my head down managed to spare me ingesting a hundred gnats, though I felt a few plink off my forehead and face as I pushed through the clouds of ’em.

Here’s hoping the next run is a little more in-line with what I expect. Also, note to self: no Coke Zero an hour before a run.

Chart (blue indicates the run was done clockwise; purple = Burnaby Lake):

km Aug 4 Aug 1 Jul 27 Jul 20 Jul 17 Jul 14 Jul 11 Jul 9 Jul 6 Jul 4
1 km 4:51 4:51 4:56 4:53 4:56 4:45 4:54 4:58 5:08 4:58
2 km 4:54 4:52 4:54 4:56 4:54 4:47 4:56 4:58 5:11 5:02
3 km 4:59 4:56 4:55 4:55 4:58 4:56 4:51 4:58 5:03 5:08
4 km 5:04 4:58 4:56 5:00 4:58 4:54 5:01 5:07 5:17 5:12
5 km 5:07 5:00 5:00 5:01 5:00 4:54 5:03 5:10 5:20 5:14
6 km 5:09 5:01 5:02 5:02 5:02 4:59 5:03 5:12 5:22 5:15
7 km 5:11 5:04 5:04 5:03 5:04 5:00 5:04 5:15 5:25 5:17
8 km 5:13 5:06 5:06 5:05 5:06 5:02 5:06 5:17 5:27 5:19
9 km 5:14 5:07 5:07 5:06 5:08 5:04 5:08 5:19 5:30 5:21
10 km 5:15 5:09 5:09 5:06 5:09 5:06 5:10 5:20 5:31 5:21
11 km 5:16 5:10 5:10 — 5:10 5:01 4:59 — — —

The buggy run

Distance: 11.18 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 22ºC
Wind: none
Calories burned: 781
Average pace: 5:10/km
Total distance to date: 933 km

Back to Burnaby Lake tonight. With the temperature still 22ºC at 7 p.m. I expected it to be warm and humid and it was. I also expected the bug-filled parts of the trail near the western tip of the lake to be especially bug-filled, given the rain from yesterday morning and the prevailing conditions. And it was very buggy.

I’m pretty sure I inhaled more than one. At one point it felt like I got something lodged in my windpipe and I tried clearing my throat. That didn’t seem to work so I coughed a few times. As I passed over a bridge I suddenly was taken with the urge to retch. This is not what one would call optimal running conditions. Fortunaqtely I did not retch, my stomach settled down and I finished thew run without further incident.

At times my shins felt a bit tender but I believe it was a combination of form (as the feeling went away when I concentrated on my form) and another five day layoff. This one was unintended, as other events ended up squeezing out my running time. I should be good to go again in two days, though.

Despite the mid-run glitch (between 6-7 km, — you can see my pace fall off by three seconds there) I turned in a solid 5:10/km average — identical to my last run, which was also after five days off. I got that consistency thing going.

And I must commend a polite and observant dog owner. She was walking two dogs, one on each side of her. The one on her left was stretched out on its leash, effectively blocking the path. I had to clear my throat as I approached and it served as a cue to her. She glanced back, saw me and neatly pulled the one dog close to her so I could pass. I waved and offered thanks as I did so. Why can’t all dog owners be like this? Thank you, nice lady!

Chart (blue indicates the run was done clockwise; purple = Burnaby Lake):

km Aug 1 Jul 27 Jul 20 Jul 17 Jul 14 Jul 11 Jul 9 Jul 6 Jul 4
1 km 4:51 4:56 4:53 4:56 4:45 4:54 4:58 5:08 4:58
2 km 4:52 4:54 4:56 4:54 4:47 4:56 4:58 5:11 5:02
3 km 4:56 4:55 4:55 4:58 4:56 4:51 4:58 5:03 5:08
4 km 4:58 4:56 5:00 4:58 4:54 5:01 5:07 5:17 5:12
5 km 5:00 5:00 5:01 5:00 4:54 5:03 5:10 5:20 5:14
6 km 5:01 5:02 5:02 5:02 4:59 5:03 5:12 5:22 5:15
7 km 5:04 5:04 5:03 5:04 5:00 5:04 5:15 5:25 5:17
8 km 5:06 5:06 5:05 5:06 5:02 5:06 5:17 5:27 5:19
9 km 5:07 5:07 5:06 5:08 5:04 5:08 5:19 5:30 5:21
10 km 5:09 5:09 5:06 5:09 5:06 5:10 5:20 5:31 5:21
11 km 5:10 5:10 — 5:10 5:01 4:59 — — —