I see clouds!

The stones outside the living room window were dotted with raindrops when I got up this morning. There are clouds in the sky. The forecast high is in the teens. Scattered showers are predicted. This is all very weird. Could it be summer is going away, and with it the horrible heat and humidity twins of terror and discomfort?

Well, maybe not entirely:

To be clear, this is for September 9 and 10, 2022.

I feel pretty good in predicting no more days of 30C for the rest of 2022, though. If I’m wrong, I will curl up and cry. And sweat. A lot.

A haiku to humidity

If you can’t beat it, wax poetic about it.

Humidity

Humidity sucks
Take your wet bulb and stuff it
Sweating and sweating

Well, that turned out a tad bitter! But I like it. Stupid humidity.

Current humidity as of this writing: 83%

Run 710: Bear-free yet unbearable

I headed out with a high amount of BA (Bear Anxiety) but the lake was bear-free, at least as far as my time there.

Another earlyish start to beat the heat, but not as successful as Monday. It jumped to 25C by the time I got there and was 27C by the 5K mark, which is where I stopped. My pace was actually pretty decent, given I was running counter-clockwise, but the humidity and sun were just too much. I probably could have done 10K, but the run was an unfun slog, so I did 5K, then intervals the rest of the way.

I don’t feel bad about this! And if the forecast is right, this is likely to be the last truly hot day of summer (the high is expected to be 32C), with the rest of the week seeing higher-than-normal temperatures, but staying in the 20s.

Oddly, my first km was slowest. Had I not started out so cautiously, I would have been under the six-minute mark–but I’m okay with that, too!

Along with the sun and high humidity, there was once more very little in the way of a breeze. When I was under the full glare of the sun, it felt exactly like that–a glare. Basically, I’ve had my fill of this weather. I’m ready for a change. I don’t want to fully embrace the R-word just yet, but at least it might make runs more palatable.

Friday is “only” going to see a high of 27C, so I’m hoping conditions will be better for a full 10K. For now, I hydrate and rest.

Stats:

Run 710
Average pace: 6:03/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:21 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:25
Weather: Sun with some high cloud
Temp: 25-27ºC
Humidity: 52%
Wind: nil to light
BPM: 152
Weight: 160.4
Total distance to date: 5207 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (315 km)

Run 706: It’s not the heat, it’s the bad dog owners

Today turned out to be very similar in some ways to Monday’s run, with the pace being only a second faster (margin of error), but there were a few key differences:

  • It was cloudy. This was GOOD.
  • It was 23-24C. This was also GOOD.
  • Humidity was 68% and didn’t drop much during the run. This was BAD.
  • There was very little breeze until the last few km of the run. This was also BAD.

The lack of sun was a pleasant surprise and while it tried poking through the cloud cover around halfway through, the clouds smothered it back up, which was fine by me.

I decided to try an earlier start to at least get cooler temperatures and it worked, but unlike Monday, humidity was even higher and the first half of the run the air was especially thick. By the third km I was doubting I’d have the stamina to go beyond 5K, but I pushed past it and gave myself permission to stop whenever I needed to.

By the 6K mark I actually passed a slower runner, which is always a nice ego boost, so kept going. By the ninth km, the bottom was falling out, and my pace plunged to 6:26/km. Yuck. But at that point I’m not going to call it, so I did the opposite: I put on the “Get this over with” jets and finished the last km with a pace of 6:05/km.

I’m not actually sure why I was so slow on the ninth km. It was like my mind started wandering off task and I forgot that I was actually running.

Anyway, it was overall gross due to the H word, but I managed a decent performance, anyway. The hip started out fine and never became overly sore, so it was definitely better than on Monday’s outing, which was nice.

As to the bad dog owners, just a lot of people with their dogs off-leash today, mostly on the river trail. When I was a block from home, a woman had a dog (on leash) right at the edge of the sidewalk on Fader Street. I walked by, giving them a bit of a berth, and the dog suddenly growled and lunged at me. The woman had to restrain the dog fairly aggressively.

Tip: If your dog is trying to lunge/attack random people on the street, you are probably a terrible person and a horrible dog owner. Get your dog trained or give it to someone who gives a damn. Signed, Me! Sometimes I’m curious knowing what is going on in the mind of as person like that and other times I’m glad I don’t know.

I’m pretty sure if that dog was not on a leash that I’d be sitting in the ER right now, waiting to get a tetanus shot. I had enough of those when I was a kid, thanks!

Stats:

Run 706
Average pace: 6:09/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 9:16 a.m.
Distance: 10.02 km
Time: 61:42
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 23-24ºC
Humidity: 63-68%
Wind: nil to light
BPM: 153
Weight: 162.1
Total distance to date: 5182 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (290 km)

Run 696: Oh the humidity

I nearly stepped on as snake on my first run today. It was sunning right where my foot was heading. Fortunately, we saw each other in time and adjusted accordingly.

And yes, my first run. Let me explain!

I knew it would be hot today (forecast high of 30C) so I headed out at 8:46 a.m. In terms of temperature, the run started at 22C, which is fine. The first four km also felt fine, if a bit slower. I had already decided to maintain a BPM of 150, so I knew my pace would drop, as I’d need to work harder to maintain the pace in cooler temperatures. All good.

Around the 4K mark, I began to flag. I didn’t feel bad, exactly, and I kept to that 150 BPM. But I noticed a couple of things: the utter absence of any breeze (even when it’s hot, a little breeze is nice) and an oppressive level of humidity, which has so far been the defining feature of the weather this summer. My pace continued to collapse unto itself and by the 6K mark I paused to let my heart rate come down, then set off again. At the 7K mark, I did the same thing, but impulsively chose to stop the run instead of pausing it. I immediately regretted this.

After about a minute to gather my strength, I started another run, adding 3K to make for a combined total of 10K. The stats below are smooshed together from the two runs.

I’m not sure heading out even earlier on Wednesday would help, as it’s bound to be even more humid earlier in the morning, and not much cooler. We’ll see.

On a more positive note, I saw another bunny. It hopped across the trail in front of me. Or maybe it was the same bunny as before. So far, every bunny has been the same brown color, so who can say? Other than the bunny.

And one more positive note: Despite the yuck-o humidity, I didn’t experience any issues on the run–no cramps, pains, twinges and, of course, my mouth did not dry out at all, since it felt like I was running inside a bag of water.

Stats:

Run 696
Average pace: 6:22/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 9:32 a.m.
Distance: 10.07 km
Time: 63:59
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 22-25ºC
Humidity: 64-76%
Wind: nil
BPM: 150
Weight: 164.2
Total distance to date: 5105 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (213 km)

NOTE: Due to a premature stop, the stats above are a combination of a 7K and 3K run with about a minute gap between them.

Run 657: The sweaty detour

I dithered a bit on getting out today and wasn’t sure if I’d walk, run or do some crazy combo. As is the case when I face this sort of indecision, I walked to the end of the river trail, hoping to find an answer along the way. And I did!

I decided to do another looping 5K run at the lake, this time going clockwise because of variety and all that.

I got to the lake under partly cloudy skies–nice for running! I started out, thinking about where I’d be on the trail when I hit the 2.5K mark and had to turn around. I noticed it was very humid.

Setting down the Avalon trail, I passed a few people and off in the distance noticed someone walking down from the Freeway trail. No one walks on the Freeway trail pretty much unless they have to, because it is completely exposed and, true to its name, within sight of the highway, which is not really the most scenic thing to look at when out for a nice run.

This turned out to be the case, because when I got to the spot where the trail splits, the turn-off for the lake loop had a big ol’ sawhorse blocking it with a TRAIL CLOSED sign on it. Fooey.

Having no choice, I continued on the Freeway trail. The sun also came out. Combined with the high humidity, I began sweating like crazy and felt like some invisible energy vampire had suddenly arrived to take my energy, because that’s what they do.

When I reached the first fork leading back to the lake loop, there was another sawhorse, but this one was pushed aside, so I tentatively set down the path. The parks people were doing some kind of remedial work at Ramsay Creek, and I could see equipment parked on the bridge. Another runner (or at least I think he might have been as he was drenched in sweat) was walking ahead of me and seemed to get through, but I decided to head back, along the forbidden part of the trail that was CLOSED, thinking I would not encounter any work, equipment or things of that nature due to the CLOSED part.

I was right! In fact, the trail was blissfully empty right up until I approached the first sawhorse from the other side. I zipped around it, feeling a little naughty about the whole thing.

Since I was going to come up short on 5K, I had to cross over the dam and run a ways counter-clockwise to make up the difference. I found a tiny bit of gas to finish and ended up with a pace of 6:15/km, only one second slower than my previous lake run. Not bad considering how humid it was. Did I mention the humidity? It was very humid.

Other than the energy-sapping humidity, I encountered no issues while running, so overall I’m pleased to have gotten out and continue to build on my 5Ks. I don’t have any great plans on where to take this, I’m just going to keep running regularly for as long as I can and take any improvements in stamina and increased leg sexiness as they come.

Stats:

Run 657
Average pace: 6:16/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 3:29 p.m.
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 31:25
Weather: Sun and cloud
Temp: 22ºC
Humidity: 62%
Wind: light
BPM: 152
Weight: 178.1
Total distance to date: 4895 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (20 km)

Run 617: Trail work, ho!

Run 617
Average pace: 5:52/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 10:57 am
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:31
Weather: Intermittent sun
Temp: 18ºC
Humidity: 73%
Wind: light
BPM: 161
Weight: 167.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 4665 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 2, iPhone 8
Shoes: Saucony Switchback ISO (20 km)

This was my first run at the lake with the new shoes and they were fine. My pace was slower–which I expected in switching back to the lake–and I chalk that up to being a bit tired by week’s end, the somewhat more technical aspect of the lake trail and the much higher humidity. I sweated early, often and copiously.

The dam area is filled with a lot more equipment as they start work on repairing and replacing the gates, but fortunately the top of the dam will stay open during the three month project. The equipment is neatly tucked out of the way for now, so it also didn’t interfere with the start of the run, which began at the official 0K marker, since I had to use the Jiffy John® first.

As I passed the picnic area I spied large piles of gravel, in two distinct varieties. At first I thought it had to do with the dam project–which makes no sense, really, so I blame that on runner’s brain–then put it out of my mind as I focused on where my feet were going.

The explanation for the piles o’ gravel became clear as I hot the Spruce Loop. The trail had obviously been gone over with equipment and some fresh dirt/gravel had been smooshed about in spots, perhaps in an attempt to smooth out holes, but the actual effect was to make the trail a lot trickier to run on, because it was now lumpy and covered in soft patches your feet could slide around in. A good test for the new shoes.

This continued on through the Conifer Loop and even onto the main trail. There’s a huge pipe just short of the 3K marker that is almost completely exposed. When I’m running I have to time my jump over it–yes, it’s that big. But today it was completely covered in the fine gravel that serves as the top layer when trails are resurfaced. It’s the darker stuff in the above photo.

All of this means they are in the beginning stages of finally resurfacing the side trail, which have long needed some love, and it looks like they are getting close to the Cottonwood Trail, which is currently the worst part of the main loop, festooned with numerous exposed tree roots. Even if they just do the side trails, it will be a great improvement, so yay for that.

The run itself started with me matching the overall pace of 5:52/km during the first km. While a full 10 seconds slower than the previous river trail run, it still handily beat my last lake run a few weeks back, when I came in at 6:11/km. I clearly flagged in the second km. My BPM was was hitting around 169 at that point, but it dropped after and came out to 161 overall, a little higher, but still well within the comfortable range.

There were no issues in terms of cramps or other discomfort, other than just feeling the humidity sucking the life force from me. I did pick up the pace toward the end and finished before the 5K marker, always a nice psychological victory. The walk out of the lake I found myself running more than walking (my average pace was 8:27/km, which is impossible for a walking pace unless I find a way to grow my legs to be twice as tall as they are now), even getting as low as 6:24/km at one point, nearly matching a slower run pace).

Overall, a decent effort. It’ll be interesting to see how the next lake run goes, especially if humidity is lower and the side trails are freshly resurfaced.

A somewhat labored Labor Day run

Run 348
Average pace: 5:21/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops
Distance: 10.04 km
Weather: Cloudy with some sun, humid
Temp: 19-21ºC (felt like 24ºC)
Wind: light
Calories burned: 771
Total distance to date: 2927

Today’s run was disappointing in one way and nicely rewarding in another.

The disappointment came in a slower pace, 5:21/km vs. Saturday’s 5:18/km. I attribute most of this to it being noticeably more humid. The temperature was a bit warmer but it felt warmer and muggier. Looking at my time I clearly started sagging, though during the run it didn’t feel that bad. The foot also began to hurt, but not as much as Saturday. I think I’ve been crunching it in unfavorable ways when sitting at the computer. I need to get slippers or something so I can’t do that.

The other thing of note is how crowded the trail was. Starting out at the dam I saw more people than I think I did on my entire run done at the same time on Saturday. Apparently the thing to do on a statutory holiday is go to the lake and walk or jog. I’m pretty sure I’ve written about this very thing before. It’s weird.

Also, in addition to the usual bear signs:

Bear in area sign
Here be bears (maybe).

A new one was added, warning “Bear sighted in area”, along with a number to call, presumably so they can send someone over to murder the bear that was sighted. I don’t know if they actually murder them, maybe they tranq them and relocate them but shooting things dead seems to be the popular solution these days so that’s what I’m assuming.

Anyway, it adds a little spice to the jog to know an actual bear has been spotted on your route. It won’t be long before the bears head off to hibernate and the signs come down, though, to be replaced with “Yeti in area” signs.

The rewarding part of today’s run was the total distance for the year to date. At 438.7 km I have now passed my run total for all of 2013 (!) with four months to go. In 2013 I ran 436.1 km. Mind you, my average pace in 2013 was 5:08 and this year it’s 5:16 so…eh, you take what you can get.

Another warm ‘n muggy run with another bonus coyote sighting

Run 344
Average pace: 5:18/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops
Distance: 10.03 km
Weather: Sunny, very humid
Temp: 18-24ºC
Wind: nil
Calories burned: 772
Total distance to date: 2887

Conditions were nearly identical today vs. Friday except it was sunny, which meant it warmed up more over the course of the run. Humidity was very high again, starting around 85% and I sweated copiously as I am wont to do in these conditions.

I didn’t wilt quite as much, though, and managed to shave off two seconds, making my average pace a slow-but-still-improved 5:18/km. Another nice aspect was no weird pain or other glitches. I did begin flagging around the 8K mark but picked up nicely in the last km, finishing strongly. Weirdly, my third km was my fastest at 5:10 vs. 5:12 for both the first and second km. If it hadn’t been so muggy I probably could have turned in a much better time but alas.

After the run I saw what I’m pretty sure was the same coyote in the same spot along the Brunette River trail. He was on the other side of the fence this time and saw my approach so nimbly bounded…a short distance back. Then he turned and watched, with his head sticking up above the wild grass, as I walked back. Then he disappeared off into his coyote house or whatever it is they live in. He seems to have taken up residence, which is odd given the location is fairly well-traveled by walkers, joggers, park workers and CN employees. Maybe he wants to be adopted.

The silly humid mid-August run

Run 343
Average pace: 5:20/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops
Distance: 10.03 km
Weather: Cloudy, very humid
Temp: 18-21ºC
Wind: nil
Calories burned: 771
Total distance to date: 2877

The threat of rain loomed over today’s run but as I headed out the sky brightened and the sun even made a brief appearance midway through the run. That was probably the highlight.

I noticed immediately upon stepping outside at 8 a.m. that it was a tad muggy. It turned out the humidity was over 80%. Today was a textbook example of the olde expression “it’s the heat, not the humidity” as the temperature for the run was a perfectly reasonable 18-21ºC.

For the first km it was fine and without the sky dumping great amounts of water on me, my pace was actually two seconds faster–5:04 vs 5:06/km. My fate was written in the next split, though, when my pace drooped an impressive 5%, to 5:17/km, five seconds slower than the previous run’s split. This doomed me to an overall slower average pace of 5:20/km, a disappointing way to end the week but considering I was jogging through liquid air, perhaps not too bad.

I had an amazing four separate encounters with one of those two-seater vehicles the park workers tool around the trails in. I passed it near the start of the run as the woman was placing back a pole she had removed to give the vehicle access to the Avalon Trail. Shortly after doing this she caught up to me, I moved aside and let her pass.

A km or two later and she came rolling up behind me again, having ventured off to the Freeway Trail before looping back to the trail I was on. I again let her pass as running ahead of her would have required bionic legs or something. Weirdly the third time she managed to be ahead of me but the fourth time I again managed to come out ahead of her and this time was headed toward the second boardwalk. I assumed she would not try to bring the vehicle on it, as it’s not really designed for vehicles. It still felt like a low-rent version of Duel.

Other than the stupid amount if humidity, the only other things of note on the run were:

  • my left foot was feeling a bit sore beforehand but still held up. I could feel it but I don’t think it slowed me down.
  • my right ankle mysteriously twinged with pain two separate times, each time lasting perhaps 30 seconds or so. I was fine before and after and there is no pain at all now in the ankle. It reminded me of the equally mysterious knee pain I felt for one run in the summer of 2012. It’s like the body randomly picks some part to briefly remind you that you’re getting older and are fallible or something. Stupid body.

Having seen my times go the wrong way this week, I am hoping next week is a) drier and b) drier.

 

The waiting out the rain run

Run 328
Average pace: 5:13/km

Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops and Piper Mill Trail
Distance: 10.03 km
Weather: Partly sunny, humid
Temp: 20-22ºC
Wind: nil to light
Calories burned: 772
Total distance to date: 2773

Last July we officially went the entire month without any precipitation. This year we have gone several days without any actual sunshine.

Today was looking to be another one of those days and I held off on my run, waiting for the showers to stop. While I’m fine with getting caught in the rain mid-jog, it’s still difficult to motivate myself to get started when I know I’ll be soaked before I even start my run.

Around 2 p.m. I decided to head out regardless of the weather and it had mercy on me, as the showers stopped and remained stopped for the rest of the day. It was even occasionally sunny at the lake, not to mention humid as all get-out. To give an idea of how humidity affects you, I was sweating more today with the temperature ranging from 20-22ºC than I did when the temperature was 28-33ºC.

I had probably slept funny and could feel my right hip a bit before heading out and my left foot, though not actually hurting, was also there, so to speak. These things did not fill me with confidence. Indeed, the first km my whole body felt janky and I thought I’d run only 5K. I pressed on and found my pace and decided I’d at least match the 6K of my previous effort.

In the end I managed to get in 10K, not quite a full loop around the lake. My left foot started hurting at the 10K mark and the shoelace on my right shoe came untied at the same time. It seemed as close to a sign to stop as I was going to get. I credit the lace for coming loose but not actually coming fully untied for two entire kilometers, at least.

My overall pace was slower primarily due to the humidity but I’m mostly fine with it, as it’s miles ahead of my last 10K+ run (average pace 5:35/km on a 10K run on June 25) and about the same as my last more reasonable 10K+ effort (5:12/km on an 11K run on June 15; it was also much cooler on that run).

I should have fancy new inserts ready for my shoes by my next run. We’ll see if they make me run not unlike greased lightning, should greased lightning suddenly acquire feet and legs and anything else that might be needed to allow it to run.

The kind of tired of the humidity run

Average pace: 5:20/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Piper Mill Trail, Conifer and Spruce Loops
Distance: 11.05 km
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 22-26ºC (felt like 23-28)
Wind: nil to light
Calories burned: 799
Total distance to date: 2449 km

What better way to celebrate Labor Day than to labor through a run? I started out later than usual, not leaving until around 11:30 and despite showers earlier in the morning it had cleared enough to convince hordes of people to head on down to the lake for a holiday stroll/jog.

I did indeed wear my new New Balance MT110s after using a second holder to move the Nike+sensor over to it. The results were mixed. On the one hand, I don’t feel the switch back to a minimalist shoe had any major effect on the run and yet my left foot was quite sore at the end, enough that I didn’t even entertain the idea of walking back, instead heading straight to the Production Way SkyTrain station.

However, my left foot was feeling a bit sore even before heading out, so I suspect the result may have been the same. I’m undecided on whether to switch back to the Nikes for my next run, which will probably be only 5K.

My time on the run was bad. After a lousy 5:16/km pace on Saturday, I was that much worse today, coming in at a pokey 5:20/km. The first km tells the story:

Saturday: 4:41
Monday: 4:57

Sixteen seconds is a dramatic difference. I started out like a tortoise and although I actually started to close the gap I still fell short. Why? Possibly the left foot, though it only really hurt after the run was over. Possibly the new shoes, though they actually felt fine to me. Possibly the stupidly high humidity.

Yes, that was the likely culprit. The humidity started out near 80% and though it dropped, it remained near 60% at the end of the run. That, combined with the sharp rise in temperature, generally being warmer and a breeze that was either minimal or non-existent made for rather unpleasant running conditions. I almost long for the days when it took several minutes just for my hands to warm up. Almost.

My only feeble hope at this point is that I can actually break the 5:00 minute mark on a 5K, though at this point even that may be beyond my reach.

This summer has kind of sucked for running.

UPDATE: The morning after the run and for the first time in quite awhile my calves are actually a bit sore. This is likely due to only running once for each of two weeks then doing two in three days. In other words I am falling out of shape. This may also have contributed to my lousy pace, though I’m still laying most of the blame for that on the Amazon-like humidity.