Run 322
Average pace: 4:56/km (best to date for 2014)
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops and Piper Mill Trail
Distance: 5.04 km
Weather: Overcast, some light rain
Temp: 20ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 388
Total distance to date: 2732
Tonight’s run was basically a repeat of Tuesday’s but in the opposite direction. The sky was overcast, with no promise of sun whatsoever, but it was mild so it was actually pretty nice for running, apart from being humid.
Try as they might, the clouds produced little more than a few drops, so I emerged dry, with only the faint lingering scent of cigarette smoke clinging to me. I sniffed it about 3 km into the run and I’d say it was probably 200-300 meters before I finally caught up to the smoker (he was not jogging). With virtually no wind, I was impressed how far the obnoxious odor carried.
The run started surprisingly well, with the hip feeling close to normal. Then it kind of popped and felt more abnormal but not too bad and became a non-issue once I’d warmed up.
I felt the first km went quite well and this prompted me to push fairly hard in the final km, to see if I could crack the 5:00 minute mark for only the second time this year. I actually felt a little nauseous the last few hundred meters but kept going and was rewarded doubly: the last km was my fastest at 4:50/km. The last km being the fastest is very rare. And my overall pace was 4:56/km, a solid three seconds better than my best pace for the year.
Woot, I say.
With this, I have completed a week where each run was faster. Going back four runs, my average pace improved a zany 31 seconds per km, from 5:27 to 4:56.
I feel I’ve earned my two days of rest before Sunday’s follow-up.
