Run 356
Average pace: 5:13/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 10.05 km
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 15-19ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 729
Total distance to date: 2983
Device used: iPhone 5c
My goal today was to beat last Sunday’s astoundingly awful pace of 5:41/km. Short of a plane falling on me, this was all but assured because the weather was cooperative and this summer has demonstrated that I have become quite the delicate flower when it comes to running and the weather.
With my phone tucked into its belt, I headed off under mild conditions with a light breeze. The sun was warm but not hot and the temperature only rose to around 19ºC so if the run was going to stink it would be all on me today.
When I hit the Conifer Loop I noticed a rather large tree sagging at an alarming angle, several branches dangling low enough over the trail to require a bit of a duck to get under. I’m referring to the action, not the waterfowl, by the way. A short distance past there was a second tree also askew, either emulating its neighbor or perhaps having been dragged down with it. I expect sometime between now and the next run they will fall and then be chopped up by either beavers or park rangers. Either could happen. Really.
I started out at a decent pace but deliberately moderated it for the second km, thinking it might be better to conserve early and push later. This is reflected in my pace as I plunge an impressive 10% after 2 km.
With no real complications I felt I was keeping an okay pace, maybe a bit slower than I’d like–I was getting call-outs for km after passing each respective sign, eg. hitting 2 km after passing the 2K sign)–but this suddenly reversed itself after the 4K mark and for the rest of the run I was getting the call-outs before the signs.
This was revealed most dramatically when my pace for 5K improved by a silly 20% (the average pace of 4:15/km would put it around the fastest km I’ve ever recorded). The Nike+ app also has the route strangely shoot out into the field along a straight stretch before darting back in to correct itself so I don’t know if the GPS just went bananas there or what. My pace later plunged by 27% at the 7K mark but otherwise the dips and valleys seemed pretty typical.
Given the combination of distance covered and time, the overall pace of 5:13/km seems fairly accurate so even if the GPS got a bit nutty it seems to have not mattered too terribly in the end. This also tied my best 10K of the year, so yay me.
The left foot started to hurt a bit but not until after the run and so was not a factor. I also picked up the pace near the end for a good finish.
I am pleased by the results and my only concern going forward is that the weather may be poop for at least one of the runs this week.
