Average pace: 5:19/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Piper Mill Trail, Conifer and Spruce Loops
Distance: 6.15 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 18ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 444
Total distance to date: 2460 km
It’s been over two weeks since my last run and with so few runs over the last month and a half I am officially in kind-of-out-of-shape territory.
Witness today’s run.
Conditions were surprisingly pleasant. Our early winter temporarily retreated and it was a balmy 18ºC and sunny, with a light breeze blowing. It was entirely comfortable, weather-wise.
I walked to Burnaby Lake and pondered whether to do 5K or 10K. I chose 10K but knew I’d probably bail partway through. The run started out fine, though I could feel I was definitely off my usual pace. By the second km I could feel much more clearly that I was slower. I even started developing a stitch, something that normally only happens when I’m pushing too hard, which was absolutely not happening. My pace fell 9% in that second km and I decided a shorter run would give me less depressing results than a 10 or 11K run.
I felt an odd sense of obligation to make up for lost time once I reached Still Creek and the halfway mark, so I continued on, deciding to stretch the run to 6K and then walk the rest of the way around the lake. That last km seemed to stretch on forever, partly because I misjudged where I’d be at the end and partly because I just really wanted to stop running. I wasn’t in pain, I was just tired.
I did improve my pace in the last km, ending on a high note but with a terrible overall pace of 5:19/km (my prior run on September 22 was 5:05). The only real way to fix this is to run more. It’s more complicated now with the sun setting so soon after I get home but some combination of running around the golf course at lunch (the college is next to it), combined with treadmill runs at the Canada Games Pool and maybe runs at a lit track may help during the week, with the usual longer run on the weekend.
It’s hard to imagine my times getting even worse unless I take even more time off but there’s always hope!
