Run 375
Average pace: 5:32/km
Location: Brunette River trail and Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 27:52
Weather: Overcast, some sun
Temp: 23ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 377
Weight: 162.8 pounds <0.2
Total distance to date: 3085
Device used: iPhone 6
Run 376
Average pace: 5:46/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:58
Weather: Overcast, some sun
Temp: 23ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 377
Weight: 162.8 pounds <0.2
Total distance to date: 3090
Device used: iPhone 6
Having two very solid runs during the week, I still found myself approaching the weekend run with some trepidation, because the mid-week runs were so much better than my previous efforts. It seemed odd. Good, but odd.
My plan was to take the best of the mid-week runs by starting on the river trail, then to continue on to the lake, possibly stretching out to 7K instead of 5K. Looking at the first 2 km of the run, I could see my pace was already well off, though the drop from the first km to the second was about the same. On Thursday I finished the first km at 4:46/km and today lagged behind at 5:00/km, ending with a lousy overall pace of 5:32/km, a big drop from the mid-week efforts.
I walked for the next 15 minutes mulling why this happened but have no good answers. Difference in the time of day? Temperature? Humidity? Alignment of moon/planets?
I then decided to do another 5K because why not? I was halfway around the lake so I’d have to walk it, anyway, and running would get me home sooner to lay down and think further about being slower. Starting just past the bridge at Still Creek, I ran a second 5K and my pace was unsurprisingly slower at 5:46/km but I actually didn’t feel too bad (I got a small stitch in my lower right side on the first run). I took solace in the fact that I did 10K, albeit in a bit of a cheaty fashion.
The only downside came around the 3K mark when I saw a large bug ahead of me. When I say large I’m not talking giant African beetle that can cut your fingers off with its pincers, more like something a little smaller than a housefly but way bigger than a gnat. The reason I saw it at all was because of its size. It flew straight into my mouth, like a bullet fired from a gun. Then it got lodged in my throat. At first I thought I had managed to swallow it (trying to stay positive, I kept thinking free protein, free protein) but it became clear I had not. I started to cough and this moved it into a position where it grew exponentially more irritating. I started gagging and choking. I mixed in more coughs for variety. I was less than a km away from hitting 5K, I didn’t want to stop.
Finally it seemed to go down. I ran into another cloud of them and tried punching the bugs, with limited success. I actually improved my pace over the last km, perhaps lifted by the sense that I was no longer choking to death.
Overall, I am disappointed at my slower pace for these runs, but quietly satisfied that I managed two 5Ks. I am most curious to see what Tuesday will be like.
