Run 332
Average pace: 5:06/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Distance: 5.06 km
Weather: Light showers, cloudy
Temp: 15-17ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 389
Total distance to date: 2793
With my regular Thursday run cancelled due to a major SkyTrain malfunction (see previous post) I decided to just wait until my regular Sunday run to continue, thinking that my hip might benefit from the extra days off, even if my pace wouldn’t.
As it turned out my pace did improve over the previous run by seven seconds, coming in at 5:06/km. This is still kind of poopy for a 5K but there were a few extenuating circumstances, one being a six day gap between runs is just enough to start losing a bit of the edge and this year has been a bit of a struggle to find any edge to begin with. The other was my left foot. It was hurting even before I headed out and about 3 km in I knew I would not be able to run a full loop around the lake. I did walk the rest of the way (around 10 km in total, plus the run) and the foot remained sore for a good while after.
I am resolved to get it looked at by a footologist because something just ain’t right with it and as it stands (ho ho) now, it’s the major impediment to improving my runs. The hip actually felt pretty good, both at the start of the run and on the walk home after the SkyTrain ride, where it usually stiffens up. It’s essentially a non-factor now, allowing me to better-focus all my rage on that stupid foot.
The run itself was about as opposite as the last run could get: it was literally half the temperature (15ºC vs. 30ºC), with a mix of light showers and clouds. It was kind of nice, actually. Had my foot not acted up I’d have had no issue doing the full loop. It was weird to hardly sweat on a run in the middle of July.
I don’t think people running beach concessions were as pleased with the weather.
A surprising number of people were out, apparently due to some big rowing shindig, as the rowing pavilion parking lot was replete with boats and people and traffic cones, with more people clogging up the trails with their dogs not on leashes.
This was the second run where the FIRE DANGER signs were out. These signs also inform you that there is NO SMOKING. Two men sitting at the bench on the second boardwalk were both smoking as I jogged by. Granted with the rain they were unlikely to start a giant brush fire with a careless toss of a butt, I just knew that once the signs went up it wouldn’t be long before I saw people smoking. It’s like the signs actually make them smoke.
People are weird.
The next run will hopefully see my left foot better-behaved, with a corresponding better time to go with it.
