Average pace: 5:04/km
Location: Burnaby Lake, CW
Distance: 11.5 km
Weather: Sunny, warm and humid
Temp: 25ºC
Wind: light to moderate
Calories burned: 816
Total distance to date: 1614 km
Nothing like a 10º jump in temperature to make you say, ‘Yep, it sure is warm!’
Last night I felt a bit of creakiness in the right knee that concerned me as I head out for today’s run under a clear sky and slightly warmer than normal temperatures. By the time the run started it was 25ºC and felt warmer due to the humidity. I again chose to run clockwise.
Just as I was preparing to start another jogger ran by. This automatically triggered my incipient competitive streak and I knew that I would have to keep it in check for at least the rest of the week, not wanting to risk pushing things while I’m still sussing out how my knee and right leg are feeling.
The other jogger began pulling ahead and established a comfortable lead on me through the detour part of the route. Because the section is fairly straight and has excellent LOS it was easy enough to keep an eye on him. I kept resisting the urge to pick up the pace. My goal today was to simply take it slower than normal and if possible to beat Monday’s pace by some modest amount.
Once the other jogger reached the regular part of the trail he disappeared around a corner and I assumed I had lost sight of him for good. And it was good, as he’d no longer distract and tempt me.
However, just as I was crossing the zigzag bridge I spotted him on the path up ahead. It seemed his pace had flagged enough to close the distance by a good margin. But as we headed toward the parking lot for the rowing pavilion, he turned right into the parking lot. As far as I know there are no trails leading out from it, so perhaps he had parked there, around the corner. In any case, I declared myself the victor and kept running on.
I opted to take the Piper Mill Trail. It would add length to the run but it would also provide better cover that the main trail. I came in at 11.5 km, roughly 300m more than Monday and an average pace of 4:54/km, three seconds better than Monday’s outing. Mission accomplished.
The better news is the knee held up fine and even the right thigh that bothered me on Monday behaved itself. I felt some minor twinges in my right calf and ankle but nothing more than that.
My plan for Friday is much the same — improve my time slightly but otherwise take it easy. 25ºC is probably the highest temperature I can run at where it doesn’t feel too hot. It’s still pretty dang warm, though. The current forecast for Friday calls for a high of 20. We shall see.
Chart
| Date | Average Pace |
| July 25 | 5:04 |
| July 23 | 5:07 |
| July 18 | 4:55 |
| July 16 | 4:55 |
| July 13 | 4:59 |
| July 11 | 4:55 |
| July 9 | 4:54 |
| July 6 | 4:58 |
| July 4 | 4:54 |
| July 2 | 4:47 |
