Distance: 12.73 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 25ºC
Wind: none
Calories burned: 890
Average pace: 5:21/km
Total distance to date: 1042 km
It seems summer was shifted forward one month. After a tepid and cloudy July, August was pretty nice and September so far has been spectacular, with temperatures well above normal for this time of year. That’s the good news. The less-good-news is the run at Burnaby Lake was very warm (25ºC when I started), very humid and generally uncomfortable until the final few km when the lateness of the hour meant it finally started to cool a little.
I decided to run counter-clockwise (the usual way) and after having done the previous two runs clockwise I can now say with certainty that clockwise is easier. The south side of the lake has a low but steady uphill slope which serves as a braking mechanism in the latter part of the run. Going in the other direction, the north side of the lake has one much steeper but shorter climb and nothing else noteworthy, being mostly flat. I suspect my sluggish pace would have had a few seconds lopped off it had I run clockwise.
And sluggish it was. Despite starting with a typical 4:52/km I immediately gained four seconds on the next km and added three or four seconds for every km after until the 5 km mark, dooming my overall time (at 5 km my pace was a lowly 5:06/km). I plodded on and on the plus side my shins did not feel nearly as tender as on the previous run and I’m only experiencing some minor soreness now. I also managed my longest run once again, adding 400 m for a total distance of 12.73 km, so that was pretty good. The number of slugs was down, too.
I also had a train running alongside me on the north side of the trail for the first time. Weird that it hasn’t happened before. The clacking of the wheels on the track is oddly soothing. I also jogged by a horsey near the end of the run. Yes, a horsey. And apparently there is a law forbidding men from having horses now because every one I see has a woman attached to it.
Chart (All runs at Burnaby Lake except those in blue which are at China Creek):
| km | Sep 7 | Sep 2 | Aug 31 | Aug 26 | Aug 19 | Aug 15 | Aug 11 | Aug 8 | Aug 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 km | 4:52 | 4:52 | 4:51 | 4:51 | 4:50 | 4:55 | 4:54 | 5:04 | 4:51 |
| 2 km | 4:56 | 4:57 | 4:53 | 4:55 | 4:54 | 4:57 | 4:55 | 5:05 | 4:54 |
| 3 km | 4:59 | 5:00 | 4:57 | 4:58 | 4:57 | 4:58 | 4:58 | 5:07 | 4:59 |
| 4 km | 5:02 | 5:02 | 4:58 | 5:01 | 5:00 | 5:02 | 5:00 | 5:09 | 5:04 |
| 5 km | 5:06 | 5:03 | 4:59 | 5:05 | 5:01 | 5:05 | 5:02 | 5:11 | 5:07 |
| 6 km | 5:08 | 5:04 | 5:01 | 5:08 | 5:03 | 5:06 | 5:03 | 5:12 | 5:09 |
| 7 km | 5:11 | 5:06 | 5:03 | 5:10 | 5:05 | 5:08 | 5:04 | 5:14 | 5:11 |
| 8 km | 5:13 | 5:07 | 5:05 | 5:12 | 5:07 | 5:09 | 5:06 | 5:16 | 5:13 |
| 9 km | 5:16 | 5:08 | 5:06 | 5:14 | 5:09 | 5:11 | 5:08 | 5:16 | 5:14 |
| 10 km | 5:18 | 5:09 | 5:08 | 5:16 | 5:11 | 5:13 | 5:08 | 5:17 | 5:15 |
| 11 km | 5:20 | 5:10 | 5:10 | 5:18 | 5:12 | 5:14 | — | 5:17 | 5:16 |
| 12 km | 5:21 | 5:10 | 5:11 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
