Latest thyroid test result:  TSH 12.83 H (range 0.4-4.00), T4 free 1.24 (range 0.8-1.80), test results from October 10, 2018

 

Current thyroid medication:  167.5 mcg levothyroxine (started this dose on 10/19/18) – alternating 150 mcg and 150+25 mcg every other day.

Weight: 156.5 lb

Runs:

Sunday, October 21 – Hill run

Hill run : 90 sec X 12 up steep hill at local park, + 5 X 3 min up less steep hill, 4 X walk up steps (76 steps).

I’ve given up on my heart rate cycling up and down like it used to on the hill run right now.  I’m going to blame the fact that it’s colder out.   I actually did this hill run a lot faster than last week’s. 

I just walked up the stairs because my biceps femoris started to feel achy by the time I made it to the stairs.  (I hope that’s the right muscle name, I always just call the back of my thigh “hamstring”, but I looked up the muscle name).  Probably just fatigued from pushing up hills for an hour before hitting the stairs.

Monday, October 22 – Long run

10 miles.  12:08 per mile.  Strides 161 per min.  Heart rate 149 bpm.  Temperature in the 30s-50s. 

This was not a great run for me.  I had problems falling asleep Sunday night, staying asleep, and woke up early.  My stomach was also very grumbly before I started this run (but no cramping during running problems this time, so that’s good).  My thoughts on this are my body is adjusting to the increase in levothyroxine (it’s a 50 mcg increase, so I’m hoping this is just temporary).  Anyway, lack of sleep left me feeling a bit sluggish when I got out in the cold.  I struggled this whole run and felt like I was running super slow, so the pace of 12:08 is very surprising because I didn’t feel like I was going all that fast.  I probably should have gone for a shorter run.

Tuesday, October 23

7 miles.  11:55 per mile.   Strides 161 per min.  HR 150 bpm.  Temperature in the 40s – 50s.

Third run out of the last five where my tummy was rumbly before I started.  I definitely think this is from increasing my levothyroxine dose by 50 mcg/day, but so far I’ve felt better in the afternoons so I think the hormone is working.  Anyway, no stomach problems on the run (on any of these runs) so that’s good!  I started this run slow (mile 1: 12:27, mile 2: 12:22) then cranked up the speed when I was feeling good.  Great run.

Wednesday, October 24

4 miles.  12:14 per mile.  Strides 159 per min.  HR 144 bpm.  Temperature in the 60s.

This is the first afternoon run I’ve done in a very long time, and because of weather coming up on Friday, I decided to move my loooong run from Friday to Thursday, so I kept this one short and sweet.  Apparently, going for a run in the afternoon when I am using feeling sleepy in the afternoon is not the best idea for me.  I felt like I was pushing so hard on this run, but my heart rate stayed pretty low despite my efforts.

Thursday, October 25 – Long run

14 miles.  11:48 per mile.  Strides 163 per min.  HR 155 bpm.  Temperature in the 30s-40s.

A long run finally above 13.1 miles!  I was feeling so anxious before this run because I haven’t done more than a half marathon distance since the beginning of March, 2018, right before I realized I had a thyroid problem and right before I decided my endurance running was contributing to the problem (I still don’t know whether this is correct or not, but anxiety is a real trip and so I cut way down on my long run distance for several months).  It was really cold and really windy, and I was anxious before I started, so I just took it one mile at a time.  I also did lots of courts, so I didn’t go far from home in case I decided to cut it shorter, but was very happy I made it.  For me, the long run and distance is completely a mental challenge – my legs love getting in 10-12 miles/day so 14 miles is not a big deal, but I have to convince myself that I can do it.

Friday, October 26 – Recovery run

7.0 miles.  12:35 per mile.  Strides 158 per min.  HR 146 bpm.  Temperature in the 40s-50s.

It was kind of rainy and cold on this run (glad I did my long run on Thursday).  7 miles seems long for a recovery run, but I took it nice and slow and my legs like to get some miles in, and anything below 1.5 hr is good for a “shorter” run for me.

Saturday, October 27

9 miles.  12:08 per mile.  Strides 161.   HR 143 bpm.  Temps 45 and windy.

I did my favorite route and added an extra mile at the beginning, so while 9 miles looks like a long run, it’s easy to do when it is my favorite loop.  Second half was pretty windy and my fingers and toes were cold for the first time this autumn, and no amount of tucking my hands into my sleeves helped.  Time to invest in some running gloves?

Running wrap-up

It seems like I may have overdone my mileage this week… but my legs feel great, most of my runs were at a pretty slow speed, and temps have cooled down, so I feel pretty good about this week’s runs.  The new dose of levothyroxine seems to be helping with my hypo symptoms – I’m still pretty tired most afternoons but starting to get more things done in the afternoon than I was before, so that’s very good.  Most of all, I’m looking at those times of my runs compared to the first few weeks in October and I’m happy my speed is slowly increasing.

Average weekly speed Sept. 30 –Oct. 6: 12:33/mile

Average weekly speed Oct. 6 –Oct. 13: 12:42/mile

Average weekly speed Oct. 14 –Oct. 20: 12:19/mile

Average weekly speed Oct. 21 –Oct. 27: 12:06/mile

 

 

  

Total miles this week (Oct. 21-27):  77.8 miles

Total steps this week (Oct. 21-27):  154,550 steps

Total running miles this week (Oct. 21-27):  58.0 miles

Average resting heart rate this week (Oct. 21-27): 59 bpm

 

Total miles this year (2018):  2173.2 miles

Total steps this year (2018):  4,340,000 steps

Total running miles this year (2018): 1325.4 miles

Average resting heart rate this year (2018): 60 bpm

Previous week: October 14 – 20, 2018

Next week: October 28 – November 3, 2018