Runs:

Sunday, August 23

7 miles.  12:28 per mile.  Strides: 157 per min.  Heart rate: 133 bpm.  Temps: 70s-80s deg F, humid.

This was an easy paced, hilly run.  The humidity was very high today, and I felt hot and sweaty for most of this run.

Monday, August 24 – Tempo run

8 miles total.  Temps: 70s-80s deg F, humid.

Warm up: 0.9 miles.  11:52 per mile.  Strides: 158.  Heart rate: 134 bpm. 

Tempo run: 6.2 miles.  10:21 per mile.  Strides: 164 per min.  Heart rate: 161 bpm. 

Cool down: 0.9 mile.  10:56 per mile.  Strides: 158 per min.  Heart rate: 156 bpm. 

I had planned to do this tempo run at 10:00/mile for tempo pace, but only the first and last miles of the 6.2 miles at tempo pace were anywhere close to 10:00, but I listened to my body and let it set a tempo pace I was comfortable with. 

This run was much harder than last week’s tempo run.  Overall, it is good for me to do this, but this one was hard.

Tuesday, August 25

7 miles.  12:39 per mile.  Strides: 156 per min.  Heart rate: 135 bpm.  Temps: high 80s deg f, humid, sunny.

This run started in the mid to high 80s with higher humidity than normal.  The was just a nice, easy paced 7 mile run in some very hot temperatures.

Wednesday, August 26

7.1 miles.  11:07 per mile.  Strides: 161 per min.  Heart rate: 146 bpm.  Temps: 80s-90s deg F, humid, hot.

It was hot and humid from the beginning of this run.  For some reason, I decided to do 1 mile “warm up”, then 1 mile “slow tempo”, 0.5 mile “very easy paced recovery” x 4.  Slow tempo = 10:30-11:00 per mile, much slower than actual tempo pace, but faster than my “I’m not paying attention and just plodding along easy pace”.  10:30/mile is not something that is “difficult” or even what I would consider a moderate pace, just something I consciously need to make an effort to hold.

This isn’t really “speed work” or hard, but definitely made the run easier than trying to hold on to 11:07/mile the entire run.  I guess I’m saying, I need more variety sometimes and anytime I’m trying to switch paces constantly throughout the run is good because it keeps my brain from getting too bored.

Not exhausted after, this run was fine.

Thursday, August 27

7 miles.  12:35 per mile.  Strides: 155 per min.  Heart rate: 120 bpm.  Temps: 70s-80s deg F, humid, muggy.

This was an easy paced, slightly hilly (338 ft. gain) run.  I’m not sure if it is my hormones, the extreme humidity, or my body doing its low heart rate recovery thing from yesterday’s run, but this is the lowest my heart rate has even been on a “run” since I’ve been running with a HR monitor (since July 2016).

Friday, August 28

7 miles.  10:28 per mile.  Strides: 163 per min.  Heart rate: 153 bpm.  Temps: 70s-80s deg F, hot, humid.

0.7 miles “warm up”, then 5K (3.1 miles) at a “tempo pace” , and then the remaining 3-3.5 miles “cool down”.  The plan (if there was a plan, this kind of spontaneously happened because I thought I would need to be done by a certain time, but again, plans change, so I did all 7 miles in one go), was to run 5K at around 10:00/mile. 

Easier said than done today.  My watch was jumping around – I don’t normally try to hold a specific pace, but I’m doing that this week and it has been fun! – so most of the 5K was at 9:40, sometimes 10:30.  5K “time” was 30 minutes, 45 sec, which isn’t all that fast for most people, but that is 9:55/mile for me and that is very good!

This was a very humid and sweaty run.  Very good effort today.

Saturday, August 29—Long run

10 miles.  11:42 per mile.  Strides: 159 per min. Heart rate: 143 bpm.  Temps: 70s-80s deg F, humid, sunny.

This was an easy paced, long run.  I started to feel tired at 6.2 miles in, but this was not nearly as tough as a 13.1 mile run.  I forced myself to do a “last mile fast mile” at the end.  I felt pretty good after this was over.

Running wrap-up

1.)  Since my marathon in October was cancelled, I’ve decided to alternate between a shorter long run (10-11 miles) one week and a longer long run (right now 13.1 miles, not sure if I’ll increase this when it gets cooler or not) the next week.  The hope is by keeping the distance shorter in weeks like this one, I can work on improving my speed.  So far, this plan in action is looking good!

2.) Mileage this week was down from last week (with most runs 7 miles and the long run a bit shorter than usual), but the speed is doing much better, even in heat and humidity.

3.)  My weight really went on a roller coaster this week.  This week, at least, I know is due to hormonal changes and my body is back to cycling in a normal fashion, so I guess that is good.

Total walking + running miles this week (August 23 – August 29): 60.51 miles (down 6.29 from last week)

Total walking + running miles this year (2020):  2,248.16 miles

Total steps this week (August 23 – August 29): 112,630 steps (down 15,000 from last week)

Total steps this year (2020):  3,947,188 steps

Average steps per day (August 23 – August 29): 16,090 steps (down 2,142 from last week)

Average steps per day (2020): 16,310 steps

Total running miles this week (August 23 – August 29): 53.34 miles (down 4.75 from last week)

Average running mileage per week (2020): 49.08 miles

Total running miles this year (2020): 1,696.75 miles

Average running speed this week (not including hill repeats) (August 23 – August 29): 11:38/mile. (25 sec  faster per mile than last week)

Average running speed this year (2020): 11:53 per mile

Average resting heart rate this week (August 23 – August 29): 60 bpm (down 2 bpm from last week)

Average resting heart rate this year (2020): 61 bpm

Elevation gain this week (August 23 – August 29): 1,813 ft. (down 461 ft. from last week)

Elevation gain this year (2020): 67,897 ft.

Average elevation gain per week (2020): 1,963 ft.

Current thyroid medication: 137.5 mcg/day levothyroxine + 5 mcg x 2 times a day liothyronine. Started on Aug. 11, 2020.

Weight, weight fluctuate

Weight: 160.4 lb (up 1.2 lb from last week).

Weight January 1, 2020: 151.0 lb

Weight change since Jan 1, 2020: +9.4 lb

Previous week:  August 16 – August 22, 2020

Next week:  August 30 – September 5, 2020