Monthly totals:

Miles run: 258.3 miles (19.39 more miles than September)

Days run: 31 out of 31 (it’s a run streak!  Currently at 109 days)

Calories burned during run: 33,800 kcal (that’s 9.7 lb if 3500 kcal = 1 lb)

Run time: 51 hr 10 min (99 min per day average)

Monthly averages and superlatives:

Average speed per mile: 11:52 per mile (17 sec per mile slower than September)

Average stride rate: 158 steps per minute (same as September)

Average heart rate during run: 139 beats per minute (same as September)

Longest run: October 24 – 26.3 miles

Shortest run: October 25 – 3.5 miles. 

Fastest run: October 5 – 9:53/mile, 8.3 miles (Tempo run)

Slowest run (not counting hill runs): October 14, 18, and 19:  12:39/mile.

Fastest mile: October 5 – Mile 7 at 8:42.

Fastest strides: October 5 – strides: 166 per min

Slowest strides (not counting hill runs):  October 12, 14, 25, 26 – 155 per minute.

Total ascent:10,475 ft. (down 1,108 ft. from September)

Non-run monthly stats:

Total distance (running + walking): 290.9  miles (up 15.4 from September)

Average distance per day: 9.4 miles (up 0.2 from September)

Total steps: 548,810 steps

Average steps per day: 17,703  (up 688 from September) 

Average resting heart rate: 59 bpm (up 1 bpm from September)

Lowest resting heart rate: October 3 and 8  – 54 bpm (up 2 bpm from lowest in September)

Highest resting heart rate:  October 24 and 29 – 66 bpm (up 2 bpm from the highest in September.)

October monthly thoughts:

1.)  Mileage is very good – 258 miles is the highest monthly total so far this year.

I didn’t do as much speed work this month, which in hindsight, probably really, really helped with my marathon speed towards the end of the month.

2.)  I once again attempted to do some strength training this month.

The “highlight” of this attempt was four days in a row, culminating with what was a very mild muscle strain on my inner right thigh, becoming a “problem” about a week before my marathon attempt (October 15^th).  The good news is it was very minor and only aggravated when I took slightly long strides, and went away in a few days.

So… I skipped all strength training after this happened and didn’t start again until November 7^th.   It’s a work in progress.

3.)  I ran a marathon!  I wrote a blog post about this here.  This was my one and only race of the year, and it was a virtual marathon, which meant I was running by myself for five hours straight and carrying my own fuel (water, electrolytes, and gummies). 

Being cold is apparently a good “keep moving at this constant pace” motivator for me, and I finished with a marathon time of 4 hr 56 min 33 sec, less than 2 minutes off my marathon PR, and  I am thrilled with this time, since I set my marathon PR with my first marathon and haven’t been within 20 minutes of that time since then (until now!!!).

4.)  Weight is still up, up, up!  I feel like I have been eating more this month, mostly due to anxiety about the upcoming election.  I also went way overboard with “carbloading” the week before the marathon, but that probably helped my marathon running out too.

I’m not giving up on getting the weight off.  I’m also still not shifting focus away from  running and towards weight loss either so weight loss will be very slow.

5.)  50 mile per week average goal for 2020

As of October 31, 2020, my weekly average was: 50.68 miles, total of 2,208.11 miles.

So far, so good!  Now to maintain 50 miles a week for the next 9 weeks.  (Easier said than done, the second week after the marathon, I was so, so tired on my runs.)

To meet that goal (if I decide to keep up with high mileage), I will need to run 391.89 miles in 61 days, or 45 miles a week or about 6.4 miles a day. 

6.) 100K feet ascent in 2020 goal

As of October 31, 2020, I am at 91,602 ft. 

That means 8,398 ft. in 2 months.  I will probably hit this goal in November.

7.)  New Year, New Running Goals?

The only fitness goal I haven’t come close to tackling is setting a new half marathon PR (well, and getting back to swimming,  which is not going to happen until I feel like being inside buildings with other humans is not as risky as it currently is).

As for the half-marathon PR, I don’t think I’m anywhere close to being able to run faster than a 2:08:00 half marathon (or 9:45 pace) right now, but I will continue to work on this.  I also didn’t plan on needing two surgeries or being on Lupron Depot for half the year, so I’m going to say this too is a work in progress.  I’ve set new PRs in the 5K and 10K this year, and having enough oxygen in my blood for the first time in years seems to really be helping with my speed.  I feel like this half marathon PR is only a matter of time. 

Also, I would probably benefit from having a real half marathon race to try to set a PR in, but one thing at a time right now.

Current thyroid medication: 137.5 mcg levothyroxine (T4) daily, 10 mcg liothyronine (T3) split up into 5 mcg twice a day (started August 11, 2020). 

Current weight:  161.1 lb  (that’s 0.9 lb. higher than end of September) 

Weight January 1, 2020: 151.0 lb

Weight change since Jan 1, 2020: +10.1 lb

Previous month: September 2020

Next month: November 2020