Monthly totals:

Miles run: 253.9 miles (21.0 more miles than November)

Days run: 31 out of 31 (it’s a run streak!  Currently at 170 days)

Calories burned during run: 36,200 kcal (that’s 10.3 lb if 3500 kcal = 1 lb)

Run time: 48 hr 56 min (95 min per day average)

Monthly averages and superlatives:

Average speed per mile: 11:34 per mile (6 sec per mile slower than November)

Average stride rate: 161 steps per minute (1 spm more than November)

Average heart rate during run: 147 beats per minute (5 bpm more than November)

Longest run: December 19  – 17 miles

Shortest run: December 17 – 5.2 miles. 

Fastest run: December 28 – 9:33/mile, 10 miles (8 miles at tempo pace)

Slowest run (not counting hill runs): December 25, 12:28/mile.

Fastest mile: December 28 – Mile 4 at 8:41.

Fastest strides: December 28 – strides: 169 per min

Slowest strides (not counting hill repeats):  December 20 – 157 per minute.

Total ascent:11,291 ft. (up 1,024 from November)

Non-run monthly stats:

Total distance (running + walking): 303.1miles (up 32.3 from November.  This seems like a lot of miles this month)

Average distance per day: 9.77 miles (up 0.75 from November)

Total steps: 570,120  steps

Average steps per day: 18,391 (up 1,681 from November) 

Average resting heart rate: 59 bpm (down 1 bpm from November)

Lowest resting heart rate: December 13 and 29 – 54 bpm (up 2 bpm from lowest in November)

Highest resting heart rate:  December 7, 24, and 30 – 64 bpm (down 4 bpm from the highest in November.)

December monthly thoughts:

1.)  Mileage this months looks really good.  253.9 miles total = just shy of 8.2 miles a day, which is a lot of miles for me. 

I started the month off with few (zero) speed workouts, but December 14^th onwards, I had some good tempo runs and an interval workout. 

2.)  I can’t help but remember an exceptionally horrible run from December 2019, when my fibroid was causing so much “iron loss” that I ended up cutting a run short and still was dripping “iron” all throughout my neighborhood.  (I don’t think I mentioned that when it happened, it is still traumatic and not pleasant to think about how much blood I was losing due to the fibroid, a total nightmare situation).

I am extremely thankful that fibroid is long gone and now I no longer have to worry about what might happen on a run.  I’m very thankful to my gynecologist/surgeon and the whole team of surgeons, nurses, techs, everyone who got me through a very tough time this past year.

3.)  Weight is still up, up, up!  To be completely fair to myself, this last week of December, weight may be inflated due to increased food consumption and alcohol consumption due to Christmas.  (I’m not saying I ate more calories than I burned, but more food and alcohol in my body = more bloating and therefore more weight on the scale.)

For what it’s worth, my mom did comment that I look really skinny in my pajama pants.  It could be my Target plush pajama pants are very flattering (they are), or it could be that some of this extra weight is very dense non-fat substances, like muscle or water.  My clothes still fit (mostly, I won’t deny some jeans are a little tight around the middle that weren’t a year ago), and I’m still at a healthy weight.  I’m just trying to keep this weight gain in perspective.  I’m not overeating and I’m exercising a lot, so I can’t imagine it is possible that I gained 1.2 pounds of fat this month, but I guess anything is possible, it has been quite a year.

I’ve been experiencing more right knee pain and more “niggles” (slight pains/strains which go away when I back down mileage) the last three months, so I have a feeling the 12 extra pounds  is not without consequence on my body.  I’m going to do my best to lose it (while also not sacrificing my running or muscle gains, which means very small calorie deficits). 

I’m not thrilled about the gain this year and if I was worried about anything it would be a.) damaging my knees, b.) fat around my internal organs in my midsection, and c.) I’m concerned my thyroid meds are not adequate, which can cause a whole slew of problems including estrogen dominance and  more fibroids, something I do not ever want a repeat of.  I can’t control how much thyroid hormone my endocrinologist is willing to prescribe me, and it doesn’t help that my pulse and blood pressure are always high at any doctor’s office, both symptoms of hyperthyroidism or too much  thyroid hormone, but for me are symptoms that I am always, always, a frightened little bird at the dentist or doctors, the high pulse/blood pressure is not helped by the fact that last time I thought I had a problem I needed two fibroid surgeries, and the time before two thyroid surgeries and a thyroid cancer diagnosis, so I’m not at a very good number of appointments to surgery ratio right now.  The very low resting heart rate when I’m at home and  not very active and the still being cold all the time should both be more of an indication my thyroid hormone is too low, but those are much harder to convince a doctor (so I don’t try!).

As always, I am not giving up on getting my weight back to where I want it.  2020 was a hard year with a lot of stress, a lot of hormonal weight gain, and a lot of staying at home where food is available all the time. 

I can’t actually run anymore than I already am (50 miles/week average or a couple weeks here and there at 60 miles is my maximum right now).  I will continue to do strength training in addition to my running.  (Can’t is relative, I could run more, but with increasingly regular niggles this would put me at a high risk for injury, which is not desired.)

4.)  50 mile per week average goal for 2020

I did it!!! Woo hoo!   I ran 2,689.9 miles this year, the most I have ever run in one year, and possibly the most I will ever run in a year. 

5.) 100K feet ascent in 2020 goal

I hit 100K in November, and finished out the year with a whopping 112,646 feet of gain (34,334.5 meters).  This is the most uphill I’ve ever run in my life, and I’m sure not being anemic and having more red blood cells carrying more oxygen to my leg muscles is the chief improvement factor here.  I will probably try to hit 100K feet again in 2021, but that isn’t a current 2021 goal.

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:  163.3 lb  (that’s 1.2 lb. higher than end of November) 

Weight January 1, 2020: 151.0 lb

Weight change since Jan 1, 2020: +12.3 lb

Previous month: November 2020

Next month: January 2021

Fun Running Stuff:  Rather than work on my monthly, weekly, year in review, and new year, new running goals blog posts, I decided I would finally finish putting together my list of favorite podcasts because I’m great at procrastination.  This can be found under the “Fun Running Stuff” header on the blog page.  Fun Running Stuff is a work in progress so. right now, it is just podcasts.