Runs (and swims and strength training):

Sunday, May 30 – Recovery Run/Swim/Strength training

Run: 6.2 miles.  12:32 per mile.  Strides: 158 per min.  Heart rate: 119 bpm.  Temps: 50s°F, breezy, partly sunny.  9:44 am.

Note: I did an 18 mile run on Saturday, May 29^th, so this is the day after a very hard run.

My legs feel pretty good considering yesterday’s long run.  There was some glute soreness (bottom glutes only), my legs were moving a bit slower but otherwise ok.  I felt better halfway through and much better at the end.  Today’s weather was perfect running conditions – in the 50s, breezy, and partly sunny.  I’m feeling really good after this run.

Swim: 1.5 miles, 1.81 mph, 23 strokes/minute, 44 laps.  2 pm.

100 yards each: breast, free, and back.  1200 yards free, 100 yd breast, 500 yd back, 100 yd elementary back stroke = 2,200 yards total. 

This was a really good swim.  24 laps (1200 yards) free without stopping.  This is the 1^st time I’ve swum that far without stopping in >9 years.  My swimming endurance and being able to “swim the lap I’m in” is miles behind my running endurance right now (literally), but I am working on it. 

Old man I was hanging out with before we were allowed to get in the water commented on how cold the water felt today.  I didn’t notice.  I hate getting in the pool so lately I just give myself 5-10 seconds after putting my goggles on and jump in the deep end (best way to “ease” myself in, otherwise it takes me forever to get in the water), and then I always start swimming to warm-up.  Once I’m moving (outside running or inside swimming) I warm-up quickly and don’t notice cold temperatures.  I also have a lot more body fat than the old man.

It felt good in the water, and after this swim.

Strength training: 3 pm.

I did ~50 minutes of strength training in the gym after my swim.  Since I did 18 miles yesterday and am planning a tempo run for Tuesday, I reduced the number of repetitions and amount of weight I was lifting.  The purpose of this strength training session: get some strength training in without stressing my body out too much before Tuesday. 

I hit my thumb on a dumbbell rack lifting up a 15 pound weight and it bruised up almost instantly.  It was numb while I finished my workout (~10 minutes) and started throbbing on the way home.  I iced it once I got home for about 15 minutes.  It was still sore the next day, the bruise has not spread to the whole nail, just a small area.  It’s my non-dominant right hand, but apparently I use my right hand for most non-fine motor activities.  Hopefully it will be fine in a couple of days.

Update: The thumb stopped hurting after about 24-48 hours.  3 weeks later, and there is still a tiny bruise which seems to be working its way up the nail.  As someone who is very familiar with bruised nails (not finger nails though), I’m thrilled the entire nail didn’t bruise up, become deformed, or fall off.

Monday, May 31 – Run

Run: 7 miles.  11:39 per mile.  Strides: 161 per min.  Heart rate: 124 bpm.  Temps: 50s-60s°F, sunny.  9:44 am.

This was an easy paced, hilly (349 ft. gain) run, with some short (0.1 mile) faster alternating with slower tempo repeats for the last mile.

I debated doing a tempo run today, but I know how much better my legs feel if I take 2 easy days after my 18 mile run versus 1.  This was a good run.  I’m feeling more tired in the afternoon than normal after this.  Is there are correlation between effort level and less fatigue? Maybe.

Tuesday, June 1 – Tempo Run (and new 10K and 5K PRs)

Run: 9.3 miles.  9:50 per mile.  Strides: 168 per min.  Heart rate: 156 bpm.  Temps: 60s-70s°F, sunny.  9:25 am

10 minute warm-up, 6.7 miles at tempo pace (today was 9:12/mile), 1.7 miles cool down.

I maintained an average tempo pace of 9:09 per mile after having to stop for traffic around 0.5 miles into the tempo portion of this run.  New 5K and 10K PRs according to Strava, 3 and 2 seconds faster than previous times from 2020. 

It was hot and I felt nauseous starting at about 30 minutes into the tempo section; I wanted to quit but I kept going and dialed it back a little.  I tried to do 20 second surges every minute, but the goal was just to keep going at a faster pace.  I wasn’t trying to set new PRs, just to have a good tempo run today (which I did).  I did not “feel good” on this run, but I pushed hard and this faster paced tempo is evidence that I’m improving.

Wednesday, June 2 – Run/Swim/Strength training

Run: 8.1 miles.  12:32 per mile.  Strides: 158 per min.  Heart rate: 120 bpm.  Temps: 60s°F, rainy.  9:45 am.

This was an easy paced, hilly (406ft. gain) run.  It was light to medium rain the entire run.  I explored a new (to me), hilly neighborhood while running in the rain while listening to a book about divers hunting down a lost pirate ship.  This was a great run.

I was soaked head to toe by the time I got home (I had a rain jacket on, but I took it off when I started to overheat, about 8 minutes in).

Swim: 1.3 mile, 1 hour, 21 strokes per minute, 1.34 mph, 44 laps. 4:28 pm.

100 yards each: breast, free, back.  200 yd free, 100 yd breast kick, 200 yd back, 100 yd free kick, 200 yd free arms only, 100 yd back kick, 200 yd back arms only, 200 yd free, 200 yd back, 100 yd free, 100 yd breast, 100 yd back, 100 yd elementary back.

Total distance: 2,200 yards.  (44 laps)

I worked on flip turns today.  I’m getting better, I’m still not good, but I am inhaling less water.  I attempted 2 flip turns in the shallow end and almost did a handstand – I need to keep it to the deep end until I can keep my arms tucked in and not flailing around, but I am making progress.

Strength training: 5:46 pm.

I couldn’t find the heavier kettlebells and skipped forward lunges, but otherwise this was a really good strength training session.  I was so hungry after the swim and before strength training.

Thursday, June 3 – Run

Run: 8 miles.  12:42 per mile.  Strides: 156 per min.  Heart rate: 116 bpm.  Temps: 60s°F, very humid.  10:02 am.

This was an easy paced, hilly (432 ft. gain) run.  I was not feeling super speedy today after the run/swim/strength combo yesterday, plus it’s that time of the month where I just feel really tired.  I’m still enjoying the Pirate Hunters audiobook.

Friday, June 4 – Long Run

Run: 10 miles.  12:08 per mile.  Strides: 160 per min.  Heart rate: 123 bpm.  Temps: 60s-70s°F, partly sunny.  9:40 am.

This was an easy paced long run.  Since its been cold, my heat acclimatization has stalled, which means this very warm run felt extremely hot, not being helped out by the time of the month and hormonal fluctuations which often make me feel hot now for no reason already, and I frequently feel hot and nauseous on cooler days when hormones are doing their thing.

My endurance brain took over and got me through this though, 10 miles was not a problem.  I refueled, ate lunch, had more water, and then went out and mowed the grass after.  My seasonal allergies were extreme today (zyrtec plus multiple doses of flonase are no match for my immune response to what I imagine are billions of mold spores since it was very wet the last two days and then very hot and damp today).

Saturday, June 5 – Run

Run: 9 miles.  12:21 per mile.  Strides: 157 per min. Heart rate: 122 bpm.  Temps: 70s°F, sunny 9:41 am.

This was an easy paced, hilly (456 ft. gain) run.  It’s back to hot and humid and I’m back to working on my heat acclimatization.  This run was fine, I was just not moving fast.  Also, allergies are bad, and it was difficult to breathe through my nose today (not that I think I breathe through my nose when I’m running usually, but noticeably struggling with it more than normal).

Running wrap-up

1.)  I’m way behind on my weekly updates once again.  I’ve just noticed my resting heart rate for June is averaging 56 beats per minute, which suggests that perhaps I’m experiencing more hypothyroidism symptoms than what is “ideal” for me right now.    (And it was 56 bpm this week.  That is low for me and often indicates a thyroid hormone problem for me and not that I’m a super fit human.)

In an ideal world, I would experience zero hypothyroidism symptoms all of the time.  Even with some extreme afternoon caffeine consumption and trying my best to remain active and not “let myself” go into hypothyroidism afternoon/evening fatigue and often a lethargy later in the day, it’s still happening.  (Perhaps why I feel so good when I swim/lift weights in the evening, because whatever powerful exercise hormones are released swimming seems to help get me out of this slump.)

Anyway, I will make a valiant effort to catch up on my weekly blog posts as quickly as possible.  (I sometimes am very tired in the later parts of the day and that makes it much harder to get anything done, despite really wanting to do many things.)

I haven’t missed any runs though. (I have missed almost all my shoulder stretches and general stretches in June, something I usually do in the evenings.  So I suspect I am more tired than normal later in the day.  I probably need a dosage increase in thyroid hormone – next endo checkup is August – doubtful I will get an increase unless my TSH is way off.  TSH is not the best measure of active thyroid hormone in my body (that would be free T4 and free T3) but unfortunately TSH is the one measurement most doctors treat thyroid hormone level by.) 

2.)  I set a new 10K and 5K PR on a tempo run (according to Strava).  Both these PRs are only a couple seconds faster than previous PRs (10K at 56:47 is 2 seconds faster than my June 11, 2020 PR, 5K at 28:03 is 3 seconds faster than my May 4, 2020 PR), but it is nice to see that I can hit those numbers still, after what seems like a massive winter slowdown.  Possibly the strength training/fat loss/muscle gain/swimming is all finally showing up as increased running fitness.

3.)  Despite complaining about being tired for most of this week, I ran a lot of miles, set some new PRs, swam twice and did strength training twice, so I think I made a pretty good effort.

Am I tired from overtraining and doing too much?  It’s possible.  It’s also very likely my monthly hormones which always seem to make me tired this time of the month are once again making me tired.   I’ve lately been prioritizing my running, swimming, and strength training, and so far it seems to be helping with my overall mood.

4.)  My weight is down slightly from last week.  I’m no longer aiming to get to a certain weight, as my body has noticeably toned up this year and I’ve lost fat.  I’m aiming to keep fueling my body so I can continue to run/swim/lift weights, and I’m aiming not to gain back the fat I’ve lost this year. 

As someone who “accidentally” gained 40 pounds in 2016 due to undiagnosed hypothyroidism, I will continue to weigh myself everyday and keep track of the fluctuations (my weight fluctuated very little this week, a rarity for me).  Is weighing myself detrimental to my mental health?  I think I’ve kept a relatively distanced/objective view of my weight over the past several years (after losing about 35—40 pounds in 2017).

I’ve never worried about massive weight fluctuations (surgery usually means an 8 pound gain for me, and my weight has always fluctuated wildly due to many, many reasons, but overconsuming calories is very rarely any of those reasons).  I think seeing almost zero change in the scale and massive changes in my body composition (more muscle, less fat) has done wonders for my mental health this year, and I’m even less concerned on what that number is on the scale.  It is fun to keep track though. 

Total walking + running miles this week (May 30 – June 5): 69.57 miles (down 6.32 from last week)

Total walking + running miles this year (2021): 1,576.84 miles

Total steps this week (May 30 – June 5): 141,440 steps (down 5,090 from last week)

Total steps this year (2021): 3,024,044 steps

Average steps per day (May 30 – June 5): 20,205 steps (down 727 from last week)

Average steps per day (2021): 19,384 steps

Total running miles this week (May 30 – June 5): 57.77 miles (down 6.56 from last week.)

Average running mileage per week (2021): 57.28 miles

Total running miles this year (2021): 1,276.43 miles

Average running speed this week (not including hill repeats) (May 30 – June 5): 11:55/mile.  (17 seconds slower per mile than last week)

Average running speed this year (2021): 11:42 per mile

Average resting heart rate this week (May 30 – June 5): 56 bpm (down 1 bpm from last week)

Average resting heart rate this year (2021): 59 bpm

Elevation gain this week (May 30 – June 5): 2,375 ft. (down 610 ft. from last week).

Elevation gain this year (2021):  56,295 ft.

Average elevation gain per week (2021): 2,526 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: 162.5 lb (down 0.2 lb from last week).

Weight January 1, 2021: 163.3 lb

Weight change since Jan 1, 2021: -0.8 lb

Previous week:  May 23 – May 29, 2021

Next week:  June 6 – June 12, 2021