Theme of the month: My resting heart rate continues to drop, I rally back to fight the (presumably caused by mild hypothyroidism) afternoon fatigue increase that happened in June, and I start heart rate training to increase my heart rate on easy runs.

Running monthly totals:

Miles run: 264.9 miles (27.36 more miles than June)

Weekly average: 59.82 miles

Days run: 31 out of 31

Calories burned during run: 36,600 kcal (that’s 10.5 lb if 3500 kcal = 1 lb)

Run time: 50 hr 31 min (98 min per day average)

Monthly averages and superlatives:

Average speed per mile: 11:25 per mile (12 sec faster than June)

Average stride rate: 161 steps per minute (3 spm more than June)

Average heart rate during run: 134 beats per minute (4 bpm more than June)

Longest run: July 2 – 15 miles

Shortest run: There were 12 runs this month that were 7-7.2 miles each: 7 miles. 

Fastest run: July 25 – 9:53/mile, 7.6 miles (no tempo runs this month – this was “subtempo”)

Slowest run (not counting hill repeats): July 5 – 12:25/mile.

Fastest mile: July 25 – Mile 1 at 9:05.

Fastest strides: July 25 – strides: 166 steps per minute.

Slowest strides (not counting hill repeats): July 5 – 155 per minute.

Total ascent: 13,293 ft. (up 2,961  from  June)

Non-run monthly stats:

Total distance (running + walking): 307.6 miles (up 19.5 from June) 

Average distance per day: 9.92 miles (up 0.32 from June)

Total steps: 608,030 steps

Average steps per day: 19,614 (up 763 from June) 

Average resting heart rate: 55 bpm (down 1 bpm from June)

Lowest resting heart rate: July 4 and 7 – 50 bpm (down 1 bpm from lowest in June – I can’t remember it ever being this low for the daily average)

Highest resting heart rate:  July 25 – 64 bpm (up 4 bpm from highest in June). 

Swimming monthly totals:

Distance swum: 447 laps/22,350 yards/12.7 miles (~2 miles more than June)  

Average per swim session: 50 laps/2,483 yards/ 1.41 miles

Days swum: 9 out of 31 (this could be better, but seeing as it was 0/31 for the last 9 Julys before this one, that’s pretty good for me)

Swim time: 9 hr 30 min (63 min per swim session)

Average pace: 2:33/100 yards (Includes lots of kickboard laps, breast, back, etc.  At some point I will try to calculate what my current average freestyle pace is – I’m guessing it is around 1:48-1:56/100 yards)

Favorite stroke:  Freestyle without using my legs much is still up there, but backstroke is gaining ground.

July monthly thoughts:

1.)  Please see June Monthly Thoughts for in depth pondering of just what is causing my increase in afternoon fatigue.

I actually have some answers now – I know my free T4 thyroid hormone level, which was High at 1.81 (range 0.8-1.8) last August, has now dropped to 1.39 (same range), which is still above half, but is probably causing my more recent increase in fatigue problems, as well as both a resting heart rate and running heart rate drop.

I’m writing this the day after my appointment with my endocrinologist – my “resting” heart rate was 120 bpm! (which is above many of my easy runs in May, June, and July, believe it or not), and my blood pressure was so high I don’t even want to mention it here (I’m not entirely sure they wrote it down in my chart).  I get so nervous at doctors’ appointments, and the big problem is high blood pressure and high heart rate look an awful lot like hyperthyroidism, something I definitely do not have. (This is often called “white coat syndrome”, and I suspect part of my problem is worrying about failing the test, which then I inevitably do fail. The first time I noticed that my heart rate was elevated was when my pulse was taken was when I was in 7th or 8th grade (12-13 years old). The first time I learned my heart rate was not in fact very high all the time was when I got my first GPS watch with heart rate monitoring in August 2017 – it turns out my body freaks out when it knows blood pressure and pulse are being taken.)

The good news is, I told my doctor this, and I showed him the blood pressure recordings I’ve taken this year and my monthly average heart rates for this year, and he actually believed me this time!  That I’m nervous at appointments but otherwise my heart rate and blood pressure are fine!  The doctor listened to me and believed me!

(This is my fourth appointment with the same endocrinologist and the first time I think he actually gets that I’m anxious at my appointment but I’m also very active and normally not anxious when I’m not in his office.)

I think I might still be slightly hypo (based on June’s fatigue), but we’ve decided to keep my thyroid medication at my current dosage (which I’m counting as a win – my TSH is “low” which could indicate hyperthyroidism, especially if I had an elevated heart rate and blood pressure, but since I don’t, at least not when I’m at the doctor’s, I’m probably fine).

The good news is even if I am still slightly hypo, I’ve used the power within me to help with the afternoon fatigue.

I’m still consuming massive amounts of caffeine early in the afternoon – I think this helps.  (I’m never energetic when I do this, it lessens the edge of the fatigue though – I can be somewhat productive during the fatigue time if I don’t try to do anything active.)

I’ve started taking T3 (active thyroid hormone) at 9 am (5 mcg) and 1 pm (5 mcg) instead of at 6:30 am (when I take T4) and 12-1 pm, which I was doing before.  I am mighty groggy from when I get out of bed around 8 am until 9:15 am, but, this helps in the afternoon.

I’ve been working on increasing my easy run heart rate.  I feel more energetic in the afternoons after harder runs, and I had noticed my easy run heart rate continuing to creep down throughout the last few months.  For most runners, this indicates “increased fitness”.  As someone who doesn’t have a thyroid and has to be on the lookout for hypo or hyper symptoms – I didn’t realize this drop in running heart rate was probably hypothyroidism related as well until I got the blood test results back and tied everything together.  I didn’t start trying to increase my easy run heart rate because of the afternoon fatigue, but I think it’s helping as well.

There are so many things not in my control, especially when it comes to hypothyroidism symptoms.  But, I’m learning to adapt, and learning to make do with what I have to work with.  All I can say is my resting heart rate dropped to 55 bpm this month, but I feel less tired than I did in June when it was 56 bpm, which is a win.  (I’m writing this in early August, where it has been 54 bpm this week.)

I am also running faster than ever, and I’ve added strength training and swimming to my weekly activities, so some of that drop in resting and running heart rates is probably an increase in fitness.  It is possible my recovery from anemia  has continued throughout the past year – I don’t think I’ve been anemic since the surgery in July 2020, but I also know treatment for anemia often involves taking iron pills daily for a year (which I’ve continued to take).

Anyway, I’m not saying the fatigue is gone, but it is better than it was in June.  I’m not saying I’m not experiencing any hypothyroidism symptoms, because there are a few (loss of appetite, afternoon fatigue, hair still continuing to fall out at an obnoxiously high rate, and possibly the heart rate thing), but I’m in a much better place than I was a year ago even with my symptoms, so, I’m glad I’ve seen such an improvement.

2.)  I started heart rate training in the second half of this month.  Specifically, I started to try to increase my easy run heart rate, which lately has been as low as 115-125 bpm, up to a minimum average running heart rate of 130-135 bpm.

Almost all runners when training by heart rate need to “slow down” to get their running heart rate in the “easy” zone, so why would I try to increase mine?

I don’t think I’m getting much of a cardiovascular workout when it is 115 bpm.  This used to be my walking heart rate.  What is the point of running if I’m not getting into a cardio zone?

Why did my running heart rate get so low in the first place?:

Some of this is discussed above – I don’t know.  Increased fitness? 

a.) I am running my tempo runs faster than I used to, so maybe there are cardiovascular improvements and my body falls into an easy run based on overall effort but not focusing on my heart’s effort specifically.

b.) I’m not as anemic/no longer anemic, and running by effort when I was running easy runs at a slower rate because my oxygen carrying potential was much lower has continued to now, where I can carry more oxygen but my body doesn’t know that, only my heart does. The effort feels the same, the load on my heart has decreased.

c.) Swimming?  Has swimming done this to me?  I feel amazing when I get done with a swim, mostly because I love swimming.  I started swimming laps on April 23rd, and very soon after starting to swim laps, I noticed that the ends of my long runs were getting much easier than they used to be, and I could actually speed up at the end of what used to be very tough long runs.

I’m not using the Maffetone method (or any “legitimate training strategy”), but so far, so good.

3.)  My weight is not changing.  It’s up about 0.3 pounds from the end of June, but that doesn’t mean much.  It fluctuated a bunch in July.  It turns out lifting weights has a big impact on my weight, and with constant muscle inflammation and with the humidity and heat of the summer , cycles of hot sweaty runs, lots of electrolytes, and repeat, it is hard to tell exactly what is going on when I weigh myself.

I’m still happy with my body composition right now.  I will continue to monitor my weight (I suspect I have mild hypothyroidism symptoms which can affect  my metabolism), but I’m not currently trying to make the scale go down.

Wanting to lose weight at the beginning of the year was for : losing the fat I put on my stomach while on Lupron Depot last year and taking pressure off of my right knee.  By adding in consistent strength training workouts into my routine every 3-4 days, I’ve lost fat in my stomach area, put on muscle, and taken pressure off the knee, all while keeping my weight the same.  I started the year barely being able to do a handful of chair squats or lunges – now I’m regularly doing 70+ squats  and 100+ lunges during my strength training at the gym.  It turns out strengthening the muscles around your knee can take a lot of the pressure off the knee.

Checking in with my New Year, New Running Goals.

1.)  I continue to be fully vaccinated.    I hear talk about boosters.  I will get one if one is offered to me, as soon as I can.

2.)  I still haven’t signed up for any races.  I know I should take advantage of my new 5K/10K speed, and I will probably be sad if I don’t run a marathon this year, but I don’t feel ready to sign up for anything right now. Also, it is hot outside. I don’t want to run a hot 5K/10K/half marathon/marathon.

3.)  I ran with my dad on July 31.  He used to run, but does not run now, and somehow he managed 5.6 miles when we were visiting my sister’s in Illinois (he ran with me to make sure I did not get lost.  I did the same route on my own the next day, and I got slightly lost before pulling up the map from the day before on my phone).

4.)  I’m swimming.  I love swimming.

I’ve noticed I’m currently in a better head space, happier in general, more content, and less moody than any time in the last 6 years.  I have no doubt the main cause of this is finally being healthier than I was 2015-2020.  I also have no doubt swimming is also a big part of this.  I love running too, but there’s something about swimming that makes me feel so very good.

5.)  Best thing I’ve done all year was start strength training consistently.  (I guess co-best thing – swimming is also a very good thing.)

6.) July was slightly better than June in terms of stretching.  I’m working on it.  Changing habits takes a lot of effort, and somehow things I love to do (running, swimming) always seem to work their way into my schedule, while things I know I want to do but do not enjoy nearly as much (stretching) fall by the wayside.

7.) Crosstraining – Running, swimming, and strength training is a lot right now.  Do I need to do more than that at the moment?  I’m not sure.  

Audiobook round-up, July 2021

I listened to 14 audiobooks on my runs this month – which seems like a lot.  It turns out I spend A LOT of time running.  I’ve also bumped up my listen speed from 1.4X to 1.8X (I still can pay attention and understand what I’m listening to at that speed).  I’ve started to listen to Hawaii by James Michener, which is over 50 hours and is at least 30 hours longer than any audiobook I’ve ever listened to (Mosquito was 18 hours and I thought that was long).  The plan is to slowly make my way through all James Michener, but I listen to several things at once so don’t expect to see that on the August round-up.

When The Boys on the Boat was first very popular several years ago, I had no interest in reading/listening to it because I’m not interested in rowing.  It turns out this book is only a little about rowing, and mostly about an extremely difficult childhood growing up in Washington state during the Great Depression. Crying on my runs is always fun, so this book gave me lots of opportunities to just randomly start crying while running through the neighborhood – it was a great book.  Landslide described the train-wreck that was November and December 2020 and January 2021, with audio clips of infamous speeches included.  I didn’t think I would enjoy it nearly as much as I did.

Fiction:

The Conductors – Nicole Glover

The Office of Historical Corrections – Danielle Evans

Appleseed – Matt Bell

Neither fiction nor non-fiction:

Papillon – Henri Charriere (the author claimed this book is 75% truthful – I have my doubts on what the percentage of truthiness is, but this was interesting to listen to and guess what parts are just made up – a lot of the book. This book reminded me of how great The Count of Monte Cristo is.)

Hero Maker: 12 Weeks to Superhero Fit: A Hollywood Trainer’s REAL Guide to Getting the Body You’ve Always Wanted – Duffy Gaver (I’m not sure how this book made its way onto my Overdrive holds list, I’m sure I added it because I thought it was about sports genes, it’s not. It’s also not entirely truthful about what it takes for most men to get a movie-star physique of mega-muscles in only12 weeks, which is more than just diet, exercise, and sleep as this book purports.)

Non-fiction:

The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator – Timothy C. Winegard

The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear – Kate Moore

Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World — Elinor Cleghorn

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race – Walter Isaacson

Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich – Norman Ohler

The Lady’s Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness – Sarah Ramey (as someone with one of the mysterious illnesses described in this book – I suggest picking up Unwell Women instead.  Sarah Ramey does a great job of describing her own, very depressing, very debilitating illness, but when she talks about unproven, pseudoscience hypotheses like leaky gut, and recommends all women try elimination diets to cure or lessen symptoms, it left me scratching my head. It’s just not rigorously researched and not coming from a medical/scientific place.  She also tries to lump all mysterious illnesses together, which left me feeling not included.)

The Boys on the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics – Daniel James Brown

The Life-Changing Science of Detecting Bullsh!# — John V. Petrocelli

Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency – Michael Wolff

Thyroid/weight

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 lb  (up 0.9 lb from end of May) 

Weight January 1, 2021: 163.3  lb

Weight change since Jan 1, 2021: -0.3 lb

Previous month: June 2021

Next month: August 2021