Theme of the week:  It’s still hot and humid.

Runs (and swims and strength training):

Sunday, August 22 – Run/Swim/Strength training

Run: 7 miles.  10:36 per mile.  Strides: 164 per min.  Heart rate: 141 bpm.  Temps: high 70s-low 80s°F, sunny.  9:43 am.

This was an “easy” paced (based on heart rate of 141 bpm, with a faster last mile of 9:23), hilly (357 ft. gain) run.  I don’t normally run this fast at 130-140 bpm, but I’m guessing my heart rate is in “recovery mode” after hill repeats yesterday.  Great job today.

Swim: 1:02 pm.  58 minutes.  50 laps/2,500 yards.

100 yards breast, free, back, breast kickboard, 600 yards free, 100 yards back, free kickboard, 600 yards free, 100 yards back, back kick, IM, back, IM, 50 yards back, free, and 100 yards elementary back.

This was a great swim, feeling good!

Strength training: 2:19 pm.  72 minutes. 

This was a great strength training session.  Good chance of DOMS in the morning.

Monday, August 23 – Run

Run: 7 miles.  11:24 per mile.  Strides: 160 per min.  Heart rate: 136 bpm.  Temps: 80-84°F, sunny, hot.  9:35 am. 

This was an easy paced, hilly (355 ft. gain), hot and humid run.  I didn’t run by heart rate today because it was intensely hot at the beginning of the run (but I’m right on target for an easy heart rate zone run).  I wasn’t feeling nearly as good as on yesterday’s run, but it was also hotter and I did a lot yesterday, so perhaps I was feeling a bit fried today.

I was feeling very tired 2 hours after finishing this run.  (I’ve reached the hormonally tired portion of the month, so that may be exacerbating my regular afternoon fatigue and the tiredness may not be from the very hot run this morning.)

Tuesday, August 24 – Run/Swim/Strength training

Run: 7 miles.  11:24 per mile.  Strides: 161 per min.  Heart rate: 136 bpm.  Temps: 80-86°F, sunny. 9:39 am.

This was an easy paced, hilly (360 ft. gain) run.  It was slightly hotter than yesterday, and today was all about surviving the run so I can continue to run another day.

A couple hours after this run and I’m feeling super tired – combination of hormones which always make me tired this time of the month and breakthrough seasonal allergies, which also always make me tired (nose and eyes super itchy today – ragweed, nettle, and chenopods all high today).  Difficulty concentrating while trying to read/organize/clean, so decided to go swimming to see if that helps perk up my energy at all.

Swim: 3:36 pm. 63 minutes.  50 laps/2,500 yards

100 yards breast, free, back, breast kickboard, 400 yards free, 100 yards back, IM, back, free kickboard, 400 yards free, 100 yards back, IM, back, back kick, IM, 25 yards back, 50 free, 25 back, 100 yards IM, 50 yards back, free, 100 yards elementary back.

I spent some time today talking to regulars while I was in the pool.  Both were friendly people and neither gave off creepy vibes, which was great.  I still managed to get in 50 laps in a reasonable amount of time.

My underwater dolphin kick portion of butterfly (the first 25 yards of an 100 IM) seems to be getting longer and longer (to the point now where I’m only taking 8-9 strokes above water).  Either kick is improving or lung capacity, I think I’m still surfacing well within the 15 yards guidelines.

Strength training: 4:57 pm.  62 minutes.

I’ve been slacking on recording exactly what I’m doing when I lift weights the last few weeks, but I increased the weight on a couple lifts today:

Chest press: went up from 20 pounds/arm to 25 pounds (about 16-20 reps)

Overhead pullover: went up from 15 pounds/arm to 20 pounds (about 12-16 reps)

Single arm triceps behind the head: increase from 12 pound to 15 pounds (about 10-12 reps)

Bent over row: increased from 20 pounds to 25 pounds per arm (about 16 reps)

Recently, after months and months of doing 15 pounds per arm shoulder press, I’ve bumped up to 20 pounds (only about 8-10 reps now).  That’s a big deal, because for a very long time (maybe 2 years?) after my July 2017 separated shoulder, I kept shoulder press to 8 pounds, I bumped up to 12 pounds sometime in 2020, and once I joined the gym I’ve gradually bumped it up to 15 and now 20. 

Strength training is not making me “bulky”/my muscles are not growing huge.  But they are growing stronger.

Wednesday, August 25 – Run

Run: 7 miles.  11:16 per mile.  Strides:  160 per min.  Heart rate: 127bpm.  Temps:  low 80s°F, humid.  9:48 am.

The weather forecast called for rain during this run, instead, it just stayed massively humid with a light mist for about a minute in the middle of this run.

My heart rate was decidedly in “recovery mode” the entire run (114 bpm first mile, 120s for miles 2-5, 135 for mile 6, and a whopping 143 on mile 7 at 9:50 pace – I assume heart rate should be a bit higher at the pace). 

This was an easy, hilly (355 ft. gain) run.  The only thing that got my heart rate up on mile 4 (to 129 bpm) and mile 6 (135 bpm) were two big hills.  Hills reliably get my heart rate up, otherwise, it was staying down today.

Hours later, in the afternoon, I was feeling more afternoon fatigue than normal and an inability to focus or stay focused.  I know this is a hormonal thing, but still frustrating.

Thursday, August 26 – Run

 Run: 7 miles.  11:33 per mile.  Strides:  160 per min.  Heart rate: 134 bpm.  Temps:  high 70s-low 80s°F, sunny, humid.  9:55 am.

This was an easy paced, hilly (355 ft. gain) run.  The combination of hot and humid plus my normal monthly hormonal swings made this run feel even hotter than the mid-80s that it was, plus I was slightly nauseous the whole run (also a monthly thing).  So, it was not ideal conditions, but I survived, which is the main goal right now.

Listening to an audiobook about a hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas in 1900 and killed ~8,000 people (Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson) really helped take the focus off my own (very small, self-inflicted) suffering, which helped distract me on this run today.

Friday, August 27 – Run

Run: 7 miles.  10:48 per mile.  Strides: 163 per min.  Heart rate: 142 bpm.  Temps: high 70s, low 80s°F, sunny, humid. 9:51 am.

This was an easy paced, flat (188 ft. gain) run.  I felt so much worse today than yesterday.  Hormonally, this is a difficult time of the month for me, where I feel hot and nauseous regardless of the temperature.  Combine that with some extreme humidity after a heavy rain last night and temperatures right around 80, this was an uncomfortable run.  I was nauseous the entire run again (not something I frequently experience, it is unpleasant).

I sped up after the first few miles in the 11 minute or longer range, probably because I just wanted to be done with this run.  I’m ready for those 17°F (-8°C) runs of February.

I was feeling tired in the afternoon, but that could be from hormones and not sleeping great last night, and not from this very humid, very sweaty run.

Saturday, August 28 – Long Run

Run: 10 miles.  10:31 per mile.  Strides: 164 per min. Heart rate: 146 bpm.  Temps: 73-79°F, partly sunny.  9:55 am.

I wasn’t sure a long run would happen this week.  It’s been so hot, and while I’ve been doing long runs mostly Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, I have been feeling really crappy the last few days.  I believe if I skipped a long run today, this would be the first time I’ve missed a weekly long run in 2021 (I just checked – I missed two weeks in February. It was extremely cold for almost all of February, this is when my brother came to visit, ran with me once in the 20s and refused to run in the teens. It looks like common sense kicked in and I only ran up to 9 miles in sub-freezing temperatures for two weeks. Thankfully it was in the 70s and not 80s today, so “not so bad” weather-wise.)

The first 7 miles were easy(ish) pace, my heart rate was slightly higher than easy for mile 4 (149 bpm) and mile 7 (147 bpm), but those were the miles with big hills, so that was not from running faster than easy, just running up hills (total gain= 462 ft.).  The last 3 miles were a little faster (heart rate was 150-162 bpm, with a pace of 10:20, 10:20, and 9:35).

I love that I am finishing long runs much stronger than I was a few months ago.  This was a faster long run than usual for me, but I was feeling good during it.  I was feeling slightly nauseous after the run for a nice change.

Running wrap-up

1.)  It’s August.  It’s hot, it’s humid.  This is probably one of the lowest mileage weeks all year, at 52 miles (is it the lowest? It might be.).  When did 52 miles become “not enough” for me?

Anyway, I am continuing to run.  I am missing working on speed, but I’ve been doing a lot of fast last miles, often unintentional, so I don’t think I’m “losing” speed.

I’m continuing to swim and love swimming.  I’m still lifting weights.  I’m running.

Is it survival mode? Definitely.  Am I surviving and still running at paces that put all my previous Augusts to shame?  Absolutely. 

I’m looking forward to cooler temperatures and testing my limits.  I haven’t signed up for any races, but as I’ve set new 10K and 5K PRs on tempo or interval runs, I’m looking forward to continuing to do that.  I’d love to sign-up for a half marathon because I have a feeling I’m close to beating that 2hr, 6 minute, 26 second (9:39/mile pace) PR from 2009.  I’m also still concerned about the not-over-yet pandemic, so I don’t know if that will happen this year.

2.)  I was more nauseous than normal on my runs for “hormonal time of the month” runs this week.  It’s probably the heat and humidity.  My sweaty clothes continue to form puddles on the floor where I hang them up in the bathroom (that might seem gross, but I’m convinced the sweat is mostly water and salt – apparently sweat is “99% water and 1% salt and fat”). The puddle is not normal.

3.)  My weight is up.  My weight fluctuates a lot in general when hormones are involved.  I’m also losing a ton of sweat daily (a ton might be hyperbole, but I’m definitely losing 5-6 pounds of sweat every single day these days).  Figuring out how much electrolytes I need is a struggle, and sometimes I fail.  (I do take 2-3 servings electrolytes while running, and an additional 1-2 after depending on just how sweaty I got that day.)

My point is my weight is up 0.3 pounds this week – it’s probably water weight, and if not, I’m not too concerned at this point.

Total walking + running miles this week (August 22 – August 28): 61.82 miles (down 6.22 from last week

Total walking + running miles this year (2021): 2,400.55 miles

Total steps this week (August 22 – August 28): 117,410 steps (down 8,860 from last week)

Total steps this year (2021): 4,613,890 steps

Average steps per day (August 22 – August 28): 16,772 steps (down 1,266 from last week, this is below my 17,000 daily goal, but I guess I don’t really care that I didn’t hit that this week?)

Average steps per day (2021): 19,224 steps

Total running miles this week (August 22 – August 28): 52.14 miles (down 3.64 from last week)

Average running mileage per week (2021): 57.07 miles

Total running miles this year (2021): 1,956.52 miles

Average running speed this week (not including hill repeats) (August 22 – August 28):  11:03/mile.  (23 seconds slower per mile than last week)

Average running speed this year (2021): 11:35 per mile

Average running heart rate this week (August 22 – August 28): 138 bpm (down 2 bpm from last week)

Average running heart rate this year (2021): 138 bpm

Average resting heart rate this week (August 22 – August 28): 57 bpm (up 2 bpm from last week – seems high now compared to the beginning of August)

Average resting heart rate this year (2021): 58 bpm

Elevation gain this week (August 22 – August 28): 2,429 ft. (down 678 ft. from last week).

Elevation gain this year (2021):  88,573 ft.

Average elevation gain per week (2021): 2,583 ft.

Swimming distance this week (August 22 – August 28): 5,000 yards/100 laps/2.84 miles

Average swimming pace this week (August 22 – August 28): ~1:13/50 yards lap or ~2:26/100 yards.  (This includes stoppage time and a variety of laps including kickboard laps, and talking to people in the pool this week)

Average swimming pace this year:  ???  To be determined.

Swimming distance this year (2021): 104,400 yards/2,090 laps/59.32 miles

Average swimming distance/week (2021, starting on April 23): 5,709 yards/114 laps/3.24 miles

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: 164.1 lb (up 0.3 lb from last week).

Weight January 1, 2021: 163.3 lb

Weight change since Jan 1, 2021: +0.8 lb

Previous week:  August 15 – August 21, 2021

Next week:  September 5 – September 11, 2021