A year of running

I don’t post here much, but I did write a few times this year about running, and the process of becoming a runner. As 2017 comes to a close, I can happily say that I have caught the running bug. I went from being a maybe-once-per-month runner to an almost-every-day runner.

Some stats:

  • Total running days: 284.
  • Total distance: 1401.5 miles.
  • Average pace: 8:14 / mile.
  • Most miles run in a month: 140.3 (July).
  • Most days run in a month: 29 (March).
  • Most miles run in a 7-day period: 48.4 (Dec 3rd – 9th … even took a day off in that stretch).

My average run distance ended up at 4.93 miles. Of those 284 runs:

  • 141 were more than 5 miles.
  • 54 were more than 10km (6.21 miles).
  • 15 were more than 8 miles.
  • 4 were more than 10 miles.

Personal records established:

  • 5k: 22:18 (April 8th).
  • 10k: 43:15 (December 7th).
  • Half-marathon: 1:42:55 (December 9th).

I did have a few 5k splits that were faster (notably 21:02 on August 25th), but that one in particular was on an all-downhill section as part of Hood To Coast. The above times were my fastest at running that distance specifically.

Some charts, because why not?

And, while this wasn’t really the main point of plan to become a runner, I also dropped over 40 pounds. What a difference that makes in pretty much everything. Including, clearly, my pace improvement over the first 4 months of the year.

What will 2018 bring? As long as I stay healthy I see no reason to stop running. Should I run more or less? Faster or slower? Longer distances or shorter distances? No idea. Maybe I’ll just run and see what happens.

Still running, eight months in

Post four of a series. Previous here.

Eight months later, still running strong. Latest stats:

  • 936 – total miles this year.
  • 201 – days run this year.
  • 126 – total miles in August.
  • 5.24 – Average running distance (miles) per run in August.
  • 21:02 – 5K PR time on August 25.

My 5K time there is a bit flimsy, as it was part of a longer run in the 2017 Hood to Coast relay, and the run was mostly downhill. But still!

Speaking of Hood to Coast, this was my 6th time in the race, and my overall pace across the three segments was 7:31/mile. Way, way faster than ever before. Joe joined the team this year, which was awesome.

Oh, and I’m now down 44 pounds since the beginning of the year. Hit my weight loss goal of 43 pounds a few weeks ago, and now I’m in maintenance mode. Feels great. Considering a new goal of an additional 5 pounds, we’ll see.

Running update, day 181

This is the third post (see previous) on my running progress so far this year. 

Six months in, no sign of slowing down yet! My running pace is now regularly below 8:00/mile. Some numbers:

  • 645 – total miles this year.
  • 8:00 – average mile pace during the month of June.
  • 131 – total miles in June.
  • 27 – days run in June.
  • 147 – days run this year.
  • 37:27 – PR 5-mile time on June 28.

The only days I missed in June were days where I was in all-day business travel and literally couldn’t find an hour to run.

Combined with careful eating habits (but not too careful), I’m also down 40.0 pounds as of this morning. Feels great.

75 days, 25 pounds, 204 miles

I decided at the beginning of 2017 to become a regular runner, and lose the beer belly in the process. Today is the 75th day of the year, and my progress has been even better than I had hoped. I still have a bit of work to do, but I’m over halfway to my weight loss goal, and I have the running habit locked in. Feels great to run, and I look forward to my run each day.

I’ve been using a few apps on my phone to measure and gather data:

  • LoseIt. I track all food and meals here.
  • Nike+ Run Club. My phone is always in my pocket, and I’m tracking every run live.
  • Apple Health. Mostly as a step counter, but it also provides good integration between the Nike+ app and LoseIt, so LoseIt can give me calorie credit for my workouts.

Some stats:

  • I’ve run 53 times for a total of 204 miles (328 km) since January 6th. That’s 3.85 miles on average each time. Minimum 3 miles, longest 6.2 miles.
  • I’m eating an average of 1824 calories per day.
  • I’ve lost 25.0 pounds (11.3 kg).
  • My comfortable 4-mile running pace has dropped from 10:00/mile to 8:34/mile.
  • I’m earning an average of 649 calories per day with exercise. Which brings my net daily calories to 1175.
  • I’m averaging 11634 steps per day, including my running steps.

I try to be super-accurate with all my data entry in LoseIt. But even assuming I’m underreporting by, say 20%, I know I’m still way below what I used to eat on a daily basis. LoseIt is great. I know there are many apps like this, but this is the one I use, and it works well for me.

It’s winter here, so I’m running outdoors on roads and trails when the weather doesn’t completely suck and indoors on a treadmill when it does. About 60% of my runs have been indoors. Can’t wait for spring! I’ve played soccer a handful of times this year, but pretty much all my exercise is from running. I had an international business trip in February which limited my running for a week, but I was able to get lots of steps in on most of those days. I’ve been fortunate to avoid any injuries, although a mildly strained calf muscle slowed my running pace down a bit for a few runs. I’m not focused on running terribly long distances. Maybe later.

Going into this I was most concerned about my ability to keep the calories down. This has been surprisingly easy to do. I eliminated most calorie-rich carbs (potatoes, fries, chips, rice, etc.), got in to the habit of weighing foods to understand how much I was really eating, and just generally ate less. But I’m still eating three meals, having a small snack at some point during the day, and having a drink or two at night. Usually whiskey, but some beers like Guinness are pretty low in calories, so I mix those in too. IPAs have pretty much disappeared from my diet.

In the end, none of this is complicated. Eat less, and exercise. I hope to report even more progress soon.