2019: The Stats

Post updated in January 2021 with newer graphs from 2019.

Hey, it’s still January! So it’s still okay to post about what happened last year!

I wrote a “2018: The Stats” post last year and have been meaning to write a similar one. I got so bogged down in my NYC Marathon recap that I kept putting off writing this post. I don’t know how interesting this stuff is, but why not stick with tradition? Also, I like stats.

I keep track of my activity in a few ways:

• Garmin: I’ve been using a Garmin Forerunner 630 since late 2017. Every run gets recorded on it. I keep track of shoe mileage and my weight on the app. My watch also tracks my steps and my sleep. I like Garmin.
• MapMyRun: I starting using this in 2014 and it was how I tracked runs before Garmin. Now it transfers my Garmin data but I don’t use it for much else, except for some stats and occasionally to see what my friend Scott is doing.
• Strava: I signed up for Strava in 2018 but didn’t pay it much attention until a few months ago. It has much of the same data as MapMyRun but I find it more intuitive, more pleasing to look at, and most of my running friends are on it (not Scott). They give me kudos and that makes me feel good.
• My own spreadsheet: Since July 2018, I’ve kept track of every run, strength workout, swim, and yoga routine in an Excel spreadsheet. I started doing this after I used the NYRR Virtual Trainer to train for the 2018 NYC Marathon and wanted a place where I could store my records myself, not just rely on a website or app. I really love this method. I make tabs for each training/recovery season and keep track of miles, pace, shoe mileage, strength workouts, swimming, even the weather on the days I run. I just like having all of this info handy. Someday it will turn me into a millionaire. I’m just not sure how.

In 2019, I:

• took 7,071,814 steps (up from 6,544,751 in 2018!)
• ran 1533.09 miles (about the distance from NYC to Port-au-Prince, Haiti)
• burned 155,952 calories running
• spent 249 hours and 57 minutes running
• ran 14 races (and PR’d in 4)
• ran 1 great marathon
• ran 1 terrible marathon
• did 98 upper body strength workouts
• did 63 lower body strength workouts
• got into a swimming pool 21 times
• ran on the AlterG 5 times
• did 45 Yoga with Adriene routines 
• entered a new age group!

AGE GROUP COMPARISONS

Last year, I was able to see how I compared to all other runners on Garmin; this year it looks like you can only compare yourself against specific age groups. So I’ll compare myself against my own.

I ran farther than 99% of them (although it looks like many of them don’t run at all).

I also spent more time running than 99% of them.

A whole 19% of woman in my age group run faster than me. That actually makes sense – I feel like I’m in about the top fifth, pace-wise.

I was curious as to how I stacked up against the fastest age group: 18-24 year-old men. I’m faster than just 34% of them. Wow. And I’m… oh god, I just realized this. I’m old enough to be their mom.

Old enough. To be. Their mom.

As far as steps go, I take a lot of those.

And, no surprise here: I get about seven hours of sleep a night.

I’m honestly surprised at how much sleep other people get. Of course, this could also just mean these people’s watches are off during the night and they’re slow to put them back on. Because who sleeps 10-11 hours a night other than… babies? Dogs? Fish?

That’s about it for my 2019 stats. My 2020 stats are very different – and I know this because I am writing this sentence in 2021, so 2020 has already happened. Spoiler: 2020 was a weird year.