16Thursday
July 2026
2 entries
28Tuesday
Keep a diary like this
Private by default — share only the days you choose.
2 entries
Private by default — share only the days you choose.
7.2 km. That was the run this morning, out along the canal before six. Supposed to be eight but the left Achilles gave me that familiar tightness around the second kilometre and I trimmed the route rather than push through it.
Session log:
The tightness wasn't sharp, more a low-grade pull when I dorsiflexed on the slight camber near the lock. I stopped twice and did some slow calf raises off a kerb edge. It settled. By kilometre five it had mostly gone, but I kept the pace down regardless. 138 average heart rate for easy running is about right for me this week. I'm not going to chase the mileage.
Sleep last night: 6.4 hours. That's two nights running under seven and I can feel it in the legs before I even start. Weight this morning was 63.1 kg, which is normal, but resting HR was 52 — up two from Monday. Small number, worth noting.
Thursday is usually a strength day in the afternoon but I'm dropping it this week. I've had five sessions since Sunday and the arithmetic doesn't support a sixth. I'll do ten minutes of single-leg calf work tonight on the kitchen floor and leave it at that. The gym will still be there Friday.
Tomorrow is scheduled as an easy 45-minute spin on the bike, flat roads, no climbing. I'll shift one chainring smaller than I think I need for the first half and keep the cadence above 90. Legs before ego.
#trainingjournal #running #cycling #recovery
6.2 km. That was the run this morning — shorter than planned, but I made the call at the canal bridge and turned back.
Session log:
The left Achilles flagged at around the 3 km mark. Not pain — more a mild complaint, the way it sometimes does when I've been on my feet all day the day before, which I was. Monday is always heavy in the classroom: two hours standing for the literacy block, lunch duty, then a staff meeting that ran thirty-five minutes over. By the time I got home it was gone seven and I sat down and didn't move again until bed. Logged 6.8 hours of sleep, which is on the low side for a training day.
I stretched the calf properly when I got back — three sets, single-leg, heel drop off the step, slow and boring. Then ice pack for ten minutes while I had my coffee. One coffee. The Achilles settled within the hour. It usually does when I catch it early and don't push through.
Ate the same lunch I've had three times this week: rice, chicken, half an avocado. There's no romance in it, but it works and it doesn't require thought, which is useful when my brain is already running thirty-two children through the afternoon programme.
Tomorrow I had a tempo run on the plan, but I'm going to swap it for an easy 45-minute spin on the bike instead. The Achilles needs another day of low load. Swapping one session is not a failure of discipline — it's just data management.
#trainingjournal #running #recovery #cycling