May 2012

So May was a fairly busy month by my recent standards — 11 activities and just over ten hours of moving, which felt like a reasonable effort. The big shift was getting back on the bike properly, with two rides covering 148.5 kilometres and 712 metres of climbing, including a handful of what I can only describe as genuinely satisfying morning rides where the legs actually behaved themselves (21 personal records, so something must have gone right). Running was six sessions and 37.3 kilometres, nothing dramatic, with a mix of morning runs and the occasional lunch run squeezed in when the diary allowed. I also got three open water swims in — 4.4 kilometres in 24 minutes total — which either means the water was warmer than expected or I've quietly become more comfortable with the idea of swimming in something that isn't a pool.

Comparing it to April is interesting, because on paper April looks like a more committed running month — nine runs, 51.4 kilometres, and a quicker average pace of 5:37 per kilometre versus May's 5:49. So I ran less and slower, which is the kind of progress you could only really celebrate with a very straight face. That said, total active time jumped from 334 minutes in April to 624 in May, almost entirely down to the cycling, which suggests the longer spring days are doing what they're supposed to and getting me outside for longer. The open water swimming is a new addition too, which makes me think there might be a triathlon-shaped ambition lurking somewhere in the background — something I'll either act on sensibly or ignore entirely until it's far too late to train properly.

Summary generated by Claude