September 2024

September was, by any reasonable measure, a busy month — 69 activities and just over 2,800 minutes of moving about, which sounds impressively dedicated until you realise that 33 of those activities were walks. Still, the running was the thing I was most pleased with: 19 runs, 109 kilometres, and apparently a personal record buried in there somewhere (I'll take it, even if I can't entirely remember which Morning Run it was). The HIIT sessions ticked along quietly in the background — 13 of them, heart rate staying at a fairly sedate 114 bpm on average, which suggests I'm either getting fitter or not working hard enough (probably the latter). Four rowing sessions also snuck in, and at an average of 149 bpm those were clearly doing something useful, even if each one averaged under ten minutes, which is less "endurance training" and more "aggressive warm-up."

So compared to August, the volume is up — 69 activities versus 52, and around 270 more minutes of actual effort — which is either a sign of genuine momentum building or the fact that the evenings closing in left me with fewer excuses not to go out. The running in particular jumped noticeably, from 11 sessions and 63 kilometres to 19 and 109, though the pace stayed almost identical at around 5:43 per kilometre, which proves I've not got any faster, just more willing to do it for longer. August had a brief flirtation with cycling and swimming that September quietly abandoned, which feels about right for early autumn in England. Going forward I'd like to think this is a platform for something, though I've thought that before.

Summary generated by Claude