May 2026

So May, then. After a pretty rough April — mostly gentle runs and walks while my body reminded me in no uncertain terms that appendix removal isn't something you just "walk off" — I'm genuinely pleased to say that May felt like a return to something resembling actual training. Across 51 activities and just shy of 39 hours of movement, I managed 10 HIIT sessions, 10 runs covering 48.4 km, a couple of swims, and rather a lot of walking (158 km of it, as it turns out). The runs in particular felt meaningful — average pace down to 6:08 per km compared to April's 6:32, which sounds modest but felt significant when I remembered where I'd been a few weeks earlier. That first Morning HIIT session back where I could genuinely say "I'm back" — well, almost — was a good moment, even if I was quietly aware I was some distance behind where I was pre-surgery.

Compared to April's 36 activities and 1,634 minutes, May's 51 activities and 2,315 minutes represents a fairly chunky step up — probably a bit too chunky if I'm being honest with myself, which I probably should be. The HIIT volume doubled, the running volume went up meaningfully, and I may or may not have decided that lugging a heavy Pelicase of kit across London on public transport counted as active recovery (it did not). So the trajectory is good, the engine is running again, and the spring weather has certainly helped drag me out of the "it's dark and horrible outside" excuse I'd been leaning on. The main thing now is remembering that recovery isn't linear — I wrote that down, I meant it, and I will almost certainly ignore it at least once in June.

Summary generated by Claude