Run note for April 2026

What is this?

My monthly look back on my running. Reflection helps me with the now, the next and the further future. It's all good.

Previous run note: March 2026

April summary

• 30 days: 21 days running, 9 days off.
• 164.25 km. Target: 180 to 200 km.
• Average of 7.82 km per run / 5.48 km per day.
• Average of 38.3 km per week.
• Year to date: 545.29 km.

Notes

Target was 180 to 200 km. Landed on 164.25 km. Short by 15km so not too bad.

Days 1 to 12: inconsistent but functional, mixing single rest/off days with short streaks.
Days 13 to 19: a collapse — strict alternating pattern, run one day, rest the next, which killed momentum and produced the lightest week at 19.53 km, also when I was pulling some long days for work.
Days 20 to 29: ten consecutive running days with no rest (and longest streak of the year so far). Salvaged the month from being significantly worse, possibly trying to counterbalance the lacking week before. No injuries, no burnout, just consistent getting out the door.
Day 30: took it off, just to be safe.

The month included two trips away.

• Easter weekend, 3 to 6 April, in Billingshurst. Three runs during that trip. Different terrain, different routes, all good.
• 21 and 22 April: a night in Cambridge and a tidy 6km before the train home. Lots of walking on that trip too.

Both trips kept the running going, which is the main thing.

Best week was w/c 20 April with 54.41 km, seven runs in seven days.

Longest single run: 11.19 km, Sunday 12 April at, out past Bingley, steady, felt good. Saturday 27 April came close at 10.64 km.

General pattern held: most runs between 6 km and 8 km, familiar routes, home to Bingley and back. Just functional plodding.

The knee is still improving. Achilles quiet. No massive injuries, just the odd niggle like my left knee sometimes feeling loose, no setbacks. The body's cooperating, which is the main thing. Ran through a couple of tired mornings but nothing that stopped the next day's run.

Weight sitting around 87 kg. Target was 86 kg by end of April. Didn't happen. Flat progress, which is better than going backwards but not what was needed. Running to stay ahead of the numbers rather than running to improve them. Something needs adjusting — the intake rather than the distance.

Most runs were in the morning, a small handful drifted to evening when mornings got squeezed, but the early habit is established. Still the best way to get it done before the day has other ideas.

Gym situation: didn't happen. Home-based approach didn't materialise either. This keeps getting deferred. Needs commitment, although does all the gardening count?

The HbA1c and foot check-up from March were positive, although my blood pressure less so. so the direction is right even if the pace is slower than ideal.

A functional month, but a good month. 164km is about the 15th highest monthly return I've had. Twenty-one days of running out of thirty is a good return, even if the pattern was a bit haphazard. Planning and determination got there in the end.

Versus annual targets

• 1,400 km looks comfortable.
• 1,600 km tracking OK, just ahead of pace.
• 1,800 km, 57km behind, a push in the warmer weather could see that actually happen
• 2,000 km lol

Goals for May

• 31 days, targeting 180 to 200 km.
• Keep the morning run habit. It is working.
• At least one run of 12 km+ per week.
• Actually sort out a home-based strength or cross-training approach. (Tidy the back yard a little — and pray for no rain.)
• Weight: 85.5kg by end of May. Let's go.
• Break the Bingley loop monotony — one different route per week minimum.
• There's London trips planned this month, use them for city runs.
• Book some races.

My 2026 running spreadsheet
Me on Strava, inevitably