The Recomp Chronicles – Week 5: Yay! But Boo! But Yay!

Thursday – Longest Run in a While

Today was a good step forward. I stretched my intervals to 90 seconds run / 30 seconds walk and logged 3 miles in just under 35 minutes. That’s the longest run I’ve managed in quite a while, and while I could feel the effort, it felt good to push the distance a bit.

One issue still lingering: that hot spot on the ball of my right foot. Even trying some new socks, it crept in again. It does fade as I go, but I’d rather solve it than keep hoping it disappears. Next step will be experimenting with lacing — if that doesn’t work, I may have to get a little more creative.

Friday – Finally a Friday Session
Sleep tracking apps are liars. Mine swears I didn’t actually fall asleep until 10:45, but I was out cold by 8:30. Aside from a quick bathroom trip at 1 AM, it was actually a solid night. Not perfect, but definitely better than the graph of doom my phone showed me.

The big win: I FINALLY made it to the gym on a Friday. First time this whole phase. I felt a little punky, like I’m still fighting something off, but I got in, knocked out the workout, and it felt good to tick that box at last. No steam today since I’m on-call — my phone and steam don’t play nice.

Fingers crossed that tomorrow’s run goes smooth. It’s the first full week of gym I’ve strung together, and that is a huge win this week.

Saturday – Two Miles, One Long Day
The plan was a straight two-mile run, but the body had other ideas. I made it about three-quarters of a mile before my left calf started cramping, and with the sinus junk still hanging around, breathing wasn’t exactly smooth either. Lesson learned: some days are about grinding, not shining.

Saturday as a whole was a marathon of a different kind — Daisy’s first Taekwondo tournament as a black belt. Proud dad moment, but it meant we were out the door by 7:45 and on our feet until nearly 4:30. Food was a mess: quick cereal before leaving, a protein bar somewhere in the middle, chili cheese fries when I realized I couldn’t wait another three hours, and Cane’s chicken strips for dinner. Basically, famine followed by feast, with very little water in between.

Mood took a hit when the run went sideways, and energy yo-yo’d all day thanks to the food situation and whatever bug I’m fighting off. Still, it was a day worth showing up for — both in the gym earlier this week and cheering Daisy on all day. Progress doesn’t always look like clean splits or perfect macros, but it stacks all the same.

End of Week 5 Wrap
The week closed out with some oddball measurements — weight up, waist stuck — but that’s almost certainly from Saturday’s salt bomb and barely any water. Chili cheese fries + Cane’s chicken strips after a long day on my feet with no hydration is basically a recipe for bloat.

The bigger takeaway? For the first time this phase I actually hit every gym session and every run. None of it looked perfect — some lifts felt rough, the calf cramped on Saturday’s run — but I showed up and got the work done. The tape measure and progress trend are still pointing in the right direction, and that’s the win that matters.

Still Lifting. Still Losing. Still Showing Up. (Usually)