Run — 2026-09-18

3.11 km in 18:51 — 6'04" pace at 152 bpm (max 170). Progressive from the gun: 6'15" → 6'10" → 5'45", a clean negative split. First run this block that got faster instead of fading, run on a full 8h24 recovery night (HRV 127, RHR 47 — the first big sleep since quitting).

Data

Metric	Value
Distance	3.11 km
Duration	18:51
Avg pace	6'04" /km
Fastest pace	5'45" /km (km 3) · burst 4'46"
Avg HR	152 bpm
Max HR	170 bpm
Cadence	164 spm (max 175)
Stride	98 cm · 3,095 steps

Metric	Value
HR recovery (2min)	24 bpm (dropped 24, 164→116)
VO₂Max	46 ml/kg/min (held, "average")
Recovery time	12 h
Total / active calories	246 / 217 kcal

HR zones: Extreme 0 min · Anaerobic 7 min · Aerobic 8 min · Fat-burning 1 min · Warm-up <1 min. Splits: 6'15" → 6'10" → 5'45" + 0.11 km in 0'41" (6'15" + 6'10" + 5'45" + 0'41" = 18:51 ✓). Running form: ground contact 293 ms, balance L 50.0% / R 50.0% (symmetric — no gait compensation).

Sleep — Night before

8h 24min · 23:07→07:32 · REM: 8% · Deep: 28% · HRV: 127 · Resting HR: 47 · Woke: 1× · Score: 89/100

First big sleep since quitting smoking. HRV snapped 98→127 and RHR 54→47, both back to clean baseline; bed 23:07 was the first pre-midnight bedtime since the Sep 8 record. The only soft spot is architecture — light 64% (High) and REM 8% (Low), still settling after the withdrawal week. See Sleep/2026-09-18.

How it felt

(no narrative given yet — confirm achilles/calf state and general feel)

Comparison

Metric	Sep 9	Sep 10	Sep 13	Sep 16	Sep 18 (today)
Distance	3.24 km	4.05 km	2.57 km (stopped)	2.01 km	3.11 km
Duration	19:21	26:52	20:49	12:09	18:51
Avg pace	5'58"	6'38"	8'06"	6'03"	6'04"
Avg HR	157 bpm	154 bpm	133 bpm	150 bpm	152 bpm
Max HR	180 bpm	169 bpm	149 bpm	163 bpm	170 bpm
Cadence	168 spm	162 spm	150 spm	168 spm	164 spm
Sleep HRV	127ms	123ms	119ms	98ms	127ms

The engine is unchanged and the tissue is finally behaving. 6'04" at 152 bpm is the same efficiency as Sep 9 (5'58"/157) and Sep 16 (6'03"/150) — VO₂Max held at 46, HR recovery 24 bpm in his usual 18–24 band, balance a clean 50/50. What's different today is the shape: the last three runs all faded (Sep 13: 6'52"→8'36"→9'23" → stop; Sep 16: 5'56"→6'08"), and today went the other way — 6'15" → 6'10" → 5'45". That is the warm-up pattern finally doing its job instead of the achilles announcing itself at km 2.

Verdict

The comeback run the down week was for. Two days after the 2 km break-in and one day after the first full recovery night since quitting, this is a proper step back up: 3.11 km, progressive, no fade, no gait compensation. Opening deliberately (6'15") and letting it build (5'45" final km) is exactly the execution the Sep 16 note asked for — open easy and let the legs warm into it. It paid off: the negative split is the first signal that the achilles/calf issue that ended Sep 13 is quieting, not just being managed.

Still inside the down week, so no volume heroics: the Sunday long run is the actual goal, and this morning already banked the Friday slot. HRV 127 behind it means the base was fully recovered — this wasn't a run on credit.

Connected

Sleep/2026-09-18
Runs/2026-09-16 (the break-in this extends)
Runs/2026-09-13 (the flare this is the clean return from)
Health/mobility
Half-marathon-plan

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