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the5krunner.com – A Brief Year In Review
In some respects I was dreading 2023. Mostly linked to the fallout to the bike industry from Covid and generally recessionary factors affecting my non-US traffic.
As it turned out I’ve had my best year for website traffic albeit only with single-digit growth. I’m not entirely sure why. Sure I wrote more posts and focussed less on smart watches and more on sports watches but the real reasons perhaps lie elsewhere. There is more traffic coming from the UK and my best post was bizarrely ECG-related ie This one.
Less surprising was my best-performing review which was for the Forerunner 965 and the best-performing general news story was the death of two athletes at Ironman Ireland. Hopefully, that last, tragic event will spur all organisers to be super-mindful about our safety as we compete in their events.
My best ‘old’ post was ‘about the5krunner‘ which for some inexplicable reason generated lots of interest in August, September and October. Maybe it was Ironman’s lawyers figuring out if they should try to gag me writing about the Cork event (August).
My Sports
I lost my swimming mojo this year. So if anyone finds it please email me and I’ll pop you a return address.
That meant a rekindling of my love for running, cycling and duathlon. I seem to have gone back 10 years in time to improve my parkrun (5k) times, cycle lots and far, and to see how I fared at some duathlon qualifiers. I’m testing how good I might be at duathlon when I go up an age group in 2025 as I still want to win a medal from an Age Group event that I consider meaningful. I got back up to an 80% Age Graded 5k parkrun time, so was pleased to do that as it’s quite hard. At least it is for me.
I’ve also been very good at taking waking HRV readings with Marco’s HRV4Training app (plus Polar H10). Invariably it told me that my once-a-month splurge drinking alcohol wasn’t good for me and that my HRV was genetically low for some weird reason. It also usually told me I was ready to train…meaning I probably hadn’t tried hard enough on some of the previous days. Again, all that HRV stuff is what I used to do (over) 10 years ago.
My Tech Running This Site
I’ve been spending a lot of time fixing things on my website, which runs on WordPress. It’s always surprising how different parts just don’t like to work well together. The site still doesn’t look right on mobile phones, which most people use now. I thought about changing the mobile theme, but that would likely create a week’s worth of work to make everything else fit with the new theme. So, I took the easier route and just changed the site’s colour from red to blue 🙂 I could just about manage to do that in a bug free way.
The Year Ahead
I’m looking forward to a similar year in 2024 to this one. There will be some nice tech. I’ll do the same sorts of training and get back in the lake.
The site will still not quite work as I want it to and we will have lots of relatively predictable tech to look forward to.
Finally, this was my favourite post of the year. I think it’s funny but I’m probably the only one!
Parody: Garmin Fenix, Forerunner and Edge Messages – What they really mean
Last Updated on 19 April 2026 by tfk the5krunner
Small things I always use
- Garmin 90-degree charging adapter: Charges your Garmin from any USB-C cable. Essential when travelling. I use one.
- Body Glide: The blue anti-chafe stick swimmers and runners carry. I use it.
- Speedo earplugs: Fewer ear infections and no cold-water dizziness. I use them.
- Dryrobe Advance: My winter changing robe for open-water swims. I use one. A cheaper option is the AONYIYI changing robe.
- Maurten: Race fuel that stays easy on the stomach. I use them.
- Beet It Sport nitrate shots: Beetroot shots I take in the days before a race. I use them.
- Garmin charging puck: The quickest way to top up before a session. I use one.
- Injinji: Toe socks that stop rubbing, so you run more. I use them.
- Ultimate toe protectors: Stop black toenails on long runs. They work. I use them.
- Compressport R2 v2 calf sleeves: My calf sleeves of choice. I use them.
- Cellucor C4: My pre-workout before hard sessions.
- TPU tubes: Schwalbe Aerothan, Tubolito and Pirelli SmarTube. Light, tiny spares. I use all three.
- G8 insoles: Adjustable insoles that are good. I use them.
- Cycplus Cube: A 97g electric pump that gets a road tyre rideable in two minutes. I carry one. 5% off with code THE5KRUNNER.
Watches and sensors
- Polar H10: My daily driver for waking HRV.
- Polar Verity Sense: My backup arm-worn HR sensor.
- Nomad bedside charger: Charges my iPhone and Apple Watch overnight. I use it, and many of their bands.
- Train.Red: The best muscle oxygen sensor I’ve used.
- Tymewear: Accurate heart rate and reliable ventilatory zones. I use it to pace endurance rides over an hour.
- Garmin Forerunner 970: A pro-grade triathlon watch. I use this.
- Apple Watch Ultra 4: My daily smartwatch. No phone needed on rides.
- Garmin Fenix 9 Pro: I’ve just bought one.
On the bike
- Continental GP5000 for everyday riding, and Aero 111 on the front for special occasions.
- Helmets: Specialized S-Works Evade 3 for road riding, and Rudy Project Wing for TT-style races. I use both.
- Ravemen FR300: A front light that mounts under your Garmin or Wahoo. I use one.
- Wahoo TRACKR Radar: I use it on one bike and Varia on the other. They perform the same.
- Garmin Varia RTL515: Radar that warns you of cars from behind. I use this model.
- Wahoo ELEMNT Roam 3: The bike computer that’s easy to use. I use mine on most rides.
- Favero Assioma Pro RS2: Accurate power pedals that swap easily between bikes. I use this model.
Home and indoor training
- NPE Runn: Makes my basic treadmill smart, sending more accurate speed and distance to my watch and Zwift. I use it.
- Google Wifi: Keeps Zwift connected in my pain cave. I use it.
- Apple TV 4K: Zwift on the big screen. I use two.
- Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen): My video doorbell, running in both Google Home and Apple Home. I use it.
Health, recovery and sleep
- FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus: Shows how my blood sugar responds to diet.
- hDrop: Measures my sweat loss in summer and indoors.
- Fourth Frontier Zone: Checks my heart under load in hard sessions.
- Oura Ring 5: My partner’s recovery tracker of choice.
- Eight Sleep: A cooling mattress cover my partner and I use nightly.
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tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors. See the gear tfk uses. ID
Always a pleasure reading your posts, keep up the good work 🙏💪🏼