Day 54 of my challenge to complete 100 Olympic-distance triathlons in 100 consecutive days continued with trying to recover from a left calf injury – a similar injury to one that prevented me training at all for several months in 2017.

All went well with swim time slightly slower to the previous day, but faster on the bike and run. However, I think I pushed the run too much. As I turned onto the Aylesbury bypass, a young female runner turned in front of me and we were running at almost the same speed for a while with me around ten metres behind. As I gained very slightly on her, I could sense her unease at my footsteps so close over her shoulder. As I thought I was faster, I pushed ahead trying to gain some distance between us. When my calf muscle started to twinge, I probably maintained too fast a pace as I did not want to slow and make the woman nervous again.

Another triathlon was complete but still with very achey calf muscles. Last minute Christmas shopping afterwards couldn’t have helped the situation but now to plan the bike and run routes for Christmas and Boxing Day triathlons, which include 6.15am swims in an open-air pool quite a long way from home, which means very early morning starts to eat and digest breakfast and get there. The festive period looks set to be very testing to my resilience to maintain the challenge on consecutive days.

If you have not already done so, please support my efforts to raise money to build a fitting tribute to police officers and staff who have died while protecting the public. In 2019, we hope to build a memorial structure, launch a digital memorial and create a fund to support the families of those who die in service. The structure will be erected at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire and will serve as a place of peaceful reflection, with gilded leaves cut out and given to the families.

Today I paid tribute to those who died on December 23. They are:

1830 – Police Constable James Weston – Norfolk County Constabulary

1856 – Police Constable William Vaughan – Birkenhead Town Police

1841 – Parish Constable Thomas Lamb – Borough of Huntingdon, Huntingdonshire

1843 – Police Constable Thomas Gurd – Metropolitan Police

1911 – Police Constable William Longridge – River Wear Watch

1920 – Police Constable William Gaffney – Royal Irish Constabulary

1940 – Police Fireman George Albert – Manchester City Police Fire Brigade

1940 – Police Constable Thomas Andrew – Manchester City Police

1940 – Police Fireman James Baldy – Salford Police Fire Brigade

1940 – Police Constable Herbert Berry – Lancashire County Constabulary

1940 – Police Constable John Burns – Lancashire County Constabulary

1940 – Chief Inspector William Chippendale – Lancashire County Constabulary

1940 – Special Constable Henry Heaton – Lancashire County Constabulary

1940 – Reserve Constable John Law – Lancashire County Constabulary

1940 – Special Constable Thomas Sides – Manchester City Police

1940 – Police Constable Horace Whitham – Manchester City Police

1940 – War Reserve Constable Franklyn Wilkinson – Salford City Police

1954 – Sergeant Albert Downes – Halifax County Borough Police

1963 – Special Constable Evan Evans – Derby County Borough Police

1991 – Police Constable Christopher Regelous – Wiltshire Constabulary