sábado, 30 de abril de 2016

Easy run

Rain yesterday did its thing and I could not run, was raining very hard at 7:00 p.m. that is when I run these days on weekdays, so I decided to skip the run and get advantage of the weekend.

Today at 7:30 a.m. I went out to the conservatory without a watch, and did 6 laps at a very easy effort/pace, felt really good and the effort felt very easy. Tomorrow I might push the pace.

8.5k total!

Have a great Saturday!

jueves, 28 de abril de 2016

Tempo progressive run

I had been running since Monday, so Tuesday and Wednesday were off, one of those were planned, but the other one not that much.

Today I had planned to do a tempo run, because Sunday and Monday were pretty easy and plus 2 more rest days, no reason to run easy again, I was totally recovered today ready to stress the body again, at least with a light tempo run.

I got out to the conservatory (1.2k) and then started my 5 laps (5k) tempo run. The goal was to do it in low 26 or so, but the most important was that I felt solid and good. Splits per lap were 5:27,5:15,5:19,5:14,5:06. The splits were good, but I felt very tired by the end, and I wanted to run sub 5 mins the last lap, but that was not possible, I was very tired and I could only muster a 5:06. The final time for the 5k (5 laps) was 26:23, but those hills got the best of me.

I felt controlled and good the first 3 laps, but then started to feel tired. My problem with these tempos are that once I go out at a x pace, its difficult to purposely increase the pace, I just seem to stay there, I have to train those changes of rythm, because if a competitor change gear during a race, I wont be able to cope with those surges.

All in all, I am satisfy with this, at least it was faster than the previous 2-3 tempos that I did by effort. Today I just looked at the watch every lap, but was monitoring the effort at all times.

For a cool down did a bit more than a lap (1.2k or so), so call it a 7.5k day. A short overall run, but the effort was there. Another factor that made the run much more difficult was the heat, I was sweating a lot by the end of the workout and even before getting to the conservatory to finish my warm up.

Happy with the effort, I hope to run sub 26 mins at the same effort for 5 laps in the conservatory. That soon will come!!

Have a great night!

lunes, 25 de abril de 2016

Catching up

Another delay in my posts here.

Friday was off, was lazy and decided to do my interval workout Saturday morning.

Saturday I woke up very early, and was out at 7:00 a.m. to the conservatory to do my planned interval workout,  1 lap easy,1k (1 lap) fast, and then 4 x 2 mins with 2 mins recovery jog in between,  cool down a lap, and I did 8.5k in 53:58 or so. The 1k fast was in 4:23, so my fastest km in years I think, I was very happy with it, because the fastest before  that was 4:33, and I cut 10 secs off that which is great given that I felt with a more controlled stride, felt better and was under control although tired and huffing and puffing.  I dont know if it was because it was in the early morning and I was full of energy and felt very good, because when I do them in the evening I already have had 10 hours or more of work which is tiring, but I wont overanalyze things, I felt great when I saw that 4:23, then took 4 mins of easy jogging before starting the 2 mins repeats, then did 4 x 2 mins, and those felt good, but I was breathing  harder and harder with each repeat.

At the end I completed a very good workout and I really worked hard for that. As I said total time was just  a couple secs faster than 54 mins.

Sunday I felt really tired but woke even earlier because I had to run some errands, I started the run at 6:40 a.m., I felt tired from the workout and just ran very easy, splits showed how tired I was, I did 8.5k in 55:10 or so which is very slow for me and the splits were from 6:44 the first lap to 6:17 the last lap, after the third lap I was feeling good and loose, but the first 3 were all tightness!! Good recovery run!

Today (Monday), I almost skip the run, but put the pussyness aside and got out there, it poured lightly during the run, but nothing major. I felt really good when I started, but as soon as I got to the conservatory in 8:02, felt like crap again, did 5 easy laps in 6:31,6:25,6:23,6:22,6:21, 7:16 to home to finish the 7.5k in 47:55. Felt very good at the end. Good easy run!

Hope you have a great start to the week!

Another thing is that my coachee ran her first 10k race yesterday in 67:53, She ran very strong and I am proud of her, I know She is in better shape, but She has improved a lot!! my father ran also and finished in 59:17, his Personal worst, but He was experienced a strong knee pain from the get go, I also have been told that race was 10.3k instead of 10k exact.

Enjoyed specting the race!

jueves, 21 de abril de 2016

Week recap

Monday I could not run, I had some  things to do after I got home, but the day off was not planned.

Tuesday I wanted to run harder because since Friday I had been doing only easy running, I was recovered and the body asked for a harder effort so I gave it. I did a progressive tempo run and it turned out to be better than Thursday feeling a lot better, but tired though.

I warmed up to the conservatory in 7:51 If I recall correctly, then did 6 laps at a progressive effort and pace, laps were 5:41,5:33,5:26,5:11,5:15,5:14, then did 1 more lap for cool down and 90 secs to complete 8.5k or so.

I was feeling controlled, but not easy by any means, but I liked the latter splits. After the 3rd lap, Reynaldo, just started running with me, We were running back and forth together till the half of the 4th lap, when He started pushing and built a gap on me, I could not bridge the gap, and I think He did 3 laps in just under 15 mins, which caught me by surprise, I tried to bridge the gap but I could not, of course, I already had 3 laps at tempo effort, He started on fresh legs, but no biggies, He did very well and kicked my ass!!

I just took splits, but doing the math, I think the last 5 laps were in the 26:30s range, so faster than Thursday, feeling better.

It was a good effort, but to be honest I want sub 25 mins in 5k at the same tempo effort, another thing is that I looked at splits at every lap, so was not entirely by effort.

Wednesday was a 7.5k easy run, finshing at home, did 5 laps in the conservatory ranging from 6:23 to 6:11 the last couple of laps, finished the run in 47:09. Did not look at the watch during, just ran easy.

Today I did 7.5k also, but did 6 laps and 90 secs and finished there, I did not wear the watch and just ran what felt easy, and after the first lap, I felt really good. Kept the effort easy again to recover and to get ready for tomorrow, I want to do some kind of workout. Workouts are what make you better!!

Have a great Thursday!

domingo, 17 de abril de 2016

Nice easy evening run

As I said this morning, I was going to run easy in the evening to see how I felt, but I did not speed up , I just kept things easy, this upcoming week will be plenty of time to get a workout or two. I woke up with a very sore right foot, but as the day went by, I felt really good and by the evening I did not feel soreness at all!

The plan today was to do 5-6 laps in the conservatory for a total of 7.5-8.5k, I opted for the longer because I felt really good. I got to the conservatory in 7:51, then did 6 laps in 6:20,6:14,6:13,6:14,6:09,6:09, back home in 7:02 for 52:46 for 8.5k. As I told already, felt really good and easy, I looked like a robot since I seemed like I was not breathing at all. But that is easy to do on easy runs (no pun intended).

It seems that on weekdays I am tired from work since on easy runs its hard for me to get sub 8 mins in the conservatory, but in Saturday morning and in this case Sunday evening, it was easy to do. I did not look at the watch during the run, just looked at the splits at home, and I am posting them here.

Another easy one in the books! I ll have to get in a good workout so I dont start to lose fitness!!

Have a great Sunday night!

Catching up

It seems that lately my motivation for blogging is not much, but that has to come back because as I said back earlier, it gets a lot of work to post more than a couple of runs and all those splits. However, I ll keep this short and sweet.

I could not run on Tuesday or Wednesday. Tuesday was planned and I mentioned something about it in my last post, on Wednesday it started raining very hard at the time of my run, even before getting home, after I spring my ankle, I am very hesitant to run to the conservatory, a lot of irregularities there and you can fell down or spring something. So better to skip the run and to live to run another day so to speak.

So on Thursday my coachee had a 5k time trial in sub 30 mins, I thought She could do sub 28 mins, my father ran with us and We did that run at 6:30 p.m. or so, We got to the conservatory, ran 1 for 1 lap, I did a couple of strides in there, but instead of loosing me, those tightened me even more. We started together, but I said to them that it was a 5 lap (5k) time trial (tempo for me), not 1-2 lap, so after the bigges uphill of the lap I started to build a gap and never looked back, I did not look at the watch during my 5 laps, but I could tell I was working hard eventhough the pace felt easy, I was not feeling easy and I felt tight all around, I was right since my time was 26:51, I was frustrated with that, I wanted to do 25 mins such as in the mirador, but it seems that when I run by effort, my true " 1 hour race pace" effort comes out. When I run 25 mins I generally chase that time on purpose and dont let the pace come to me, anyway, I felt frustrated because I felt like shit. The splits looked like an art piece though. Splits per lap were : 5:25,5:28,5:22,5:21,5:12.  My coachee finished in 29:55, and my father a bit ahead. I think She can run sub 1 hour in next week 10k, She just ran 400s repeats on Tuesday and by Sunday She will be very rested.

After the 5k tempo, I ran 4 x 100s sprints, it were faster than strides for sure, even the recovery I did it walking and by the last one, I felt very spent and done. Next day I was sore as hell!!

Friday after work I was hesitant to run, but I force myself to run whatever it felt like, turns out to be my normal 7.5k run, so 6 laps in the conservatory, the first one in 6:26, the last one in 6:06. Felt really easy , but very sore!! Did not look at the watch during the run, just ran by effort, and mentally this run was loooong!! I was soaking wet at the end! It is starting to heat up!

Saturday morning, just 12 hours after my last run, I was ou to the conservatorywith my father and ran in the same direction as him, I did 5 laps, but built a gap on him, and He never bridged it. Again, did not look at the watch during the run, but laps were 6:23 the first one, and the fast one 5:59( not the last one), felt really tired and sore, but splits were faster or the same as my fresh easy runs, I stopped after 5 laps, and waited for my father to do more laps, then did 1.2k more to get home together. I did 7.5k total again.

Today I woke up sore in my right ankle, It would seem that I spring my ankle, but its Thursday workout soreness and I was planning a speed workout for today, but that will have to wait, because I am very sore and it does not worth it! Better to listen to the body! I dont have races planned so that would not be a huge problem! I ll run easy this evening and if I feel good I ll do a couple of faster laps!

This turned out to be longer than planned! Cheers and have a great Sunday morning!

lunes, 11 de abril de 2016

Every two days

It seems that I am posting every 2 days , and that is becoming a lot of work, because the posts are long and I might forget some details of each run.

Yesterday (Sunday) I wanted to do a tempo run, but I felt somewhat tired because that week I did not run easy at all, I only did one easy run, but other days were easy, but accelerating in the middle or toward the end, but that has to end, you really cant progress that way, because you are in no man land, no pushing enough to get enough benefits, nor running easy enough to recover for the harder days.

Anyway, I went out to the conservatory and wanted to do a 5 laps (5k) tempo run by feel, 1.2 warm up to get there, 5 laps at tempo effort, then 1 lap easy and 1.2k to get home for a total of 8.5k. I did just that, but the time frustrated me once more , but the effort was certainly there. Splits were:5:40,5:33,5:28,5:22,5:12, for a total of 27:17 for 5 laps. Heck, that felt unconfortable, but the last lap was the hardest and I was running close to my tempo pace, or at least the pace that I run my tempos in the mirador. 8.5k total for the day and felt dissapointed with the time, but glad that I put some effort there, was tired from previous days.

5 runs for the week, the same as last week. No biggies, the consistency is there.

Today (Monday), I headed out to the conservatory earlier than usual after work, I got from work walking to home, and I got earlier, so at 6:55 p.m. I was already running, much earlier than the 7:20 p.m. that I am used to. I took advantage of it, and the fact that I wont run tomorrow, because I have a commitmment in Mcdonalds.

I decided to run more than 60 mins, and that became 70 mins. I just started out easy without looking at the watch. Given the yesterday`s effort was not that hard, I felt very good today, it was faster than my recovery pace. Did 9 laps in the conservatory and then did 6:38 , I completed those 6 plus mins heading to the mini market to buy some water. I estimated the total distance was around 11.5k. which is good given my current condition and I felt very good, could have run much longer for sore.

Splits were 8:01to get to the conservatory, then 9 laps in :6:14,6:14,6:11,6:09,6:00,6:06,6:04,6:04,5:58,then 6:38 to complete the 70 mins. Felt very good and did not look at the watch during the run, just at the end. The pace was very even in my opinion.

Have a great day!


sábado, 9 de abril de 2016

A bit of catching up

On Wednesday I was going to do a workout, even I got earlier than usual to home, but then felt a bit lazy and skipped the run altogether, felt like shit afterwards and kind of got depressed. I have realize these days that running is key to maitain my sanity these days, and skipping that run made me feel like crap. A day off wont hurt me, but I hate to take day off because of lazyness.

On Thursday at 5 p.m. We had a recreational meeting at work, and they offered  abit of junk food and cake, they were celebrating March`s brithdays, and of course I ate.

I was going to run no matter what, but after skipping my interval workout the day before, I did not mind losing my interval workout for the week, all in all, I dont have a plan to race, till I get in decent shape, so I dont need to be crazy about that just yet.

At 7:20 p.m. I went out to do my run, the plan was to run easy, because I was going to be stuffed to death like I have experienced in the past, the good thing is that I did not drink coke and I was not that stuffed, anyway, the plan for a workout that day was off.

But ended up doing a kind of progression run and felt pretty good at the end, did around 8k total, and 6 laps in the conservatory in  6:26,6:10,6:12, felt good and decided to push a bit, 5:47,5:55,4:41, in the last one I pushed the pace, especially in the second half of that lap which is flat, on the hills I took it easy.

Felt good and awesome and very content to have run, I felt like shit the day before and its incredible how good you feel after you exercise and do something positive about your life, at this point in my life I would live without my exercise, in my case, running.

Friday was off, this one was planned, because I had to run some personal errands and better to lose a run for that, at least this one was planned out, and felt good about it.

Anyway, the next run would be less than 12 hours away, so no biggies.

Today at 7:15 a.m. I went out to the conservatory with my father and I did 6 laps, He did 5 laps. This time around I decided to run the same direction as He run and I did the first couple of laps ahead and then He caught me and start fartleking for the rest of the run, I felt very good, but in the last lap that He did I was not that confortable, that fartlecking killed me. Got to the conservatory in 7:43, then 6 laps in 6:06,6:10,5:57,5:53,5:28,6:17, yeah after that 5:28, I was tired and needed to slow down to my normal easy pace, then 7:15 to get home in 51:18 for 8.5k.

Hope that those accelerations dont affect me in tomorrow`s tempo. I ll run by feel like lately, but timewise I would like to perform well also.

Did not look at the watch during the run, was surprised when I saw that I did not averaged less than 6 min per km, that felt way faster than We actual did.

Have a great Saturday!

martes, 5 de abril de 2016

The flu defeated me

Not so much as I thought, but on Sunday I had planned a tempo run and I took the day off instead, honestly, I had a lot of congestion and although the symptons were above the neck, I did not want to risk anything, I thought about running easy, but then decided to take the day off, so I say that the flu beated me because I could not run on Sunday nor do my tempo run.

On Monday night after work, I was very congestionated, but I was feeling good below the neck so I went for an easy run and I felt really good, I did not remember the flu during the run, so the run was pretty much normal. It was faster than my easy run because after 1 lap in the conservatory a friend called Reynaldo, joined me and He generally trains faster than me and I just stay with him, nothing to recover from except the flu, no workouts done or close ahead so no biggie in running faster than easy pace for a bit.

As lately ran without looking at the watch, but taking my splits, splits were 8:03 to get to the conservatory, then did 6 laps 6:30,6:11,6:04,5:41,5:33,5:24, then did 4+ mins to complete 48 mins to call it 8k or so.

The last lap was not that easy, but I felt confortable, the last lap was by my own, because He only did 5 laps, I noticed several times that his breathing was labored and mine was very controlled, but that is because I run my stress workouts hard and easy runs easy, and on easy runs pace does not matter, so maybe those sub 6 mins that He used to do running easy, are not that easy after all.

Felt very good and laps just flew by!

Today I wanted to run easier than yesterday and after work again, 7:20 p.m. or so I started my run, 6 laps in the conservatory + 90 secs, splits today weree:8:07, to get there, then 6 laps in 6:27,6:23,6:18,6:13,6:12,6:06, then 90 secs to finish in 47:37 so a bit more than 7.5k I think. Did not look at the watch during the run, in fact just knew splits as I was typing this. Realized that felt really good and I am defeating the flu right now. The run just felt confortable and felt really good at the end!

Have a great Tuesday!

sábado, 2 de abril de 2016

Easy run battling the flu: I am defeating it

Yesterday was an off day.

After complaining for the beginning of all this week, telling you that I was very tired and blah blah blah, complaining like a pussy, now I say that in the last 2 runs I have felt great. Eventhough, I am battling the flu, woke up yesterday with a sore throat and my nose has not been great since, but since the symptons are from the shoulders and up, in the body I am feeling normal, I went out to do my normal run.

At 7:20 a.m. I went out to the conservatory with my father, and just ran easy for 6 laps, then ran some more to wait for him and got home, only timed 8.5k, though.

Did not look at the watch during the run, just ran at a pace that felt easy and confortable, splits were:7:51 to get to the conservatory, then 6 laps in: 6:23,6:16,6:10,6:01,6:09,6:06, finish up the 8.5k in 52:50 or so, which is fast compared to my easy runs in the last month or so.

I think, I am a morning runner, because I felt great in the morning, full of energy and the splits seem to come easier, as opposed to the evenings/nights when I have had 10+ hours of work under my belt  and I am hungry and tired. Although the splits are the same, the energy in the morning is much higher. The only problem with morning running is to actually get up and run. I have not run in the predawn after started working again, maybe and I am afraid that I ll get a strong headache because the lack of food, like I have experienced before, but I ll have to give it a try, because sometimes I am pressed at work because I have to leave at X hour to run. Also lately, I am getting home later than I would like, thus running later than I would like.

Will have to start doing predawn runs on work week days and get it out of the way early, not everyday, but some days, at least.

8.7k or so, total.

Tomorrow if the flu permits I ll do my planned tempo run in the mirador.

Have a great Saturday!