Getting better?

I supposed to rest 3-4 weeks without running, but my love for running or my stupidity got the best of me. I went to the Turia Park with my brother at 6:50 p.m.  I just wanted to test the leg and was hoping to only last around 2 mins like on Monday. I went out and felt the thighness, but luckily it loosened up and I could run till the 26:24 mark when it got tight gain and I was forced to stop. I felt great cardiovasculary, the only downside is the calf. As I am eating better right now, I am not worried about weight and not worried about losing a lot of fitness, if I can control my weight, I am good to go. I am happy because I had around3 weeks that I did not make it till the 20 min mark.

I hope that it keeps getting better, but to be honest as I type this, I am somewhat limping. I stretched after finishing the run nonetheless. I love running and that is my outlet, I hope that tomorrow I can run a Little bit also.

The weather was good and the park was full of energy, its like running in the Mirador there in the Dominican Republic. A lot of runners from all walks of life and the energy is amazing.

Have a great Friday and keep the running going!

The injury continues

After a week off, I tried to run on Friday with my brother. We wen to the Turia park, but  I just wanted to run 20 mins if everything turned out perfectly. From the beginning I knew that it would not last too much.

I called it a day at 11:04, before the 2k mark, and did the rest of the route walking. Its just frustrating. You feel great in the upper body, but that injury hold you back. Life sucks sometimes.

Not all are bad news, I did 3 sets of 15 push ups and 1 set of 7 seven pushups. I cant remember the last time I did sets like that. I ll keep building on that.

Rested the whole weekend, but I dont like to be inside, so I tried to run a bit by the apartament I am leaving in, and knowing a bit more of Valencia, it was nice. But the run did not last much, only made it to 2 mins before I started walking and continued till 48:20 walking. I had walked more tan 30 mins at 3 p.m., so I am doing a lot of walking, I cant allow myself to let go, I have to keep active, plus I believe I am going to get crazy staying here for long periods of time. I need to go out and walk at least.

I dont like to visit doctors, but if this injury keep behaving like it, I ll have to make an exception. Or maybe I should rest 1 full month, given that 1 week is not doing anything to improve it.

Have a great start to the week and I hope that your running is going well!

Injury Update

:Today I tried to run again since Tuesday, I had been resting from running, but I have been walking a lot to remain as active as posible.

Long story short, I could ony make it to 2kms today in 13:19, I ran with my brother in the Turia Park. I felt really frustrated because since I started I knew that it would be very difficult to finish the 5k run, which was the goal for today. It started bothering a lot after the mile, but I forced myself to the 2k. Running is my outlet, so I ll just have to keep walking to remain as active as posible. This is very frustrating indeed, because my body wants to run, but my calf refuse.  I ll have to keep resting I guess.

I did 2 x 15 sets of push ups and 3 sets of 7, so I am improving in that departamento. You have to do something if you cant run, nothing better than strength training eventhough is bodyweight.

I hope that I can run normal again soon, I need to be patient though!

Have a great weekend!

Keeping active

The calve is still bothering me, I tried to run yesterday but as it was bothering me walking I knew that the run would be very short indeed. However, I had planned to walk the whole route. I walked the first long lap in 17:10, then tried to run and only made it to 5:22, I had stop to stop, then completed that lap and the third lap waking, then did the Little lap, finished in 54:55. Then when my brother finished his run I did another Little lap with him.

Then after dinner, I went outside, and walked around 3 more kms, to enjoy the views of Valencia. So as you can see, I cant run a lot, but I have been walking a lot, because I want to lose this extra weight and get back to 175 pounds some day, lol.

I had been feeling pretty good on runs, but this damn injury does not allow anything!

Anyway, I ll keep you posted!

Injury Update

Today I had to rest because the calf is bothering me a lot. I did not even attemp to run, because I test the calf inside home running in place, etc and it was affecting my form so much that I did not even try to run today.

I wanted to run through it, but that is not the most intelligent thing to do, if its better tomorrow I ll run 20 mins, if not, I ll rest again. Its frustrating because I want to run, but that injury is preventing me to do so.

Hope your running is going well!! Cheers!

Injured

Yesterday I ran with my brother in the Turia park. My plan was to do 6k. We started our run at 7:00 p.m. which is still clear.

I started the run feeling good and easy, but after the 2.3k my left calf started to bother me and it got worse as the run went on, I felt really frustrated, I stopped the watch at 17:37, before the 3k mark and called it a day, then walked home with my brother.

Today I put a spray in my calf, but it was bothering me, but I cant stand to stay inside here, at least I wanted to test out the leg, so at 6:30 p.m. I was going to do the bread and butter route, but if the calf bothered me so much I would stop the run and finish up walking.

Long story short, I only could make 2 laps (9:35,9:13) feeling pretty good cardiovasculary, but the calf was bothering me since I started, but when I was about to complete the second half the tighness was unstandable, and called it a run just after the second lap in 19:04. Frustrating when you feel great and an injury stops you.

Completed the last long lap and 2 Little laps walking, I need to get my exercise in.

I ll keep running 15-20 mins ( I ll try at least), I wont rest, I am sorry, but I cant be at home the whole day and that injury is crazy, one day I have to stop and the next, I am feeling great. Weather is decreasing, not as hot as previous days!

All in all 5 days of running, although a couple of those days were very short runs because of the injury!!

Have a great finish to the week!

Yesterday`s Aerobic Threshold run

Yesterday evening, around 7:30 p.m. I went out running with my brother, I borrowed my watch because his was not charged. He was doing a workout: the whole run 5k+ 20 seconds on and 40 seconds off, so I ran watchless. We did our bread and butter route, which is 3 laps in a big in a 1.5k or so loop, and 1 lap in a Little one of 600m or so, totaling around 5.1-5.2k according to Dan`s GPS.

The plan for me was to run easy, but only the first lap and a half was easy, after that I sped up Little by Little, the last lap was strong, but never red lining. I could not check lap splits because I was not wearing a watch, but I felt really good and smooth, it seems that my new nutrition plan is paying off, besides the last couple of dinners where I have cheted a bit with Kebabs and hot dogs, but besides that I think is pretty healthy. Dont get my wrong in the residence I ate healthy, but the food had a lot of oil (fat) and the potatoes were basically fried everyday, and I tend to over eat there. I think I did pretty well there, given all the food that I ate and did not put on a lot of fat, I ran consistenly though when I was healthy (not injured nor sick).

I accelerated in the last lap to see if I could catch my brother but was unable to do so, He finished the route in 27:10, I finished in 29:03, and I was kind of surprised with my final time, I was running strong and confortable and I thought that I was running in the 30:30s. The weather was not that hot tan on previous days so that played a factor also.

All in all a good run and a good aerobic threshold run. After the run I did push ups, 2 sets of 15 repeats and 1 set of 6 repeats ( I was very tired). I dont remember the last time I did 2 sets of 15, so I might be getting stronger.

I ll run in the evening today, I want to run around 40 mins  or 6-7k, those 5k We have to leave it behind.

See you in a few hours!

Catching up

Monday I ran at 7 p.m., decided to run on Monday because I had to rest on Tuesday due to some errands, so did the bread and butter route and finished in 31:49.

Rested Tuesday and Wednesday.

Yesterday I ran alone at 7:15 p.m. with the sun shining hard, but not so hot like previous days. I kept the effort easy and did the bread and butter route. I finished in 31:41, feeling very good. Splits per lap were 9:33,9:19,9:08. The Little lap was done in 3:41. Felt good!

I ll run in the evening today so stay tuned!

Finishing the week with 6 runs again

Yesterday I went out to run with my brother at 7:45 p.m.with the sun and humidity hiting hard, but you got to do what you got to do. I am still somewhat tired from Thursday`s effort, I decided to leave the watch at home and to run easy. However, I would do the last Little lap at a fast pace to test the legs.

I went out with my brother watchless and my legs were dead, I just did not have it today, He built a gap after the first lap, then kept it at it till I accelerated in the last Little lap, even then I was working hard because He accelerated also, and I did have nothing in the legs, but kept the high effort regardless.

Finished according to Danilo`s watch in 31:13, a bit slower than Saturday and yesterday I did not forcé the pace. Well, at least I got my run in. I have to get used to running hard again, since in the last loop , which is around 600m, I was going around 4:50 per km and working, so I need to start working at that level, so that my running improves, thus my weight loss.

My nutrition is improving a lot, so my goal of 180 pounds is coming nicely. I have to be patient though!

Finished last week with 6 runs, short runs, but the consistency is there at least!

Have a great start to the week! I have not decided if I ll rest today, maybe yes, maybe no!

Catching up

On Friday  I was supposed to rest, but since We are staying at home most of the time, there is no real reason not to train, so I decided to get my run in at a recovery pace to recover from Thursday`s effort. I felt really sore, but was feeling good on the run until the last last lap of the big loop, The left calf started to bother me and I almost stop, it did not get any worse, so I decreased a bit the pace and could finish the run. 3 big loops (28:25) and 1 Little loop to finish in a time of  32:17 with a very easy effort. The total distance according to my brother`s watch is 5.18 kms or so.

After the run I felt the calf a bit sore (not yesterday`s tempo related), so I thought about resting on Saturday, but as We runners are stubborn, I decided to again get my run in, I mean, if you have free time why not take advntage of it and do productive things with it, of course, if the calf started to bother me I would stop inmediately, because the goal is to run 5 times per week, not 6, but it seems that in the last couple of weeks I have run 6 times per week.

Yesterday I kept the effort easy, my brother took off early since He was doing a tempo run (He averaged 4:59 per km), so He is in good shape. I kept the effort easy for the calf and because I am still recovering from my "tempo" that I did on Thursday. However, I ran faster than expected keeping the effort easy, 1st lap came in 9:16, second lap in 9:06 and the last big lap in 8:57 (27:19) and the Little lap in 3:29. I was kind of surprised with the time, final time was 30:58. The calf behaved well.

Both runs were around 7 p.m.with the sun shining hard and the heat strong plus humidity.

I am arriving to my runs feeling pretty good and not full. I am trying to eat healthy since I got off Guadalupe, I cook my own food and manipulate the ingredients that I put in, so that is a big part of losing weight.

I am eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, if I feel hungry before my run I would eat a toast with peanut butter, that would hold me till after the run. On lunch, I am eating rince, boneless porl ( 2 slices), an egg with a bit olive oil, a decent quantity, so after lunch I feel satisfied but not stuffed. For dinner, I eat 2 sandiwch, 1 of tuna and the other with turket and cheese, that leave me satisfied, but not stuffed. For breakfast I am eating a turkey and cheese sanwich of  with milk and chocolate powder, that holds till lunch. I ll have to improve my veggies and fruit intake, since I left Guadalupe I have not taken much of those. I ll vary lunch sometimes and I Will eat potatoes and chicken for example, I think the key is to have healthy sources of starchy carbs, good protein (eggs, meat, peanut butter) and healthy fats (olive oil, PB, nuts, avocado).

I ll keep posting how my diet goes, since that is the biggest factor for my weight loss goal, if I want to run faster I have to lose weight, no way around it.

Today I ll run in the evening as well, maybe I ll throw some strides if the calf permits.

See you later!

Tempo run

 Today I ran the same route , the bread and butter route here in Valencia, which is 3 loops to a bigger loop and then 1 loop to a Little route.

I ate well today, not binge eating, just rice with meat and 1 egg  and a very controlled amount. So I knew that today the run would be faster than the last 2 days.

I started at a good effort and felt good so kept at that pace, 1st lap was 8:31, if I continued at that pace I knew that I would crush 30 mins. Second lap came in 8:03 (16:34), at that point I was somewhat tired, but tried not to slow down too much, did 8:15 for last lap (24:49), then did the shorter loop in 3:22 to finish in 28:10, so 4:05 faster than on Tuesday. Of course, today I pushed the pace and it was a tempo run, I doubt that I could have kept that pace for 1 hour, but it was hard, but controlled, very good effort, so next run Will be easy.

Have a great night!

Valencia, Spain

I thought that I would have posted my runs till Sunday, but apparently I did not.

On Saturday I ran at 12:30 p.m. and did the route that I have been doing which is the shorter versión of my bread and butter route. I did it in 31:58.

In the evening of the Saturday, I wanted to do a doublé run, had years without doing that, but as soon as I went out for my second run at 6 something p.m., the calf started to bother me and I had to stop within 1 min. and did  the 20 mins that I do running, I did it walking and it took me 37 mins. I tried at least.

On Sunday I ran in the evening at 6:30 p.m. and did the same route as Saturday in 31:44, eventhough the halfway point of my usual bread and butter was 17:41 for both days, but I felt that I was running much faster tan that, even I thought that I was running 16:XX, I was more tired than I thought!  Also forgot to mention that I almost stop in the first 1 min, the calf was very tight, but then it improved and when I took the falt terrain it loosened up and I could finish my run.

Finished my week running 6 times for the week, always watching over the calf and listening to the body.

I rested on Monday because I moved to Valencia, so yeah, July 30 was my last day in the Guadalupe residence, I am greatful for the opportunity to be there and to finish my MBA, now I am in Valencia looking for a job, to see if I can stay here longer. I ll miss Madrid, the University, my mates, and my running route, but that is part is life. I got to Madrid knowing no body and feeling very lonely, but then I made some good Friends and it was hard to say good bye! I hope We meet soon again! The majority of them are in the Dominican Republic so they can meet there, but I ll have to wait a while to see them.

I ran on Tuesday and Today with my brother which I think is faster than me now eventhough I beated him on December.  We did a route that He normally does, that is 3 laps in a loop and 1 lap in another more Little loop, so the time yesterday was 32:15 for me and 32:30 for my brother, We ran at 6:45 p.m. so a lot of cars and the heat and humidity are high here.

Today We did the same route at 10:00 p.m., I waited that long because We ate lunch at 4 p.m. it was 6 fried chicken pieces with wedge potatoes, so that takes a time to digest. I did my run easy today, since I knew that my stomach would still be full by the time I am runing. Laps today were :10:01,9:40,9:17 (and almost 4 mins for the shorter loop) without increasing effort, but I apparently felt better and looser as the run went by, finished today in 32:41, but I ll take that given the chicken binge that I did today. I ll start eating healthier though, and I hope to lose fat in the next few months, because as I got out of Guadalupe. from now on I have to cook my own food like in the Dominican Republic and I ll get back to my staples which are: Tuna, Eggs, Rice, whole wheat bread, chicken, boneless pork for easy cooking, etc, the quantity Will be lower too, so that would help with losing weight.

Basically, I am starting a new life and a new nutrition lifestyle, since I am controlling the ingredients that I put into the foods! A lot of humidity here, I would say that its as hot as Santo Domingo here right now, in Madrid it was hot, but with very low humidity, you dont sweat as much as here!!

Enough of rambling! Have a great night!