Easy afternoon run

Today I ran at 4:15 p.m. because my brother would not run today, so I did it on my own. Today the weather was "hot" in 27 Celsius, the highest in a long time. However, it did not feel so hot. Today I ran again 8 laps in the Blasco park, First one was in 5:50 feeling pretty good and worked down to 5:38. Total time for 8 laps was 45:30 and it was 7.2k or so. Then kept running to home to finish in a total of 7.5k or so with  a estimated distance of 7.5k.

Felt tired at the beginning, but then felt really good and fresh, kept the effort easy though, since I am recovering from the race and yesterday`s light workout. Tomorrow is a day off though, so I ll be ready for my tempo run on Friday.

Have a great Wednesday!

Watchless light fartlek

Today I was not sure if I was going to do a light workout or not, since I am a bit sore from the race, but not enough to run just easy till my next workout which is going to be on Friday. I decided to run watchless and do a light workout.

I ran at 4:10 p.m. today because my brother was not going to run so I decided to do it in the afternoon, rather than in the evening. I went to the Blasco park and did 2 laps easy to warm up, then did 3 x1 laps at a good effort (5k effort or a bit faster), with 1 lap easy recovery. Then did 2 laps easy for cool down for 9 total, so 8.1k total.

I felt a bit tight in the first lap, but then loosened up and felt good to go. I felt better than expected during the "on" lap.  It was a hard effort, but pretty much controlable, just wanted to get in a good effort, without compromising recovery, but not just running easy either. I played it by feel and I felt pretty good, really enjoyable workout. Weather was pretty good also.

Recovery run

Today I was a bit sore from the race, but I know that tomorrow will be worse due to the DOMS. Yesterday I was feeling pretty good and thought about doing a light workout tomorrow, but I think I will run easy until Friday, and I will do my tempo run then.

Today I ran at 4:15 p.m. and the plan was to run 8 laps to the Blasco park at a very easy pace to recover from yesterday`s race. The weather was good in 18 Celsius, so no windbreak. The first lap was in 5:53 and progressed down to 5:44 to the final lap keeping the effort pretty easy. Finished the 8 laps (7.2k) in 46:22 feeling pretty good at the end.

Never stop running 5k race:23:00

Today I raced a 5k called " Never stop running" in Valencia. I have not raced since December 30th 2017, and my last 5k was November 2017, where I did 23:25, but the course was very great and in the second half it was pretty much downhill, I was really surprised in that one. I have been training consistently and doing workouts and a longer run each week, so I was in great shape and my confidence was high. I honestly thought that I could pull a 22:30 and even sub 22mins, but you never know until you compete. I always race without a watch, so I race by effort and its good, because if in the race you are going slower than expected it can ruin your race mentally, its a personal thing for sure, and for me its more fun and you can focus only on feel and competition. I warmed up around 2.5k to the race, from my house to the race, I met my brother 1k into my cooldown and We did the rest to the race start line. I incorporated 5 x 50m strides in my warm up like I do before my workouts, but this time they were slower than normal, since I did not want to go out like an idiot and in the last 2k bring nothing to the finish line. We lined up around 8:30 a.m. and the race started at 9:00 a.m., when you are a slow runner you have to line back and you have to get there early if you want to get as ahead as possible. Luckily, We did not have problems because elites went out 3:30 before us and We started 4 secs back when they horn the start of "our" race, so it was not that bad. I went out at a controlled pace and decided to keep that way till I felt warmed up enough to start pushing. My brother started ahead of me, around 5 secs faster in the first km, then He built a bigger gap till the 2k, after that I was just trying to pass people and concentrate on effort, then I have caught him, just before the 3k mark, He was running in the other side of the road and I shouted "Come with me", but I knew that He was slowing down and I was speeding up, or so I thought since I was passing people and my stride felt faster. I started to push and push, looking down on the road to not get distracted by others runners and only concentrate on my effort. In the last km however, I thought of my intervals and just said to myself, 1 more 1k repeat to go, and I acted like if was in the last interval of 1k. In the last 500m I started to give everything I had and my breathing was very labored. In the last 300-400s I thought in my friend Virkin who passed away last year and that gave me strength, I was giving a hard effort, but was saving the last bit for the final 150, just after our last turn. When I could see the finish line I just started to accelerate , but could not sprint all out since there were a lot of people around, but I finished pretty fast. When I finished, the clock read 26:30, they say that the elites started 4 mins earlier, and the time reflected elites times, so I thought that I had run 22:30, I was very happy. When I finished I waited for my brother who surprisingly finished 11 seconds back, He finished fairly hard. We both thought that We ran 22:xx. After We drank water and talked for a bit, We started the cool down jog to home. He suggested to walk home, I said to him, this is a "workout" and in every workout We do a cool down jog, not walk. So We ran easy to home and I felt a bit sore at the beginning, but then felt pretty good. I felt very good in the cool down and strong for 2.5k cooldown. I found that this race passed by very quickly. I ran around 10k total for the day and as I type this I feel very good and not sore at all, lets see tomorrow! When I was at home, a text message came with my official and chip time, it was 23:00 chip time and 23:04 official time, I was pissed off and even dissapointed, I know that I am in shape for 22:30 or less, but today was not the day. However, I ran my best 5k time in 5.5 years, which is a positive. I should be able to improve on the next one since I had a lot of time without racing, so I was a bit unacostumed to the  Racing pain cave. Good effort and good race, kudos to my brother who ran pretty good. Weather was pretty good, around 8 degrees but I wore my Hillrunner Singlet and racing shorts, felt pretty good out the

Easy morning shake out

Today I ran at 9 am with my brother in the Blasco park. I did 6 laps very easy as a shake out to tomorrow`s 5k race. My brother did 5 laps. I did 35:51 for 6 laps, so the pace was very easy. The weather was good.

Tomorrow`s race will be fun, its nice to compete again after more than a year without racing, I dont know the time I ll run, hopefully sub 24 mins. We will see!

Easy run + 6 strides

Today I ran without my watch. I ran at 12:30 p.m. alone in the Blasco park. I am eating lunch with my brother so I dont want to run later in the day with a full stomach, so I decided to run prior to our lunch.

I ran 8 laps in the Blasco park at an easy pace incorporating 6 strides in the last 2 laps. As I did not had a watch I picked landmarks or trees for the strides, it were around 20 seconds in length. I felt slow in the first one, but felt pretty good and smooth in the last couple. In the first 1-2 laps of my running I felt a bit tight, but then felt pretty good as the run progressed. Glad I did not wear my windbreaker since it was very "hot" today, it was 20 Celsius and I was sweating, these days its less than 13 degrees, so 20 Celsius is heat. After the 8 laps decided to run home which is 2:30 or so of easy running.

Anyway. felt pretty good at the end and kept the effort easy. No tempo today as I am racing a 5k on Sunday. My first race in over a year.

Have a great Friday!

Afternoon easy 60 mins

Today I ran at 4:15 p.m. alone because my brother is somewhat sick and He was not sure if He was going to run, so I decided to do it earlier in the afternoon. The plan was to do 60 mins easy today. Since We are racing this weekend and We are not going to do a long run, I decided to throw in 1 hour of running at an easy pace to recover from yesterday`s workout but to give me some adaptations of the longer easy run.

I ran in the Blasco park and I did the first lap in 5:44 and was very surprised, I thought that I was running over 6 mins, because my legs are tired from yesterday`s workout, but legs felt pretty good, I just kept the pace/effort at that and let my mind wander for 10 laps in the park, 5 laps were crossed in 28:25 and 10 laps in 56:54, so pretty much the same pace for the whole run, then completed the 60 mins going home.

I felt pretty good today and the weather was awesome. Ran without my windbreaker. Around 9.5k total.

Intervals: 1000m repeats with 400m recovery

Today I did intervals with my brother at 6:40 pm in the Turia Park. The plan for today was to do 4 x 1000m at 4:30 per km with 400m recovery, I generally rest 500m or so, but my brother recover 400m so I just did that so We could do the workout together. The reason to the repeats at that pace is because We are racing a 5k on Sunday, and I want to get there fresh, We are famous to leave the race in the workouts, so that has to change, I holded back today except for the last one where I excedeed myself and I regreted afterwards.

We warmed up 15 mins easy incorporating 5 x 50m strides to loosen up. The 1st repeat started out pretty slow, when I saw 2:18 in the first 500m I sped up because that was too slow and I did not want to run over 4:30, I finished the first one in 4:29.

The second one started a bit too fast in the first 200m so I eased back a bit, crossed the 500m in 2:16, then tried to speed up a bit while at the same time keeping the same effort, finished in 4:29 as well.

I was feeling pretty good at that point. The 3rd one, I did not look at the watch and I ran over 1000m, I listened when my brother stopped his watch and I asked him, We are done? He said yes! I stopped in 4:29, but it was more like 4:26-4:27 since I stopped the watch late.

I felt pretty good at that point and very controlled. The last one started and after 200m I started to speed up alot, but then I eased back and tried to stay fast but relaxed, this one felt like I was working hard and finished in 4:04. I had to look at the watch several times because I could not believe that I ran that fast. That was the reason that the last one felt so hard. Pretty happy with the effort today, but in the last one I think that I ran it too fast. The weather was pretty good. My brother did a good job too. He said that He felt pretty good and is ready to rock and roll on Sunday, its going to be a good battle between us.

For cooldown We headed home running, it took me 17:20 to get to my home, so I did around 10k total. Good day for a workout!

Easy run + 6 strides

Today I ran at 4 p.m. in the Blasco park by myself since today my brother rest. The plan was to do 8 laps, but as I am doing on Mondays, if I feel good the pace would be faster than I would add a 9th lap to the park, Thats what I did. Weather was cool but I did not wear my windbreaker, I felt pretty good once I warm up.

I only look at the watch in the first lap which was 5:41, right there I knew that the pace today would not be faster than last 2 Mondays, anyway, I felt fresh and I kept the effort easy while at the same time stretching the legs a bit. From the 6th to the 8th lap I incorporated 6 x 20 seconds strides, I did not time the 20 seconds, but I chose some landmarks or posts, but the time of the stride was close to 20 seconds, felt good in the strides although the first one was a bit heavy.

Finished 9 laps in 49:01, so around 8.1k. Felt real good and really greatful to run.

Have a great start to the week!

Early morning recovery run

Today I was up at 6 a.m. to get my run in early because at 9 a.m. We were watching a 15k race in the Harbor, it was a good race, good weather and the level here in Valencia is amazing. A lot of fast people!

I ran with my brother at 6:40 a.m. and it was very dark. The youngsters were going out the discos and bar drunk, so We were not that alone, ha. I did 8 laps to the Blasco park at an easy pace to recover from the previous 2 days.

First lap was very slow in 6:20, because it was very cold, it took me 2 laps to warm up,my hands were very numb. After the first couple of laps felt pretty good. At the 3rd lap my brother had to go to my house to use the bathroom, so From that point on to the last lap I was running alone, in the last lap my brother came back and ran a bit behind me, I was much faster than the beginning so maybe that was the reason that He fell back since He was still cold.

Anyway, Good run, felt pretty good at the end. 8 laps in 47:27.

Good week of running, 6 days of running and 57k or so, which is very good for me, I hope to keep that consistency.

90 mins Long run in the harbor with my brother

Today in the morning at 11:00 a.m. I did my long run with my brother in our usual route which is in the harbor. For today We ramp up our long run till 90 mins, instead of 80 mins, which has been my longest run in the last 8 years or so. So today I wanted to break that mental barrier and eventually I want to get to 2 hours + of running, that was the piece of the puzzle that I missed when I ran my PR`S, my longest run was 16k which is a good distance, but what would happen if I eventually double that distance, after all they say that they improve at all distances training for a marathon.

Anyway, I was a bit tired from last evening`s tempos and I was a bit worried that it might affect today`s long run. We started slow and a bit tired, but after 10 mins I was warmed up and felt pretty good, cross the turn around in 29:26, and got back in 57:41 so We sped up a lot in the second half of the first part of the run, it was not on purpose though and I never forced the pace. After the 60 mins I had to focus very well, I was feeling pretty good physically, but mentally I was getting tired, because I had not run 90 mins in several years. After the 60 mins, my brother started to gap me and built a gap of 50 seconds or so till the end. I decided to remain at the same pace and keep the same easy effort. For the second part of the run, We did the same route but We turned around way sooner at Pans Company and back, then I had 1:27:39 and completed the 90 mins nearby.

Felt pretty strong at the end, but was very thirsty and very glad to have finished.It was all mental, my brother felt pretty good as well. He is in pretty good shape, and even more since He works full time and I am not at the moment.

Anyway, Nice run and great to have run 90 mins again after all these years. Total distance was around 14.2k according to my brother`s GPS.

Evening watchless 6k tempo

Yesterday was my day off.

Today I have planned my tempo run and I did it with my brother. For today We have planned a 6k tempo run, We have been doing 5k tempos, but its time to step up once again. I had around since November since I did 6k tempos and now I apparently am in better shape than the 30:11 that I did on November.

The goal for today was to run 29:50s or 30:00s, I was not to force the pace. In fact, as I race without a watch and I am racing a 5k race next Sunday, I decided to do my today`s tempo without a watch, just by effort.

We warmed up 15 mins and I did 5 x 50m or so strides to get the legs loosen up. Then it was time to start the tempo, I started out at a pace that was challenging, but I could sustain for more than 45 mins. My brother wore a watch but He does not look at it during the tempo, so both were running "blind". However, I have done enough tempo to run pretty much the effort/pace that I should be running. My brother gapped me after the first 500m and I could never bridge that gap, I did not force my pace, but He ran pretty strong today. In the second km He had a gap of 10 seconds ( I counted it in my head), in the 3k (turn around point) I could close the gap, and the gap was only 3 seconds or so, I lost a couple of seconds when I was going to make the turn, because  another runner was coming in that very moment, then I thought that I would catch my brother, but the gap got bigger and bigger and I sped up because I felt more loose and felt the turnover faster, so He must have accelerated even more than me, I just forget about him and focused on keeping the same effort/ pace till the finish, always analizing if that effort could be sustained for a long time to keep the tempo as honest as possible. I felt confortable, but at the same time felt unconfortable, I think that is how a tempo must feel, in the last mile I was running with another runner and used him to keep my focus and tried to accelerate a bit without going over the top, the gap that my brother had on me in the 4th was 17 seconds or so ( that is what I counted in my head), He finished in 29:32, I finished 9 seconds back in 29:41 I must have accelerated in the last km to bridge some of the gap, I finished at the same speed though! I was surprised with the time, I thought that I ran slower, happy about the time and effort. Loving these hard workouts! I skipped the 200m strides today because I was somewhat tired and tomorrow morning We have 90 mins planned, so I did not want to over do it.

Cooled down for 1.7k to complete 10k total. Weather was good, wore my windbreaker. According to my brother`s watch We did a huge negtive split, the first 2kms were slow for me, but then I warmed up and could increase the pace. Anyway, good effort for a good workout!

Evening recovery run

Today  at 7:05 p.m. I ran in the Blasco park with my brother. For today We had a recovery run to regenerate from yesterday`s intervals. Today`s run was slower than I would have liked, but We just kept things easy and conversational.
We did 8 laps to the Blasco park in 48:09, so what took 8 laps to do today, took me 9 laps on Monday, but I was tired today. First lap was 6:11 and never looked at the watch again since I knew that it was going to be very slow. Good conversation and good weather though!
The weather was in 12 celsius or so, I did not wear my windbreaker, just a t shirt and shorts and I felt cold at the beginning, but then felt great once I warmed up. Around 7.2k total according to my brother`s GPS.

Tomorrow a day off!

Evening Interval workout with my brother: 1 x 1600s, 2 x 1000s, 2 x 400s

Today I did my intervals at 7:10 p.m with my brother, We started a bit later than planned, but got things done. We warmed up 15 mins easy running and I incorporated 5 x 50m strides as usual to warm up the legs.

The plan for today was 1 x 1600m, 2 x 1000m, 2 x 400m. All with half distance jog recovery, so 800m easy after the mile, around 500m after the 1000m and 200m between the 400m.

I started at a good pace, around 52-53 seconds the first 200m, and then decided not to look at the watch till the end of the repeat. My brother took the lead and built a gap, He finished the 1600m in 7:10, I came in 7:12, I was very surprised with how slow it was compared to last week and how We went out in the fist 200m today, anyway, the stimulus is what its important and that is only the first part of the workout. My brother was frustrated with that time, because He felt tired and heavy, I felt good and relatively controlled.

I even did the recovery jog faster than him, so had to wait for him in each repeat to start the next one together, no biggies though.

In the 1000m repeat, I just built a gap on my brother and kept it till the end of both repeats, I was surprised with how good those went, 4:07 and 4:03 for 2 x 1000m. I think that I had around 8 years without hitting those times, so that was motivating.

I was tired, but We had 2 x 400s to go, so I toughed it out and got things done, the 400s were in 1:31 and 1:22.06. The 91 seconds I really pushed a bit while keeping good form, after the 200m jog recovery, I just decided to really hammer the last one digging deep, but without losing form, I was surprised with 82 seconds. Had around 10 years without hitting such a split. It was when I was running my mile PR 10 years ago in 2009, so again, that was very motivating, but still lot of work to do to get back to that kind of shape.

I dont know my brother`s split in the 1000m and 400. I defeated him on those, but He was not too far back. I am in better shape than I thought, but I will just keep working hard and see what happens.

16:30 easy running to home for cool down, so around 10.4-10.5k total for the day. Nice and solid workout. Weather was pretty good, wore my windbreaker because it was cool, around 10-12 Celsius maybe.

Late morning easy run + 6 strides

Today I ran alone at 11:45 a.m., in the Blasco Park. The plan for today was 8 laps easy including 6 x 20 seconds strides, but as last week when I got to 8 laps, just decided to do 9 laps because I was feeling good.

Felt fresh today so went a little faster than my normal easy pace, kept the effort easy though, looked at the watch in the first half and it read 5:38, then decided no to look at the watch till the end of 8 laps. kept an easy effort and in the 6th lap I did 2 laps of 20 seconds strides, I did not count the time, but I estimated time/distance for strides, just focused on good form, then checked the watch at the end of 8th lap and I had 43:07 feeling pretty good, so I decided to add another easy lap, which came in 5:23 for 48:30 total time.

Weather was around 14 Celsius, and for the first time in several months I did not wear my windbreaker, just wore a short sleeve t shirt and my shorts (as always). Glad I did that because I felt hot in the first couple of laps, then the weather was pretty nice.

Around 8.1k total, pretty good easy run + strides. Tomorrow intervals!

Morning recovery run

Today I ran in the morning around 9:30 am in the Blasco park near the place that I live in. I almost move the run till the evening, but then decided to run. The reason was that I was sleepy and i get very bored in the evenings when I run in the morning. However, I wanted to run with my brother and wanted to get the run done.

We ran 8 laps in the park very easy. I felt really good and easy. Time for 8 laps was 46:35 and according to my brother`s GPS watch there is 7.1k. Anyway, another good recovery run in.

Good week of running for me, 6 days of running, 2 workouts and a longer run, so that is the effective training in my book.

Have a great Sunday!

Morning "long" run

Today I felt surprisingly good, I thought that I was going to be sore from last evening`s tempo run, but I felt good. I met with my brother at 11:00 a.m. to do our " long" run in the harbor, the route that We have been doing the last 6 Saturdays or so. Its a pretty cool route, good view and enviroment.

The plan for today was to do 80 mins easy pace, We started out very slow and then gradually increased the pace as the run went on, did the first "loop" of the route in 57:44, very close to what We did last week, then kept running till I complete 80:33, ran extra 33 seconds so that is a bonus, ha.

We felt pretty good, but at the end We both needed water, its heating up here in Valencia, the weather was only around 15 degrees, but I felt hotter than that, and even more since I wore my windbreaker. Anyway, felt very strong and kept the effort very easy. Another one in the books! Its good to have the company of my brother also, it would be harder to do them alone.

Tempo run 5k + 2 x 200m

Yesterday was my day off.
Today I had planned my tempo run, so at 6:00 p.m. I met my brother to do our tempo run, its been a lot of fun to do these tempos with my brother, He beated me in the previous one, but today it was not the case, ha.
We warmed up 15 mins easy incorporating 5 x 50m strides to get ready, He likes to do longer strides, but 50m for me its enough.
The plan was a 5k tempo at 24:50s or so, or at least sub 25 mins, plus some 200s afterwards to practice fast running without losing good form.  The tempo started and my brother took the lead, I like to go out slow and let the pace come to me, I glanced at the watch at the 200m and We had 59 secons, right where I wanted to be, and I just wanted to maintain that effort/pace , 1st km was in 5:05, so inmediately I passed my brother and put a surge, because We were going slower than I wanted, as soon as I sped up, but brother knew that We were going slower than planned ( He does not look at his watch during tempos), 2nd km was a bit faster, but still slow in my opinion, 10:06 (5:01 for that km), I felt pretty good and controlled and had several years, after that I took the lead till the halfway point 12:35 (2:29 for that 500m), after I turned around I put a surge and never was caught, I did not even look back, I just put the surge and did  my own business till the end of the tempo, i got carried away and did the final km way too fast, I regreted later, but what can you do. 3 kms came in 14:54 (4:48 for that km), at that point I knew that I was going to run sub 25 mins no problem, with 1 mile to go had 16:49, so I had to do the last 1600 in 8 mins to do the same exact time as last weel, very doable, when I hit  km 4 in 19:41 (4:47 for that km), I really let myself loose in the last km to finish fast, I did not even sprint, but I really pushed the pace on that one. Finished in 24:09, so 4:28 for the last km, was very surprised with that one, because did the last km at my interval pace, it was good practice for fast running when tired, but I regreted later, I should have done in 24:30s-24:40s, but oh well!! My brother did 24:53, but a bit slower than last week, but He told me He did not feel very good. After the 5k tempo, I jogged 400m to catch my breath, and then decided to do 2 x 200m with 200m jog recovery. Did 43 and 42.06. To be honest felt tired during the 200s because I could feel some lactic acid from the tempo, but I could just move my legs just fine and finished feeling pretty good. After my 200s, Did 16 mins easy running for cool down. I did a longer cool down, because my brother did 4 x 200s, instead of 200s, so in the meanwhile I just did extra cooldown, after He finished We cooled down together and talked about the workout.
I did a huge negative split 24:09 (12:35, 11:34), so 61 seconds faster in the second half, I dont remember the last time I did a time like that in 2.5k, anyway, heading the right direction, a lot of work to do. Weather was good, wore my windbreaker but sweated more than necessary, so that means its heating up. Around 10.6k total or so.
Felt good overall and another workouts in the books! Tomorrow early a "long run" in the port.
Have a great Friday!

Evening recovery run

Today I ran with my brother and our friend Jorge at 7 p.m., For today We had planned an easy run to recover from yesterday`s interval session. We did 50 mins.

I felt tired today, but I was feeling good till about 1k to finish the run, I started to feel low energy. According to my brother`s GPS We did 7.67k in 50:39, the extra seconds is due to turning around when the watch read 25:20, We always do a negative split of 20+ seconds, today being the exception to that rule. I personally felt yesterday`s workout and my legs were very tired, but that is a good thing. Anyway, another one in the books.

Tomorrow I rest and Friday another tempo, lets see how it goes! Weather was good and conversation was good.

Evening interval workout

Today I had planned an interval session. I did it in the evening at 7:00 p.m. because my brother was doing a 3k time trial and We could work together at least in the first half of his time trial and in the first repeat that would 1600m for me.

The plan for today was 1600m, 3 x 800m and if I felt good at the end of those, throw in 2 x 200m. 800m recovery after the 1600m, 400m recovery between the 800m and 200m recovery between the 200m repeats. So pretty basic interval training.

I ate at 1 p.m. pasta with pork and spinach, that is one of the few dishes that I eat since I basically eat the same thing everyday. At 5 p.m. I ate a slide of whole wheat bread with peanut butter, so that it would give me energy for my workout and avoid to do the workout starving, the bread and peanut butter have worked quiet well for me.

When I left the house I was feeling down due to personal issues, but I was going to do the workout anyway.

So I met my brother at 7 p.m. in the Turia park and We warmed up for 15 mins, and I incoporated 5 x 50m (or so) strides to loosen up my legs, I felt pretty good and We started, since my brother was doing a time trial He went out fast, I let him take the lead since I want to finish my session, ha. I was a couple of steps behind and saw the first 200m in 51 secs or so, so it was too fast, but I was not going to check the watch again till the end of the repeat, so I ran basically by effort after that, after the 1k mark I felt good and my brother started to slow down, so I took the lead and was feeling pretty good, I almost do the damn time trial with him, but then I decided to do my own thing, because training is for training and those time trials effort in my opinion are better saved for races. Anyway, 1600m came in 6:57, I was very surprised because I have not seen a time like that in years and I felt pretty good, that was way better than the last mile interval repeat that I did , which was 7:08 and today it felt easier (much better weather today and had the company of my brother though).

After the 1600m repeats I jogged 800m easy and was ready for my 3 x 800m, which were in 3:25,3:18,3:16. Jogged 400m between repeats. Never looked at the watch during those repeats (only the first 200m of the first one in 51secs). Felt pretty good on those, better as the workout progressed, and again I was shocked by the splits. In my last 800m intervals I did 3:20 for the last repeat, but it felt like a sprint, today it was fast but very controlable and the breathing was fast but not a sinphony. Anyway, I ll take it.

When I finished the 800m repeats (4k worth of fast running up to that point), I decided to do 2 x 200m with 200m jog recovery, fast but without losing the form. Did 43,43.

Rested for 1 mins, talking without my brother about his time trial, He did pretty well in 13:24, but I told him that He slowed down a lot in the second half, because He was close when I hit the 1600m repeat and I was going at a pace close to 13 mins, so He fade a lot in the second half. I told him my splits and He was very surprised, I just told him that I am very far from my 20:32 5k PR, ha.

After that I cooled down easy to home for a total of 16:44. Did around 10.7k total or so. Felt pretty good, the weather was pretty good around 14 celsius. My "down feeling" when I left home dissapeared as soon as I started this workout! Running is a therapy!

Have a great Tuesday!

Brisk late morning easy run

Today I ran at 11:30 a.m. in the Blasco Park , I ate breakfast at around 9 am, my everyday breakfast, a turkey and cheese whole wheat sandwich and a glass of chocolate milk.

The plan for today was to do 8 laps to the Blasco park, so basically the same run as yesterday, but wanted to incorporate 4 x 20 secs strides or so.

The first lap was in 5:31, I felt just fresh and great, so I went with it today, 2nd lap was in 11:00, at that point I knew that I was having great day and although it might affect me in tomorrow`s interval session, I went with it, since not everyday you feel like a million of bucks. After the 2nd lap I decided to keep the same easy effort, but decided to look at the watch every 2 laps to not get very obsessed, the 4 laps came in 21:44 (10:44 for those 2 laps), I was surprised, relaxed a bit since I did not want to turn this into a tempo, but no worries, I just felt easy today, next 2 laps came in 32:34 (10:40 for those 2), at the end of 7th lap I started to do my planned 4 x 20 seconds strides, its an estimate since I did not measure the 20 seconds, I just ran by poles ( I ll do it till the next pole, etc). After I finished the 8 laps in 42:51 (10:17 for those 2 laps) I kept running till complete the 45 mins, but then decided to do another lap, so 9 laps total and the total time was 48:13 for 9 laps (last lap in 5:22). That is my fastest easy run in a long time, to be honest, I was feeling very easy and controlled the whole way, so I doubt that this "faster" easy run will interfere with tomorrow`s workout. Weather was great, around 8 Celsius and felt very fresh and like a million of bucks. One of those days!!

Have a great start to the week!

Easy morning run

Today I met my brother at 9:00 a.m. and We headed to the Blasco park near the house I live in. The plan for today was to do 8 laps very easy to recover from the previous 2 days and start next week recovered and Strong. We started out pretty easy and did the first lap (900m per lap) in 6:10, which was pretty slow, but I felt somewhat tired, then I decided to not look at the watch for the rest of the run and as the run progressed I felt better and better. Finished the 8 laps in 47:10. Felt pretty good at the end and the weather was nice! around 8 Celsius!! Around 7.1k total!

Before the run I felt very sluggish and unmotivated, but once you warm up you just feel great, running is awesome! something to remember when you dont feel like running! Luckily, these days I am looking forward to every run!

6 days of running for the week, the consistency that Works best for me!

Have a great Sunday!

Morning "Long" Run with my brother in the harbor

Today I met my brother at 10:40 am in the meeting point and then We walked to the harbor to do our " Long run" there. We started at around 11 am and it was very sunny, I found that it was hot and wanted to take off my windbreaker. The plan for today was 80 mins of easy running.

We started the run very easy as We were tired from last evening`s tempo workout. After 20 mins I started to loosen up, but kept the pace very easy overall. When We had 70 mins, I decided to do 6 x 20 seconds strides with 70 seconds jog recovery in between. I felt pretty slow and heavy on these, I must be tired from yesterday. Nonetheless, those strides helped to loosen up a bit. I was happy to have run 80 mins, did not run for that long since November, so another long run of 80 mins and then We have to keep ramping up the distance, since 12k is not a legitime long run, but by now for us it is. My brother did not do strides, He stayed at the same pace, so for that reason I covered a bit more distance than him in the 80 mins.

Feeling good about my training and happy to have run with my brother. After the run I was very thirsty and walked around 30 mins to home. The heat is coming back and next time We will have to carry some money to buy some water post run.

Have a great Saturday!

Evening 5k Tempo run

Yesterday I took the day off.

Today I had planned my Tempo run, which was 5k at 25 mins or less, last week was 24:56, so this week I wanted something close to that. Today I had the pleasure of doing the workout with my brother. I did not do a tempo run with him since September, at that time He crushed me. This time I was in much better shape, but so He was.

We met at 6 p.m. in the meeting point, and then started the warmed up, which was 15 mins easy, including 5 x 50-60m strides after the 10 mins, He did longer strides, but I have found that strides of 50-60m is enough. By the end of the 15 mins We were ready to go and We were off.

I checked the 1st 200m to see if We were on pace, I dont want to go too fast for these tempo runs, the watch read 57 seconds, definetely, too fast, I tried to slow down, but the 400m were in 1:55, I then eased up a bit, I was leading at that point, crossed the 500m in 2:25 (4:50 per km), I thought that We were going too fast, so I slowed, then My brother took the lead and We crossed the 1st km in 4:55, I felt good. I thought that He was going to fade, but He never did, haha. He is in much better than I thought!

2nd km was in 10:00 (5:05 for that km), it was too slow as I did not want to go over 25 mins,then I took the lead till the halfway point in 12:31, turned around as quickly as I could, because you easily lose a couple of seconds when you make the turn. At was leading at that point, but right away my brother made a surge, built a gap and pretty much maintained the gap for the rest of the tempo.

I tried to maintain my effort/pace, these runs are about that, I did not want to race, so I let him go ahead. 3 kms came in 14:58 (4:58 for 3rd km), was feeling good, but I could not go any faster at that effort, if I speed up, then the purpose of the workout changes. 4 kms came in 19:51 (4:53 for 4th km), then I tried to maintain that pace till the end without sprinting or anything, finished in 24:49 feeling pretty good and controlled. Last km came in 4:58. My brother finished in 24:42, but I just could not pass him at the same effort, it would have taken and sprint to pass him, again, not the purpose of the workout.

After the 5k were over, I inmediately jog for 1.7k or so for cool down at my normal easy pace, I passed my brother ( He did the cool down much slower than me). Cool down for around 13 mins or so. I suspect it was around 9k total for the day.

When I was walking home, I felt the legs a bit burned, so I predict that they will be sore for the next couple of days. Weather was good, but very windy. Wore my windbreaker. Felt good and happy with the workout, its good to do a hard workout with my brother!

Have a great Friday!