Morning easy run

Last night (just like Friday), I drank a couple of beers with my house mates and ate some chocolate and carrot cake, it was delicious. I went to bed at 1 a.m. and I put my alarm to go off at 6:20 a.m., to get my run in again early. I had looked the forecast and it was going to rain the whole rain, but I was going to run early no matter what. My brother`s race was at 10 a.m., so the plan was to get to the race by 9 something am, so the run must be completed at 8 a.m.,

I headed out the house at 7:00 a.m with a very dark sky and it was pouring bit, but not raining hard. Today the hour is changed, so 7 a.m. today is like 6 a.m. yesterday, likewise, its going to get dark much later, which is good when We run at 6-7 p.m.

Anyway, I went to the Blasco park, and did 8 laps, very easy. The first lap was 5:56, and I knew that its going to be a slow day, but then I started to warm up and started increasing the pace, did not look the watch till the end though. Finished the 8 laps in 45:49, then kept running till home, where I completed 47:42 total time.

I felt really good, the rain started when I was finishing my run and as I type this at 5:17 p.m. the steady rain has not stopped. A lot of drunk people in the park because too much bars and discos near by.

Finished a solid week of training again, 6 runs again. I think that I have run 6 times per week in a row since January 15 or so, so I have around 10 weeks running 6 times per week, and I see it as an habit, I think that that is a PR of a streak running 6 times per week.

My brother ran much better than last week, He raced today more according to his fitness, but I do think He can race faster. The course was around 5.2k and He ran 23:30, so ran sub 23 mins for the 5k. The conditions were very wet and the race was held in the Turia park thats where We do our workouts, so We were in familiar territory, when I was there I had the desire to race and if it was not racing, I think that I would have raced with jeans and a Polo shirt. I walked some after the 1st 3 finishers came so I could run with my brother in his last 200m, He just closed very fast as I could not follow him even though I was "fresh". I encouraged him to pass a couple of guys very close to the finish line, He passed one but finished next to the other. As I told him, We have to love the process and tomorrow is the start of another training week, no rest for the wicked man!

Here are a couple of photos that I took:

                   Digging dip in the last 200m!

                     Post race photo!


Have a great weekend!

Early morning long run in the harbor

Today I woke up very early at 6:00 a.m. to do my long run early in the harbor. The reason why is that I wanted to buy a couple of shirts and if I do the long run as usual, that cheap stores close at mid day, so I wanted to get it out of the way early. The alarm was set for 6:20 or so, but as lately, I am waking way before my alarm. I needed time before going out because I have to take of GI issued on morning runs. I got out the door at 7:05 a.m. and walked to the harbor. As I said, my brother is racing tomorrow so no long run for him, so I had to do most of it by myself, however, after I would do the first look that always take us around 57 mins, He would run with me till I complete the 90 mins and He would complete his 30+ shake out run, a good deal.

I started running at 7:30 a.m. without eating breakfast of course, when I run that early (9 a.m. or earlier), I dont eat breakfast. Running fasted does not affect me negatively whatsoever, even for races, I always race morning races fasted and I always feel pretty good. I guess that for long races I would have to try something light, but not sure.

Anyway, I started the run easy and the harbor was very clear and free of people, when We run at 11 a.m. the harbor is full of people eating, walking, hanging out. At 7:30 a.m. it was like a desert, I liked that, but I guess that its not always good, I really like the enviroment of the harbor, the scenery, the people, people in the beach, etc. Today it was just me and the scenery and a couple of runners out there. It felt very peacefully.

I hit the first turn around in 28:58, so a tad faster than most days, but hit the 9k ( I call it the first loop) in 57:17 ,2 weeks ago it was 57:13, so I did not negative split that much today, no biggies, it was just an easy effort and I just ran a 6k tempo last evening, so this is sort of a recovery run as well, then met my brother and the remaining segment of the run passed by quickly since I was talking with my brother. Felt good, but the knees felt tired at the end, but felt strong and the weather given that it was earlier than usual was very fresh. I think that from now on, We will have to get out long runs in earlier (like today), since its heating up. 90 mins finished by 9 .m. I felt accomplished.

Tomorrow the forecast is rain the whole day, We will see how the run plays out, I have the run scheduled for 7 a.m. or so, because I am watching my brother`s race at 10 a.m.

Tempo 6k + 2 x 200m

Yesterday I took the day off as normal. I needed that day off since on Wednesday I felt tired, but today I felt very energized and was ready for my tempo run this evening.

I met with my brother at 6 p.m. in the Turia park, but today I was going to do my tempo alone, since my brother is racing a 5k on Sunday, I decided not to race it and keep training. The plan for today was to do a 6k tempo and do 2 x 200m with 200m jog rest after the 6k tempo.

I warmed up my usual 15 mins with 5 x 50m strides. Then the tempo started, my legs felt surprisingly very fresh throughout the tempo run.

Splits per km were :4:56, 4:56 (9:52), 4:52 (14:44), 4:52 (19:36), 4:52 (24:28), 4:41 (29:09). Finished the 6k in 29:09 and feeling pretty strong, even joking with my brother in the last 200m of my run. I think that this is the best tempo run that I have done. I always suffer from km 1 to km 3, but this time I felt great throughout and almost desire that the tempo never ends, I just got into a groove and in the last km opened a bit. It seems that the training and Sunday`s race is paying off.

After the 6k tempo, jogged 400m easy and then did 2 x 200m in 42.97 and 41.15. Recovered 200m between each. After the 200m walked 100m and then started my cool down of 13:30, around 1.8k, it was very easy, since my brother was walking, I was running easy back and forth easy. Around 11k total. Felt pretty great overall and the weather was great.

Long run tomorrow morning, the long run is the hardest workout for me even harder than intervals and tempos. Again, I have to do it alone!

Easy afternoon run

Today I ran at 4:20 p.m. alone. I did 8 laps easy, looked at the watch in the first lap in 5:49, the halfway 22:51 and in the 8 laps (7.2k) in 45:15, then ran to home, which is about 300m from the park. So completed 7.5k.

Found the run somewhat boring today and I felt tired. Those runs are what move the needle, so you have to do them, all runs are not shine and roses and you have to embrace bad days. Rest day tomorrow! Weather was good also.

Evening fartlek

Today I had planned a light workout, so that I could still recover from the race, but at the same time get some stimulus from some stress. I wanted to do something like I did the Tuesday after my past race, which was  a fartlek of a couple of kms of easy running and then do 3-4 hard 1000m and 1000m easy in between, not recovery pace, but like maintainance pace, for 10k.

I met my brother at 6:50 p.m. in the Turia park to do just what I described. I was somewhat tired from the race, but I felt good enough to a light workout and the workout suggest that I am in pretty good shape, so my brother. He did run very bad on Sunday and I told him so, He is in shape to finish with me  or at the very worse, some seconds behind, but not 97 seconds behind like in Sunday, Oh Well! Those early accelerations maybe caught up to him!

We did 10k with a couple  of kms to warm up, then did 4 x 1k hard with 1k easy in between.
Splits were: 6:48 (this km is the longest and it probably add 20 seconds to a normal km, so more like 6:28), 6:07 (12:55), 4:41 (17:36), 6:01 (23:37), 4:31 (28:08), 6:00 (34:08), 4:24 (38:32), 6:07 (44:39), 4:18 (48:57), 5:56 (this is again the long km as in the beginning, more like 5:36 -5:40 for that final km, I told my brother speed up a bit to get sub 55 mins, finished in 54:53 for 10.05k according to my brother`s GPS. My watch is a normal stopwatch, so those splits are calculating in my head, thats why I put the elapsed time next to the split.

I felt really good in this workout, it was not very taxing, but those kms easy kept the run moving so when you start the fast part you were recovered, but at the same time the legs were heavy. I think also that We run faster that We should have, because the race was just on Sunday, but to be honest We just felt good and went with it. This kind of workout which some coaches call it Wave tempo run, its good training for long races, but You have to do more fast segments and the recovery should be somewhat faster than maintainance pace.

Anyway, It was a good workout and for sure much better than running easy. My brother beated me in most of the repeats so He is in much better shape than what He ran on Sunday, He will race a 5k on Sunday to take revange.

Post race recovery run

Today my legs feel pretty good, a bit tired, but I dont have a lot of soreness, that has happened in the last 2 races. Its rare, because in the past, I always was very very sore for 2-4 days after the race, even going downstairs was a pain! Maybe tomorrow the DOMS will be there, but for today I felt good.

However, I did not feel very motivated to run today, but you have to do what you have to do. At 4:20 p.m.

I went to the Blasco park and did 8 laps there very easy. I was surprised because the first lap was 5:45 and I was holding back a lot and keeping the effort very easy, decided not to look at the watch for the rest of the run and finished the 8 laps (7.2k) in 45:01. Felt pretty good and fresh. The weather was good also. I am getting in pretty good shape, but still ages away of my PR`s shape, but little by little getting there.

Volta a Peu Runners Ciutat de Valencia: "5.5k" race

Today I raced a 5.5k race called Volta a peu runner ciutat de Valencia. Its a race that is held pretty close where We do our Saturday long run in the harbor, so pretty much the whole way was in the harbor. The goal time for this race was to at least maintain the same pace that I did in the last month`s 5k race for 500 more meters since this race was "5.5k" in length. I put the quotes because I ran surprisingly well today eventhough there were parts that were in the complete sand of the beach so the pace slowed down dramatically in those sections, I would say it was around 300-400m of pure sand where the pace was slow and everyone was trying to just get off the sand as quick as possible, a lot of people were even walking in the sand. I really battled through it and the more people I passed the more energized I felt, I think this is one of my best races in terms of execution and passing people.

I race without a watch, just by effort, so I was going to run at a effort I thought I could sustain for the whole race.

I left home at 8:08 a.m. or so , warmed up to the port avenue and met my brother there, then went to the harbor, to the starting line, all of that running easy, on the way there We did strides, I did my usual 5 x 50m strides and when I arrived I did some form drills and some more jogging to not stay still. Then We lined up, the elites and all people that have preference were gone 4 mins before us, and We crossed the starting mat 14 seconds after the horn sounded in our starting wave. I got out hard and was dodging a lot of people at the beginning of the race, I think that thing cost me some seconds. Then I found my rhythm and was running with good space. My brother passed me in the 500-600m mark and built a quick gap, I think He passed me very quickly and later that costed him a lot. He built a gap of about 10 seconds in the first km, after the 1st km though I little by little bridged that gap and started passing people left and right, some runners passed me, but they were so fast that I could not really go with them. The only km that was marked was the 1st km, but as I saw the course before the race I pretty much know the markers and knew where I had to make my move once We left the beach. Around the mile point I passed my brother and never saw him again till the finish line, I kept pushing and pushing, then We went to the beach, sand to enter the shore was deep and it slowed down a lot, once you were in the shore you could run pretty much at your normal pace, but I would argue that it was the same as in the road, I tried to move my feel as fast as I could before We had to get off the beach and face 200-300m of deep sand to leave the beach, as I said, the more people I passed in this section (from the people that went out in the first wave), the more motivated and energized I felt, but in that stretch of sand I really started to notice my breathing fast, luckily I went out at a good controlled pace and could really push in the latter stages of the race. Once We face the sand to get off the beach a lot of people were walking or running very slowly, I was passing a lot of people in this 200-300s section and was trying to get the feet as fast as possible off the sand. The good news about the sand is that while you decreased the rhtym, you could recover in the lungs a bit from the faster pace. Once I got off the beach that We had around 1k to go, I really started to push home and was passing a lot of people, the more people I passed the more I pushed, once I saw that the finish line was around 400m from when I was running I really started pushing and when I back in the distance saw the clock and I started sprinting in a corner so that people would not hinder my way, last race I could  have run 1 second faster and run 22.59, this time I really sprinted in the corner and the road was wider so this time I was free to sprint, the closer I saw the finish line the harder I sprinted and finished very hard. The clock read 28:31, but since We went out several minutes after the 1st wave (the finishing clock has the time of the first wave), I did not know the exact time, but I knew that I would have run well, because I could run a lot of more in the pain cave than in my last race and whenever I felt like slowing down, I pushed and pushed. Another indicator that I ran well was all the people that I passed, especially in the latter stages of the race, I knew that I closed really hard. Last, but not least, my workouts are way better than in the last couple of months, so I knew that I am in much better condition than in our last race. Later at home I learned that my official time was 24:07 for 5.5k, I dont think the distance is accurate because that sand really slowed you down, and that is 7:03 per mile /4:23 per km, which is my interval pace. In the other hand, I have been hitting lately paces way faster than those in my intervals and my tempos runs I have been feeling good, so really not sure if that is accurate, but either way, I pretty much destroyed my performance from my last race. After my final sprint, I waited for my brother that came in 30:10, (1 min 30 secs after I crossed the line), He really hit the wall hard, I told him not to accelerate in that way, He passed me like a bat and pretty much in that acceleration He went very anaerobic, that cost him the final stages of the race. He congratulated me and said that I raced great. I think that I raced well, but as I told my brother, this type of race you can only compare it to the same event from previous race, because you cant really compare the topography with this race with our 5k race last month were everything was flat and road and few turns. Anyway, I think that I did a good job and I feel pretty good as I type this, no soreness at all. We will see tomorrow!! The weather was sunny, but very pleasant, around 10-13 Celsius.

After We drank some water and talked a bit, We started our cool down jog, which for me was basically the exact same distance to get to the race, I would estimate the distance 2.5k or so. So total for the day was around 10.5k.

 Its good to race without a watch, and just by effort, just racing people and listening to the body.

Have a great Sunday!

Update: According to the GPS of several runners that ran the race, the GPS marked the route in 5:27k, so way shorter than the legitime distance. I suspected though as I mentioned before and eventhough its shorter, I ran a bit faster today than in last month`s 5k and today the terrain was more difficult, especially that deep sand. So, I still did good. My brother did not do that good and probably He will race a 5k race next Sunday to take revange.

Easy run shake out

Today I ran at 9 a.m. in the Blasco park with my brother. Last night I drank 3 beers (1 liter) and thought that it would impact today`s run, but to be honest I did not feel the least effect of the alcohol outside of GI problems ending the run.

The plan for me was to run 8 laps easy to shake out for tomorrow`s race and to make up some of kms that I did not run yesterday. The first couple of laps were in 12:06, then did not look at the watch again and finished the 8 laps in 46:36. Last 2-3 laps were at a good easy clip. My brother only did 5 kms.

The  race course will be funny, but We will run in the beach sand for 2kms so I think that time goals are out of the window, I run by effort though, so I ll run my best and see what happens, it should be fun. Weather today was good!

Afternoon maintainance run

Yesterday I took my usual day off.

Today I ran at 5 p.m. with my brother in the Turia park. The plan was to do 8k, but We have to hurry the run and cut it short, because We were invited to the football Stadium, the team of Spain was going to warm up there and the entries were free, so why not? I dont know much about football (soccer), but it was nice nonetheless.

So We decided to do around 7k and finish the run in our respective houses, because the meeting was at 6:30 p.m. in the Mestalla Stadium which is around 15 mins from my home on foot.

I decided to run my run like Monday`s today, no need to run at recovery pace when you dont have nothing to recover from. So I started faster than my normal recovery pace, the first km+ was in 6:30, but that km is the longest so it was more like 6:05 or 6:10, then the second came in 5:52, 3rd in 5:46, in the end of this km did 1 stride, then in the 4th km that came in 23:37 I incorporated 5 x 100m strides in around 20 seconds, I did a total of 6 strides, like I do in the Blasco park. In the first stride I felt slow, but then once I lossen up felt great. When I left the Turia park to head to home I had 27:58 in 4.8k or so. Then ran to home and had to stop in various intersections. When I got home in around 41 mins I decided to run 1 more mins and call it a day in 42 mins to say that I did 7k at 6 mins per km, but I am sure I did some more, because I was running way sub 6 mins per km. Anyway, it was an easy run with some strides. Tomorrow morning I ll run easier than today to get to the race ready to go.

Valencia Fallas 2019

Here are some photos that I took of Fallas 2019 in Valencia. A lot of creativity! Enjoy!

Easy evening 10k

Today I ran with my brother at 6:45 p.m. after He got off work. We met in the Turia park and did 5k out and back for a total of 10k and some extra meters. I felt really good and the weather was great.

We started out slow , first 5k were in 32:39, but in the way back We sped up a little and finished the second 5k in 30:52 or so. 10k total in 63:31. Last few kms were in 6:01-6:05 range feeling pretty good and easy. Nice recovery run to absorb yesterday`s workout.

We did 10k today because We wont be running long this week, since We are racing on Sunday, Its a 5,570m race and for a couple of kms We are going to run in the sand, the race is in the Valencia Harbor, in the area where We do our long run. It should be fun, but We will have to throw out time goals out of the window and just race, thats what I ll do.

Late morning interval workout: 5 x 800m

Today its a public holiday here and is the last day of last fallas, so after I woke up at 7:20 a.m. to read some and cook my lunch my brother and I decided to do our intervals at 11:30 a.m. so that We could have the afternoon/evening free to enjoy the last day of las fallas.

This time around I started my warm up directly from home and met my brother in front of his house, I had 6:20 when We met, so We ran to the Turia park and I kind of got lost, but quickly my found my way back to the park and the warm up was longer than usual. My warm up today was 18:00, incorporated 5 x 50m strides after the 10 mins of running.

For today We had planned 5 x 800m faster than 5k effort with 400m recovery. The sun was shining hard, but it was not too hot, its a beautiful day. I think this workout was a success, I felt pretty good and strong and in the last repeat I could run 2:59.81, which is a time that I think I could not run now, like the 400s, I had around 8-10 years that I could not run that fast in 800s intervals. I am happy about it, I am very far from my PR`s shape as I have 5:29 in the mile, but getting there little by little.

Splits today were: 3:27,3:28,3:23,3:21, 2:59.81.

In the last one I planned to do it hard, but when I saw 89-90s in the first 400m of last repeat, I told myself that maybe I could break 3 mins, so I pushed and in the last 100m pushed hard without losing form and I got it. Was huffing and puffing hard after the workout and maybe I excedeed myself, since I generally do intervals way faster than my "actual" fitness, but I have been always a "training" runner, meaning that I run faster on intervals and workout than in races. 16:58 cool down easy running to home. Its good to do these workouts with my brother.

Around 10.3-10.5k total. Another good workout in the books!

Afternoon Maintainance run

I will start the post with saying that I am very surprised with my pace today. For the last few Mondays I have been running on fresh legs, while I keep the effort easy, it can become a race with easy runs, so today to avoid that, I decided to just run easy, but getting advantage of my fresh legs but without looking at the watch, I always look at it in the first lap, but today decided to desconnect and just ran easy but getting advantage of the freshness! I pressed the split button in my 8th lap and then did a 9 th lap as an habit on Mondays.

I ran at 4:45 p.m. in the Blasco park, the weather was pretty good but a bit windy. It was around 17 Celsius. As I said, the plan was to run 9 laps, with 6 strides between 6th and 8th lap and the last lap for "cool down".

Felt pretty good and easy, I though that I was running slower than other Mondays, that its ok, you have to run hard on your hard workouts not your easy runs, so I just relax and went with the flow. When I finished the run and saw the finishing time of 46:49 for 8.1k or so I could not believe it, I just had to check it several times. Also in the 8th lap I had 41:43, so the last lap was 5:06 and I barely moved the legs. I destroyed my time from last week, and last week I thought that I would not run much faster at an easy effort. Although its just an easy run, I am very surprised with the way that I am feeling lately.
The training is paying off, or maybe my easy runs are catching up with my workout paces, My workouts (Intervals and tempos) are much faster than my easy paces in comparition, I mean, given my easy runs, people would not believe that I could run intervals in less than 4:25 per km and 400m in 1:30s. Anyway, I ll just do these runs without looking at the watch like today and just running easy by feel, that way I dont start competing to beat last week`s time. Other easy days are not that important since I am just recovering from workouts and the pace is quite slow!

Easy recovery run

Yesterday I went out late at night as well and have 1 liter of beer (3 beers of 12 ounces), but that was before going out, when I went out to the concert after midnight I did not drink anymore. Went to bed at 4 a.m. and was up at 8:30 a.m. to run at 9 a.m. with my brother.

We ran in the blasco park, We did 8 laps easy in 47:13, then I did 1 x 100m or so strides to round up 58k for the week. Felt pretty good today and fresh, its rare on Sundays, but it seems that I am in good fitness. Weather was good.

6 runs this week and 58k total, very consistent weeks of training the last couple of months!

Late morning "Long" run in the harbor

Yesterday night after the Tempo, I went out at 10 p.m. with friends to a concert and to see the fallas, went back to home at 5:15 a.m. and went to sleep. Luckily, I just drink a couple of beers, so I was good to go about doing my long run at 11 a.m., Lately We have been doing the long run at 10 a.m. in the harbor, but I asked my brother to move the run until 11 a.m., so that I could sleep a little more. I woke up at 9:55 a.m., so just sleep around 4 hours. Did not eat breakfast today, but I was determined to do my long run no matter what.

We started the run at 11 a.m. as planned and We ran 90:14, in the first turn around We had 29:12 and I felt pretty good, but kept the effort easy. Then told myself 1 more hour and We are done! I never looked at the watch again, but pressed the split button in the first loop, 57:13 (looked at that time post run), so We negative split by 1:11 or so, then I felt better and better after the hour, but I think that is because that the end of the run was close. Completed 90:14, and I only looked at the watch in the first 29:12, then did not look again and I think that helped me relax, however, whatever the pace you have to complete 90 mins, so looking at the watch does not make much sense.

I think this is the best that I have felt in a long run, went to bed at 5:30 a.m. and did not eat breakfast today, but also I did not was very tired from yesterday`s tempo unlike past weeks that when I started running in the long run I felt tired because of the previous evening workout. Weather was good also! I think it was a good run and I did the job despite not being able to sleep a lot, no excuses!

Tempo run: 6k + 2 x 200m

Yesterday was my day off, but I always walk a lot on my days off.
Today it was tempo day, We had planned 6k today. This time I did it with my brother. We met at 6:00 p.m. to do our tempo run in the Turia park.
We warmed up 15 mins easy and I incoporated my usual 5 x 50m strides to loosen of the legs.
Today I started slower than planned and I thought that I was having a bad day, 1st km was in 5:02, and then I decided to speed up, but the second km was around the same 5:02 (10:05), I surged ahead in the mile mark since my brother was leading up to that point, He said to me after the warm up that He was not feeling well. When I looked at my watch and saw 10:05 in the first 2k, I said to myself that I would have to be happy with 30:00s for 6k today, however, I tried to relax and hit the 3rd km in 4:51, so I finally had found my rhythm. 3k came in 14:56, then I decided to keep that same effort to at least get sub 30 mins for the 6k, surprisingly, I felt better and better and the tempo felt easier and easier the faster I went, 4th km came in 4:49 (19:45), then tried to keep that same stride cadence and effort, the breathing was very well, the legs were a bit heavy, but the breathing way under control, maybe those first 2k helped to warm up! 5th km came in 4:48 (24:33). In the last one just kept the same effort and never accelerated, finished the last km in 4:45 for a total of 29:18 for the 6k. So 12 seconds faster than last week with a slighly slower first half and felt way better than last week at the end! It seems that I am improving! Jogged 400m easy and then did 2 x 200m in 43.25 and 42.25 seconds, felt fast on these without losing good form, but when you do a tempo run your legs feel very heavy in those 200m, you feel pretty much like a truck! recovered 200m between the repeats. After the 200s walked 100m, before starting our cool down, cooled down 12:30 for 1.7k or so.
My brother crossed the first half in 15:13, but could come around in the second half and finished in 29:52 for the 6k. It was an off day for him, because the week before our 5k, He did 29:32, however, what is important is the stimulus! After the 6k He continued running and finished 6.2k in 30:46, so He finished pretty well.
Around 11k total for the day and I feel pretty good about my improvement! We have a long run scheduled for the morning, but I will be drinking today and probably will go to bed pretty late today, so We will see! We are in "fallas" so plenty of live concerts in the streets, you got to live a little, not everything is running and even more when you are not even close to fast!
Good friday everyone!

Afternoon easy run

Today I ran at 4:15 p.m. after looking for jobs the whole day. Ran alone in the Blasco park and today I did 8 laps pretty easy to recover from yesterday`s intervals.

I ran the first lap in 5:52, then looked at the watch in the half in 23;00, then pretty much kept the same effort till the end, finished in 45:45 the 8 laps, but then ran 300m or so more to home, so I ran a total of 47:44. Tomorrow I rest to be ready for my Tempo on Friday.

At 8 p.m. today I went to the movies and watched "green book", very good movie and a good way to entertain my mind for a bit. Highly recommend this movie!

Evening intervals: 1 x 1600s + 6 x 400s

Today its Tuesday so that means its Interval day. I ran with my brother so We help each other to push the pace a bit while keeping good form and stayed relaxed.

The plan for today was 1 x 1600m, 800m recovery jog and then 6 x 400m with 200m recovery jog in between. 15 mins warm up and 13 mins cool down.

The warm up was pretty easy and incorporated 5 x 50m strides, that has become a part of my warm up to loose the legs.

When the workout started my brother took off, pretty much I ran alone in the 1600m repeat, I crossed the first 200s in 55 seconds, so I as soon as I watched that I increased the effort, no way I was going to run over 7:15 for the 1600m, did not look again until the end of the repeat, but I sped up after the first 200s, finished in 7:02 for the 1600m repeat. My brother finished in 6:52, good work for him!

However, that is just the beginning of the workout, We still had 6 x 400m to do at a good clip, I was thinking about 3k effort or so, but they were done much faster, but We felt good! The 6 x 400m were done in 94,95,95,94,91,80. Yes! In the last one I let loose and pretty much ran as fast as I could while staying relaxed and with good form. 80 seconds in 400m I think is my fastest time in 10 years for the distance. When I was training for the mile that I muster a 5:29, its the last time I ran the 400s close to 80 seconds, it has passed a decade after that, time flys by!! My brother finished a while back , maybe in 90 seconds for the last one, He pretty much beated me in the remaining repeats though, but I was saving my energy for the last one, to simulate finishing hard in a race.

We walked 100s and then started our cool down, I did 13:37 for cool down. Around 9.8k total for the day!

Good workout and We both were very happy with the times and How We felt. A lot of people running in the Turia Park today, so at times it was hard to run because you had to dodge people!
A lot of improvement for me since I did this very same workout on November or so, the times have improved a lot, I remember when I did 98 seconds in 400s and my legs were pretty much destroyed and for the last one I could only muster 95-96 seconds pretty much all out, nowadays I could maintain that 95-96 for a mile straight (even more), so I have improved a lot. I just need to keep doing what I am doing and I ll get back to my old PR`s one day!

Maintainance afternoon run

Today I ran easy, but the on Mondays my legs are generally fresh after 2 easy runs in a row, I count the long run as easy run because of the pace and intensity.

Today the plan was to do 8-9 laps in the Blasco park, incorporating 6 strides in the last 6th until the 8th lap. I headed out running at 4:15 p.m. after looking for jobs the whole day, so it was a productive day.

I only looked at the first lap in 5:36, then did not look until the 8th lap in 42:30 ( a PR for an easy run), which surprised me, I thought that I was running around 43:30, then the last lap after the 2 laps of strides, was in 5:07 so I was surprised with that. The legs felt very fresh and although this run was way faster than my normal easy runs, the effort was still easy. I even felt better today than some of my runs much slowers, go figure!

Weather was pretty good, nice solid run to prepare myself to tomorrows interval workout with my brother.

Easy morning recovery run

After going to bed at 3 a.m. because I was with my friend Adelino in the "Mascleta" at midnight, its a tradition here in Valencia , its like fireworks, pretty good and entertaining. After that We went to a concert for a while and I drank a beer. I had almost 2 months without tasting alcohol, so a cold beer was welcome, the music was great also. So I went to bed at 3 .m. and was up at 8:40 a.m. to run with my brother at 9:00 a.m. in the Blasco park.

We did 8 laps as usual on Sundays, but today it was a slow one. After running the first lap in 6:18, I knew that the day would be slow. We did 4 laps counterclockwise as always, and then to mix things up, We did the other 4 laps clockwise. Total time for 8 laps was 48:59, the slowest time for the 8 laps (7.2k run). Weather was good and conversation was good, so a good recovery run.

Another good week of running, 6 runs and 2 workouts and 57 kms total, so I am satisfied with it

Long run in the Harbor and in the Blasco park

Today I did my long run with my brother at 10:00 a.m., I ate breakfast at 8 a.m. just as usual (2 hours before running), however, when I run at 9 a.m. or earlier I dont eat breakfast prior to running.

We ran in the harbor and when I started within the first km I felt some GI problems, but I could managa them and it did not cause any problem till after the 45 mins of running, We crossed the 1st turnaround in 29:46, the slowest We have ever crossed that split, anyway, I was tired from last evening`s tempo run, so it was not a worry, I just ran by feel, I felt good though, as oppossed to last week where I felt tired early and got thirsty. After the 45 mins, I started to experience GI problems again, but it were stronger and I almost stop right there to sit, the problems kept going and coming, I explained my brother the situation, so after crossing the 9k loop before turning around, I headed home since I was far away, I could make it to home in 73:52, went to the bathroom, did my thing, and then, got out again to run the remaining 16:08 in the Blasco park, I ran from here, did 2 laps in the Blasco park in 11:34 (5:45,5:49) and then headed home to complete the 90 mins. I felt good today. but man, nothing worse than running with GI problems, your mind is not on the run itself, its how long are you gonna last before getting to a bathroom. Anyway, Glad that I could complete the run even if it was with a short stop. Around 14k total. Weather was good!

6k Tempo run + 2 x 200m

Yesterday was my planned day off.

Today I have my tempo run planned. My brother did his workout this morning because in the afternoon/evening He had a work activity. That meant that I had to do my Tempo run alone. The plan for today was to do a 6k tempo and if I felt good add 2 x 200m into the mix.

I got to the Turia Park at 5:10 p.m. to start my workout. I warmed up 15 mins easy and incorported 5 x 50m strides. The plan for today was sub 30 mins for the 6k. Today I wore my watch and looked at it every km to track pace.

1st km was confortable in 4:54, next one was very unconfortable in terms of the stride, I felt tight and unconfortable, this came in 5:00 (9:54), in the third one felt better, but not great, came in 4:54 (14:49), then turned around and just wanted to maintain the same pace as in the first lap, I was not feeling that great and my breathing was faster than I would have liked, however, I always feel much better in the second half and is usually faster so I knew that I would feel better. 4th km came in 4:59 (19:48), and in the last 2 kms is when I could stay loose and felt pretty good on those last 2k, 5th km came in 4:55 (24:43), and in the last one relaxed as much as I could while moving my legs faster but without straining, last one came in 4:47 , for a total of 29:30 for 6k, so negative split by 8 seconds or so. The splits were all over the place, but I think I did a good workout. After the tempo, jogged 400m and then did 2 x 200m in 41 & 42 seconds recovering 200m between each repeat. After the 200s, I was very tired and the breathing was labored, walked 100m before doing my cool down, did 12:15 for my cool down at an easy pace. 11k total for the day, so the day was solid.

Long run tomorrow morning, I hope to not wake up too tired!

Afternoon easy run

Today I ran alone at 4:15 p.m. in the Blasco park. The plan for today was to run 8 laps easy to recover from yesterday`s intervals. Thats what I did, but when finished the 8 laps, ran to home ( only took 2 mins).

First lap was 5:51, then checked the watch again in the halfway in 23:08, then checked again in the end of 8 laps, it read 45:54, feeling pretty good and fresh. Negative split by 22 seconds, although it does not matter on easy runs. After the run as I said, ran home to complete 47:54 which I guess is around 7.5k.

Honestly thought that I was going to be more tired from yesterday`s workout, but felt pretty good. It seems that the training is working!

Lunch Interval workout

Today I had an appointment at 6 p.m. so it was at the same time that my brother and I do the workouts. I tried to run early in the morning, but I had to wake up at 5:20 a.m. to do it and I set the alarm for that time, but I went to bed at 10 p.m. but I could not fall sleep till 12-1 a.m., so I messaged my brother and told him that I would not wake up that early. Thought about moving the workout to tomorrow, but I was not sure about that. I had to buy a couple of belts and cut my hair, so it was a busy morning, I got home at 1 p.m. but I had 3 hours to spare before taking off to my appointment (I left at 4:30p.m.). I decided to run at 1 p.m. in the Blasco park, but even then I was not sure about doing the workout.

However, I told myself that I would do 1 lap and then decide if continue easy or do my workout, just before finishing the 1st lap I decided to go ahead with my interval workout, no need to move it. I warmed up 2 laps in 11:50 and then completed the 15 mins, incorporated 5 x 50m strides to loosen up.

The plan was 4 x 1 lap (900m) with 3:30 recovery jog, then 1 x 2 mins fast to complete 4 - 4.1k worth of interval running. I did just that and felt pretty good as the workout progressed, worked hard and got the job done. Splits for 4 laps were 3:53,3:47,3:47,3:47 so it was very even and better than last time I did the same workout and today it was much hotter since it was at the middle of the day. Also in the last 1 x 2 mins I covered some more meters than last time, so that also was an inprovement. Felt very happy at the end and satisfied. For cool down did 2 laps in 11:47 (5:59,5:48) and completed 13 mins for cool down. Its amazing how slow the cooldown feel after you have loosened up the legs running at interval pace. Around 6 miles total of running.

That workout really set the mood for the rest of the day and relaxed me. Weather was a bit hot, but good.

Watchless easy morning run + 6 strides

Today I ran at 11:30 a.m. in the Blasco park, today it was hot, but not as hot as yesterday I think. The plan for today was to do 8-9 laps easy and incorporate 6 strides in the last couple of laps.

I ran without the watch today and ran at an effort that felt easy, in the 6th lap incorporated 6 strides through the 8th lap, then ran a 9th lap easy to finish up the 8.1k. I felt good, but was thirsty when I finished because of the heat. Felt slow in the first stride, but first pretty good in the others.

Have a great start to the week!

Easy late morning run with my brother

Today I ran with my brother at 11:15 p.m. or so in the Blasco park. The plan was to run at 9 am, but my brother asked me to run a bit later since He went to bed pretty late watching the Tokyo marathon.

The heat was in full force when I went out, but no problem. We did 8 laps pretty easy talking about running and the European Championships. Just checked the watch in the 1st lap in 6:08 and then did not look until the end of the run which was 47:19 for 8 laps (7.2k). My brother felt tired, but I felt pretty good given what I did the last 1.5 days. Weather was hot and I sweated a lot.

Good week of training post race, 6 runs again this week!

"Long run" in the harbor

Today I met my brother at 10 am to run in the harbor, We had to do it early since the heat is increasing, that means that winter is coming to an end, in the last 10 days or so I have not worn my windbreaker because I would bake myself if I wear that with the "heat".

The plan for today was 90 mins of easy running, that would be our long run for the week. We felt tired today because of last evening workout, but you got to do what you got to do.

We did the same route as 2 weeks ago, and I pretty much ran at the same pace, give or take 1-5 seconds of total time (1:27:38, then completed 90:31). As I told my brother, the body is an amazing machine!

In the hour I was tired and my brother as well, but despite how you feel you have to execute and do what it takes! The conversation was good today. Drank water as soon as We finished since I was pretty thirsty by the end.

Total for the day was 14.2k according to my brother`s GPS.

Evening 5k tempo run + 2 x 200s

Yesterday was my day off.

Today I had planned my tempo run with my brother. We met at 5:50 p.m. to start the tempo workout at 6:00 p.m. in the Turia Park. We warmed up for 15 mins and I included 5 x 50m strides as usual to loosen up the legs.

I did not wear a watch today, as I wanted to run by effort. My brother was wearing his GPS, so I would know my time afterwards. We went out at a good clip and rhythm. I was running completely by effort.

I felt pretty good in the first half, things did not feel so good in the last 2k, but still it was managable. After the halfway point my brother put a gap of me of around 12-15 seconds from 2.5-3k, then I could bridge that gap in the last 20m of the run, maybe He was waiting for me, or I sped up more than necessary, I did not increase a lot my effort though. In the last mile He had a 11 seconds gap on me and in the last km around 8 seconds. I calculated that counting in my head. After the 5k I jogged 400m to recover as honestly I was breathing very hard and was tired, I told my brother that We either ran too fast or I was still tired from the race and Tuesday`s light workout. After the 400m recovery I did 2 x 200m alone with 200m recovery, In the first one I felt very slow and heavy but could turnover the legs by the end. In the second one, legs were a bit looser and I could run faster, I dont know how fast I did them, but it was around 45 seconds.

After the 200s, I asked the time We did in the 5k and it was 24:08, I was very surprised, but breathing does not lie and I knew that We ran faster than planned, I planned to run around 24:40s, but all in all it was a good effort and honestly it did not feel that fast. My brother is in pretty good shape as well, that is his fastest tempo run in several years. Both halves were 12:14/11:54 according to my brother`s watch, nice negative Split.

We did around 1.7k easy cool down. Around 10k total for the day!