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Tre Comuni

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Location:

Rome,Italy

Member Since:

Dec 13, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Best marathon 3:14:40 (2011)

Best Half-Marathon 1:26:38 (2013)

Best 10k 40:22 (2009)

Best 5k 20:18 (2004)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Marathon under 3:10:00

Half marathon under 1:25:00

2013 Races


Long-Term Running Goals:

Carpe diem

Personal:

My name is Eugenio I was born near Rome, Italy, in 1972 and lived there for 29 years, then in 2001 I moved to Salt Lake City for work and for seven years and one month that was my home, since 2008 I am back to Italy. I started running in 2003 when I realized I could not ride my bike throughout the Utah winter.



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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Total Distance
1692.86
Total Distance
5.72

I went running more as a tradition and to burn some calories from last night/early morning, I went just before lunch time with a beautiful sun and cool breeze.

Total Distance
9.32

First fast workout of the new year. 4k warm up, then I left inside the car my second layer and the gloves and I started my tempo run, 9k at 4:00-4:05/k. I was feeling great as usual for the first 5k then I started working on my form and speed turnover and finished the last k at an incredible 3:49/k. Overall 9k in 36:04. 2 more k as a cool down. I am feeling good about these runs, next week, when the holidays will be gone, I will resume my normal schedule, and I will add a repeat session on monday or tuesday to the tempo run.

Total Distance
6.20

Easy run.

Total Distance
6.20

Another easy run, nothing special.

Total Distance
6.20

Third easy run in a row, I am just glad the Christmas holidays are done. 

Total Distance
7.50

Speed workout 8X800 w/ 2m recovery jog, my splits were incredibly consistent tonight and during my recovery jog I covered at least 300m. These are my splits: 3:02, 3:03, 3:00, 2:58, 2:59, 2:59, 3:01, 2:59 average time 3:00+1" final AP 4:44/km, including warm up and cool down.

Comments
From Claudio on Mon, Jan 07, 2013 at 13:05:43 from 216.99.185.50

Great workout Camillo. Does the Yasso "rule" apply to you?

From Camillo on Mon, Jan 07, 2013 at 14:22:04 from 79.35.213.122

Claudio,

it was a great workout because it was right after the holidays... Unfortunately it is not a "yasso" workout because I don't have any long distance training right now to support it. I am just focusing on HM training until june and then I will resume my regular marathon schedule. Right now it is really hard to do long distances or many km at night, alone, in the dark, rainy, cold weather, instead doing short distances at fast pace is more fun and the time goes by much more easily. Buon Natale e Buon anno to you and to your family and I hope you will have a great year of many PRs!!!

Total Distance
7.00

7 easy recovery miles, at the end I was almost shivering even though it was not cold (about 5°C), weird.

Total Distance
5.00

Five easy miles nothing special about it.

Total Distance
8.30

Tempo run night. I wanted to continue the trend of the last few weeks, getting to the point of doing a 10k threshold run at 4:00-4:05/km. After 3k warm up, I immediately realized it was not going to happen. I started my first fast km and my legs were really heavy and dead, I kept pushing until I finished the 6k and then I quit. At that point my average pace was 4:08/k, still decent, but I was struggling, breathing was fine, but my legs were not there. I added 4k cool down and went home.

Doing two workouts (800 repeats and a tempo) in a week is hard and this is what I can do right now. Instead if I do only one of them I can push the pace a little bit more in each one. I am not disappointed it is what it is.

Total Distance
0.00

Heavy rain outside, chicken heart inside. 1 hour biking on the trainer.

Total Distance
15.50

Sunny day with subfreezing temperatures, nothing like Utah weather though.

Medium progression run starting at MP and finishing at HM/threshold pace, overall I would say mission accomplished. These are my splits: 5k at 5:35/k (warm up), 5k at 4:57/k, 5k at 4:29/k, 1k at 5:12 (to drink some water while passing by the car and eating some sugar), 5k at 3:59/k, 4k at 5:35/k(cool down)  final average pace 4:53/k. Last thursday I struggled to keep 4:08/k for 5k, today, while it required some concentration, it was comfortbly hard and really doable.

Total Distance
13.00

The weather was not the best for running, fog/low clouds with a visibility of maybe 200m, humidity and temperatures around 5°C. I wanted to do an HM at slow pace, overall at the end was not fast but it was a nice progression run, first 11k in 58 min and change, the last 10.1k in 50. 

Comments
From Kam on Tue, Jan 15, 2013 at 16:27:46 from 68.66.163.179

Good job getting the run in despite sub-optimal conditions. When is anything optimal?

Total Distance
6.20

Easy easy run, I was really tired and hungry. I just wanted to go home and have dinner.

Total Distance
8.20

Interval run, the usual 8X800 with 2' recovery jog. These were the splits: 3:01, 2:59, 3:02, 3:02, 3:04, 3:05, 3:01, 2:59 AP 3:01+5". I was tired and hungry again, halfway I had negative thoughts and I was not confident I could finish it (splits show this), then I decided to keep pushing and I rescued the last two intervals. Probably doing two workouts and a long run per week is a lot right now, but I will keep it in my schedule. It was definitively the coldest run of the season so far.

Total Distance
4.00

Slow run, just some easy recovery miles.

Total Distance
7.00

I had a tempo run planned for tonight, but snow changed the plan. I know that people in Utah would still doing it anyway especially with just a 32F temperature, but the footing was really bad. Ended up with a 7 miler progression run in 1:00:13. The last four km were at 4:30/km. It is always good to run on fresh snow.

Total Distance
0.00

No run, 1 hour indoor biking.

Total Distance
10.00

I started while it was snowing, not very hard, but it was a light snowshower with heavy wet snowflakes. No powder here, and by the end of the run I went through endless cycles of snowflakes-sticking-to-my-body-melting-refreezing and I was totally frozen and wet. The footing was just horrible as well, with black ice underneath and a light snow cover on top, I did 10 miles with baby steps. Did I mention I really enjoyed it!!! 

Total Distance
5.00

Five easy miles with much better footing and traction than yesterday.

Total Distance
8.10

Progression run, from warm up for 5k to MP for the rest of the run. It was nice and easy, the moon is out and the visibility tonight was incredible.

Total Distance
8.30

Medium tempo run night. 3.4k warm up, then a 10k at 4:00-4:05 goal pace.

It went really well (mostly due to the easy runs of the last few days), these were my splits:

3:59, 4:03, 3:52, 4:03, 3:56, 3:59, 4:07, 4:01, 4:16, 3:59 final time 40:15. The yo-yo effect in my time is due to the hill and the 180° turn every 1.6k. The only disappointing km was the 9th when I thought I had 40 minutes in the bag and I relaxed a little bit on the downhill, lost the momentun and concentration on the uphill portion and finished with the only bad split of the night.

This is not my HM pace yet (even though I could have kept it for a couple of more kms), it is something in between 10k and HM, but considering that it is still an unofficial 10k pr (my overall 10k pr is in a training run and it was 39:55 four years ago) and two months ago in a faster official 10k race I did 40:55, I am pretty happy with that.

Total Distance
4.00

Relaxing run, 4 easy miles to recover from last night run and to prepare for next sunday race. I will continue on this theme for the rest of the week.

Total Distance
5.00

5 easy miles, tomorrow and saturday complete rest.

Race: Tre Comuni (14 Miles) 01:35:52, Place overall: 232, Place in age division: 60
Total Distance
14.00

This is the traditional race opening the season, it is longer than an HM, it is slower as you can see in the altitude profile here and every year the start is in one of the three town. This year based on the altitude profile map we started from km 13 and went backward, with the big dive and climb right at the end.

I met two of my running buddies at 8:00 am and we drove to the place. Temperatures were just sub-freezing but the sky was blue and no wind at all. We were forced to park a mile from the start and take a shuttle (it was actually better than last year). We reached the start with plenty of time and then we started fighting our way close to the start line. This year there were 2000 runners packed in a 4 meters wide road and we were probably half way without any way to go any closer.

It took us almost a minute to get to the starting line but the mess was later when we started the passing game. My goal was to keep for the first half 4:15-4:20/k but the first 2k on a narrow road slightly uphill, packed with people, I did 4:51, 4:30, then I started going down to my target pace. I thought it would be easy to maintain that pace, but it was hard, we never done this race in this direction (usually it is in the opposite direction when we start from the other two towns) so I didn't have any reference for the pace.

I got at the half way point and also the highest point of the race in good mental and physical conditions, from that point on the course is slightly downhill first and then a big drop before climbing back up to the finish line. I passed in this section many more people and crossed at the bottom of the downhill the HM mark in 1:28:5X. The last km back up was steep and brutal. I crossed the finish line in 1:35:52, that was a solid time. It is my unofficial CR.

When I started I didn't know how I could honestly do, I trained hard and fast during the last two months, but I am still missing some mileage. Now I know I am on the right track and in a month I will have a legitimate chance to finish on a flatish HM in under 1:27.

Comments
From seeaprilrun on Thu, Jan 31, 2013 at 22:21:03 from 68.102.189.33

Good pace on a rough course. I bet your 1:27 is in the bag.

From Camillo on Mon, Feb 04, 2013 at 13:42:38 from 95.246.221.136

April,

thanks for your confidence boost.

Total Distance
0.00

Tonight I still had some good marathon grade pain in my quads, going down the stairs is still painful and my whole body feels totally trashed. The heavy rain out convinced me, as if I needed, to stay inside and bike for one hour. At least I got a good sweat going. Tomorrow I will try to run again.

Total Distance
6.20

10k in 1:00:57, good easy recovery run. My right quad is still achy, but pain is on its way out.

Tomorrow more or less same program.

Total Distance
5.00

Another recovery run, 5 miles in 45:09. My right hamstring has some residual pain, left one is fine. In a couple of days I will be back to my normal aches and pains.

Total Distance
7.50

Another easy run, I let my legs dictate my speed. Tonight I went a little bit faster and longer. My right leg has some residual tightness, I didn't want to push too hard, but toward the end of the run I felt almost back to normal. 7.5 in 1:11:14.

Total Distance
10.00

I had to stay at home this morning, so I went running enjoying this morning spring weather. Same theme of the last few days a little bit longer a little bit faster, 10 miles in 1:22:12. This morning at end I was tired, definitively things are not completely back to normal yet.

Total Distance
13.10

The sky this morning was black, heavy rain and thunderstorms were in the forecast, I went to the lake for an easy run, but I doubted I could finish without getting really wet. I decided to go back and forth for 2 miles from my car, in this way I felt "safer" in case of a major event. I finished 13.1 miles in 1:53 but the great news was how the wind kept the black clouds rolling the whole time and only when I was driving home the heavy rain and flooding started. Today I felt officially recovered from the race.

Total Distance
0.00

Rest day, I spent the whole morning swimming and pool running and relaxing in a hot spring, after 3 hours of that my blood pressure and my blood sugar were so low that I felt really confused, I ate something, got home and slept for a couple of hours.

Total Distance
10.00

2.2 km WU, 5km at HMP 3:57, 3:56, 3:58, 4:00, 4:02, 1k recovery jog, another 5km 3:53, 4:00, 4:00, but I had to stop after 200m to leave my lunch on the side of the road, after that I kept jogging and puking my eyeballs (my stomack was empty) for another 5.5km. I really felt horrible. I have read many times about people puking and feeling great again, it wasn't my case. I went home feeling a knot in my stomach while my legs were just fine.

Lesson learned I will never do a fast workout 1 hour right after lunch. Now I am watching the Super Bowl even though I know that the Ravens won.



Total Distance
6.20

Easy recovery run, I felt much better than expected after yesterday run. It was hard just because the fog and the constant light rain, but it wasn't cold (around 5°C).

Total Distance
5.00

Easy run in 42:13, nothing special.

Total Distance
7.00

Speed workout night, but the conditions were not great. Strong wind from the north, -2°C and I felt just tired from the day at work. I changed my original and boring plan from 8X800 with 2:00m recovery jog to 5X800m with 3:00 recovery. During the first one I was excited to do a short workout with long recoveries and the first interval was 2:52, then things started being more realistic, 2:58, 3:00, 3:03, 3:01. At the end as anticipated I felt totally trashed and tired, after all it was a good idea to remodulate my plan and doing something more sustainable and realistic for the day. Next week I will reintroduce back in my training the 400m to push a little bit my top end speed. 

Total Distance
7.00

Last night at the end of my workout I was totally wasted, tonight I was much fresher than expected, my legs were fine and in spite of the strong wind and the cold weather I went through 7 miles fast and easy. After all yesterday the big killer was the wind, I have done harder and faster workouts, and tonight I was not tired at all.

Total Distance
14.50

Third day in a row of cold weather and strong wind from the north, at least I went running in the morning with a beautiful sun and clear skies. I did some sort of progressive run to 5:40/k to 4:45/k finishing 13.1 miles in 1:48 something and then doing 10X100m strides with 100m recovery jogging. Overall 5:05/k for 14.5 miles.

Total Distance
0.00

One hour swimming, I lack a decent swimming form, for this reason at the end I felt totally trashed.

Total Distance
0.00

Heavy rain and cold temps, perfect excuses for not going out to run.

Total Distance
7.00

Speed work out night, I wanted to test if I could do some "pure" speed doing the 400s.

The plan was 12X400 w/ 1 min recovery jog at 1:20-1:25. To do this workout I decided to use an "exact" 400m stretch close to the industrial area where I run every evening, the only problem this road is completely in the dark and it is very narrow and there is a house at the end of this road. I did a 5k warm up and then I started. These were my splits: 1:23, 1:19, 1:24, 1:21, 1:25, 1:23, 1:26, 2:11, 1:27, 1:23, 1:28, 1:23 AP 1:24. Split #8 was bad because I had to stop and move out of the road because a car was coming. This road was slight uphill going out and slightly downhill coming back that's why the yo-yo in my times.

I was happy with the outcome of this run, I am really looking forward to more of this in the next few weeks.

Total Distance
4.50

Easy recovery run with a cold wind. Nothing fun just miles.

Total Distance
9.00

Fast workout night with a mini tempo run on the fast side. The plan was to attemp a 6k at 3:55-4:00/k with 3:55 much closer to my current 10k pace than 4:00/k.

In the last month I did a 10k as a tempo run at 4:01/k so 3:55/k would be a good stimulus. During the 4k warm up I didn't feel that great and I had doubts about my full recover after the 400m session on tuesday but I decided to finish my plan, accepting slowing down, rather than not starting it at all.

These were my splits each k: 3:55, 3:51, 3:58, 3:49, 4:02, 3:51 AP 3:54 +2".

I was very pleased about the outcome, I definitively worked hard during the last 2k but I wasn't racing all out.
I finished with 4.5k "cooldown", but because it was already cold and windy I finished the last 3k at 5:00/k. Overall final pace was 4:56/k.

Total Distance
6.20

Easy recovery run, 10k in 58 minutes. Cold and humid.

Total Distance
16.10

Easy medium run to enjoy the sun and the warmer temperatures. I finished 26k in 2:13:19. Nothing really fast, but it was a good aerobic marathon pace.

Total Distance
6.20

Easy run around the lake.

Total Distance
7.10

Speed workout. 12X400 with 200m recovery jog. I started with 4.1k warm up and given the conditions, windy and cold, I really needed it. These were my splits 86, 84, 86, 82, 86, 80, 85, 83, 85, 82, 85, 80  AP 83.66. This week I felt more comfortable throughout the whole workout, I was more prepared for the pain at the end and when it was coming I was ready to embrace it. Good feelings.

Total Distance
6.20

Easy run,  my legs were not sore but overall I was very tired tonight, no energy available. I had some sugar before going out but didn't help.

Total Distance
4.50

Feeling sick just some miles.

Total Distance
7.00

Still feeling sick, 7 miles at slow pace, I cancelled my planned tempo run. I am hoping to feel better tomorrow.

Comments
From Kam on Mon, Feb 25, 2013 at 14:43:22 from 68.66.163.179

This winter has been a non stop progression of illness at my house. I hope you are feeling better.

From Camillo on Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 14:07:00 from 79.27.218.221

Kam,

I can feel your pain, even though I was pretty lucky this winter, these are the first sick days in about three months.

I am so ready for some spring weather, lots of sunshine and no more seasonal illnesses.

Total Distance
0.00

Still sick plus it was raining outside, 1 hour biking inside.

Total Distance
1.20

I felt a little bit better I went out for a couple of kms shakeout run, then the heavy rain started and went inside for another hour of biking inside.

Total Distance
5.50

Easy run outside, I was feeling much better, I did about 15 strides of about 100m with 100m recovery just to have my legs moving again.

Total Distance
6.20

Tonight I was feeling weird I was cold, it was cold outside and I didn't feel that great going out for a run. I went out anyway and finished a 10 k in 57 minutes.

Total Distance
6.40

I did a short speed work out 6X400m with 200m recovery, to have some speed back in my body, without taxing it too much. These were my splits: 85, 78, 84, 78, 86, 80. They were significantly faster than last week because I did half of them and I was much more rested. Last significant work out before next sunday race.

Total Distance
5.00

Five easy miles, I am feeling completely recovered from last night speed workout and I am ready for next sunday HM.

Total Distance
6.20

Last run, friday and saturday will be rest days. If it wasn't for the unplanned rest days at the end of last week I would be very satisfied of the consistency and intensity of my training during the last month. I am really looking forward to sunday race and then start training hard again.

Race: Roma Ostia (13.1 Miles) 01:26:38, Place overall: 744, Place in age division: 153
Total Distance
13.10

It was a perfect race, I wanted to accomplish two goals, finishing under 1:27 and finishing among the top 1000 finishers (with 1:27 I would be placed historically around position 1000). From my last race a month ago, I knew both goals were achievable but the execution is the devil. Three of us left our town at 7 am and we drove to Rome. We got to the starting area at 7:45, used the facilities at the local McDonald chapter,and then went to the start to drop the bags. This race is the unofficial italian championship of half marathon and about 10000 people were there. Without warming up at all we entered our corral at 8:45 and we waited 9:15 when the race started on time. Temperatures at home were around freezing while in Rome around 5°C, but clear skies were telling us we would finish the race with a perfect spring temperatures, most importantly no wind. My goal was to keep the pace around 4:05-4:10 but more on the 05 side. This race has a roller altitude profile for the first half and the a short downhill and flat finish at the end. I knew I had to preserve my legs and lungs for the fast finish but I didn't want to loose to many seconds on the three hills during the first 10k. First 5k was 20:30, almost perfect, the 5 seconds delay was due to the congestion during the first 1k. The second 5k considering the 2 hills was almost as good 20:38 and the third 5k with the last hill and the only downhill part was almost the same 20:39. During the last 6.1k I gave it all I had in the tank, smelling and seeing the sea after 20k of running on a straight freeway, even though my calves started seizing I finished strong with 24:50. Final time was 1:26:38. I am really happy right now, this was one of the biggest goal races for the year and being able to post a new PR here it is really encouraging for the upcoming months. More training is coming with the goal of lowering my half time again.

Comments
From Lynn on Mon, Mar 04, 2013 at 07:33:21 from 205.153.58.10

Great job meeting your goals and new PR.

From Kam on Mon, Mar 04, 2013 at 09:19:44 from 68.66.163.179

Awesome job! Those splits look so good; you really paced yourself perfectly for the course. Congrats on the speedy PR. Isn't it great when everything comes together on race day? No wind, good training cycle, and no other hiccups to speak of during the race. It's good your calves held out long enough to finish strong.

From TBean on Mon, Mar 04, 2013 at 13:46:52 from 63.241.173.64

Nice race! Always a big accomplishment to get a new PR!

From Camillo on Fri, Mar 08, 2013 at 13:28:51 from 95.233.160.85

Thanks guys for the kind words, but as Kam pointed out, many times you really have to be lucky that everything, from training to the finish line, is perfect.

Sometimes a good PR is really a gift rather than an achievement and for this one I am feeling grateful.

From Claudio on Fri, Mar 08, 2013 at 15:27:44 from 96.234.240.16

Excellent race and attitude Camillo, big congratulations!! Out of curiosity, who won and who were the first Italian men/women, and their times, if you have that info handy?

From Camillo on Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 14:32:20 from 95.239.220.153

Thanks Claudio,

you can check all the results at

http://www.tds-live.com

Total Distance
3.10

Very easy miles to relax my legs and enjoy the warm weather at night.

Total Distance
6.20

Easy recovery miles, legs are almost back to normal, no pain, just general fatigue.

Total Distance
0.00

No run today, too much rain outside, inside was warmer and cozy.... :)

Total Distance
6.20

8k at easy pace then 10X100m strides with 100m jog. It was nice to feel some speed again, my legs responded quite well and I was tempted to keep going during the last 500m, but I decided to stay with my original plan and finish nice and recovered. "Almost" back to normal, most of the fatigue from the race is "almost" gone.

Total Distance
6.00

Another easy run, tomorrow I will attempt something longer and faster to check my recovery. Legs and breathing were fine tonight.

Total Distance
16.10

Today I tested my legs over a medium slow run, I finished 16 miles feeling ok. I went out really slow for the first 21k with the goal of just finishing them, then I finished the last 5k at 4:30/k. It was nice running in the morning with some warm spring weather (sun, clouds, wind, a little bit of rain and then more sun).

Total Distance
5.50

Easy run with friends to enjoy a windy sunday morning together.

Total Distance
8.10

I went out with the intention to test my legs with something faster. I started slow as a warm up and then I went progressively faster down to HM pace, given the slow start and the slow progression with the last 3 miles at HM pace I thought it would be easier but it was not. Clearly my legs are not recovered yet, I did what I wanted to do but never felt "easy". I am probably one of the few people around here looking forward to daylight saving time, in Italy it will be in a couple of weeks, it will officially open the summer season with the possibility to have all my evening runs with some light.

Total Distance
0.00

Heavy rain outside, I decided to stay dry inside. Next sunday I will jog the Rome marathon so a little taper will help to finish in one piece. The funny thing about this year edition is the uncertainty about the course, given the pope election, apparently there are several variants depending on what kind of ceremony there will be in St Peter's square on sunday morning. There is also a chance the race could start in the afternoon. It will be fun to see what will happen. In the meantime some recovery time is good.

Total Distance
0.00

Rest day

Total Distance
6.20

Final easy run, before the race.

Total Distance
0.00

I went to the expo to pick up the bib number I don't feel too excited about this year marathon, mostly because I will try to do it as a long run without doing too much damage to my legs.

Total Distance
0.00

To force myself to rest I went to work for most of the day. I had some work done and I am well rested.

Race: Maratona di Roma (26.2 Miles) 03:41:30, Place overall: 2535, Place in age division: 586
Total Distance
26.20

I entered this race back in october to take advantage of the lowest price, then during the winter months I decided to concentrate more on speed and to use the Rome marathon as a motivational run to start a new marathon training cycle. Two weeks ago I had a great experience with a fast half marathon, so I didn't have any expectations from this race beside trying to have a good time.

The course this year changed a little bit to avoid Saint Peter square that is a red zone until next tuesday, but the rest of the course was the same and the whole organization did an incredible job to convince the city to maintain the date and the time in spite of the uncertainties related to the new pope election.

I woke up at 6:00 am, at 6:45 with a couple of friends we were driving to Rome. We left the car near a subway station and with the train reached the starting area. Everything went smoothly and at 9:00 we lined up in our corral. I had as a real goal to finish uninjured and trying to stay under 4:00. As soon as we started I tried to stay above 5:00/k and for the first 10k it was really hard to do that, I was full of energy and 4:50/k was somehow my cruising speed. I had to be careful, in the last year I never went above 16 miles, so if I wasn't careful I would pay for it later in the race. I was caught around half way by the 3:45 pacers and I decided to join them, I was feeling good but I was uncomfortable to reach the unknown zone above 20 miles. Then at 20 miles I realized I was still feeling good, I said goodbye to the 3:45 pacers, and tried hard to finish in 3:40. I was moving faster than anybody around for the next 5k, then during the last 5k we were in Rome downtown with narrow streets ups and downs, left and right, and my pace was not so fast anymore and closer to 5:10/k. I was really happy to be able to finish in 3:41. In the afternoon after keeping my feet for 20 minutes in cold water I felt regenerated, my quadriceps were tired but no pain. No problem at all going down the stairs. Overall I enjoyed this race, without racing it. The weather was on the cool side with a cold wind from the north, but overall the conditions were perfect. I am really looking forward to start training hard again.

Comments
From Claudio on Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 13:26:13 from 216.99.185.50

Excellent run Camillo! And excellent plan to use this marathon as a jump-start for your next cycle, keep building on your fitness, this year looks so good for you!

From TBean on Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 08:04:03 from 63.241.173.64

Nice race. Always fun to have some energy at the end of a marathon.

From Camillo on Sun, Mar 24, 2013 at 15:27:28 from 79.52.219.178

Claudio,

I hope this year would be just injury free, that would be great.

TBean,

I felt like cheating when I passed all the other runners at the end at double speed.

Total Distance
0.00

No run today, my legs are good to go, no problems with the stairs. I am just feeling tired mostly from lack of some good quality sleep.

Total Distance
5.00

Easy run with a light breeze.

Total Distance
0.00

Rest day. Another rainy and cold night.

Total Distance
6.20

I wanted to do a speed workout just to shake my legs. The plan was easy: 6X400 w/200 recovery jog. I did it on a 450m one lane flatish road that is slightly uphill going out against the wind, slightly downhill coming back with a tail wind. These were my splits: 95, 84, 92, 82, 86, 84.

During the first one I had to re-learn to move fast my legs then the next five were easier (during the third one I had to slow down because a car was coming and I had to keep running on the shoulder). I was happy to be back to my regular training schedule.

Total Distance
6.20

Easy run, a 10k in 58 minutes.

Total Distance
13.10

Progression run, I started easy and then finished strong with the last 3k at HM pace. Overall 13.1 in 1:48. 

Total Distance
6.20

Easy relaxing run, during the last 2k some 100m/200m strides with the same distance to recover. I am feeling great. One more week and then with the DST the summer training will start (I am one of the few people on the blog looking forward to having more light during the evening for my runs).

Total Distance
6.50

Mini tempo run. Warm up for 4.5k then I started having as a goal to maintain 3:55/k for 5k.

These were my splits 3:50, 3:52, 3:55, 3:56, 4:01 for 19:34. The first 3k were under control the last two were much harder. My tempo time is more realistically around 4:00/k, I went a little bit faster on this one trading distance (less distance) for time. I did a slow cool down for 1k and then went home for a nice dinner. I won't complain much about the weather (5°C) because in most of the US or even in northern Italy there is snow on the ground, but I am really tired of running in the dark at night with coldish weather.

Total Distance
7.00

Easy run, 7 miles just to keep my legs moving.

Total Distance
4.00

Four easy miles around the industrial area.

Total Distance
7.00

Repeats night. I want to start doing two fast workout per week again without killing myself in the process. Each week I will try to increase the length or the intensity of each workout, up to a certain point, to keep an healthy training stimulus.

My plan for tonight was to do a 5X800 w/ 400m jog. This will be my last fast workout of the winter season, next week with the DST and more natural light during the evening I will move to the lake area that has some flat sections and I can add more variety to my VO2max routine. I did pretty well in spite of the wind with the following splits: 2:56, 2:52, 2:55, 2:49, 2:57. The time up and down is due to the loop I did all winter long I hope to be more consistent once I will do them on a flat terrain.  

Total Distance
7.50

I got home earlier than usual so I went running at 6pm around the lake. I wanted to see how long I could run before it would be dark. Considering that there was a thick cloud cover I was safe to run until 7:10 after then it was really dark. From tuesday with the DST this will be my new schedule, starting at 7:00 pm I will have for the first week a good hour and then everyday it will be longer and longer. Tonight I was really relieved to be done with the same loop over and over in the industrial area, I started at slow pace and then I went progressively faster, I finished 12k in exactly 1:00. My plan was a recovery run easy and slow, but I got carried away and finished really strong.

Total Distance
13.10

I woke up at 7am with a thick fog/cloud cover, heavy rain and wind (anything else?), I quickly realized I don't have any big race until september so why going out just to enjoy some misery? 45 minutes later all of a sudden I found myself on the road around the lake 1k from my car completely wet head to toe and cold, with barely 100m view all around (the fog was just crazy). I got 11k from my car and I was completely frozen, the wind and the rain extracted all the heat from my body. I turned around and finished 13.1 miles in 2:00:34, talking about a speed workout. I was also stopped twice by two different cars looking for directions, just because I was the only human being around. The second car felt obliged to ask me if I needed something: a ride, some water or food, I declined with a smile and after an happy easter we went our ways.

I took a hot bath to bring back my core temperature and to stop shivering, I am just proud of what I did, even though I don't know how I convinced myself to do this.

Total Distance
7.50

7.5 miles around the lake in about 56 minutes, no garmin.

Total Distance
7.10

5X800 w/ 400m recovery jog these were the splits: 2:53, 2:52, 2:51, 2:51, 2:52.  2:52 AP.

First workout at night around the lake.

Total Distance
4.50

Short run before dark 4.5 easy miles.

Total Distance
6.20

I didn't have enough time to run I decided to use the 45 minutes that I had to complete a 10k. I finished at 43:28, short cool down and then I went home.

Total Distance
6.20

Second consecutive day with clear skies and sunny and warmish temperatures, easy 10k around the lake.

Total Distance
7.50

Tempo run night. 2k warm up followed by 7k tempo in 27:50, 3.1k cool down.

Except for the last k, when I was running against the wind, I was working hard during the run but not racing all out to keep the pace.


Total Distance
7.30

Easy miles around the lake, cold weather.

Total Distance
5.00

Five easy miles before dark.

Total Distance
6.20

The train to come back home was 45 minutes late, so I had to cut in half my planned workout. I wanted to do 12X400, but it was 7:30pm when I started and with 40 minutes of decent light I decided to pack the same amount of pain in that time and opted for a 10X200m with 200m recovery jog. Last time I did this workout was 5 years ago in Salt Lake at the East High School track and I was barely able to average 40 seconds. Tonight my splits were these: 36.2 38.4 37.3 36.6 36.0 35.5 37.3 36.5 37.2 37.4 for an AP of 36.8. I was really done at the end but overall I felt satisfied because I accomplished my two goals: going under 40 seconds and trying to be consistent.

Total Distance
10.00

Today doing 10 miles at slow pace was much harder than yesterday, it was slow, it was painful and I felt I had nothing to gain in terms of fitness. I am just glad I did them.

Total Distance
13.10

Easy miles around the lake, today was the first real spring day around here, warm temperatures and a clear sky.

Total Distance
5.00

Five easy miles.

Total Distance
8.10

My prayers and thoughts to all the people hit by the tragedy in Boston.

Total Distance
7.50

Spring weather perfect for running. 3.5k warm up then 5k tempo in 19:30, cool down 3.7k easy.

It was a beautiful evening out, there was still some visibility at 8:30pm.

Total Distance
6.20

Easy recovery run, I finished at 8:30pm while lots of bats were flying around. It was quiet, peaceful and silent.

Total Distance
6.20

12X400 w/200m recovery 85.3, 87.5, 86.7, 84.5, 86.5, 84.0, 86.5, 84.6, 85.5, 85.3, 86.6, 85.5  AP 85.7. When I started the warm up I didn't feel very good and I was tempted to do an easy 10k, then I decided to try at least to run not all out and relax and see if I was able to maintain 1:30 per repeat. I did it on a straight stretch of road with a mark every 100m accurately measured with a wheel, I didn't check my split until I finished and I was very surprised by the outcome both in terms of consistency and the final average. I honestly thought I was going around 1:30-1:35. Good training run.

Total Distance
6.20

Easy run at night around the lake.

Total Distance
6.20

Another easy run enjoying the sun and clear skies.

 

Total Distance
7.50

Progression run 7.5 miles in 58:14, I started really slow and without killing myself I finished at half marathon pace. Great feelings overall in spite the cold weather and the rain.

Total Distance
7.50

Tempo run night. 3k warm up and then I started the tempo with a simple goal: 7k in 28 minutes (4min/k). The first km I was still in wu mode and did it in 3:58, then I relaxed and finished the next 2.5k much faster, I had to stop to re-tie my shoes, started again with another fast k, I was at 5k with 25 seconds ahead of my goal time, km 6 was still on pace while the last one it was a struggle. I finished 7k in 27:42. Next week I will try to stick to my plan and keep 4min/k until the end avoiding racing during the last k and maybe extending my tempo in the 8-9k range.

2 k cool down at the end.


Total Distance
5.00

Easy recovery miles, I was still tired from last night.

Total Distance
10.00

I took advantage of the national holiday to do a fast work out in the morning. The first 5k were needed to wake me up then I started with my work out 6X1000m with 3 minutes recovery jog. These were my splits: 3:45, 3:42, 3:45, 3:44, 3:42, 3:43. I finished with a 2k cool down. I felt great throughout the run, my goal pace was 3:45 that is faster than my current 10k pace, but it felt sustainable until the end.

Total Distance
6.20

I managed to finish a 10k in 59:50. It was a slow recovery run, I was still tired from yesterday fast workout.

Total Distance
13.10

Slow run to increase my weekly mileage, 13.1 in 2:00:40.

Total Distance
13.10

This morning I had company (2 running friends joined me for a "relaxing run"), we decided to go around the lake at slow pace, but things were a little bit out of control already after 5k, our plan was to finish in about 2h for 13.1 miles, but we kept speeding up and finished in 1:47:47. It was not like racing but it was more entertaining than running solo. Yesterday was still winter, rainy and cold, today summer, hot and humid.

Spring is finally coming.

Total Distance
10.00

Mini tempo run workout, I wanted to stay at 4:00/k, in order to stay relaxed and finish it not all out, but it didn't work very well. I started with 3.5k warm up then I started the tempo right on pace (3:58, 3:57, 3:59) then with 2k left I was feeling good and in control and sped up, finishing 5k in 19:41. I added 7.7k as a cool down at 5:00/k.

I felt really good for the whole run, I should have gone longer during the tempo maintaining 4:00/k in this way I had so many energies still left at the end to burn.

Last workout of the week, for the remaining days just recovery miles. I want to arrive to sunday  10k rested, hoping to harvest the results of the fast workouts of the last few months.

Total Distance
6.20

Easy recovery run 10k in 58 minutes and change.

Total Distance
10.00

I took advantage of the holiday to do some miles and a fast workout.

My plan was to do a 10X200m with 200m recovery. I knew that to do at least 10 miles total I had to do a long warm up, because after 10 fast 200 I would be totally done.

I am not used to runnig in the morning so I did a 10.1k warm up that was also great as a wake up. After the warm up I started with the workout. These were my splits: 37.6, 38.7, 38.3, 38.05, 37.5, 38.3, 37.5, 37.6, 37.6, 36.9   AP 37.8. I then finished with a 2k cool down. I have to say this was the first "bad" workout in a couple of months. I really wanted to hit 36" but I knew today was not going to happen, it felt really hard since the beginning, it was like running a 200m at 400m pace and the speed was not going down in spite all my efforts. I honestly went all out for all 10 intervals but the outcome was always the same.

This workout coincides with the highest mileage week of the year so at least there is an explanation for the poor outcome of this workout. I was happy because the effort for sure was there and during the 2k cool down I knew my best and fastest effort.

Total Distance
10.00

Easy recovery run for the first 10k, I sped up during the last 6k. No watch and no garmin, just some fun time with myself.

Total Distance
6.20

Easy run nothing special.

Total Distance
10.00

Progressive run from very easy to HM pace, I felt good.

Total Distance
0.00

Second consecutive day without running, rain was really coming down tonight. I will transform this week in a cut down week, I am not tired from last week big mileage, but a few days off are always refreshing.

Total Distance
7.50

Hardest workout of the year, last friday I was inspired by a friend who did a 10x400m  uphill interval training on the road close to place where we leave our cars (he also measured it with the wheel and marked the asphalt). After 2 rest days I was eager to start, after a 3.6k warm up I reached the bottom of the hill. This hill has probably a total of 50m altitude change, the incline is steeper at the beginning and flatter at the end, I was not sure how fast I could go going up and how to distribute the effort. I run on this road almost everyday and it is usually the very beginning of my run going out and the final stretch coming back and even going all out it is really hard to see the speed going under 4:00/k on the uphill. I started easy and relaxed and finished the first interval with 85 seconds, then from the second interval things were much more difficult. These were the remaining 9 splits: 89, 91, 91, 92, 90, 92, 94, 92, 94. AP 91. After 4 I started negotiating when to quit or whether to switch a couple of hills with some flat terrain, somehow this internal debate took me all the way to the end of the run without skipping my original plan. I was really tired at the end, it was hard to maintain the concentration and the will to push. This workout can be done only once a month.

Total Distance
8.00

Easy 10k at 5:15/k followed by 1k at HM pace (4:00/k) then another one at 10k  pace (3:51) and then the last one at 3:42/k (5k pace?). It was easy to switch to HM pace, almost natural, then going down it was hard. The last k didn't feel sustainable for 5k tonight.

Total Distance
4.00

Four easy miles.

Race: Trofeo città di Corchiano (6.835 Miles) 00:43:42, Place overall: 47, Place in age division: 5
Total Distance
7.50

Great race overall. It is a two loop course over three big hills (to be repeated twice). The only real problem of this race is the start in a narrow road with cars parked on both sides on a slightly downhill slope for the first 200m, after that, the road is wide and the hills will "dilute" the runners. I went into this race knowing that finishing in 44 minutes (for an 11k race) it would be a great result and it would be a virtual 10k PR. It is hard to go at a constant pace because the continuous up and down. I decided to use my effort level and ignore the garmin. I went out really hard and I finished the first lap in 20:3X something, I thought about finishing the whole thing under 43 minutes, but during the last two hills I was done, my legs were heavy and I struggled to maintain a decent pace on the hills. I finished with 43:42. It is my first official race sub 4:00/k, I have to improve my resistance over the distance, speed is there, but I have to be able to maintain it for the whole distance. I don't want to overkill myself, on a more flat terrain it would have been easier to maintain the same pace. A great race.

Comments
From Claudio on Mon, May 13, 2013 at 15:57:22 from 173.75.180.44

Strong strong strong - congratulations Camillo, great race!

From Kam on Tue, May 14, 2013 at 11:33:17 from 68.66.163.179

That's a great result, especially dealing with a hilly course.

From Camillo on Tue, May 14, 2013 at 15:24:52 from 79.55.237.196

Thanks guys,

you are always too nice. You should tell me instead to go run and train harder, this was not enough!!!

Thanks.

From Josh E on Tue, May 14, 2013 at 20:07:52 from 75.162.212.195

Forza! Coraggio! La prossima volta, voglio trovare scritto, "Veni, vidi, vici."

From Camillo on Wed, May 15, 2013 at 14:01:10 from 79.55.237.196

Josh,

I promise, next time I will do my best to follow your "advice".

If I may ask you, where did you learn italian (and latin)? From my personal survey in Utah usually is from one of the three M (mission and/or military and/or marriage).

I am glad that the "unofficial italian fast running blog community" is growing.

From Josh E on Wed, May 15, 2013 at 14:15:45 from 205.235.104.4

For me, it was a mission back in 96-98 (I have not been a practicing member since that time). The Italian is definitely not fresh and those are pretty much the only latin words I know outside of choir music.

I've been back to Italy twice since and I use Italian sparingly in my management of some legal matters in Italy. I am aware of a community of two speakers unless Claudio makes three. I found your blog through Kam. Tante belle cose!

From Claudio on Wed, May 15, 2013 at 18:38:46 from 96.234.242.134

Josh - yes, born and raised in Italy, moved to US at age 26. There was another FRBlogger, Colby Park, a US military stationed in Vicenza, but he hasn't updated his blog in a while. Ciao!

From Josh E on Wed, May 15, 2013 at 20:23:42 from 75.162.212.195

Ciao, Claudio. Piacere. Nice to meet both of you.

Total Distance
10.00

Slow and easy recovery run, 10 miles started really slow and finished near MP.

Cool and pleasant for a run.

Total Distance
10.00

Another recovery evening run, just easy miles to bring back some life into my legs.

Total Distance
0.00

No run tonight, the heavy rain was discouraging. This is going to be the rainiest spring of the last 20-30 years. I hope at least it is going to wash out the pollen.

Comments
From Laura66 on Fri, May 17, 2013 at 05:32:52 from 212.118.224.152

Similar picture here in London...cool and wet - with pollen on the days it's not! I'm trying to ignore it.

From Camillo on Fri, May 17, 2013 at 14:54:31 from 79.18.243.91

Laura,

yesterday I met a guy at work coming from London and he shared the same feelings about the weather. He was expecting and looking forward to some great sunny days here in Rome, but he was disappointed by the rain. At least the temperatures are spring like and running is pleasant.

Total Distance
8.00

My goal for tonight was a 10x1k at 10k pace with 1:30 recovery. Before going into details, when I started I knew I was going to crash, the question was just when and how. After a 2k warm up I started with the repeats: 3:49, 3:53, 3:51, 3:51, 3:52, 3:51. I started #7 but I stopped after 200m (it was a mental crash that anticipated a physical one) and kept running at slower pace until I hit 13k for the total run .

I felt disappointed but not surprised, I was happy because all my splits were consistent, just the recovery was too short (and the speed too high) for my current level of fitness.

Total Distance
6.20

Easy recovery run. 

Total Distance
7.00

2k warm up then I started a tempo run, goal distance was 8k at HM pace.

I was doing great until k 6.5 when I had a sharp pain in my left quadricep, I continued for another 100m because the pain was the same I stopped and started walking, after 3 more k walking the pain almost disappeared and I started jogging back to the car. When I got home the pain was still there, I iced the part and massaged it and for the next few days I will avoid any fast workout. Since last sunday I did too many fast kilometers. Just for the record the tempo pace was 4:02/k, I could have kept it easily for another 1.5k, but keep pushing for the sake of completing the planned workout it was not worth the risk.

Total Distance
5.00

Five easy miles, for the rest of this week no fast workout just miles without any pressure to go faster. The pain or its ghost is there.

Total Distance
7.50

Tonight the pain was almost gone, but I will stay focused on my plan of avoiding any fast workout. Cool night.

Comments
From Kam on Mon, May 20, 2013 at 14:50:06 from 68.66.163.179

Stay slow until the ghost is a distant memory.

Total Distance
6.20

Very cold evening, about 10°C with a light rain, it was like mid november. I had to go to the winter running closet and find a long sleeve shirt and the wind/rain jacket. 6.2 easy miles I was really tired from a long day at work.

Total Distance
5.00

Five easy miles, my ghost pain is barely there but it is still there.

Total Distance
8.50

My left leg is back to normal, I decided to keep my plan (no workout for this week) and I started easy and relaxed, after 7 k I found myself speeding up and finished near HM pace, almost without pushing. It was fun. This is the effect of 5 days of easy running.

Total Distance
5.00

Five easy. Winter is back 9°C, strong cold windand rain.

Total Distance
10.00

Easy 10 miler, next week I will resume my regular schedule, adding some workouts.

Total Distance
5.00

Another five easy with winter conditions, I never had the furnace on at the end of may. It is unbelievably cold. 

Total Distance
7.00

I decided that my left leg is totally fine and it is time to resume some fast workouts.

This evening it was again cold and windy and the rain was coming. I wanted to do a short warm up for a couple of km then start with 6X400 with 200m recovery jog. After 2k I was still lethargic and it was mentally difficult to start pushing, I extended my warm up to 5k and at that point I wasn't feeling better but at least my legs were warmer. As soon as I started the first repeat I felt transformed, my legs after one week of slow stuff responded quickly and all the laziness disappeared. These were my splits: 76, 76, 78, 78 (this pace was more reasonable), 81 (here a car refused to move over and I was forced to run on the tall grass on the side of the road), 78.

I stopped the cool down once I reached 7 miles. A great workout.

Total Distance
10.00

It was another coldish evening for a run, at least there was natural light until 9:10pm.

It is really great to be able to run so late, nobody is around (no cars, bikers, people in general, just bats flying around), and if it was just a little bit warmer it would have been perfect.

10 easy miles, at the end of the run I felt completely recovered from yesterday run.

Total Distance
5.50

Short run, I started easy, I was feeling recovered and almost without any effort I finished at 5:00/k AP. It was surprising how that pace was easy. It was still cold and windy, it is really unbelievable this year.

Total Distance
7.50

Another cold evening run (temperatures below 50F are cold for the end of may for this part of the country). Nothing special about the run, I decided to keep the pace easy, saturday I will do another hilly 10kish race, I have somehow to taper for that.

Total Distance
5.00

Five easy miles, I am feeling rested and ready for a good race.

Race: Maratonina dei Castagni (6.4 Miles) 00:41:50, Place overall: 36, Place in age division: 3
Total Distance
8.00

This race is a hard one with a big hill (about 150m high) to climb during the first 5k and then mostly downhill in the second half. The hardest past is represented by the constant terrain change, except for the first 2k and the last 2k, the surface is similar to a XC race, unpaved roads, dirt, rough concrete with holes and grass, mud and rocks, and both the climb and the downhill is broken in about 10 short walls followed by shorter downhill sections with a resulting constant uneven pace. The race starts at 5:30pm and for me this was a bonus, it rained all morning but it stopped early in the afternoon, so except for some mud, temperatures and overall conditions were great. This town is just 15 minutes drive from my house, after picking up the bib number I went for a short warm up and then I waited for the start of the race. I didn't have any goal time, just to go out and trying to stay with some fast people until the end. The race started on time, after 1k loop in town to thin the crowd we headed out of town to enter an unpaved road going up and up for the next 4k. Km 2 to 3 is the only constant steep climb, then the next 2k were a constant up and then down, for about 10 times. The downhill part was similar until km 7 when we reached the asphalt road and the terrain was more even. The last 1.3k started with a crazy downhill followed by a similar hill to climb and then the final down section to the finish line. I was with the fourth woman most of the time (a young 18 years old girl) that at km 7 on the asphalt took off, as she was just warming up up to that point, she passed the third woman that was about 100m from us  and finished 1 minute ahead of me. I was very happy with my time and position, I finished just 8 seconds from my unofficial fast pacer (I have never finished so close to this guy), my k splits show perfectly where the hills and the downhills were located: 3:48, 4:16, 4:36, 4:46, 4:41, 3:36, 3:39, 4:07, 3:53, 3:43 + about 1 minute to cover the last 350m.

 This race is considered about 2-3 minutes slower than a flat 10k, the top three african guys finished within few seconds from each other in 30:19, it was unbelievable how fast they were going on those hills.

 


Total Distance
10.50

Easy recovery run. The weather was great sunny and clear skies, I wasn't sore just general fatigue. I started feeling good only during the last 3 miles.

Total Distance
10.00

Tonight I was lucky the thunderstorm that yesterday hit at 7pm, exactly when I was leaving for my run, this evening waited two more hours and until 8:30 the skies were mostly clear with a warm sun. It is a crazy weather, we really didn't have spring so far.

The run was good, my legs are still heavy and tired from saturday's race but after a 5k warm up I started a nice progression finishing at MP pace. Overall a great feeling and at the end I felt much better than at the start.

Total Distance
7.50

Tonight I didn't have enough time for a run, so I decided to bring my running clothes and shoes with me in the car. Once I got back from Rome, in the parking lot of the train station I changed into my running outfit inside the car and went for a run on the farm roads around the train station. It was fun to change the scenery, this road also is a gentle roller not too hard and fast enough to keep some rhythm going. I finished 7.5 miles in 1 hour. As added bonus once at home I discovered that a thunderstorm just stopped. I am really tired of this constant spring, cold weather.

Total Distance
8.00

Fast workout night, the plan was to do 10X1000 with 2:30 recovery jogging. I knew that it would be impossible to finish it, if I was doing it under 3:50/k but I just wanted to see how the crash was coming and how I would deal with it. Last time I did this with 1:30 recovery it was ugly and my time was around 3:51 for six repeats. Tonight the first 5 repeats were ok then during 6th and 7th I felt nauseous and decided to stop there. My splits were 3:50, 3:47, 3:47, 3:46, 3:48, 3:47, 3:47. I felt good, but this pace is still ambitious for my current level of fitness. The consistency was a good thing and my crash was mental before it showed in my times.

 

Total Distance
10.00

Easy miles around mount Venere, I started really slow and relaxed, half way I was bored and started pushing, I finished really fast but the beauty of running without a Garmin means I will never know my final speed.

Total Distance
4.00

This morning my energy level was really low and I had just one hour for a quick run, I couldn't force myself to go beyond 4 very easy miles. I am just tired.

Total Distance
0.00

This morning I was feeling really tired I had no will power to go for a run, even a short easy one, I know from previous experiences that when I go running and I don't feel good (and this would be the second day in a row) I always end up injured or even worse going through weeks and weeks of being constantly fatigued. Mental rest is needed during days like this.

Total Distance
8.10

I didn't feel too good at the beginning but I decided to go without forcing the pace and just trying to do an easy 10k. After 6k I warmed up and my pace was easier and much faster I finished adding a couple of more miles because I was really feeling good.

Total Distance
8.10

Tempo run night, 3k warm up then I started with the goal of maintaining 4:00/k. The first 5k were easy and relaxed even easier than a real tempo, no problem to maintain the pace, km 6 was somehow harder, the last one I felt I was going to die. I wanted to do another one taking advantage of the slight downhill terrain and finish with an 8k, but at 7k my body completely stopped. Finished the 7k in 27:55. 3k cool down.

Overall right now this is my greatest weakness I have no stamina over the distance, I have no problems to maintain some decent speed, in races and in training, but after 7-8k it becomes no longer sustainable. I have to work on that, doing more miles and longer intervals.

Total Distance
8.10

Different route tonight, I changed in my running clothes in the car at the train station parking and went for a run along the railways for a few kms and then in the open countryside. 13k total. I went progressively faster but I was still feeling the effect of the fast tempo done yesterday. It was really refreshing changing route and scenery. Surprisingly there were lots of people running, walking and biking on that isolated road.

Total Distance
6.20

Easy run, tomorrow morning I will attempt a fast workout.

Total Distance
6.20

I had one hour this morning before leaving for a trip for the whole week end, I decided to pack as much pain as possible in the available time. I decided to do an 8X400 uphill with 500m recovery going back down. I went to a different hill from last time because this stretch of road is completely in the shade. I didn't know what to expect and I didn't want to die right from the beginning for this reason I started really slow and then I finished progressively faster, the last one was "half cheating" because I did it on a flat section going back to the car. These were my splits: 94, 97 (it was easy), 93 (this is better but still on the easy side), 91, 89, 87, 85 (next time I will definitively target 85-87) and 80 for the flat one. Good run I don't think I will be able to run in the next two days.


Total Distance
0.00

No time to run.

Total Distance
0.00

Travelling back home, no time to run. Summer is officially here to stay.

Total Distance
8.10

Another failed run, I thought after two days of (stressfull) rest I would be able to push 4:00/k for 7-8k, but it didn't work as expected. It was warm tonight, I warmed up for a couple of kms and then I started: 4:03, 3:57, 3:58, 4:01 were my splits, but after 4 kms I gave up. I did another couple of kms just to mentally cool down and then I was OK again and I went progressively faster and finished the last km in 3:46/k. This shows how I have to work on my mental part or maybe I am just a little bit tired from the rest of my life. I still did a 5k at a LT pace.

Total Distance
8.10

Easy run with some fast kms at the end. It was fun and hot, summer it is definitively here.

Total Distance
8.10

Tonightat 7pm it was really hot, in spite of the weather my run was pretty good and I finished with a nice progression. Run near the train station.

Total Distance
7.00

10X400 w/ 200m recovery jog, tonight it was still hot at 7:30pm, I did a short warm up to wake up my legs and then I started. These were my splits: 85, 81, 80, 77, 79, 80, 81, 79, 81, 80. The first one was a little bit too conservative and then I was on fire until #5 when I thought I could maintain sub-80 easily. During #6 and #7 I couldn't go sub-80 in spite of going all out. #8 was a surprise that I paid during #9 and finished with a good 80. Overall I was pleased by my splits, I wanted to maintain my AP around 80 seconds and I did it. If it was a little bit cooler I could have done a little bit better especially in the last five.

Total Distance
6.20

This week it will be my last relaxing week, running-wise, from july I will try to increase my mileage and I will start introducing more marathon pace runs. After two days of  "forced rest" due to a wedding and lots of relatives around, tonight it was a nice progressive run with the last 3k at HMP (4:00/k) and the last one at 5k pace (3:37/k).

Total Distance
8.10

Same as yesterday started slow and finished the last 4k faster into the 10k territory, I am feeling good and the weather, cooler and windy is just great.

Total Distance
4.50

Total Distance
6.20

Not enough time to run these days, I am too busy at work. I hope this forced rest will pay off for the race next saturday.

Total Distance
3.10

Easy run, this week is finally over.

Race: Maratonina di Bolsena (5.717 Miles) 00:37:09, Place overall: 55, Place in age division: 9
Total Distance
7.50

This was the first bad race of the year. The race started at 7pm in a town, Bolsena, in front of the Bolsena lake. The weather was great, cool breeze and 20°C, and overall I was feeling relaxed and ready to go. I wanted to run well in terms of competion, the race has one big climb and short nasty rollers, my overall goal was trying to stay with a couple of guys that were slightly faster than me during the last two races and finish around 35:50-36:10. We started on time, the first 3k were flat and I was doing fine following my unofficial pacers at 3:47/k. We did a couple of kms of climb with lots of switchbacks, I was still on their heels but usually going uphill I feel stronger, today it was not the case. When we entered the rollers, 2k of ups and downs, I was done I started loosing ground and on the downhill I was passed by at least 10 people as I was a roadkill. The last k was just painful and I wanted to be done already. Even at the end I tried my best to finish with 36:xx but didn't happen. I am not sure what was my problem today, for sure I haven't done many kms during the last 3 weeks, and this week at work was really stressfull. I have no clear answer, I was not giving up and I was determined until the end, but somehow by legs and my breathing were working much harder than they should. I will start from here my summer training and see what happens.

Total Distance
6.20

Easy recovery run. My legs are somehow ok, just general fatigue.

To summarize this half year of running, the only disappointing part is my mileage that is below my overall goal of 2400 miles for the year. I had some really good races and I hit many great workouts, I have just to be more consistent and keep my mileage higher. My greatest goal for the rest of the year is to PR again in the half in september or in october, finish a flat 10k race under 40 minutes, and trying to PR in the marathon in Florence at the end of november.

Total Distance
5.00

Easy miles, I started really slow and finished at HM pace. I am feeling recovered from last saturday. The weather was still great 20°C at 7pm it's just great for this time of the year.

Total Distance
10.00

I started with an easy 5k as a warm up, then the 5k tempo at 4:00/k. During the first 3k I was exactly on pace, the last 2k were fun, I opened the throttle and finished the last 2k at 3:55/k. Overall 3:55 is closer to the 10k pace, I have to lower my expectations and run more km at slower pace (4:05/k is more reasonable). I finished with a 6k cool down and half mile walking to enjoy the cool night breeze.

Total Distance
10.50

Tonight I used my recovery run to help a friend of mine, much slower than me, to do his tempo run. He really wants to finish a HM faster than 2 hours, and his 10k time is really fast compared to his 2:04 HM time. We did an 8 miler at 5:40/km (about a 2:00 HM) and he had no problem to finish it with the last k at 4:50/k. He was really happy and quite surprised about the outcome, I knew that with good pacing he would be able to do it. After leaving him I added 4 more km to pile up some more miles.

Total Distance
8.10

After a 2k warm up I started a 10X800, stopped after completing 4 of them because my left hamstring was really tight. I attempted #5 but I stopped after 200m. I finished with a slow run.

I don't feel much pain while running slowly, it could be the sign that I have to increase my mileage with slow runs and reduce the intensity a little bit. It was a perfect evening for a run, cool weather and a light breeze.

Total Distance
7.00

I wanted to run 10 easy miles but at 7 I was really tired.

Total Distance
13.10

Easy run to finish this week with 60 miles (59.9) I was tired and this morning was hot already when I started at 8am.

Total Distance
5.00

Five easy miles. 

Total Distance
1.00

Yep, just one mile, I started for more, but after 2k from my car, I felt totally exhausted, I slowly walked back to the car enjoying the light rain and the cool temperatures. I just didn't feel good and a rest day would be more beneficial than keep going risking to get injured. My left hamstring injury is almost gone, I really have to dig with my fingers to find the spot, so overall I have just to relax and try to listen to my body.

Total Distance
13.10

I started at 7:25pm and decided to finish when it was too dark to keep going, once I was at 21.5k at 9:20pm I decided to stop and walk the remaining 800m to the car. I didn't have any pressure, I didn't want to hit a particular pace, just miles. The weather these days is crazy, every afternoon at 4pm there is passing thunderstorm, cooling down the temperatures and making running in july really pleasant. My hamstring pain is almost gone.

Total Distance
10.00

Another stormy evening, third day in a row, I didn't get wet but cooler temperatures and strong wind made the run really enjoyable.

Total Distance
12.00

Easy miles after a huge thunderstorm left 3km of the road full of mud, dirt, rocks and trees. Temperatures were pleasant just humidity was really high.

Comments
From Josh E on Fri, Jul 12, 2013 at 19:13:31 from 75.169.31.22

Every time I read your posts, I dream of the wonderful places you run. Even in the mud, dirt, rocks and tree limbs, I am sure it is so beautiful to be outside and running.

Total Distance
5.00

Easy miles.

Total Distance
5.00

Another easy run.

Race: Woman in trail (7 Miles) 01:14:27, Place overall: 17
Total Distance
7.50

This race has the goal to promote running among women, usually around here in your standard race women represent 20% of the whole field. In this race the race fee for women is 8 euros vs 10 euros for men, and basically all the women through the age group prizes will receive something (most of the prizes are really valuable, like gift cards from different retailers). Besides that it is a tough, hard core race that still recruits more than 150 people each year and this year the % of women approached 40%, meaning that it was a big success.

The course is brutal, just steep uphill then steep down hill and again and again (800m total altitude change) on a single track rocky/root infested trail.

My goal was to go out hard and keep it that way until the end. My splits per km say it all:

3:33, 4:09, 6:02, 13:27 (that was a long walk on four limbs up to the top of the hill), 8:18, 4:59, 4:41, 8:01, 6:38, 6:27, 6:09, 7:24 (for the last 0.3Km). When a single k it takes longer than 3k combined there is something really "funny" about a race, the race director did an incredible job on some steep hills digging  "holes" in the trail to improve the footing, but the race still remained incredibly hard. The course is really scenic because is completely in the shade of beatiful trees around the tallest peak around (1200m above sea level). In a few days they will post in the same website linked above the pictures that describe much better the beauty of this course. Overall for me a great race on a cool sunday morning.

Comments
From Josh E on Mon, Jul 15, 2013 at 07:27:20 from 75.169.31.22

Sounds like a lot of fun, though a snarly root infested trail doesn't seem the most likely candidate to attract women to the sport. Trail races are wonderful in that no matter how brutal, you come away grinning from ear to ear.

From Camillo on Tue, Jul 16, 2013 at 14:44:28 from 95.235.226.58

Josh,

hard uphill races are considered the only real ones around here. There are at least 3 or 4 of "uphill" regional, provincial and national championships on road and on trail in the next few weeks and for this reason this race was crowded (about 150 people, with about 50 women). Many people used this race as a training run for the upcoming challenging race (the winner did the course twice, no stop). But you were absolutely right this race was a lot of fun.

Total Distance
5.00

I am just tired from yesterday, 8 easy km, my quads are still sore.

Total Distance
8.10

Except for a few downhill sections my legs were much better and I was going faster going uphill. Tomorrow it will be another easy run with some more km, on thursday I will resume some more regular training.

Total Distance
6.20

Easy run for 8k then I really pushed into the HM rhythm for the last 2k, my legs responded, I will try a more structured tempo run tomorrow night.

Total Distance
10.00

Tempo run night, 4k to warm up and I was already wet from the humidity, we had a big thunderstorm right after lunch that left the ground full of water. I started with the tempo shooting for a slower time, between 4:05-4:10/k, hoping that I would be able to sustain it for a 10k, the first 3 k were great, right on pace and easy, then on the next slightly downhill k I realized I couldn't push any faster and I had already reached my top speed, my quads were still useless, next one was slightly uphill and I did a good 4:04 then the last two slightly downhill it was a battle and at km 7 I stopped. I did 7k exactly in 29 minutes, I was hot and my legs were still shot from sunday race. I finished with an easy 5.5k cool down jog back to the car.

Total Distance
5.50

I was really tired tonight, after a 2k warm up I took a 200m short walk just to reset the system, with more energies I started again and finished 9 k.

A nice video about last sunday trail race has been posted on you tube.

Total Distance
10.00

After a slow, slow, slow warm up I started a series of 6X800 on a uphill section of the road completely in the shade, I traded the uphill with cooler temperatures and somehow it worked. To recover I jogged down the hill for the same distance. During the warm up I ventured in the full sun and at 9:00 was already unbearable. These were my splits uphill 3:19, 3:15, 3:16, 3:11, 3:14, 3:13 AP 3:14. The first three were controlled because after last night slow run I had doubts I could go fast but with the perspective of just three left I was really comfortable going faster. A couple of easy kms to bring the temperatures down.

Total Distance
3.10

Rest day, just an easy 5k to kill some time at the beach.

Total Distance
7.00

Nice progression run, I started really easy and then cruised into HM pace during the last 4k, really fun run.

Total Distance
10.00

Tempo run night, I warmed up for 2.5k then I started, goal pace was between 4:05-4:10/k for 7-10k. After 9k in 37:03 I was done, I could have struggled for one more km but there was no way I could have finished 10k under 41 minutes. I jogged until 10 miles for the cool down. Tonight at least I went much longer keeping a decent HM pace.

Total Distance
10.00

Easy miles on a cool evening, next few days it will be hot and miserable.

Total Distance
7.00

Fast workout night. 6k warm up then 10X200. These were the splits: 36.95 40.44 36.91 37.9 36.33 37.79 35.78 37.89 37.92 37.91 AP 37.58. 2k cool down, overall a good workout.

Total Distance
0.00

No run, long hours at work before my vacation.

Total Distance
10.00

I went running at 5pm along a stretch of the road completely in the shade. In spite of the high temperatures everywhere else, there it was nice and cooler. I decided to do a series of uphill 1k repeats with 1.05k recovery down. These were my splits 3:53, 3:57, 3:52, 3:57, 3:58, 3:57, 3:53 AP 3:55. My target time was 4:00/k, 3:55/k was more like a 10k pace. At the end I was really tired and done.

Total Distance
7.00

Easy miles with a slow progression, the first 8k were at jogging pace, my legs were still tired from last night, the last 3.2k I went progressively faster into MP and then HMP.

It was really hot, my shoes were wet and dripping water at the end.

Comments
From Josh E on Fri, Aug 02, 2013 at 21:00:45 from 75.169.31.22

sei tu che mi manchi

Total Distance
3.10

Total Distance
3.80

Total Distance
3.00

Total Distance
3.00

Total Distance
6.20

Total Distance
4.60

Total Distance
14.50

Total Distance
2.20

Total Distance
1.00

Total Distance
4.00

Total Distance
13.00

I am back from 2 weeks of vacation in a small village (200 people during the winter) in the foothills of Mount Majella in central Italy. No internet connection, limited cell phone service and just uphill, downhill trails and a 25m swimming pool. It was cool and at night frankly cold. Most of my miles in the last 2 weeks were just fast hike on some incredibly steep terrain, a typical 3 miler was a 2 hour trip 1 hour and 45 minutes up and 1 hour and 15 minutes down climbing 1200 meters.

Overall it was fun, I also I did some consistent swimming, something I haven't done in a while.

I am back home now and tomorrow I will be back to work. This morning it was an easy 7.5 miler trying to get used to normal running on a flat terrain.

PM 9.5 k to pile up some easy extra miles.

Total Distance
10.00

Easy miles to restart my normal weekly schedule.

Total Distance
2.00

I got a stomach bug I went running but I stopped after 2 slow miles, I was feeling dizzy.

Total Distance
10.00

Tonight I had a friend who wanted to push the pace, but it was not comfortble with my tempo plan. We a modified version instead going steady at 4:05/k for 8k, we would do a 4X2000m with 1k recovery trying to do the first 1000m at 4:05 and the second k 5-10" faster. We did a short uphill 3k warm up and then we started. These were our splits 4:13_4:06, 4:04_3:53, 4:07_3:55, 4:03_3:54, I was quite pleased because I was not all out and I am convinced that I can do a tempo run for the same distance at 4:00/k. We finished with a couple of easy kms. At 7pm in the shade was still humid and hot.

Total Distance
13.00

Holiday run, with three running friends we went to the beginning of a rolling trail going mid-mountain on the crater around Vico lake. We went easy and finished the 15.4 k trail in about 1:30minutes.

Easy 6.5 k at night to put some more miles.

Total Distance
8.00

Easy 8 miler in the afternoon under a scorching sun. A typical character building run and nothing else.

Total Distance
10.00

Unusual fast workout on a hot saturday morning. I wanted to resume my 2 fast workouts per week and this was the only way for this week. I drove to the lake at 8am and most of my route was still in the shade and would be mostly in the shade for the next hour. I could tell that the air was already warm and full of dust, in a few weeks the hazelnut harvest will start and most of the farmers started prepping the soil under the hazelnut trees making giant dust clouds. I warmed up for 3.8 k really slow and then I started. I didn't want to kill myself and most importantly I wanted to finish 12X400 with 200m recovery without bailing out halfway. The first 2 repeats were 88 and 86 just to test whether I could hold the 85" "easily" and then I just went through until the end. These were my remaining splits 82, 85, 80, 85, 85, 86, 85, 87, 84, 85 AP 84.88. I have done better over 10 repeats but today it was more important consistency. I finished with a 5k cooldown (I was overheating by then under the sun high in the sky) and I was really down. Highest mileage week of the year considering that I have done most of the miles in 6 days.

Total Distance
10.00

At the beginning I was still tired from last week and yesterday total rest didn't help. The first few miles were really hard and slow then things went progressively better and it was some sort of an unplanned progressive run.

Total Distance
7.50

I have to say it was a great evening run, the temperatures are much cooler than the last few days, thanks to a big passing thunderstorm, but most importantly I am feeling good about my running. With a friend of mine we decided to do a relaxed run under 5:00/k and after the 1st km warm up we hit easily 4:40-4:50/k for the next 9k and then we did 5X200m strides at 4:00/k recovering for the next 200m at 4:50/k. We finished 12k at what would be a good MP and it was really easy, I have never felt a run like this so easy. Last year at this time I was struggling doing any training at any speed. I really appreciate right now the last 9-10 months of uninterrupted training.

Total Distance
10.00

When I started I was running into a thunderstorm and much cooler temperatures, after 3k it was already done, water everywhere and much cooler than when I started. Tonight I did a 3X3000 at HMP with 500m recovery jog. My target pace was 4:00/k. The three sets were uneventful, I never struggled to maintain the pace and I was always faster during the last k. These were my times: 11:53, 11:57, 11:49.  The last k of the last set was almost all out, I could have done a couple of more kms if had kept my pace under control. A great running evening.

Comments
From Josh E on Wed, Aug 21, 2013 at 13:56:13 from 205.235.104.4

Nice run Eugenio. Hope you had a wonderful ferragosto.

Total Distance
8.00

This is the usual hard run, the run after a fast workout. There is no glory in a slow training run on tired legs, are just miles in and sometimes it is hard to convince yourself that it still will be useful for something. At the end of 13.1k I was still happy about what I have done tonight, I didn't think it would be possible at the start.

Total Distance
8.50

Easy miles, the first half was uphill for 300m then the same route back downhill. I went at 4pm when it was still warm but a light breeze made it almost perfect.

Total Distance
8.00

The right ankle I sprained on august 15 is still half swollen and sore, I decided to avoid a fast workout this morning hoping to speed up the healing process. 8 easy miles around the lake.

Total Distance
2.00

Two easy miles to give some rest to my sprained ankle.

Total Distance
10.00

Fast workout night, 10x400 with 200m recovery. I did this workout a few months ago averaging 80 seconds, I wanted to see if I was still there or (more probably) a little bit behind considering that a few weeks ago I did 84" and it was not easy. The first six repeats were on target 78, 81, 78, 80, 81, 82 then I was done, my right ankle was sore and my legs were heavy, I finished trying to maintain 85 as upper limit with 85, 85, 86, 85. Average pace was 82,1 closer to 80, but I still have work to do. I kept running into the night until I hit 10 miles, I was surprised that my legs after 2k of a slow jog got some life back in them and I moved at decent pace during the last 4k.

Total Distance
10.00

Ten easy recovery miles until il was dark at around 8:30 pm, in about 10 days I will abandon my summer running ground to retreat to the same boring 1.1k loop in the industrial area in town. I am actually looking forward to that, last winter I built a solid training there managing to do 2 hard workouts per week.

Total Distance
7.00

Easy miles, I stopped at 7 miles because my right ankle was a little too sore.

Total Distance
8.00

Another run before it was too dark to continue. Tonight I started really slow and then I finished fast, my goal was not to tax my legs too much and trying to relax. This should be my micro taper before sunday race.
 

Total Distance
6.00

Easy miles around mount Venere with an old friend, it was nice to run with someone.

Total Distance
3.10

Easy miles just to have some blood flowing in my legs.

Race: Trofeo delle 7 contrade (7.767 Miles) 00:50:37, Place overall: 59, Place in age division: 12
Total Distance
15.00

Today I had a good reason to celebrate, 10 years ago on september 1st 2003 I decided to cross the line and started training for my first race, the Thanksgiving turkey run in City creek canyon. I was running during the winter and biking during the summer during the previous three years, but that day I decided to be a runner and use the bike as a crosstraining tool. At that time I was logging my miles on a paper calendar until january 1st 2005, when I made an Excel file, that I am still using, where I recorded all my mileage. At that time I thought it was very difficult to be consistent in my training during all 4 seasons, but surprisingly enough I am still here. Since 2005 I logged 17995 miles, I have done lots of races in US and in Italy, and I don't know if it's good or bad, but right now I am in the best running shape of my all life. I was blessed with a really good health with only two major injuries, the first one in 2005 when after Des news marathon I had a (stress) fracture of the second toe in my right foot, in about 2 months I was back on the road. The second injury was last year, with bilateral plantar fascitis/calcaneal spurs, this one never stopped my running but made my all life really uncomfortable. I have never lost my running motivation I had highs and lows but running was always my safe refuge where to go when life presented challenges. More miles and more races are in store for the future.

Today's race was a perfect way to celebrate.

This race is long 12.85k, but this year there was a major celebration on the main piazza so the organizers had to cut it short at about 12.5k. It is a fast 10k (flat with some small rollers) followed by a 2.5k steep climb in the old part of the town. My only plan was to go out hard, not all out and see if I could finish at 4:00/k without killing myself. I ended up not killing myself but 37 seconds too slow, the last climb during the last km killed my desire to stay on pace. I need some work before 4:00/k will be my HM pace.

PM 7 easy miles tonight to keep celebrating 10 years of running.

Comments
From Josh E on Tue, Sep 03, 2013 at 10:52:22 from 205.235.104.4

Tanti auguri on ten years of running! It is hard to stay consistent and weather the lows. With ten years behind you and feeling your fastest now, that 4:00/k half marathon goal will come down soon.

Also, great race! The racing scene there is very strong if you are coming in 12th in your age with a 6:30 pace and an uphill finish.

From Camillo on Fri, Sep 06, 2013 at 13:48:12 from 79.43.210.76

Josh,

racing here is different from US, because there are no "casual" runners (more people run, just a few race), moreover you are required to be affiliated with a running club and to have a sport med certificate. Plus this race attracts lots of fast people because has lots of great prizes both for the the top ten in each AG and for the teams.

Congratulations on your great race up to Bear lake, that was a really strong effort at altitude with lots of hills.

Total Distance
8.10

Progression run from 5:00/k to 4:40/k. Considering my latest marathon performances it was a MP run. I was not fatigued by yesterday race.
 

Total Distance
0.00

No run today, left very early in the morning back at night, I was really tired to even thinking about running.

Total Distance
3.10

Extra long hours at work, tonight I went for a short run just to breath some fresh air, relax my body and clear up my mind. Somehow it worked.
 

Race: Barbarano race (3.473 Miles) 00:21:11, Place overall: 32, Place in age division: 7
Total Distance
6.20

I decided to do this race because last year the first edition was very well organized, it is short and relatively fast considering our usual races around here, and I actually like the idea of doing 4 laps with some pretty decent crowd support.
I went to Barbarano at 7pm I got my bib and then I did an easy 5k as a warm up. The race was supposed to start at 8:30 pm but the RD was still arguing with the local police because they did not receive the authorization to shut down the whole road for 10 minutes. You have to consider that this small town has 1000 people, half of them were on the street to watch the race, the town is in the middle of nowwhere and there is no traffic at that time going anywhere. This was a nonsense and everybody, from the local administrators to the runners were mad, many people proposed to run on the whole road anyway because there was no one around. The RD decided to cut the 1.65k loop to 1.1x and have the runners do 5 laps instead of 4. The first 350m were a mess because we were running in just one lane and it was a giant bottleneck, but quickly after the first left turn and the 30m long bump we were spread out enough. The loop was very smooth 350m slightly uphill, left turn, small bump up, left turn, long stretch slightly downhill half of them in the old part of the town on cobblestone, nice and smooth actually, two more left turns, slightly uphill going to the start/finish line. I wanted to finish under 3:50/k, for this reason I took off like crazy, to find some room and to settle in a do or die pace. I am not used to this kind of short fast races so the only way to gauge my effort was to pass the pain treshold and then keep going at that level. Running at night on cobblestone doesn't gives you the possibility to check your splits, your footing is more important, for this reason I really went by effort and not by time. I felt a little bit "lost" during the forth lap, kind of mentally tired, especially because at that point I had to lap several slower people and it was hard to keep moving left and right, while screaming "on your left" or "on your right", but I forced myself to keep pushing and I finished really strong during the final one. I finished per my Garmin with 5.59k in 21:11, I did the 5k in 19:01, 7th in my age group, 3:48/k AP. I was really happy about the outcome, in retrospective, if I maintained my concentration a little bit more during the forth lap I could have finished under 21. In spite of the original mess with the course the rest of the race was very well organized, with the dinner in the main plaza, it was hard afterwards falling asleep, with so much adrenaline still in my body, but it was a fun race.

Total Distance
7.00

Easy recovery miles, I was more tired from the lack of sleep than from the race itself.

Total Distance
16.22

Longish run, with 2k warm up at 6:00/k then the whole HM course around Lake Vico in 1:36 and change, 3k cool down for a total time of 2:04:47. I would be happy just the final 4:47/k AP, but the HM with lots of rolling hills in 1:36 it is a real strong MP training run. In a week two good races, lots of good miles and two long days at work, overall everything was perfect.

Total Distance
7.00

Easy recovery miles, it is still hot, hopefully the last day.

Total Distance
7.00

Another easy run, I was really tired tonight after a long day, finishing 7 miles was already a significant goal.

Total Distance
8.00

Tempo run night, after a 3k warm up I started, my goal was a 10k in 40 minutes. Everything went smoothly until km 7 when I had to stop for a bathroom break. Restarted for the last 3k and finished in 40:13. Without the stop it would have been an almost perfect run. When I was driving home started raining really hard I got lucky tonight.

Total Distance
7.00

Easy miles but I was not tired from last night run, this is a good sign. The real check will be tomorrow night when I will attempt a 10X400. One of the last few runs with some residual natural light until 7:45pm, next week I will retreat to the winter running area, the industrial zone, with a 1.6k loop with wide roads and well lit and boring like hell.

Total Distance
7.00

Fast workout night, I was feeling recovered from tuesday run, but I had doubts. My plan was 10X400 with 200m recovery jog. My plan was to do a  progression to see how things would go, I was definitively feeling better as I was progressing and I was completely in control until the end. These were my splits: 87, 88, 85, 84, 84, 85, 83, 84, 83, 80. During the last one I opened up the gas to see what I could do. The average pace is 84.3, that is a couple of seconds slower than last time but I was really in control and pushing the pace without struggling. I never felt so relaxed at the end of a 10x400, it is time to push the pace a little bit.

 

Total Distance
6.20

Easy recovery miles, nothing special about it.

Total Distance
13.10

Easy half just to keep my mileage above 50/week. With one tempo run and one fast workout per week it is hard to stay above 50 miles. I am just hoping to maintain this rhythm for the next couple of months.

Total Distance
7.00

Easy miles on a warm beautiful morning.

Total Distance
0.00

Rest day.

Total Distance
6.20

Easy miles to restart running after a rest day. I moved to the winter training area, boring as hell, but at least is well lit with wide roads and no traffic.

Total Distance
5.00

Easy miles.

Total Distance
7.00

Fast workout night, 5X800 with 2:30 recovery jog.

I wanted to start on the faster side and see if and how long I would be able to keep it up. These were my splits 2:53, 2:53, 2:55, 2:58, 2:58. By the time I reached the fourth interval I was really working to maintain the same pace, I am just glad I stayed under the 3:00 mark for all five intervals.

Total Distance
5.00

Easy miles

Total Distance
7.00

Total Distance
4.00

Total Distance
4.00

Total Distance
8.00

I started this month with great plans, right now it is going to be a blah month. I have just passed a stressfull deadline, a few more things to do by the end of this week and then I can resume a more normal schedule next week. Tonight I did a tempo run 5k in 20:01, I didn't have the mental energy to keep pushing past the 5k mark.

Comments
From Kam on Wed, Jun 11, 2014 at 10:09:20 from 68.66.163.179

??? Long time no see, Camillo.

Total Distance
1692.86
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