Good start

Today I will recover on my favourite topics: running. Autumn is a good time for runners, especially in a city like Barcelona as many of the popular races begin. In summer it is difficult to train with the heat and it is impossible to take part in a race because is too warm. When autumn starts, you see all runners back to the path.

When I started running seriously I used to take part in many races. However, in past years I have reduced my calendar to four main races: the Cursa de la Tardor, the Cros of Sants, the race of Sant Anton and the half marathon of Barcelona. I run them for different reasons: the first one because there are not many people and when you finish they give you a delicious sausage sandwich. The second one because is the race of my neighbourhood and I pass near home and I like the route. The third one because it was the first I ever ran in my life and the fourth one because I still haven’t achieved my aim. 

My calendar started I few days ago with la Cursa de la Tardor. It was my third time and I was hoping to do as good as last year when I ran near 46 minutes. Before I started I met Pablo former Espanyol Academy coach and a cousin of my mother in law. It was nice to see them.

I started back in the bunch but soon I got near the front. I looked my watch and I saw that I was going fast for what I am used to. This is a very hard race, with continuous ups and downs and even though it starts early it can be quit hard. I wondered if I would be able to keep the rhythm until the end. Jéssica and Mercedes, my mother in law cousin, helped a lot during the race with their support. 

I passed the 5 kilometres under 22 minutes and I started to think I would be able to finish under 45', something really nice for me in such a difficult race. I knew the second lap would be hard and I decided to join a pair of athletes that were running a bit slower than me but I thought it will be good to reach the final kilometre with more energy.

In the end all came out as I planned and I was able to finish in 44 minutes 15 second my personal best. Two minutes better than last year and nearly four than the year of my debut. I was really happy, exultant. I knew I was fit but I didn’t expect to do as well. After the 10 kilometres I really enjoyed my butifarra sandwich. I think I deserved it. 

The Cros of Sants is my new race. I don’t want to get obsessed with time but I am thinking that I will try to finish near 44 minutes. I know it is difficult but I have to try to keep these good sensations. Don’t worry, I will let you know.

Personal best!

Last Sunday I ran my first race of 2015. As I have done for the past years, I started the year running the Cursa of Sant Antoni. I will say it was my first race since I took running as a serious activity. I remember that the first time I didn’t know where to put the chip and I didn’t get the official time. It was a mistake I have never repeated again.

I was very confident to perform well, because I felt fit. On previous races I had improved my marks and during my training I felt very comfortable. The only thing that worried me was that the night before I went late to bed because of work and I didn’t get enough rest as I should have. However, everything turned out quite well.

Even though every year there are more participants in the race, I was lucky enough to start in the third box. It was very good for me because I didn’t have many people in front and I didn’t have to spend the first minutes avoiding other runners. I think this one was one of the clues for my performance.

My last race with this running shoes

  

I started very well and during the first kilometers I went at a good pace. So good that, for first the time, I past the five kilometer point in less than 22 minutes. I felt so strong then, that I even thought it would be possible to go under 44 minutes. However, the second part of the race didn’t go so well and I started to realize my margin was decreasing, and then tried to reach the finish under 45'.

Despite it didn’t go so well, I was able to keep a good pace and complete the second part in 22.36; that is very good for me. I have to admit that I was really happy when I finished the race because everything turned out very well and I was able to improve my mark. Now in my mind I have the aim to finish under 1h 40 min in the half marathon of Barcelona. Nearly a month to finish my training and arrive in the best conditions.

Sants was great

As I wrote a few days ago, last Sunday I ran the Cros of Sants, one of my favourite races that I try not to miss since 2009. The day didn’t start very well because last weekend we had a lot of rain in Barcelona. Therefore, during the race it didn’t rain much and it wasn’t really cold so the environment wasn’t as bad as you could think before it started.

For me it was an important race because I have been training hard during this months and I hoped to do as good as I did in the Cursa de la Tardor of Sant Andreu de la Barca. Sants  is a difficult race, with continuous up and downs and narrow streets. In the other hand, it is good because you go pass a lot of places that are familiar.

I started quite behind because I met Patricia before the race and I decided it to be with her until the start. Once we passed the start line, I began to run and try to go pass all the people I had in front. I think this was one of the worst moments, because it is very difficult to keep the same rhythm and you are sprinting and slowing down constantly.

Until we didn’t get to the second kilometre, more or less, I didn’t feel really comfortable. There was Jéssica to cheer me and give me some help. I finished the first lap a bit over 23 minutes and I was a bit worried because I knew that the second half of the race was more difficult. However, for the first time in a many years, I improved my mark.

This year they changed a bit the circuit and I think that it was faster even though the last kilometre is hard because you go along carretera de Sants. In the end, I took me 45.52’ personal best of this race and much better than last year (nearly two minutes). I went under 23 minutes in the second lap and I finished with the feeling I could have gone a bit faster. I am also very happy with Patricia’s performance because she was able to finish.

This was my last race in 2014. It hasn’t been a bad year but I have to keep trying. In January I will ran Sant Antoni and later the half marathon of Barcelona, where I will try, once more, to finish below 1h 40 mins. Now it is time to train and to rest.

Getting ready for Sants

It has been a long time since I last wrote about running. As you may remember my last race was the Cursa de la Tardor in Sant Andreu de la Barca and I finished quite satisfied about it. In the next few weeks there are a lot of popular races; some of them very important like the Jean Bouin but I don’t like it because there are too many people.

Before the end of the year I have decided to take part in the Cros de Sants . For me it is one of the main ones in the year because I run near home and the circuit goes through different streets which I am familiar with. I think it is one of the best races and one of the most important things is that there aren’t too many people.

The Cros of Sants is on the 30^th of November and I am training hard to be in my best. This week,since I am not working I am taking advantage to train a bit harder than usual. However, next week I will have to reduce a bit the number of kilometres to arrive to the race totally fit.

Another thing I like about this race is that Jéssica is there to cheer me and she waits for me at the finish lane. This year it will be more special because my friend Patricia is also training to run it so I think I will enjoy it more. I am thinking to run on my own –I am faster than her- or to follow her pace.

The Cross of Sants, if nothing changes, will be my last race this year. In 2015 I will start running Cursa Sant Antoni that is also very special for me because it was the first one I ran. Every year there are more people but I think it is worth it. I will also run the Half-marathon of Barcelona and depending on the training I will try to finish under 1h 40 min, something I haven’t been able yet. Last year I nearly made it, but I exceeded by just a few seconds.

As it happened last year, I still have to think whether or not to take part in the marathon. This past edition was very hard because it was very warm and I was glad not to run it. In a way I feel like trying again despite it means a lot of effort and big sacrifices. However, I think I am doing a good job and that I am in the right direction if I finally decide to take part. We will have to wait and see.

My first race in the new season

This Wednesday I have decided to put my name down for my first race IN the season. I will make my debut the 19^th of October in the Cursa de la Tardor that takes part in Sant Andreu de la Barca, the village where my sister lives.

It will be the second time that i participate in this race. The first one was two years ago and I really enjoyed. First of all, because there wasn’t many people and that is good to keep a regular pace. Once a race becomes popular you find a lot of people and you have to avoid them during a lot of kilometres until you have plenty of room. I remember that you had to go over two laps to a circuit that had a very tough slope near the end.

 Apart from the race, what I liked more was the butifarra sandwich they give you once you over pass the finish. It was really nice. The good thing about this year is that I don’t work that particular Sunday so I will not have to rush back home as I had to two years ago when I had to attend Espanyol’s B match.

Even though I always say the same, this time I am going to take it easy. I am not going to worry about how long it takes me. However, I know that once I start running I will have the feeling I could go faster and try to improve my performance.

The Cursa de la Tardor will be my first race of a season in which I have not planned which races I will take part so far. I am sure that I will put my name down to the Cross of Sants and I am thinking of running other popular races like Clot OR the Jean Bouin. Now I have to decide whether or not to take part in the half-marathon of Barcelona and I think I will.

I know that if I want to improve I need to work harder and train other exercises I don’t usually do. Sometimes I think I should do a schedule and try to go ahead with it but it would take too much time and I prefer to use my free time in other profitable matters.

I like running and I like the way I feel when I put on my shorts, my t-shirt and my running shoes. It is a very special moment that makes me happy. I am looking forward for the 19^th of October to arrive. Come on!

My last ten kilometres

Today I have finished my running season. This morning I have ran, for the second year in a row, the Cursa Dir Guardia Urbana Cursa Dir Guardia Urbana, 10 kilometres from Palau Reial to Selva de Mar. It is a very good race to run fast, because is all along the Diagonal and downhill.

It hasn’t been a great day for me. From the beginning I have felt tired and my legs weren’t in their best moment. However, I have passed the first 5 kilometres better than I thought so I have decided to carry on and see what would happen in the end.

Until the last kilometre I have been able to keep a good speed, but I was so tired in the end that I have lost a great opportunity to finish under 44 minutes. In the end, 44.37, 23 seconds worst than last year but happy because I thought I wasn’t going to do so well.

This has been my last race of the season. This doesn’t mean that I am not running anymore. Obviously, I will continue going out every morning but I am not going to take part in any race until October, probably.

It has been a good season for me. I have improved my mark in the half marathon and I have done quite well in the 10 kms. However, I have to admit that it looks like I have reached my best. Probably, I should train a bit more and do other exercises to get fitter, but I don’t really know if it is worth it. I will think about it.