diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 617e55619..5e073d07f 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -162,9 +162,17 @@ iex: compile-all
 test-iex:
 	MIX_ENV=test iex -S mix run -- --mode db
 
+##################
+# NODE RUNNERS
+DYSCOVERY_PORT ?= 30303
+
 #▶️ checkpoint-sync: @ Run an interactive terminal using checkpoint sync.
 checkpoint-sync: compile-all
-	iex -S mix run -- --checkpoint-sync-url https://mainnet-checkpoint-sync.stakely.io/ --metrics
+	iex -S mix run -- --checkpoint-sync-url https://mainnet-checkpoint-sync.stakely.io/ --metrics --discovery-port $(DYSCOVERY_PORT)
+
+#▶️ checkpoint-sync.logfile: @ Run an interactive terminal using checkpoint sync with a log file.
+checkpoint-sync.logfile: compile-all
+	iex -S mix run -- --checkpoint-sync-url https://mainnet-checkpoint-sync.stakely.io/ --metrics --log-file ./logs/mainnet.log
 
 #▶️ checkpoint-sync.logfile: @ Run an interactive terminal using checkpoint sync with a log file.
 checkpoint-sync.logfile: compile-all
@@ -172,7 +180,11 @@ checkpoint-sync.logfile: compile-all
 
 #▶️ sepolia: @ Run an interactive terminal using sepolia network
 sepolia: compile-all
-	iex -S mix run -- --checkpoint-sync-url https://sepolia.beaconstate.info --network sepolia --metrics
+	iex -S mix run -- --checkpoint-sync-url https://sepolia.beaconstate.info --network sepolia --metrics --discovery-port $(DYSCOVERY_PORT)
+
+#▶️ sepolia.logfile: @ Run an interactive terminal using sepolia network with a log file
+sepolia.logfile: compile-all
+	iex -S mix run -- --checkpoint-sync-url https://sepolia.beaconstate.info --network sepolia --metrics --log-file ./logs/sepolia.log
 
 #▶️ sepolia.logfile: @ Run an interactive terminal using sepolia network with a log file
 sepolia.logfile: compile-all
@@ -180,7 +192,11 @@ sepolia.logfile: compile-all
 
 #▶️ holesky: @ Run an interactive terminal using holesky network
 holesky: compile-all
-	iex -S mix run -- --checkpoint-sync-url https://checkpoint-sync.holesky.ethpandaops.io --network holesky
+	iex -S mix run -- --checkpoint-sync-url https://checkpoint-sync.holesky.ethpandaops.io --network holesky --discovery-port $(DYSCOVERY_PORT)
+
+#▶️ holesky.logfile: @ Run an interactive terminal using holesky network with a log file
+holesky.logfile: compile-all
+	iex -S mix run -- --checkpoint-sync-url https://checkpoint-sync.holesky.ethpandaops.io --network holesky --log-file ./logs/holesky.log
 
 #▶️ holesky.logfile: @ Run an interactive terminal using holesky network with a log file
 holesky.logfile: compile-all
@@ -188,7 +204,11 @@ holesky.logfile: compile-all
 
 #▶️ gnosis: @ Run an interactive terminal using gnosis network
 gnosis: compile-all
-	iex -S mix run -- --checkpoint-sync-url https://checkpoint.gnosischain.com --network gnosis
+	iex -S mix run -- --checkpoint-sync-url https://checkpoint.gnosischain.com --network gnosis --discovery-port $(DYSCOVERY_PORT)
+
+#▶️ gnosis.logfile: @ Run an interactive terminal using gnosis network with a log file
+gnosis.logfile: compile-all
+	iex -S mix run -- --checkpoint-sync-url https://checkpoint.gnosischain.com --network gnosis --log-file ./logs/gnosis.log --discovery-port $(DYSCOVERY_PORT)
 
 #🔴 test: @ Run tests
 test: compile-all
diff --git a/lib/lambda_ethereum_consensus/fork_choice/fork_choice.ex b/lib/lambda_ethereum_consensus/fork_choice/fork_choice.ex
index 9caa8ef77..44b046ebd 100644
--- a/lib/lambda_ethereum_consensus/fork_choice/fork_choice.ex
+++ b/lib/lambda_ethereum_consensus/fork_choice/fork_choice.ex
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ defmodule LambdaEthereumConsensus.ForkChoice do
   @doc """
   Get the current chain slot based on the system time.
 
-  TODO: There are just 2 uses of this function outside this module:
+  There are just 2 uses of this function outside this module:
    - At the begining of SyncBlocks.run/1 function, to get the head slot
    - In the Helpers.block_root_by_block_id/1 function
   """
diff --git a/lib/lambda_ethereum_consensus/p2p/blob_downloader.ex b/lib/lambda_ethereum_consensus/p2p/blob_downloader.ex
index 4493a4fc0..d5e9de110 100644
--- a/lib/lambda_ethereum_consensus/p2p/blob_downloader.ex
+++ b/lib/lambda_ethereum_consensus/p2p/blob_downloader.ex
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ defmodule LambdaEthereumConsensus.P2P.BlobDownloader do
   def request_blobs_by_range(slot, count, on_blobs, retries) do
     Logger.debug("Requesting blobs", slot: slot)
 
-    # TODO: handle no-peers asynchronously?
     peer_id = get_some_peer()
 
     # NOTE: BeaconBlocksByRangeRequest == BlobSidecarsByRangeRequest
@@ -62,7 +61,7 @@ defmodule LambdaEthereumConsensus.P2P.BlobDownloader do
         P2P.Peerbook.penalize_peer(peer_id)
 
         if retries > 0 do
-          Logger.debug("Retrying request for #{count} blobs", slot: slot)
+          Logger.debug("Retrying request for #{count} blobs: #{inspect(reason)}", slot: slot)
           request_blobs_by_range(slot, count, on_blobs, retries - 1)
           {:ok, store}
         else
@@ -123,8 +122,8 @@ defmodule LambdaEthereumConsensus.P2P.BlobDownloader do
   defp get_some_peer() do
     case P2P.Peerbook.get_some_peer() do
       nil ->
-        Process.sleep(100)
-        get_some_peer()
+        # TODO: handle no-peers asynchronously
+        raise "No peers available to request blobs from."
 
       peer_id ->
         peer_id
diff --git a/lib/lambda_ethereum_consensus/p2p/block_downloader.ex b/lib/lambda_ethereum_consensus/p2p/block_downloader.ex
index 6522fa84a..aa9ae0395 100644
--- a/lib/lambda_ethereum_consensus/p2p/block_downloader.ex
+++ b/lib/lambda_ethereum_consensus/p2p/block_downloader.ex
@@ -66,7 +66,6 @@ defmodule LambdaEthereumConsensus.P2P.BlockDownloader do
   def request_blocks_by_range(slot, count, on_blocks, retries) do
     Logger.debug("Requesting block", slot: slot)
 
-    # TODO: handle no-peers asynchronously?
     peer_id = get_some_peer()
 
     request =
@@ -173,7 +172,8 @@ defmodule LambdaEthereumConsensus.P2P.BlockDownloader do
         if retries > 0 do
           :telemetry.execute([:network, :request], %{blocks: 0}, Map.put(tags, :result, "retry"))
           pretty_roots = Enum.map_join(roots, ", ", &Base.encode16/1)
-          Logger.debug("Retrying request for blocks with roots #{pretty_roots}")
+
+          Logger.debug("Retrying request for block roots #{pretty_roots}: #{inspect(reason)}")
           request_blocks_by_root(roots, on_blocks, retries - 1)
           {:ok, store}
         else
@@ -186,8 +186,8 @@ defmodule LambdaEthereumConsensus.P2P.BlockDownloader do
   defp get_some_peer() do
     case P2P.Peerbook.get_some_peer() do
       nil ->
-        Process.sleep(100)
-        get_some_peer()
+        # TODO: handle no-peers asynchronously
+        raise "No peers available to request blocks from."
 
       peer_id ->
         peer_id
diff --git a/lib/lambda_ethereum_consensus/p2p/peerbook.ex b/lib/lambda_ethereum_consensus/p2p/peerbook.ex
index 96b9c34a9..f417304a0 100644
--- a/lib/lambda_ethereum_consensus/p2p/peerbook.ex
+++ b/lib/lambda_ethereum_consensus/p2p/peerbook.ex
@@ -2,10 +2,13 @@ defmodule LambdaEthereumConsensus.P2P.Peerbook do
   @moduledoc """
   General peer bookkeeping.
   """
+  require Logger
   alias LambdaEthereumConsensus.Libp2pPort
   alias LambdaEthereumConsensus.Store.KvSchema
+  alias LambdaEthereumConsensus.Utils
 
   @initial_score 100
+  @penalizing_score 15
   @target_peers 128
   @max_prune_size 8
   @prune_percentage 0.05
@@ -41,24 +44,51 @@ defmodule LambdaEthereumConsensus.P2P.Peerbook do
   Get some peer from the peerbook.
   """
   def get_some_peer() do
-    # TODO: use some algorithm to pick a good peer, for now it's random
+    # TODO: This is a very naive implementation of a peer selection algorithm,
+    # this sorts the peers every time. The same is true for the pruning.
     peerbook = fetch_peerbook!()
 
     if peerbook == %{} do
       nil
     else
-      {peer_id, _score} = Enum.random(peerbook)
-      peer_id
+      peerbook
+      |> Enum.sort_by(fn {_peer_id, score} -> -score end)
+      |> Enum.take(5)
+      |> Enum.random()
+      |> elem(0)
     end
   end
 
   def penalize_peer(peer_id) do
-    fetch_peerbook!() |> Map.delete(peer_id) |> store_peerbook()
+    Logger.debug("[Peerbook] Penalizing peer: #{inspect(Utils.format_shorten_binary(peer_id))}")
+
+    peer_score = fetch_peerbook!() |> Map.get(peer_id)
+
+    case peer_score do
+      nil ->
+        :ok
+
+      score when score - @penalizing_score <= 0 ->
+        Logger.debug("[Peerbook] Removing peer: #{inspect(Utils.format_shorten_binary(peer_id))}")
+
+        fetch_peerbook!()
+        |> Map.delete(peer_id)
+        |> store_peerbook()
+
+      score ->
+        fetch_peerbook!()
+        |> Map.put(peer_id, score - @penalizing_score)
+        |> store_peerbook()
+    end
   end
 
   def handle_new_peer(peer_id) do
     peerbook = fetch_peerbook!()
 
+    Logger.debug(
+      "[Peerbook] New peer connected: #{inspect(Utils.format_shorten_binary(peer_id))}"
+    )
+
     if not Map.has_key?(peerbook, peer_id) do
       :telemetry.execute([:peers, :connection], %{id: peer_id}, %{result: "success"})
       Map.put(peerbook, peer_id, @initial_score) |> store_peerbook()
@@ -81,14 +111,10 @@ defmodule LambdaEthereumConsensus.P2P.Peerbook do
   defp prune() do
     peerbook = fetch_peerbook!()
     len = map_size(peerbook)
+    prune_size = if len > 0, do: calculate_prune_size(len), else: 0
 
-    if len != 0 do
-      prune_size =
-        (len * @prune_percentage)
-        |> round()
-        |> min(@max_prune_size)
-        |> min(len - @target_peers)
-        |> max(0)
+    if prune_size > 0 do
+      Logger.debug("[Peerbook] Pruning #{prune_size} peers by challenge")
 
       n = :rand.uniform(len)
 
@@ -100,6 +126,14 @@ defmodule LambdaEthereumConsensus.P2P.Peerbook do
     end
   end
 
+  defp calculate_prune_size(len) do
+    (len * @prune_percentage)
+    |> round()
+    |> min(@max_prune_size)
+    |> min(len - @target_peers)
+    |> max(0)
+  end
+
   defp store_peerbook(peerbook), do: put("", peerbook)
 
   defp fetch_peerbook(), do: get("")
diff --git a/lib/libp2p_port.ex b/lib/libp2p_port.ex
index 52f51f8ed..48f5a7758 100644
--- a/lib/libp2p_port.ex
+++ b/lib/libp2p_port.ex
@@ -9,8 +9,6 @@ defmodule LambdaEthereumConsensus.Libp2pPort do
 
   use GenServer
 
-  @tick_time 1000
-
   alias LambdaEthereumConsensus.Beacon.PendingBlocks
   alias LambdaEthereumConsensus.Beacon.SyncBlocks
   alias LambdaEthereumConsensus.ForkChoice
@@ -84,7 +82,8 @@ defmodule LambdaEthereumConsensus.Libp2pPort do
           discovery_addresses: [String.t()]
         }
 
-  @sync_delay_millis 10_000
+  @tick_time 1000
+  @sync_delay_millis 15_000
 
   ######################
   ### API