Running in the dark

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions about "running in the dark". I've stumbled three times on stones and roots while I've been running through the countryside :( Moreover, three years ago while I was running along trail paths I fell during a "dogs attack"!! But I think that running on the road is more dangerous than running through the countryside. Most runners have stumbled on those circle wires which I mentioned in my last post. While we are running on the route we sometimes see those parts of the car which I show in the first photo below. We can also find dangerous wires along the route (second photo).

Running in the dark through the town is amazing! But we would have to follow some suggestions. For example, Julie from Minnesota said if she run in the dark she will make sure to have a running lamp and Christine from Arizona will sometimes run along a street with lights.
My friend Stefano wrote in his comment that Bruce Springsteen dances in the dark and the Black Knight Army will always run in the dark :)
Have a nice running weekend!

Wire rim iron

The question of this post was inspired by Char, from Brisbane http://char-mylifesamarathon.blogspot.com/ , with her post of the 23th of May. She wrote about her relaxed 12 kilometers run in almost total darkness.

During our training sessions we sometimes run along the route. As you know, car wheels sometimes lose auto spare parts, such as wire rim iron. This is a danger! If a runner didn't see this wire rim iron he'd stumble. In this way some runners fell while they were running along the route. Moreover, the problem with running in darkness is that you can't see a pothole. That's why I don't like to run in almost total darkness.

Maybe I haven't bored you with this short post :) Thanks to everyone for last comments and advices about stretching. I hope you all blogger friends enjoy your runs next weekend!

Hamstring stretch

I've planned to go to Tuscania on Sunday, where a 10 kilometers race started at 10:00 a.m. Although this morning was sunny and beautiful I didn't run that race because I didn't feel very good. This morning while I was waking up I felt weak, so I decided to do a relaxing long run. After I had run 18 kilometers at an average pace of 05:50 I did stretching near my house. I did one of these stretching drills with one leg up on a fence trying to reach for my toes. I think that this is a classic hamstring stretch but someone says it may do more harm than good. I don't understand why.

Other runners advise to stand on one leg with knee slightly bent and hold our other leg under or knee. Our hamstring is parallel with the floor. Of consequence, we would have to hold for two second and then we would bring our heel back under our knee. I'm curious to know what do you Think about this. I hope that all you are getting an effective stretching :)

A special good luck to Anne and Amy for their first half marathon :) Have a good running everyone!

Running team dinner

This weekend I haven't run races. Although the weather wasn't nice, this morning I ran 16 km long run. I'm trying to maintain the long distance running. It's very strange that the weather has been so cold and rainy since last Monday. We ran the first two kilometres in the light rain, then the weather became sunny and from the 4th to the 8th kilometer we ran through the countryside. After the rain the smell of vegetation was more intense. From the 9th to the 11th kilometer we ran near the sea. The sea air smelt good while we were running along the coast.

On Saturday evening we had a dinner with the running team (somebody is sending me the photo of the dinner and I'll post that image as soon as I receive it). We went to a small village situated on the hills near the town, where we could eat boar meat. Stefano wasn't there because he had gone to a wedding. For the reason he's angry because he would like to be there with us.

Next Sunday I'll try to run the Tuscania's 10 km race. In the photo below you can see the Tuscania's mediaeval castle and the old church. Near that old town there's a gren valley, which I showed in my post of the 5th of May. It is a nice protected area. That mediaeval city dominates the area, with its perfectly preserved old centre. Behind turreted walls and towers there are ancient churches, palaces, alleys, arches, portals and fountains which you can see in the image below. I took this photo one month ago.

I hope that all you'll enjoy the rest of this weekend!

Rome's Campus race

Yesterday 1115 people ran that 10 km race through the southern part of Rome, near the Campus. It was a beautiful and sunny Sunday, perfect. The track was actually nice and pleasant although the last 2 km were up-hill and this was a very challeging part of the route. I enjoyed the race and the time taken was 44:06 minutes. Stefano is posting a more detailed report on his blog.
Today I ran again. I did 45:57 minutes slowly ... but I ran in the rain. Thank you to everyone for all of your support and comments.

Campus

Tomorrow I'm going to Rome with my friend Stefano and his son. The 10km Campus race starts at 10:00 a.m. and the weather might be sunny.
In the meanwhile, I've posted the link of Julie's blog because she posted her first giveaway to celebrate getting over 100 awesome followers. You can see that link in this page (down the clock).
I hope all my blogger friends will have a nice running weekend!

The Marta river valley

Last Sunday I ran 15 km (long run) and Monday I ran 1 hour and 10 minutes (relaxing run).
This afternoon I had run 50 minutes (tempo run) before it rained and next Friday I'm running 1 hour slowly. I'm going with Stefano to Rome next Sunday where the Campus 10km Race starts at 10 a.m.
Maybe I'd need to go swimming once a week. I'll try to go swimming next month, so I'll run four times a week and I'll swim once a week. As a consequence, twice a week rest.
In the photo below posted you can see that today clouds are covering Central Italy. The image shows the Marta river valley which is situated between Tuscany and my town. This morning I went there for job and that valley does look ideal for a run.
I hope all my blogger friends will have a nice training!

Simple potatoe dish

As requested by Julie I write here below the recipe of the potatoe dish which I mentioned on this blog last Friday.

Ingredients:
2 pounds small potatoes, white or red
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon (scant) dried leaf thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Preparation:
Heat oven to 450°. potatoes cut into slices.
In a large bowl, toss potatoes with the oil, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper.
Transfer potatoes to a baking pan and arrange in layers. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until potatoes are browned.

As you know, runners need to eat carbohydrates, so I'm glad to write on my blog this recipe of a very simple potatoe dish :)

Yesterday was a beautiful and sunny Saturday and I didn't run. We went on the beach where we spent a lazy Saturday. On the contrary, today the weather is rainy and this morning I ran 14 km in the soft rain. I didn't race this Sunday.
Now I'm going to read your training sessions and races' reports on your blogs :)