Orbetello, 7 km race at night

I haven't been running the Orbetello Night Run since 2012. On Friday, July 3rd I ran that fun race  throught  the old side of that special town of Tuscany. The race started at 9 PM, and we had no choice but running in the dark. It was less than 7 kilometres, and the cobblestones along the track, which you can see in the picture below,  weren't dangerous (I ran with blue running clothes and the number 210 on my shirt).

Stefano also ran that race and enjoyed it althought the weather was humid and warm. Fortunately, a temperate wind from the sea helped us while we were running the race. After I had crossed the finish line, some volunteers gave me prunes and apricots. It was better than useless cakes made with palm oil and bad flour, as I sometimes saw after I had run other races. The average pace was 4:20 min./K, as I crossed the finish line after 29 mins and 58 seconds.   Moreover, I got  a good loot (jam, pasta, and cookies), visited a special place of Tuscany, and had a delicious dinner there

Nice week to all my blogger friends!
 

Blood cholesterol levels

Since last week I have had another thought which gives me motivation on the running front: I've noticed that my blood cholesterol levels are high enough. In Italy and other European countries Cholesterol levels are measured in milligrams of cholesterol per deciliter (mg/dL) of blood and total cholesterol level below 200 mg/dl is desirable. At the moment, my cholesterol level is 254 mg/dL. It's so high although I always do the best cholesterol-lowering exercises, such as are walking, running, and swimming (in summer only). Actually, a combination between an active lifestyle and healthy food can help to lower cholesterol levels.
I'm afraid I can't forget to keep my cholesterol levels within healthy limits and have no choice but avoid high-cholesterol food. I need to avoid foods that are high in saturated fat and can raise cholesterol levels in the blood. As it is known, there are two different types of fats, saturated and unsaturated, which can make a huge difference in meal planning. I'm trying to replace foods containing saturated fats with foods that are high in unsaturated fats such as healthy oils, fish, beans, and nuts.
Last week our Dutch blogger friend, Fran, from Netherlands, said (through her comment left on my blog) that she would plan to cook spaghetti carbonara next week. So she reminded me that traditional Italian dish: unfortunately, that carbonara recipe combines cream, eggs, cheese and bacon ... which contain saturated fats :( 

The first picture above shows the starting line of the 2013 Rome's Race for the cure and the second one has been taken on the same day before I ran that Race. It shows an old church with a simple architecture, located in a green neighborhood of Rome. The photo mentioned also shows some runners, before the race, while they were doing the warm-up next to the church.



Just a little bit no more time to show two old stone houses that have only recently come up for sale (In the last two pictures above).
Those characteristic flats face south and are located in a lovely village of Tuscany. The name of the village is Piancastagnaio  and I wrote down a post about that place last year on November 3rd, after I had visited it. Last month I saw those particular stone houses whose price is good enough. I would advise those old stone houses to a friend of mine who would want to own and run a characteristic and unusual "Bad and Breakfast" in Tuscany.
Nice weekend to all my blogger friends!

Piancastagnaio and Abbadia San Salvatore

I am not running the Fiumicino Half Marathon which starts on November, 11st. Although I planned to run that race I couldn't follow a training schedule: since the second week of  October I've been busy for job and family issues and now, as a consequence,  I am not adequately trained for a 21 km race. I'll probably try to run a 10km Christmas race in December which will be held here in my town.

Yesterday I had a nice trip  in Tuscany where we visited old villages. From November, 2nd, the Chestnut Festival has been held in Piancastagnaio and, along its old streets, visitors have had chestnuts and glasses of warm red wine, cooked with cinnamon, orange, apples and cloves. The first photo shows one of the big pots where chestnuts are cooked.

An old square in the historical area 

We visited also Abbadia San Salvatore, which is another small village situated in South Tuscany. There are beautiful old streets,  medieval buildings and particular shops. In one of those shops  all kind of pumpkins are sold, as you can see in the photo below. Maybe those pumpkins hit the shelves because of Halloween holiday. 



Different kinds of pumpkins

That's  a picture  of my wife with a small bat on her head. She wore it with my daughters on October, 31st and it was just a joke :) Although we don't celebrate Halloween here in Italy, a lot of shopkeepers sell some items related to that great U.S. holiday and it  seems that children enjoy the event.  

While I was walking along those Tuscanian old streets  I observed a beautiful sacred image located between two windows.

And what about supper in Tuscany? It was soup of mushrooms! Really delicious!

Happy weekend to all my blogger friends!

Mayor election

Last Saturday my daughter Laura and her friend Demetra had an accident. They had planned with other friends to go to "Subway" to eat something and they decided to go by motorbike. At 12:50 pm, while they were going to the pub above mentioned, which is located next to the port, a car driven by a silly lawyer hit their motorbike and they both fell. My wife and I were afraid she had had an injury but the doctor of the Civitavecchia's hospital said that there wasn't any problem. Her right knee is in good conditions but this morning she still had shoulder pain. Now she feels better and her friend Demetra is in good conditions too.

A well organized 7.8 km race was held yesterday in Grosseto (Tuscany): beautiful environment, soft and flat running path, good loot (wine, rice, honey and biscuits), great post race refreshment point and about 150 runners.  The scenery was interesting and we ran along green fields where we could see a lot of brown horses. The time taken was  4.55 min/km and I did't run that short race with  my competitive spirit because I was not (and I'm not) adequately trained for it. Stefano ran that race as training too and I have just known that he have got knee pain. I hope that he will feel better soon.

Local Politics: Civitavecchia’s Mayor election will be held on Sunday, May, 6th. I can't predict who will win and with how many casualties but I have seen that most election candidates are lawyers and doctors. Consequently: lawyers + doctors = Italian local politicians  :)

That gives me the opportunity to share with you the following joke which is titled “The doctor and the lawyer”:

A doctor and a lawyer were talking at a party. Their conversation was constantly interrupted by people describing their ailments and asking the doctor for free medical advice.

After an hour of this, the exasperated doctor asked the lawyer: "What do you do to stop people from asking you for legal advice when you're out of the office?"

The lawyer replied: "I give it to them! And then I send them the bill."

The doctor was shoked, but agreed to give it a try. The next day, still feeling guilty, he prepared the bills. When he went to place them in his mailbox, he found a bill from the lawyer. 

I hope all my blogger friends will have a nice 1st May holiday!

Monte Amiata

I haven't planned to run any race this month. So I'm trying to maintain my running shape and lose weight and I'm doing a long run, a relaxing run and a tempo run every week. As I wrote in my last post, I've learnt to run on the icy path because this month the weather is snowy. The first photo was taken on Saturday, 11st, while the snow was covering Civitavecchia. That picture shows  the street where I live covered with snow. From 17th to 19th of February I spent some time in the snow: I went with my family with other friends and their children to Monte Amiata, in the southern Tuscany region of Italy. And there was a lot of snow there, as you can see in the photo below.  

The main economical resources of the Amiata region are chestnuts, timber and, increasingly, tourism (ski resorts).

At dinner we ate a wonderful soup of mushrooms (although children didn't like it). I had that soup twice :) Really! The first day the weather was Sunny and children enjoyed skiing and snowboard.

The photo below shows that on Sunday, 19th, the weather was foggy.

On the way back the weather was foggy and there was snow along the street, but it wasn't a problem! 

I didn't run from Friday to Sunday and yesterday I did 10 km on my own at 5:25 min./km. Today I ran 55 minutes slowly.

In the meanwhile, I hope to hear good news about Stefano's knee soon. Last week he was visited by a good doctor here in Civitavecchia.

Happy running to all my blogger friends!

Hilly race around Capalbio (South Tuscany)

Last Sunday I ran a hilly race in South Tuscany through the Capalbio’s valley. The race started at 06:00 p.m. from the hystorical centre of that small town and I ran the first three kilometers down hill along a slippery road. I was afraid I could slide! From the 4th to the 7th kilometer I ran past old farms and along vineyards and olive trees until I came back by 4 kilometers up hill. That scenery was really beautiful but while I was running the last three kilometers up hill I didn’t enjoy that landscape around me. I felt tired enough and I needed concetration. I crossed the finish line after 53 mins and 44 seconds (the  track was odd: 11.350 kilometers!!!) and my average pace was 4.44 min/km. I was happy with my pace considering the tough up hill and … the slippery down hill :)

There were two refreshment points along the track and after the race runners had tea, orange juice and red watermelon, which was really useful for rehydratation. You can see it in the photo below.

Before I ran the race I had walked across the old side of Capalbio where I took photos. There were a lot of English and Dutch tourists. 

 

Yesterday morning I was delighted to receive an e-mail from Molly, a blogger friend, who is coming to Italy from September, 25th to October, 5th, 2011 and she would love to run a race during her visit. She looked for a race through the link on my blog ("Next races in Italy") but it is written in Italian. So she asked me some information. I advised her three races (two in Rome and one in South Tuscany) which will be held on October, 2nd.

Next Friday, July, 29th, I am running a race in the dark through another old Tuscanian town. That race starts at 08:30 pm. (the link of its website is here below).

http://www.ipresidi.it/correndosottolestelle.html

Beautiful runs to all my blogger friends!