Relaxing thermal bath

Autumn hasn't come early to many parts of Italy. What I'm trying to say is that the weather is sunny again and we can simply wear a shirt while we are running. 

I post here below a photo of last race in Tuscany where I ran with the number 37.  I'm sorry Char , unfortunately after I had run last race  I didn't take a photo of the loot :)  The  Black Knight  showed his loot on his blog.  I show the loot next time ... if I'll get it :)

Yesterday we did 16 km long run with a workout  7 x 5 minutes fast with 1 minute recovery.  Of course, this Sunday I  didn't run a race and  I decided to relax with a thermal bath, which is believed to aid in relaxing the muscles.  It  is especially suitable for athletes after sport activity.

This small center with thermal baths is situated near the town and its name is Ficoncella http://www.civitavecchia.net/index.php?cmd=ficoncella 

We have planned to run some interesting 12 km races in Tuscany next months. Of consequence, I'd like to lose weight. At least 2 kg!

Happy training!  

Thank you Julie!

I've just received the beautiful present which you can see in the photos. Thank you Julie for the nice gift and for your kind words. The present is a wonderful Minnesota Twins t-shirt and it is a Cooperstown Collection product. It has the n° 7 on the back, which is the Joe Mauer’s number. I will wear it in your honor Julie, with proud.

Thanks again Julie ( http://minnesotamilage.blogspot.com/ ).

The n° 7 on the back of the t-shirt, which you can see in photo below, is Joe Mauer’s number. Julie explained that this player, originally from St. Paul, is the catcher for the Minnesota Twins.

This morning Stefano ( /http://cavnero.blogspot.com/ ) gave me the official race report of the Grosseto's 12 km race which we ran last Sunday: I was 453 out of 845 runners. But the most important thing of that race was the good organization and the beautiful track. Moreover, after the race we got a "heavy" loot :)
Have a nice training!

Tuscany, Grosseto's 12 kilometers race

First of all, thank you so very much to everyone who commented on my last blog post about salt preventing cramping.
This morning I ran a nice 12 kilometers race in Grosseto (Tuscany), less than 200 km from Rome (2 hour drive, direction north). It was a sunny Sunday, perfect for running through nature and landscape of Tuscany countryside. The track was flat and the organization was very good. I was delighted with my time taken: 53 minutes and 1 second (average pace 4.25 min./km) and after the race we got a nice loot (wine, pasta, cheese and milk) :) I and Stefano are planning to run other running races in Tuscany next months.

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

How much salt should runners ingest?

While we are cooking something we sometimes think how much salt we have to add. If we read a recipe we'd see 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt or more simply "salt". We could read on runners magazines that the loss of salt is connected to other running problems, including cramping. On the other hand, too much salt is linked to high blood pressure.

I've recently read that sodium isn't a big concern for runners unless they know they are hypertensive or have a family history of high blood pressure. Therefore, eating something salty after run can help the body rehydrate better.

That's why several manufacturers have recently developed sports drinks with higher sodium levels. But I'm sure that a salty snack such as black olives or salted almonds has more micronutrients, including zinc and iron, than regular sports drinks.

This week I ran three times. I did tempo run on Monday, 16 kilometers long run on Wednesday and 50 minutes relaxing run yesterday. On September, 19th, I'm running the Grosseto's 12 km race.

As I wrote last week, the Summer is almost over and with the cold weather I could slightly increase my speed. It really is much harder to run fast when it's hot!

Although the end of the Summer is near I can eat fresh figs again. Delicious Breakfast! In the photo you can see the last figs of this Summer. They're black and white fresh figs. Unfortunately, since next week I'll have only them dried.

Nice weekend to everyone!

Can a Muslim woman find a place for running?

There are some countries in the world where a tradition says that girls can't run. For example, in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, girls can't play outside and go for a run. And in the spring of 2005, in Pakistan, girls' participation in public sports was declared un-Islamic.

I think we would have to dedicate races to the girls who live in some countries such as Iran and Pakistan. They're girls who can't know their own strenght.
I took the photo which you can see above in 1990 while I was travelling through a small town called Jayce, which is situated in the middle of Bosnia (former Yugoslavia).
Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is an European country, are a little under two million in number and constitute 40 percent of the country's population (2002 estimate). The modern Bosniaks, often referred to as Bosnian Muslims, descend from Slavic speakers who converted to Islam in the 15th and 16th centuries.

I'm not running a race this weekend and I'll do tomorrow 8 km tempo run around the Oliveto park. You can see above an image of this park where there are a lot of olive trees. The 19th of Semptember the Grosseto's 12 kilometers race will be held. I've planned to run it.

Have a nice weekend!