Protected donkey breeds

Last week I had a relaxing run with the group  across the mediterranean shrub near the town. The scenery was really beautiful and we ran up hill and down hill. There were wild donkeys and cows  along the path.

I'm trying to find my motivation and tomorrow we are running around that natural reserve again. I think that running across a natural environment may help. Of course, I have to lose weight :) and try to eat healthy. 

The photos below show the  hills above mentioned.

We ran down hill, next to the red house which you can see in the photo above and then up hill. The weather was not too hot and not too cold. This particular breed of donkey (photo below) is in danger of extinction and we saw it along the path while we were running.

Fortunately, his mother is pregnant  :) You can see her mother in the photo below.  
 

The stamp below shows the Italian protected donkey breeds.

Nice running to all my blogger friends!

Quercus Village

This morning we decided to go the Macchia Grande's wood situated near the Bracciano's lake ( 30 km North from Rome).  We met our friends at 10:00 a.m. although the weather wasn't sunny enough. There were five families with their children and, as a consequence, there were five cars. We arrived  at "Quercus Village" at 11:00 and children quickly went among those high threes after they had dressed trekking boots and long pants up. They followed a path around that forest and it wasn't dangerous because they didn't leave the path and didn't enter caves. They're more than capable of looking after themself. Moreover, they always get mobile phones while they were walking through the wood.

The landscape is characterized by deep valleys which are home to hazel trees and hornbeams. On higher ground the vegetation is typical Mediterranean shrub. Many species of animals, such as crested porcupines, squirrels and fox, live in this environment.

Also very important in this environment  are the pastures, where the indigenous "Maremmana" cattle roam freely. Amongst the large variety of nocturnal birds of prey, which populate the wood surronding the "Quercus Village", are the long-eared owl, the tawny owl and the barn owl. In the humid ground green frogs can be found. 

This place is perfect for running, trekking and biking. The "Quercus Village" is held by a farm, a family business, which give tables, barbecues and other things we need. We brought a lot of things to eat and cooked roasted chicken and sausages there. Very good! We had rosé wine too!

http://www.quercusvillage.com/
http://fsnc.it/


 

The two photos below show all our friends with their children ...

... and children's table.

And then we had coffee.

In the meanwhile I'm not running any race and I've lost motivation and got weight. This month the weather is never too hot and never too cold. Perfect for running! It's a real pity that I'm not running during that beautiful spring. But, unfortunately, I'm busy and I can't run four times a week.

I hope all my blogger friends will have a nice week!

Carbs, proteins and vitanin C

Last week a Dutch Blogger friend of mine, Fran , wrote on her blog that she's going to follow a new training plan.  She'll try to do some things, such as lose weight, add yoga, drink less wine and eat as healthy as possible. That last suggestion inspired me this post.

As you know, we, runners, always need carbs to restock energy, proteins to repair muscles and vitamin C to protect muscles. Of course, we have to put the highest quality fuel into our bodies.

Local farmer’s market offers fruit and vegetables that are often organic and have been harvested in the past 24 hours. Food products from farms near our towns can contain more vitamin C, iron, magnesium and phosphorus than fruit and vegetables that are shipped from far away.  

Farmer’s markets sell food products which come from small farms and those vegetables are not only healthier, they often taste better, too.

In this perspective, if the produce we eat travels an average of 1800 kilometres to get from the farm to our table, important nutrients get lost along the way. I’ve read that we, runners, need: vitamin C, which is useful for cellular regeneration, iron, which helps make red blood cells and transport oxygen to the muscles, magnesium, which helps muscles contract and relax and phosphorus, which helps regulate heartbeat.

Now, I've planned to go to a local farmer's market, situated 25 km from my town, once a week.  Eating  food  products from farmer’s markets makes  improve my speed  J I hope! J

Nice training to everyone!