Still in Rome on a sunny Saturday

Since last week I have been making a small investment of time in running repeats. And I hope it will pay off next month when I will be running a 10 km race. I have been enjoying both the workouts and the sunny weather which is unusual in February here in Italy.

Although Saturday is usually my day off, this morning I went to Rome for job. I saw thousands of people from Scotland who were gathering the oldest  Rome's streets. They were going to watch the match Italy vs Scotland game of 6 nations rugby. It was a precious  victory for Scotland over Italy in Rome. 21-20 that's the score.
Scottish rugby supporters were friendly and wore their typical clothes, the kilt, as you can see in following pictures.

They asked me some information about the location of the stadium. And while I was talking about the underground I didn't remember the difference between the words subway and tube. 

They were very kind and said that  tube is British English and subway is American English. Of course the meaning is the same.

How do you translate the word underground in your language ? I'm curious!

In addition to the underground, we can still travel through Rome by an old public transport, trams (or streetcars), which you can see in the picture on the right. It is really useful and looks great on the cobblestones through some Rome's narrow old streets. When I go to Rome I sometimes use the transit system, struggling to cope with severe traffic congestion.    
Next week, on Wednesday, I shall go to Naples and visit my mother and relatives. I shall travel by high speed train which takes one hour from Rome to Naples

The picture shows the Frecciarossa (red arrow). They are  high speed trains in Italy which get us from Milan to Rome in under 3 hours. At the moment Frecciarossa are among the most luxurious trains we can find anywhere in the world. I'd like to show this picture because our blogger friends, Johann, always loves watching pictures of trains and railway (or railroad). The picture below shows the exit of the main Rome's railway station.

Nice weekend to all my blogger friends! 

Day of remembrance

February 10th is the day of remembrance here in Italy (but it isn't Public holiday). It reminds us the mass killings perpetrated by Yugoslav partisans and directed against native Italians during late world war II. That ethnic cleansing of Italians has something to do with running as last Sunday a 5 km race remembered the more than 10,000 Italians put into the foibe (See: http://shelf3d.com/i/Foibe%20massacres ).

The race was held in Rome and I ran most of that 5 km race through the rain. After I had run that "wet" race I noticed that my previous workouts in the rain had paid off: I haven't got a cold. On the other hand, I ran with beanie hat and scarf as you can see in the picture which I found through the web. It was taken while I was running the race and shows clearly my happiness. The picture reminds me that running stimulates endorphin production which improves mood and makes us feel good.

As usual, Stefano and I enjoyed the race although the track was tough and hilly. The organization wasn't good enough and volunteers weren't helpful. After the race I got a medal, a T-shirt and a very small loot as you can see in  the picture (pasta and Gatorade).

  

I crossed the finish line after 23 minutes and 11 seconds (4:38 min./km) and noticed that since last month my average pace has been increasing slightly (compared with my previous 5 km race which I ran in January at 5:00 min./km pace). 

The last picture below shows runners who didn't wear beanie hat and scarf while they were running the race ... How could they wear summer clothes while they are running in February? Didn't they get a cold? In Winter, the problem  is before the race on the starting line, when runners are waiting for the signal to begin the race ... on a rainy Sunday.  That's why I wore beanie hat and scarf  :)

Have nice runs!

Cabbage and Vitamin C

I've spent the weekend with my mother who lives in Naples, 220 km South from Rome. First of all, I noticed thet her recovery from femur surgery is going well enough. She sometimes walks very slowly along the sidewalk surronding her house. I was very happy to see that. 

Secondly, I put on my running shoes and ran 50 minutes  through Naples' streets,  next to old fruit and veggies markets and along the old side of the town. The picture below on the right shows one of these old markets located along the street.



I saw a lot of cabbage which is a very good food for runners considering that it contains the highest amount of vitamin C. On the other hand,  if cabbage were to be boiled it would lose about 50 per cent of its Vitamin C. With regards to veggies, I've just left a comment about this topic on Fran 's blog as she shows her weekly beebox containing  savoy cabbage, red cabbage and cavolo nero.

On the way back I had a pizza in Rome while I was waiting the train to Civitavecchia.
Next Sunday, February 9th, Stefano and I will go to Rome once again as a 5 km race starts at 09:30 am.

I have read that most blogger friends are compelled to run on the treadmill because of the weather conditions. The weather is rainy also here in Central Italy, as  you can see in the following picture which I took in Rome two day ago.

Happy running/walking!