Itri

Last weekend I went to Itri, 180 km South from Rome, where I met my mother and my two sisters with their families. My mother usually live in Naples but she has recently moved to Itri because there are a lot of  protests in Naples related to the urban waste emergency.
http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/rubriche/english/2011/06/24/visualizza_new.html_813691788.html

Along the freeway I saw a landscape of sunflowers


My mother has a small house in Itri situated on a hill next to the see and she sometimes spends summer time there. The photo below shows the landscape which I saw from her house.

I really had a relaxing time there and walked along olive trees and  through Mediterranean shrub. While I was walking through the valley which you can see in the picture, I saw a lot of British and French families who spent their holiday there. They like that part of Italy and sometimes British and French people  buy houses with garden there.  The two photos below show a view of my mother's small house, her barbecue and ... hartichoke's flowers :)

View of my mother's house



Hartichoke's flowers



Barbecue

The last two days I didn't run although I've planned to run a race on July, 8th. So next Friday I'm running a race with Stefano in Orbetello (Tuscany) and that race starts at 09:00 p.m. I have never run a race in the night!

Nice running to all my blogger friends!

Referendum

Almost 95% of Italian voters have rejected nuclear energy program which was issued by Italian Government. The same voters also rejected other laws:

1. Water privatisation;
2. A law allowing Mr. Berlusconi (Italian Prime Minister) to avoid court appearances.

As you know, Italy's image has recently been damaged by Berlusconi's sex parties and his sexual friendship with a minor. In my opinion, the Rubygate trial has been useful to hide other Berlusconi's crimes such as fraud, false accounting and bribery. That's why he always try to change the penal law!

The Italian Prime Minister ran a Media empire and became the richest man in Italy. Since 1994 he has dominated politics and now he don't leave the position of power. Last week a very interesting article about Italian Prime Minister was published by a British newspaper: Silvio Berlusconi's record, the man who screwed an entire country.  You can read it on the website below:
http://www.economist.com/node/18805327 .
Thanks to my blogger friends who wrote comments on my blog about the Referendum and the nuclear power program .

Once Italian people reject the nuclear power program the Government will need to develop sustainability and improve renewable energy.

In this perspective, this year four photovoltaic stations will begin to produce renewable energy in the U.S. Mojave desert and a new big photovoltaic station will be built in Australia (Mildura). The Australian photovoltaic plant will be built on a 600 hectare site about 10 kilometres south of Mildura and it will generate enough green power to run 60,000 homes each year.
Moreover, there are important projects about the production of photovoltaic energy in South Africa (Upington) and Israel (Negev desert). Anyway, the development of renewable energy isn't  related  to a desert or a sunny country: I saw photovoltaic panels on the rooftops in the centre of  Munich! You can see them in the photo above which I took three months ago while I was in Germany.

On the running front, this month I am not running any race and I've planned to run two races in July. I'm trying to lose weight although it isn't easy :)
I hope all you have nice runs! 

Environment and Democracy

Today Italy began to vote to decide about a new nuclear power program. The previous referendum had been held in 1987 and it brought Italy in the stoppage of nuclear production. Since July 2009 the Italian Government have worked to define a new nuclear power program. Italy is bounded in the north-east by Slovenija, which is a small country where there are 2 (two) nuclear power stations, the north  by Swiss, where there are 5 (five) ones and the north-west by France, where there are 58 (fifty eight) nuclear power stations!!!
On the other hand, last month Germany has decided to suspend its activities nuclear.
In my opinion we need to improve energy efficiency because a more consistent effort to develop sustainability and an increased contribution of renewable energy production (green economy) would prevent the need of nuclear production. But, from a strategic point of view, nowadays Italy needs at least a small share ( 5% ) of nuclear production, although there are the high radioactive waste disposal costs. The world energy demand will grow in the period 2012-2020. Of consequence, the price of carbon and crude oil will rise too!

Today Italian people have to chose about the new nuclear power program!
What do you think about nuclear production? I'm curious of your opinion!

Nice Sunday to all my blogger friends!

Dusty running path

Last Saturday, June, 4th, I ran a 6 km race in Rome in support of a social cause. The earning which is related to the race will be useful  to build a school in Amazon and help children in that special part of the world.

The race wasn't  enjoyable because the first two kilometers of the running path were covered with a layer of dusty and we breathed dust.
It seemed a Sahara track and although the race started at 06:00 p.m. the climate was hot. That kind of track should be wet before the race.
Before we had done the warm up Stefano ( Black Knight ) and I met other three runners coming from our town. The photo below shows our small running group (I'm with the number 8).  

Stefano and I ran the race as training and we choose a slow average pace (5 min./km). The photo below shows the running track.

Nice training to all my blogger friends!

Lists

I'm trying to run three times a week, despite this Spring is rainy enough, because I've to find my motivation. Thanks to all the blogger friends who supported me.  Their comments really help me while I'm trying to find my motivation and inspiration back.
I'm busy (family and work) and I'm making lists because it is relaxing. Somebody says that making lists, where you can write everything to do, calm you down, especially at the end of a stressful day.

How do you remember everything you have to do each day, week or month? A lot of people write lists  but they sometimes forget where they put them : )  And few people write key words on the back of their hands !!!

I saw that young people relied on their personal organizer. Anyway, an old cell phone is good for this purpose.

On the running front, on Saturday, June, 4th, a 6 km race will be held in support of South America's Children who live in poverty and emargination. The race's total gain will be useful to help those children  (school, sports and vaccinations) who live in that special part of the world. 
That race starts at 06:00 p.m. and the running path will be around a beautiful park in the centre of Rome. The following website shows the race's track.

http://www.acorp.it/italiano/acorp_mappapercorso.php
I'm running it as training.
I hope all my blogger friends will  have a nice weekend!    

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!

Easter tradition

Thanks to everyone for the Easter wishes. I hope all you have had a relaxing Easter time with your family or your friends, running, hiking or biking.  I'd like to show you  these photos which I took on Friday, April, 22nd. It's a view of the Civitavecchia's procession which had been held for Easter tradition.  It takes a whole month to organize it and everybody joins in the preparetion. Before the procession began the streets had been cleaned because people white hooded  walked barefoot and dragged heavy chains. You can see them in these three  photos.

The tradition of the Easter procession, which began in the seventeenth century, gives a mystic atmosphere to the town. From a sociological point of view it's important that people try to keep a tradition alive.

A nice week to everyone.

Easter weekend

A beautiful Easter weekend to all my blogger (and running)  friends!

Sore throat

In April the weather is really unpredictable in Italy and it isn't easy to understand what to dress up. I didn't run a race last Sunday (April, 17th) because I've had a sore throat and it will take me three days to get over it.

Of consequence, I'm not running the Rome's "Run for organ donation" which will be held on April, 25th :( My next race will be the Rome's 10 km "Campus Race" on May, 8th.

The photo which you can see below had been taken on Sunday, April, 10th, before I crossed the finish line on the Montalto's race.

I'd like to show you that  photo below which I took two weeks ago while I was visiting the Munich's Deutsches Museun. I post it because I know that our blogging friend  Johann likes model railroads.

With regards to Munich,  Char asked me what my birthday cake was. It was a Kaesekuchen, a German  cheesecake  which is not too sweet.  

A special good luck to all the blogger friends, such as  Christina, who are  participating in the 115th  Boston Marathon along with 27,000 other runners!

Montalto's race

This morning, as soon as we arrived to Montalto (about 130 km North from Rome), we quickly understood that the organization was really good.  Near the finish line there were five tables with bananas, cakes, orange juice, water and other food and drinks.

We saw more than 400 runners who were doing the warm-up around the Montalto's castle. After we had gotten our number we met Paola, from Italian Running Mom, and other running friends from our town. While we were running we didn't see cars or pedestrians along the track and there were pictures which indicated kilometres.  I ran 41.29 minutes  through a beautiful countryside and  along an undulate route. The average pace was 4.20 min./km and  I was 9th in my age group. Consequently, I got a good loot (wine, coffee and pasta). The first 10 of each age group got a loot.

Congrats to Stefano  ( Black Knight ) and Paola  (  Italian Running Mom )  who were both fourth in their age groups! Of course, their loot was more beautiful than mine :) 

In the photo you can see the three Black Knights. That photo had been taken before we ran the Civitavecchia's  12  km "Vivicittà" race on April, 3rd.
Nice week to all my blogger friends!

München

Hello blogger friends! Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! Yesterday my family and I came back from Germany where we spent three days including my 50th birthday. Munich is really a lovely town and while we were visiting it the weather was sunny enough. We travelled confortably through that beautiful town by S-bahn, U-bahn, bus and tram. Perfect! We visited the Deutsches Museum and the Munchener Stadtmuseum which were both interesting. Inside the  Frauenkirche there was a beautiful atmosphere and  we saw the whole town from the top of Sankt Peter Kirche's tower. It was marvellous!

We had the birthday dinner at  the "Spockmeier" which  is situated in the old heart of Munich, next to Marienplatz. It's a typical Bavarian restaurant where we had good traditional food. The atmosphere was friendly enough and the weissbier that they served was delighful. Butchery's products were great. I'm sure that as soon as I go again to Munich I'll have a dinner there. On Friday, 25th, when  we arrived to Munich, after we had walked through Marienplatz and surrondings near the centre of the old town, we went to the Hofbräuhaus which is considered the most famous pub in Germany.   

On Sunday I had a beautiful run around the Theresienwiese where the famous Oktoberfest annually takes place.  Next Sunday I'm running a 12 km race. I'll run it as training, considering the weissbier that I drank in Germany  : )
Thanks again to all my blogger friends!

Half-century

I turn 50 years old on  Saturday, March, 26th!  I can't believe it although  I feel that I'm ready for it.

We have a lot of plans for my birthday weekend celebrations including a trip to Munchen (Germany). The flight starts tomorrow at 09:00. Of course, I'm taking my running shoes :)

I'm feeling so good although I'm about to be a half-century old. I look back and smile at what I've achieved. I think 50 is a nice milestone if we feel we can do a lot of things.

10 km race through the rain

This morning I ran the Ladispoli's 10 km race through the rain as forecasted. I woke up early at 6 a.m. and had dry dates as  pre-race breakfast.They give a lot of energy! On this rainy and windy Sunday there were 1500 runners near the starting line.

After 43.22 minutes of battling wind and rain during my run, I crossed the finish line. I was really delighted with my average pace of 4.20 min./km, although the running path was flat. The scenery along the track was really beautiful and we ran around the Ladispoli's natural reserve which is situated 35 km from Rome and next to the Tyrrhenian Sea.

The Black Knight ran a great race too, but he was angry because he lost about 1 minute along the 1st km after he had started. I think that  as soon as he find the photos of the race through the web he will write his race report.

The photos which you can see here had been taken before the race. I ran that beautiful race with the number 892 which you can see in the photo above. 

 

The starting line before tha race


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

Ravioli chicory and cheese

It's great to run for no reason and just because you love it. Tomorrow I'm running a 10 km race and I'm wearing a shirt with the number 892. I had a pasta dish at dinner, considering that runners needs carbs to restock energy :) The name of that pasta dish, which you can see in the photo, is "ravioli chicory and cheese" (in Italian "ravioli radicchio e gorgonzola").

This afternoon the weather was cloudy, so I and Black Knight will probably run the race through the rain tomorrow.

In the meanwhile I'm afraid Japan can't avoid a nuclear disaster after an explosion at a power plant during the country’s biggest earthquake and devastating tsunami.

Have a nice weekend!

16 km long run

Last week I didn't run from Thursday to Saturday because I went to Frosinone, where I followed the conference about liability for environmental damages. So, today on a cold and sunny Sunday, I did 16 km long run.

This morning thousands of runners (over 8,000 participants) ran the Roma-Ostia Half Marathon which is the historic race  from modern Rome to the shores of the Roman Empire’s ancient port. The Black Knight ran that half marathon and enjoyed it. After he had run the race he sent me a text message, so I know that he did a great race. I look forward to reading his race report.

As request by  Ewa, I write something about the environmental conference above mentioned. The aim of the European Directives has been to create a code able to contain a complete discipline for the protection of the environment. The code contains specific provisions regarding activities for the environment and special provisions about the environmental liability in case of soil and water contamination.

In a global perspective, there's a great uncertainty regarding the international legal framework for the period following the expiration of the Kyoto Protocol, that could discourage investment in emission reduction projects.  

The photo shows a polluted river situated 50 km North of Rome, next to an industrial area. It's an environmental crime. I took that photo two years ago and after the legal protection and the punishment the river became clean.

  I hope all you will enjoy the rest of this Sunday.

Two days away from running this week

Hello blogger friends! I didn't post last week because I was busy. But I've followed your blogs and all the bad news about the earthquake in New Zealand. I hope that  Char who lives in that area will feel better soon (I've just red her post). Moreover, The crisis in Libya seems to be getting further out of control.

This afternoon I was delighted with my run: 10 km at an average pace of 5.10 min./km. I'm happy, it's a good tempo run considering that we ran the main part of the track against the cold wind. At 6:35 p.m.  while we were running on the way back we met the  Black Knight . He didn't mind running against the cold wind  :)

Yesterday rest and on Monday, 21th,  I did a 45 min. relaxing run. Moreover, last Sunday, on a sunny morning,  I ran with the group:  20 min. warm-up and  6 x 10 min. repeats  with 2 min. recovery. I was really pleased with this workout!

Unfortunately I'll be two days away from running this week (on Friday and Saturday) because I'm going to follow a convention  which will be held in Frosinone (100 km South of Rome). It's a convention about the obligations to eliminate environmental damages and water pollution hazards. The speakers will  show the legal framework of environmental protection in Europe in a global perspective.
As a consequence, I've plan to run  tomorrow and next Sunday.
The photo above was taken on January, 16th, while I was running the Ostia's 14 km race.
I hope all you blogger friends will have a nice training..

The importance of hydratation

I'm trying to run four times a week, although I am not running a race this month. Moreover, once a week I'll go swimming or have a thermal bath (spa). The aim is to improve my speed slightly. Yesterday  I ran 1 hour with the group (relaxing run). The town where I live is bounded in the west by the hills and last Sunday I went to run  through those surrondings. The weather was sunny and beautiful here in Italy and ran 1 hour and 25 minutes through the typical vegetation of Mediterranean shrub hazel trees. while I was running fast on the way back I met Paola ( http://www.runnerp.blogspot.com/ ) who is the new Proud member of the Black Knight Army  :) She was running with her girlfriends.

You can see the running path in the image below. The weather wasn't cold and I thought the importance of hydratation when I'm running. I always make an effort to maintain hydratation while running.

I hope all you blogger friends will have a nice training!

Different reasons for having a blog

On January, 28th, an interesting survey was held by Christina , from Phoenix, Arizona. "Why do you have a runnning blog?". That was her question. Most bloggers answered that they love sharing their thoughts and staying motivated. Blogging helps them and runners have different reasons for having a blog. Although I'm not a facebooker, I think that our blogger community is a great way to communicate and the social aspect of it is really cool.

The photo above shows the Ostia's 14 km race which I ran on January, 16th, on a sunny and beautiful Sunday. That photo was taken while I was running the 2nd km. and the Black Knight found the image through the web. Thanks for that Stefano!
After I had run the race I took the photo which you can see below. It shows  the refreshments which was held after the race. Good organization: we had  a lot of food and drinks such as fruits, pastry, cakes, sandwiches, orange juice and tea.

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In the meanwhile, near my country, the Tunisian contagion catches on and violent protests sweep through Egypt and Yemen. Authoritarian regimes in the Mediterranean area are facing unexpected challenges that could rearrange the political landscape in the Arab world. 

This month I'm busy for job and I can't run four times a week. it's a real pity that I'm not running a race this month although I'm trying to maintain the training.

I hope all you will have a nice Sunday!

45 min. tempo run in the rain

I've just done a good tempo run in the rain and while I'm trying to improve my training, Italian Prime Minister is being investigated over his dealings with a 17 year old nightclub dancer. Mr Berlusconi is suspected of abusing his power by trying to have the Moroccan girl. Italy would need General Election next March. In the meanwhile I bought a new pair of running shoes (Asics, Gel - Cumulus 12) and gave my small contribution to economic development :)

Yesterday I received a package from Phoenix. My blogging friend Christina  sent me a nice postcard with an amazing long sleeve T-shirt. Thank you so much! It's the T-shirt of the 21th Annual Midnight Madness 3 mile run/walk. I love it!  I always enjoy reading about Christina 's running adventures and, as you know, I love reading running blogs from other countries. What a beautiful blogger community!

Nice running to everyone!

Ostia's 14 km race

On a January morning in Ostia, near Rome, hundreds of fit runners did that 14 km race. Although I ran with a shoulder pain I enjoyed that race and after 1 hour and 8 minutes I crossed the finish line. We ran one fourth of the track on soft path and through a beautiful mediterranean wood. My loot was two bottles of red wine. Good organization! There was a big table with cakes, bananas, sandwiches, orange juice and tea.

Three hours before I ran the race I had had dry dates and that breakfast was okay! Some blogger friends suggested to eat them as pre-race breakfast and I've learnt that dry dates have a higher concentration of calcium, potassium and iron, compared with dry fruits such as raisins and cranberbies. A one quarter cup serving of dried dates is fat and cholesterol-free.

The night before the race I saw my daughters and their friends while they were skating on ice. I was so glad that they enjoyed skating in ice.

Nice training to everyone!.

Aerobic training zone

On Sunday, January,  2, I had the first run of this new year. It was a relaxing run. Then I ran on  Monday  a tempo (45 minutes, average pace 4.50 minutes per km)  and on Wednesday, 1 hour and 7  minutes. Moreover, I did a gym session on Tuesday, the 4th of January. I was really delighted with my tempo run but while I was running fast on the way back a man asked me something. He said: "Could you tell me an information about the Tennis Club. Is it situated near here?". I quickly answered him: "The next street on the left!" Maybe he didn't understand because I answered while I was running. So, I decided to continue the tempo run.

Have you ever stopped during a run? Some runners sometimes stop during a run to chat with a friend or to take a photo. In this case, does the quickstop affect the training value?

I think that a midrun stop can drop we out of our aerobic training zone. This zone begins at 65 per cent of our maximum health rate. So, running at this level of intensity challenges our cardiovascular and muscular system enough to maintain or improve our fitness. As a consequence, midruns stop reduce the total amounts of time we're in the aerobic zone.

That's why I quickly answered and didn't stopped while I was doing the tempo run last Monday :)
I'd like to know your opinions about a stop during a run.
The photo above was taken while I was running the Orbetello's Christmas race on December,  19.
I hope that all my blogger friends will have a nice training!