Used running shoes

On Monday, August, 29th, I wrote a post about throwing away old running shoes. Do runners argue that used running shoes are waste? Of course they don't! My small survey, which I made through my running blog, showed that environmental awareness is developed enough among runners.

Most runners use old running shoes for lots of stuff and don't  throw  away them as waste.  For example, Amy  from Leuven (Belgium)  uses old pair of running shoes for hiking and  Emmy Ann Horstkamp from Munich (Germany) usually donates her used running shoes to the recycle center.

Recycling old athletic shoes decreases the need for virgin rubber and other materials, decreasing the environmental impact of using new materials when building courts, tracks, fields and playgrounds.
Thanks to my blogger friends who gave their answers about this matter!

Summer is coming to an end

On Friday, 26th, I did a relaxing 18 km long run with Stefano who is following a marathon schedule. He is running the Florence marathon on November and have planned a long run every week. We are running the next long run on September, 2nd.
Last Saturday and Sunday  I went swimming and surfing although Summer is coming to an end. In the photo you can see my daughters and I on the beach. I swam one hour while my daughters were surfing and they enjoyed it although the waves weren't big enough. That beach is situated in the Southern side of  the town, five km from my house.

As you can see in the first photo above, that's a particular beach with small stones on the ground. We couldn't walk barefoot on that beach, so I wore old running shoes and my feet were pain free. Used  running shoes aren't waste! Some people  wear used running shoes while they are working in their garden or countryside. Otherwise,  we could find recycling and donation alternatives for  our used running shoes: http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/
Do you consider your used running shoes as waste?
 

In the two photos above  you can see my daughters, Laura and Simona.
Nice week to all my blogger friends!

Blackberries

Yesterday after my daughters had picked some blackberries we made a delicious jam. Ultimately, we only made a jar of jam. Better than nothing :) But the most important thing is that they enjoyed walking through that wonderful countryside. They found the blackberries along a path which is a beautiful place to run too. I sometimes go running along that path because the environment is really great and ... it is flat :). You can see it in the photo below which I took while my daughters were picking the blackberries. If we had had enough time we would have  picked figs too. We will  do this next time!



The running path through the countryside where my daughters picked the blackberries

                    


The jar of blackberry jam which my daughters made yesterday

I've come back in my town and next week I'll come back at work. We were on vacation in South Italy on relaxing beaches, green hills with olive trees and old villages. So we visited a small town where most houses were built with white stones. That small town is called Ausonia and it is very old. It's a characteristic place and I would never thought there were so narrow streets. In the photo below you can see one of these houses above mentioned.




One of the houses of Ausonia (South Italy) which were built with white stones

Now I'm trying to improve my training and I'll help my friend Stefano who is following a marathon schedule.
Nice running to all my blogger friends! 

My mother's birthday

On August, 2nd we celebrated my mother's birthday. She's 74. The cake which you can see in the photo was made with almond and chocolate.

I will be in vacation with my family here in South Italy until the next weekend.

The photo below was taken last month while I was running the first kilometer of the Santa Marinella's race. I'm in the centre of the photo with the white and red outfit.

Since the 1st of August I'm in Formia, South Italy. After I had run a race in the dark around a small Tuscanian town called Porto Santo Stefano, I left my town on July, 31st. The photos below were taken before that race.

The photo below shows the port of that Tuscanian town where we ran.

I hope all you blogger friends will have nice runs!

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!

Short post

Last Saturday I ran a hilly and tough race in the afternoon as training. The track was 9.5 kilometers and my time taken was 45:35 minutes.

The photo shows the warm up before the race.

I've planned to run another race in the afternoon next Sunday. 

In the photo below you can see one of my favourite summer dishes.  If  I were able to eat that delicious meal without bread it would help me to lose weight :)



Ham and melon

 I hope all you will have nice runs!

5 km race on the night

This morning after I had read last Johann's  post about Africa's big five (Elephant, Rhino, Lion, Leopard and Buffalo) I met two couples from South Africa. They were visiting Mediterranean countries and travelling by a cruise ship with other South African people. They were looking for the beach and asked me some information. Moreover, they were trying to change their currencies and I helped them. So I discovered that the big five, which Johann showed in his post on July, 8th, are on South Africa's currency.

Today is independence day for the Republic of Southern Sudan. They celebrates Independence from North Sudan. This is a country that should have golden prospects related to its agricultural resources, large oil reserves, gold, and other minerals. There is a relatively small population too. Best whishes to the 54th State of Africa!

Yesterday I ran a nice 5 km race on the night through the old part of Orbetello (Tuscany). The atmosphere was really nice and during the race I felt good. I was delighted with my average pace which was 4.15 min/km. But the track was easy enough and completely flat. Stefano ( Black Knight ) enjoyed that race although he decided to run it as training. I'll post some photos as soon as possible.

Next Saturday I'm running a 10 km race in the night  near my town.
Nice weekend to all my blogger friends!

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!