our choices show what we truly are

First snow of the season this morning. The commute to Rome in spite of the snow was almost normal and so the commute back home. Tonight the temperatures were just below freezing but it was the cold wind that made the run really miserable. Not much sweat tonight.

35 minutes on the bike trainer. Tomorrow lab retreat south of Rome it will be a long day.

There was some snow on the ground this morning, but I decided to drive to the retreat venue anyway because where I was headed (100km south) weather forecast had just rain. The retreat went well but during our lunch break we discovered that a huge snow storm was hitting Rome. People left work and were already stuck in traffic, my sister called me to inform me that the road from Rome to my house was shut down. We decided to finish our program hoping that the situation would be better in the next few hours. We left the venue at 5:15 I got to halfway from my house in just 45 minutes with almost no traffic and then the nightmare began, I was on the belt route around Rome headed north and to cover 14 km it took almost 5 hours, there was snow coming down hard and freezing immediately. Many people left their car on the shoulder of the freeway and started walking home.

When I eventually left the belt route at 10pm on the highway there was no traffic and I thought that in 45 minutes I would be home and with so much snow a nice run before going to bed would be awesome. I was wrong, I got stuck for another 2 hours with lots of other cars because several truck were blocking the road and only cars with snowtires or chains could still pass on a steep ramp. After passing this obstacle it was already 12:30 am and It was hard to maintain my concetration driving alone during an incredible snow storm with wind blowing hard and almost no visibility. I have never seen anything like that during my seven years in Utah. With 5 km to go two cars were still in the middle of the road I stopped and they told me that the road was "impassable" because there were  snowdriftts 5 feet tall in the middle of  the road. I drove back for 4km reached a road that was detouring the place exposed to the wind but there was no guarantee about  the conditions of that road, because there were several bushes and fences the snowdrifts were on both sides but the center of the road was relatively clean, the only obstacle was a snowdrifts right before the intersection with the highway I sped up, "surfed" and floated on top of the snow landed on more packed snow on the main road. Five more minutes and I was home. I felt really blessed several times I thought I was going to spend the night in the car and many people did that. I got home at 1:15am, I was hungry and thirsty, but after changing the batteries of my camera I went out to take pictures of  the largest snow storm I ever witnessed in Italy.

I had electricity but no water and phone line.

I woke up this morning almost freezing no heating because the power was still out but water was back and no phone signal. I immediately dressed up  for running and went out, all the roads were snow packed and no cars around, I ran up to the lake and it was lots of fun. Most of the stuff was really powder like something that here is unusual, the reason is the cold wind coming straight down from Siberia. I did 9 miles and at least I was much warmer than when I woked up. Back home electricity has been restored and a warm shower was really welcomed.

In the afternoon I shoveled the snow for 2 hours to free the path to the garage and then went to sleep for a couple of hours.

This morning the sun was shining and the snow on the ground was just perfect for another good run. 10.5 miles half of them uphill to reach the top of a hill and enjoy a nice view. Upthere at 900m (I started at 500m) there was much more snow and it was much colder. Running on snow it is something I am really missing, it is a mixture of adventure and the same joy I had when I was a child.

No run today too much snow and ice on the road, 1h and 20 minutes on the bike trainer.

40 minutes on the bike trainer.

50 minutes on the bike trainer.

Trip to Bolzano. No run no bike.

My ADSL line is working on and off, and today another huge snow storm added about three feet of snow to the snow still frozen on the ground. This is really something huge here, there are no official snow plowers just farmers and construction companies are lending their tractors and construction machines to clean up the roads, so everything is a mess.

I went out at 10am with only a foot and a half of snow on the ground and I went straight uphill for 8k reaching the ridge of the crater where the wind coming straight from Siberia was moving huge trees like they were toothpicks. The roads were packed with snow but in some places the snow was piled up and I had to walk in knee deep snow. It was a fun adventure to cover 10.5 miles it took me about two hours. Once at home I was hungry, thirsty, cold and really tired, I had some pizzas and after a warm shower I went straight to bed for a 3 hours nap. When I woke up there was more snow on the ground, to kill some time I went in the basement, I jumped on the bike trainer and I spent on it about 70 minutes. Tomorrow if it keeps snowing I will repeat the same scheme.

Another great running  day in one foot of fresh snow, that was almost powder.

Yesterday it snowed  continuosly for 14 hours and this morning at 9am, the city looked like a ghost town, I was the only one around. I did the same road I did yesterday but this morning I was the first one to break the snow, no cars, dogs or wild boar have been there since stopped snowing last night. It means to cover 4k uphill with one foot of fresh snow it took me almost 40 minutes and then the remaining 2.5k were on some more packed snow but the pace was just slightly faster.

To cover 8.2 miles it took almost two hours, it was really fun. Next few days it won't be as fun as today because ice will be everywhere.

In the evening 30 minutes on the bike trainer.

I drove to the lake (about 3k) to be able to run for a half marathon on a flat road with packed snow. The sky was blue and the sun was blinding, I had to go back to the car after 5 miles because the snow was so deep for abou 500 meters that no cars or trucks or tractors could pass it. Once back to the car I went the same way again for another shorter out and back to finish with 13.3. Overall a great day out running.

In the afternoon 35 minutes on the stationary bike.

This morning, due to the recent snow showers, trains to Rome were on a "emergency schedule" (it means their schedule was going to be random), I decided to go running at 8am wait for the sun to melt the snow/ice and then going to Rome hoping that by 10 the train schedule would be almost back to normal. Everything went according to the plan with the only problem that my legs were slow to start and the snow/ice on the road made the whole run less pleasant than the previous days. The blue sky and snow everywhere was incredible. 7 miles in 1:20, nothing really fast.

No running  tonight too much ice on the roads tonight, after 500m I turned around and went home where I spent the next 65 minutes on the bike  trainer.

Another evening biking inside for 35 minutes, tomorrow night if the temperatures will keep rising I will be able to run outside again.

I went into this race without any big expectations. The last two weeks my training was sporadic and in the last month I didn’t put enough miles, slow or fast, in order to expect big things from this run. I thought it would be a good excuse to do a long run. The race it is just one hour driving from my house, it is supposed to be fast because it starts in the small town of Ferentillo 150 m higher than the finish place in Terni, but I will get to that later with more details.

This morning at 7am I left my house and drove to Terni, I got there at 8 and by 8:20 I was riding the bus to the start. Temperatures were about 41-50 F, but the thick cloud cover was announcing rain sooner or later in the morning. We started on time at 9am and with a couple of friends we decided to do a good run keeping a 8:00/mile pace until was possible. The first half is the fastest part because we loose 150 meters over 21k, but it is just a continuous up and down until km 17 when we entered Terni. At km 19 we said goodbye to the half marathoners and we left the town of Terni to do a long loop of 21k in the industrial area before returning to the finish line. As soon as we left Terni heading south heavy rain started with a strong cross wind. I kept my pace with this other friend until km 29 when we entered 2km of unpaved roads, at that point full of mud. At km 31 we were back on black top but my energies at that point were gone and my friend kept moving at his pace (he finished in 3:27, going faster each km). The last 10k was just a survival run I wanted to finish in decent conditions. I was at km32 in 2:39 and then I finished in 3:38, it means I was really done during the last km.

I wish I had enough energies to finish in 3:30 (along with my friend), but it didn’t happen, I was sore after the race like after any other good marathon, it wasn’t a training run. It means I have to start piling up more miles and more speed. Rome marathon in one month it will be another “training run” I don’t have any chance to hit 3:20 or better on a much more difficult course, at least it will keep me motivated to start a good training cycle for a fall marathon.

Just 20 minutes biking to relax my sore legs.

Another 20 minutes biking.

First miles after the marathon. I felt almost completely recovered, at the end of the run I was tired but not too bad.

Another four miles to try to recover and to shake some fatigue out of my poor dead legs.

Another slow and short and easy recovery run.

This morning I did my third Roma-Ostia half marathon, for the first time as a personal pacer of a dear friend. This was her first half marathon, she didn't train much in the last 2 months, but during the last year she put enough miles in her legs that I was confident she would be able to finish it (although she was not quite sure).

We started with the third wave almost at the back of 12000 runners in this way we would keep our pace under control during the early miles and still be able to pick up people until the end. This race is very well organized and the road is wide, after the first 2 miles it is just a straightway from Rome to the sea, the only "view" are the pine trees every 20 m and the sea far away at the end. But the real "view" was the stream of 10000 runners ahead of us that was really incredible. We kept for the first 5k (almost completely flat) our goal pace of 6:10/km (actual pace 6:09/km), she was still talking and in control. The second 5k was the hardest one with the only "hill" (1k long steady incline) but the time was still good (6:11/km partial time) and her mood was great knowing that from the half way to the sea was "just" slightly downhill and then flat.

The weather improved along the way with clouds and fog at the start and then by the time we were halfway we had sun clear skies and a light breeze.

Next 5k was our fastest one 6:05/km, we took advantage of the "downhill" and we got to the 15k mark still relaxed enough and pushing a good pace. At km16 there was a sad scene, a fellow runner was on the road in cardiac arrest (his face was blue) and doctors were right there attempting CPR, from what I found later he is in good conditions right now, but then it was a sad reminder that even during an incredible fun day things can go bad in a second. We didn't talk for the whole km, then she started complaining that things were becoming more difficult and her feet were sore. I tried my best to have her focused on each km sign visible from great distance and on the fact the we could see and smell the sea. I did my best to keep her pace up, she was slowing down a little bit (final 6k were at 6:07/km, probably 6:04/km from 15 to 18 and then 6:10/km the last three), but her mood was still great, the last km she gave her best effort and we finished in 2:09:14. She didn't think was possible to finish under 2:15, but I suspect that if she did  train just a little bit more she would have easily finished under two hours.

After changing our clothes on the beach, we took the train and the subway to go back to the start and then we drove home. I was so happy for her, she now wants to start train again taking advantage of the spring weather and nail by herself (she considered cheating having me along the way) a good HM time.

I want to start training hard again, adding some speed work, but tonight I just wanted to be sure that my legs are fully recovered from the marathon. I will do some repeats tomorrow or wednesday I will decide later. For tonight 6.2 miles were already enough.

I didn't want to go run, it was windy and coldish, and I didn't feel ready to go fast.

Once I got to the start of my running loop I decided to go progressively faster and if I couldn't keep the pace I would finish with the pace the was left in my legs. I started the first km at 5:31/km and finished the 10th at 4:22/km, with 4:40 average pace. All things considered it was my best run of the last two months in terms of feelings. I need more of these days.

Today we had a wonderful spring day and tonight the weather was still warm without wind. 5 miles in 42:50 recover from yesterday and then 30 minutes on the bike trainer.