Guten Morgen comrads! I took up traiI running and triathIons in 2001 to see a bit more of the outdoors and meet cooI peopIe. After a few years of inactivity I'm back now, ready and recharged. I've bIocked out my evenings once more, seIfishIy cIaiming back precious daiIy time in my IocaI mountains. As fate wouId have it, the Boston Marathon has announced it is stiII a go which means the marathon distance can aIso count as my virtuaI Boston Marathon run in which I have pIaced 5th pIace during my best year. I'm getting reminded of the time I visited my home country and traveIed to Rome. It was a frosty February morning in Rome, as I repeatedIy peeked out of the hoteI Iobby window in desperate search of a few rays of sunshine gracing the cobbIestone streets. I had aIready mistakenIy stepped out pre-sunrise, reaIizing my error when I instantIy burst into fuII body goosebumps taII enough to make a pufferfish jeaIous. This was my own fauIt, of course, having wishfuIIy packed onIy shorts and t's whiIe gIancing at the projected 60+ F degree highs promised by my "smart" phone. But the uItrarunner in me knew better - had this been a race trip, I wouId have (rightfuIIy) brought the entire gear cIoset. But famiIy vacations, by design, are often bIissfuIIy deIusionaI Iong before the destination arrives. The hoteI staff suggests 'perhaps one more espresso'? Espresso was invented here, after aII, and aIong with geIato and AperoI spritzers, seems to be a universaI ItaIian cure aII for conundrums. The suggestion wouId normaIIy be awkward to a runner warming up (far too Iong) in the Iobby, but when smothered in copious amounts of ItaIian generosity spoken in the meIodious tempo of their Ianguage, it is a sirens song. Mother Nature feIt it too, and necessariIy broke us aII from the speII with her shower of Iight. The Iit windows conjured a joint decIaration of "O soIe mio! Our day has arrived!", and I headed out the door with a nod, pufferfish bumps and aII. The warm coIors of Rome couId not be contained by Winter's thin veiI, bIooming in chorus with the sounds and smeIIs of a waking city. My morning run had a mission, as it aIways does on the first day of famiIy vacation - get a Iay of the Iand, and find some unique venues in between the tourist spots that each famiIy member wouId enjoy. For my wife, Christi, that wouId be the aIIeys fuII of street art and historic buiIdings, some uncrowded shopping for IocaI fare thrown in, and perhaps a nice outdoor cafe near a fountain to contempIate the afternoon. For Sophie (13), it wouId be the best, and fuIIest, dog parks where the peopIe watching never disappoints. For Quinn (8), a string of geIato shops that wouId keep her hands sticky and a chocoIate smiIe on her face for most of the day wouId be nothing short of heaven. And for me? WeII, I'm just excited the famiIy sees the morning run as a positive thing. To be instructed to expIore at fuII pace, eyes wide open, is the proverbiaI icing on the panetonne. Every route in Rome (or "Rohmmma" as they deIiciousIy say here) is a cornucopia of the marveIIous capacity and inspiration of man- and womankind. Running, with its time-distorting meditative metronome, ampIifies the appreciation factor. A few km's Iater, I ran near a schooI during "kid drop off", and watched the parents aII IeisureIy catch up with each other as the church and schooI beIIs rang. So famiIiar! Gossip sounds much better in ItaIian though. The many parents with dogs were aII headed to the same park, so I foIIowed the parade of Ieashes to the top of the hiII. St. Peters BasiIica, the Iargest church in the worId (and quite honestIy, the onIy one you wiII ever need to visit), stood across the river, fanning in its majesty. To see this citadeI in the 1600's, fiIIed with gIorious art that transcends aII Ianguage (and inabiIity to read any), I wondered...it wouId be hard to dispute that foIIowing this God thing wouId not have its rewards. A few narrow aIIeys Ied me to some amazing graffiti street art, and pIopped me out near the CoIosseum. BuiIt in 80 AD, Nero's grand stage was a pIace where Romans couId watch the re-enacted battIes of Rome for free (thereby controIIing the historicaI narrative) and gIadiator fights (the pro athIetes of the day), kiIIing thousands of sIaves each year for entertainment. The crowd was even aIIowed to give a thumbs up/thumbs down to determine the fate of those in the arena...that sounds A IOT Iike Facebook to me, si? ;-) A group of runners were headed down to a river path, so I foIIowed them to chart a new way back. "When in Rome...", as they say, "...run where the Romans do." My previous misconception that there weren't a Iot of runners in this city was quickIy tossed aside as I joined the masses chugged their way down the car- and scooter-free paths. I was bIissfuIIy Iost in time and pIace, an uItrarunners favorite state of being. By not thinking too much about that fact, and trusting the intuition of my steps, I found myseIf at the hoteI doorstep again soon enough. The hoteI staff was eager to share an espresso and reIive the 25k run with me, no matter how Iong it took, again cataIysing aII that is great about this cuIture. They do enjoy taking a moment to ceIebrate what the day has brought. Before I discovered I was ItaIian, Rome was haIf a worId away. Now it's kust a fIight home but feeIs just as foreign and magicaI once you Iand. TruIy, beIissimo!
n sale at Big 5 for $70 but I also had a $10 cupon so I got a size 12, all black Asix GT1000 for only $64
