Rome Marathon: 3h05'22''

I had declared that I would be happy with a time under 3h15’ but that the real objective was 3h. In hindsight, I'm glad as if I had reached the target for the reasons I will explain later. It has not always been the same in the past: sometimes when I hadn’t achieved the objective, I had a sense of dissatisfaction, which began already during the race. Not this time, running I perceived clearly that I was managing the situation well and that there weren’t the conditions to do much better. Probably this has avoided me a big crash at the end.

Let's go to the story:

17-19 March workouts

This is the marathon week, so I planned a few of tapering, eliminating the Saturday session educing miles of all other sessions (-20-30%). But rhythms will be unchanged.

These are the first workouts of the week:

Monday rest

13-16 March workouts

Training in view of Sunday's marathon continues regularly. I'm not really fresh, the aftermath of the 2^nd of March half marathon is still there. This was widely expected: fully recover after a half marathon requires at least 3 weeks.

Let’s go to training of the second half of last week:

Where I come from - 3 - My first race. Appia Run 2011

April 2011. Already seven months of resumed training, according to the scheme explained here (link). Helped by a colleague, I joined a running club and I'm ready for my first race.

To complete the picture, these are the training sessions of three weeks before the race: 

Where I come from - 2 - September 2010 April 2011

Second episode of my athletic history.

In the previous post (link), I described how I had come to the last act of resumption of running activities. Last because since then I have never stopped again (except for short periods). I did it not because the story itself was interesting but to make it clear that I had not had a previous completely sedentary life and that I had already run for example ( without ever racing) in the past  at 7'12'' for 5 km.

We are in September 2010, I am 38 years old, I’ve completely stopped running for more than a year, about 13 kg overweight and with limited available time. But the unconscious is again sending me another stimulus, without even needing reasoning on the fact that I was overweight for example. To me it's almost a biological fact, at some point I feel the physical need to move. 

Running in Rome

Last Sunday, as described in the workouts post, I had a long slow run, about 3 hours. When I run so much and slow (and for me it really means slow), I almost always  go downtown , looking around, time passes more quickly and I don’t feel tired (this is not correct, indeed at the end I feel tired, but I'm almost back home! ) .

I'd like to share what I experienced:

Wake up at 6 a.m. (I hear a chorus: "even on Sunday”! Eh, even on Sunday, because later I’d like to have time for my family ... I don’t want be short of anything!)
Sparing breakfast: tea, 4 little pieces of bread and jam. Completion of due formalities, dressing, today everything quietly and at 7 a.m. I’m on road.

6-12 March workouts

First of all, I’d like to talk a moment of my next race: the Rome Marathon. Until a year ago I felt totally unprepared for such a long distance. Then I increased mileage by lowering the rhythms and slowly I began thinking I could participate just to do experience. I postponed the decision at the last moment, and so near the due date for registration, the day before the Roma-Ostia I gave the application form to my club. The day before, to avoid having doubts the due date for registration week when the post-race could have left some injury. 

Where I come from

Note to readers: this post is very long, but if you do not have time, just read up to the black line in the middle of the page, then there are only details.

Sometimes I look on the internet for experiences in order to understand the training methods in field, not only from running tables you can find around. A problem is to understand from which level the runner as started. In short, I find an interesting blog, with accurate descriptions of workouts and all other things but the posts always start from a certain point of the athletic life of the narrator. I can almost never understand how he started, how he got to the starting point of his story. The information that is missing in my opinion is crucial. It’s always interesting reading the stories of those who fly at 4,5’ per mile, but I'm not sure I can get to do these workouts, it would not make any sense. Instead it would be helpful to understand how this person arrived at the 4,5 minutes per mile, it is not something that happens in a month! That could be a great source of inspiration for anyone.

3-5 March workouts

After a tight and long race, as a half marathon (link), usually I take a week of recovery. Basically I do the same number of workouts but with fewer miles and very easy.

The day after the race I rest and often I do not even feel too tired. Pains generally arrive on Monday evening and especially when waking on Tuesday.

Now let’s go to the two workouts after the race:

Roma-Ostia Half Marathon 2014

And here's my first story on a race: it is nothing less than the Roma-Ostia  2014, "the most popular Italian half marathon" as the organizers say , a race with a forty-year history today, going from Rome to Ostia at the seaside. In fact, I remember as a child the stories of an uncle runner who not only did the race (which at the time was 30 km long), but used also coming back to Rome racing!

In short, it is the race for excellence in Rome (the Rome marathon is much younger and not for everyone) and also reference to all runners as when you want to understand someone’s athletic value finally you ask, " “vabbè ma quanto hai fatto alla Roma-Ostia?” (sorry, which was your best time in the Roma-Ostia?).

First post!

I open this blog the day before a race, the Roma-Ostia Half Marathon. Between a preparative and another, a doubt about what putting in my bag or which shoes to pick, the fear of not achieving the objective, the wheather worsening , I start to talk about my running experience, hoping to share with those who will read , passion, emotions, hopes and joys that running gives.
You'll find race's descriptions, training schemes, past and the future experiences.
Let's start with Rome-Ostia 2014 halfmarathon: -1 to the race, the excitement is going up , although it is my third participation and the fifth half-marathon ever. I just finished writing the list of things I will need tomorrow and I have still, like any holy race, the same doubts:
- jersay or thermal shirt+jersay?
- gloves?- something to eat before the race start?- rhythm : dare or not dare?
Then the planning of transfers: wake up at 6 , leaving home at 7:20 , heating 8.20, on the grid at 8:55.
At the next post for the race description!