Running in Bologna was pretty fun. I had one of those “runventure”-type runs where I got kind of lost but just kept going to see where I’d end up. I ran up into the hills of Bologna, looking for a park I had read about that had a nice view of the city below. I think I successfully found it, but not before getting a bit turned around in a different park nearby, as you can see here:

It ended up being about five and a half miles, half of which was spent climbing hills. But at least I found those nice views!

My other runs were spent closer to our apartment in the historical center, mostly in Giardini Margherita. The first time it was so, so hot and it was hard to repeat the loop around the park too many times, which was almost exactly one mile. Another time it started raining as soon as I left the apartment, but I kept going, hoping it wouldn’t be too bad. Well, it started POURING and continued pretty much the entire time I ran (and of course stopped right after I finished). It was really fun, actually, even though people waiting at bus stops underneath a covering looked at me like I was crazy. Once I was actually in the park, I took cover under some trees because the rain was so strong, but I saw a couple other people running through it, so I started up again. I hadn’t run in the rain in probably 8 years and it was when I lived in Georgia. Living in Santa Barbara, I never had to deal with any type of weather, really, but it turned out to be a really fun change, and I kind of felt like a little kid. It would have been nice to have a hat, since I couldn’t see where I was going half of the time (my North Face hat discovery didn’t happen until a couple days later).

I’m still running 3-4 miles during the week, but trying to get in some longer runs on the weekend so I can build my endurance back up. I’m still hoping to run a half marathon in early September, and I think I almost have one picked out!

 

After my parents, Jeremy, and I left Turin, we headed south for the coast near Cinque Terre, hoping to spend some days by the ocean and explore the towns around there. We didn’t have any set plans until a few days before leaving, and we looked for last-minute houses on Airbnb and VRBO until we found one that looked perfect. It was a picturesque Tuscan villa with a pool, near the town of Lucca.

Basically, the house ended up being waaaay far up windy, narrow roads, pretty far from Lucca, and the host accidentally booked the wrong house for us and it was too small. We decided not to stay there, and at 7pm on a Saturday night, had nowhere to sleep. We luckily found a hotel right outside the center of Lucca, and stayed there for the night. We got to the hotel pretty late, and we didn’t feel like walking the mile into town to eat dinner, so we did something I haven’t done in years: ate at McDonald’s. I was hoping they would have some interesting things on the menu since McDonald’s in other countries are known for this, but the only different things they had were pasta and beer pretty much. They did sell a pistachio McFlurry though, and I had to try it. I am not very picky and can eat pretty much anything, but I actually couldn’t stand it.

I read online about how the walls that surround the old city center of Lucca had been turned into a walking/bicycle path. I didn’t know how long we’d be in the area, so I woke up early the next morning to make sure I got a chance to run the walls. The city was nice and quiet, and the only people out were runners (I heard a fellow American runner comment on my San Diego Half Marathon shirt) and a few bicyclists. The wall circles the city, and is 4km in length.

The weather was perfect and there was so much to look at, the run went by very fast. I did a total of four miles, then went to the tiny hotel gym to get some strength training in, and use the Stairmaster.

Before we left for our next destination, we took a quick walk around Lucca. It’s a really charming town!

Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July!

Happy July! I officially have one month left of being 28, and June 27 marked three months in Europe for me and Jeremy. Today is also one of my best friends Nicole‘s birthday, so happy birthday Nicole!!!! She is trying to come visit me and Jeremy while we spend the month of August housesitting in Paris, and I REALLY hope it happens. Just think of all the croissants and macarons we’ll eat! Of course we’ll get some exercise too… Nicole and I met the first week of college my freshman year at UGA in Athens, Georgia. We became fast friends, and have been close ever since.

Running in Turin

My runs in Turin were okay, but not stellar. The house we were renting was up in the hills and the roads around it were steep and narrow with endless amounts of blind turns, and I didn’t feel comfortable running on them since Italian drivers are a little crazy and I was worried I’d get sideswiped. Thankfully, my dad nicely drove me to two different spots to run where no cars were allowed. The first one was in a big green park, Parco della Rimembranza, with hiking trails running all through it. I ran to the top, and then up and down a couple times to make up some distance, and I figured it was good to practice running hills. The view at the top was pretty great.

Afterward, my dad and I found a nice café at the top of the park, had a cappuccino and just sat and watched all the local Italians eat and drink coffee with their families.

The other place I ran was along the Po River in central Turin, starting at the Parco del Valentino. This is a such a great place to run; pedestrian paths follow the river for miles, and there were so many other runners out. It was in the middle of the day, though, and it was hot, and I felt miserable. I had eaten the biggest meal OF MY LIFE (not exaggerating) the night before, and felt very heavy. It was one of those runs where you feel like you are running as fast as you possibly can, and it’s still a minute slower than your normal pace. It was rough. But I got through it, and saw some nice sights along the way.

I have returned to Hal Higdon for a half marathon training schedule for a race I’m trying to run in September. I have used his plans for my past four halfs, and I like them a lot. Having a plan helps me stay on track, although this week we’re in Rome and we’ve been walking so much that my legs are too tired to run. On Saturday we walked for six hours straight, and since I don’t want to overdo it and re-injure my knee, I didn’t run on Sunday like I had planned. Since I’ve been pretty consistent otherwise, I think that I’ll be fine to continue the training plan and be prepared to run a couple half marathons this fall. I REALLY miss racing, and can’t wait to get on the starting line again.