Rome from the top of St. Peter's |
It’s hard to believe I’ve been working/living in Rome for
three months. It seems like just a few weeks ago that I arrived for an
anticipated year-long stay with a large Gregory duffle, a boxed bike, and an
Italian phrase book from Christian - “you might need this” were his parting
words.
In short, I’m having a ball. Work is both challenging and
interesting. We live in a super cool neighborhood (Trastevere) in an apartment
above a pizzeria and a bookstore. The building built in 1784 is on a narrow
cobbled street with myriad restaurants, bars and little shops within close
proximity. I enjoy not having a car and either running, biking or using public
transportation to get around. And the change in environs, pace and lifestyle have been refreshing and fun for my daughter Zoe who has been visiting the last
month and Adrienne who just arrived last week. All in all, it’s proving to be a
most excellent adventure.
As for the running, it’s been fun and different. Let me
share with a few of my favorites.
Coliseum |
Tour of Rome – this 15K route through the city always
surprises and delights me. I’ve been able to link together some of the best
sights while minimizing traffic obstructions (AKA traffic lights & streets
that are so busy they are hard to cross). In less than 90 minutes I get to pass
the Roman Forum, run around the Coliseum, pass through Trajan’s Market, touch Trevi
Fountain, climb the Spanish Steps, run up Via della Conciliazione to St.
Peter’s, and then back home – all of time mostly on cobbled streets. The light,
the traffic, the people, the smells are always different making this a run I
always look forward to.
Appia Attica |
Appia Attica (Apian Way) – Let’s just say I still can’t get
my head around the fact that I’m running on the original basalt stones of road
that was built more than 2000 years ago. From the apartment this run passes
Circus Maximus, the Roman Baths and then out to Villa dei Quintili – 40K round
trip.
River Tiber – When I rented the apartment I was stoked that
it was just one street off the River Tiber and the “bike path” that Google Maps
showed running along the river.
Since my office is also along the river I was excited about the prospect
of biking or running to/from work.
My excitement turned to disappointment the first morning I ran to work.
I had anticipated a scenic and bucolic path along the river where I could go to
that other place in my head and run without thought or effort. The path abruptly
stops 4K from the apartment and turns into a route amalgamated from roads,
footpaths, parking lots and fields.
In some sense it’s a 20K “adventure race.” The banks of the river are
covered in trash and the trees along the river are full of a flotsam of plastic
shopping bags from when the river recently flooded. The “path” travels through
several Roma camps where I’m always a bit uneasy and guarded. It’s an otherworld
in the morning darkness watching silhouettes fanning out from the camps pushing
shopping carts in the dark to collect recyclables, smelling the acrid smoke
from campfires burning rubbish heavy with chemicals, and listening to
conversations in a language I do not understand. And, for giggles and absurdity, I have to climb over a rabbit
fence before entering the office complex where the World Food Programme is located. Given the poor design and disrepair of the
fence, I’m sure the rabbits also find it absurd and amusing. What could be a
great feature for the city (the river) is a shame. None-the less, I run to work
most every morning and several times a week run home feeling lucky that I get
to commute to work by foot.
Trail Running - Rome Style |
Rome running seems to be serving me well in that I’m on the
mend from the nasty piriformis I experienced the later half of 2102. My legs
are feeling better and I can run again without pain and numbness! Fingers
crossed I can continue to heal and get my strength back in time to run a good
race at the Umstead 100 in April. My secret hope is that jumping over a rabbit
fence 5 days a week will give me a competitive advantage that no other entrants
will have.
Ciao da Roma!
3 comments:
I just stumbled upon your blog via Fast Cory. Glad I did. I use to live in England, Ireland and France for a bit but always regret never getting to Rome. Now I get to read vicariously through you :)
Thanks for sharing. Makes me want to watch Ben Hur again and run a few laps around the track. I also seem to remember running along the river and having disjointed sections from downtown to the Olympic Stadiums. I made sure not to leave without a map.
Thanks for the good read life sounds good!
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