Boy, I’ve been home for a couple of days now and I’m still jet-lagged. This always affects me more on the return flight for some reason. Anyways, Rome out did herself this year. The 15th edition of Maratona di Roma was by far the best one yet, and in my opinion, is now one of the top 3 best marathons in world! They really got it together this year. I don’t think Ive ever seen so many volunteers or staff in a single race before. Without exaggeration, the number of support people had to be in the thousands . As far as actually runners, I don’t think they were far off when they predicted 100,000 would participate. I have never seen so many people in one place at one time for a sporting event. The first place winner came in at something like 2:07 which I believe is a record for the course.

As for my racing stats, well, let’s just say I didn’t break any records. But, I felt good, I was breathing well ,I soaked in as much of the atmosphere as I could and had the time of my life. Actually I would say, that the marathon was the highlight for the entire trip. Even though this was one of my slowest races ( 3:23 for the first 21 km) , I managed to cross the 21km point within the course time limit which is really all that I wanted to do.

As planned, I completed 21 of the 42 kms , but actually ended up walking 30km to catch the SAG bus back to the finish area. I have to say, I’m kinda glad that I stuck to my guns and stopped when I did, because as tempting as it was to keep going, my legs were already starting to cramp. I’m not really sure that I would have been able to finish the entire race….without really hurting myself.
Even though I didn’t do the entire race, when I got back to the finish area they called me up to the stage and congratulated me in front of a million people and cameras. They then presented me with a special gift ( pictures of which I will post at a later time).

All I can say, is that if you ever get a chance, do this race! It’s an experience you will never forget.

Here are some pictures I took during the actual race. Some of them are kind of blurry as I was in motion during most of them.

I arrived in Italy a full week ahead the race, but jet lag prevented me from doing all things I wanted to do. I was able to get down to Ercolano for a day and visit the scavi ( the excavation of the ruins of Herculaneum). What a fascinating place to visit. It’s hard to believe that an entire city was buried underneath the soot of the Mt Vesuvius eruption some 2000 years ago. Everything is as if it was frozen in time (for lack of a better word). It is literally a huge pit that they are still unearthing to this day.

From Ercolano I went on to Sorrento, but was too tired from my day at Herculaneum to go further south to the Amalfy coast or to visit the other more famous ruins site at Pompeii . Definitely, on my next visit.

Here are some pictures I took during my time in Ercolano.

After returning back to the north, I spent a couple days roaming

around Rome. I skipped the Vatican Museums, because again, I was racking up too many miles and really needed to spare my legs for the race. I focused mainly on the Pantheon area and some other tourist spots that I missed the last time I was here.

Here are a few misc shots of I took while “roaming” around Rome… including the infamous train station ..Rome Termini (I don’t know why I’m so fascinated by that railway station).

Lastly, but certainly not least, is the town of Zagarolo. This was my home base and where I usually stay when I come to Italy. It’s also one of my favorite places in the whole country. It’s definitely a different way of life here, one that I think I could get very used too.
Here are some pictures of I took of Zagarolo.

Finally, here’s a collage of video clips of the things I did and the places I saw on my short stay. I had to chop about 15 minutes off it because of the Youtube time limit. A short clip of the marathon is at the end . Sorry, the playback quality isn’t that great ,cuz the camera was bouncing all over. You can actually see my feet as I’m walking ( the orange shoes).

OK…..Next adventure is the Boston Marathon in just 3 weeks. I’m excited about that trip as well, because Ive never been to any of the New England states.

The bags are packed, the legs are ready, and the lungs… well who knows, but in just a few hours, I’ll be on a plane to Italy!

For the next 2 weeks I’ll be calling the medieval town of Zagarolo (located in the foothills about 30 minutes southeast from Rome), my home.
I have wonderful friends who live there from whom I’m renting an apartment. I love making Zagarolo my home base when I’m in central Italy, because it’s so peaceful and laid back, yet still very close to the hustle and bustle of Rome.

I’ll also be taking a side trip south to Sorrento , with visits to Ercolano and Pompeii . I really wanna do the Mt Vesuvius hike this time if the weather is OK.

Back in Rome, I’ll be visiting the Vatican Museums again ( there’s so much to see there) , Largo di Torre Argentina –the famous cat sanctuary , and of course on March 22 , there’s a certain little marathon that’s I’m supposed to be doing:-), which is basically a grand tour of all the famous Rome sites. A lot to see and do on this short trip.

I wont be bringing a computer along on this trip, so the next blog update will be towards the end of the month ….Hopefully with tons of pictures and maybe even a race report!

Ci vediamo presto!

One week from tomorrow, I’m supposed to be on a plane heading to Italy, but as luck would have it, looks like my lungs might have the final say as to whether that actually happens. As is usually the case when it comes to me and marathons or travel…. it’s gonna get down to the wire.

I started flaring- up about 2 weeks ago and haven’t really recovered since…at least not to my baseline. That, plus the inability to train the way I should be for this marathon , has put somewhat of a damper on my enthusiasm for this long awaited trip. Hopefully, I’ll turn the corner in the next few days and everything will seem exciting again. I would hate to have to cancel the reservations with my Italian hosts on such short notice.

In the meantime, I’m just gonna start packing and get things in order for the trip as if everything was normal. Man, you wouldn’t believe the planning that goes into a trip like this when you have serious health issues… especially when you travel alone. With just one suit case and one carry on to work with , I have to transport two separate stashes of medications, plus two separate nebulizer machines ( in case get my luggage gets lost, like it did last time). I also have to have multiple contingency plans in place, in case I get sick over there and need hospital care. I basically have to have a back up plan for everything I do when I travel. Not only costly, but a huge pain in the ass.

We’ll see how this all plays out by next weekend.

Oh..Almost forgot….as you can see , the old blog is getting a make-over. Should be finished in a couple days.

OK…If I get sick, it’s all your fault! ……… just kidding. Thanks everyone for your input !

You know, I could easily lock myself up in an air tight plastic bubble for the next two months until the Boston marathon rolls around, but experience with this disease has taught me that no matter what I do to avoid getting sick, if my lungs wanna act-up…their gonna act-up.
So, after carefully weighing all the pros and cons, and assuming that I’m breathing well enough to travel in a couple weeks, this is where I’ll be on the morning of March 22nd………along with 100,000 other manics.

And this is where I’ll be that afternoon…….

I think that as long as I don’t over do it during the marathon, that I’ll be OK for Boston. The bulk of my training has already been completed, so in a worst case scenario ( ie…if I were to get sick during or immediately following my trip to Italy), Id still have about 4 weeks to recover and get my s**t together before B day.

With that issue resolved, I can re focus my attention on my upcoming Roman adventure. In addition to Rome and the surrounding communities, I’m also gonna head south, just past Naples for a day to see the ruins at Pompeii and Herculaneum

If I have enough time , I also want to take the Mt Vesuvius hiking tour around the rim of Volcano.

Now that the pipe dream of becoming one of the first lung challenged athletes ever granted a mobility impaired slot in the Boston marathon has become reality, I have to make some tough decisions about the other marathon that I love so much. I’m referring of course, to the Rome marathon. Obviously, I can’t do both ..(they’re only 4 weeks apart). I think it would be a huge disappointment it I went all the way to Italy and wasn’t able to participate in the race, but it would be an even bigger disappointment if I went to Italy, got sick and then had to forgo Boston.

Most people would say it’s a no-brainer…just cancel Rome!… but it’s not that easy for me. The Rome marathon promoters and the Italian media have been very kind to me and I hate to give the impression that I chose Boston over Rome. In my opinion the Rome marathon is the best marathon in the world for ambiance and historical scenery. I had a wonderful time doing it last year and wanted very much to do it again. The Boston marathon on the other hand, is without doubt, the most prestige pedestrian race of all time and is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity for someone like me. If I passed up this opportunity, I’d probably regret it for the rest of my life. I will never get a chance to do it again, because for all practical purposes, after this next race, I’m done with full marathons. My body just can’t handle the 26.2 mile distance anymore. After this, it’s half marathons or less.

So these are my options……. What would you do?

Option#1) Cancel my upcoming trip to Italy and reschedule at a later date when I don’t have a marathon to worry about.

Option#2) Go to Rome next month as planned , but only for 10 days instead of 3 weeks. Be present at the Rome marathon starting line as promised , but only walk the first half of the marathon(13.1 miles) and then voluntarily withdraw. I wouldn’t receive recognition for finishing, but that’s OK, because at least I would be able to say I participated , and by doing only half of the Rome Marathon, not only would I be saving my legs, but I’d be doing a 13 mile taper walk that I would have to anyway for Boston.

Option#3) Go to Rome as scheduled , but skip the marathon.

What ever I decide, I have to do it soon. The Rome marathon is only 4 weeks away and Boston is only 8 weeks out.

Btw….even though I was granted a disability slot in the Boston Marathon, I still had to have a qualifying finish time from a previous certified race, albeit a much more generous one than for regular entrants.

Hey, what does yours truly, Elvis and the “Flying Grandmother” all have in Common? …The Rome Marathon of course.

Check out the “Latest News” link on the Rome Marathon website

or these other Italian websites : Podistidoc , Corridori