Ah the sound of pitter-patter on the cobblestones....

I know you're thinking my running shoes on the pavement but sadly I mean the sound of pouring down rain. Its finally that season in Rome. I wake up and its pouring so much that I want to crawl back into bed.

This morning however was different. I went with my Prof to an amazing street market in the pouring down rain at 7:45 am. All I could think was that I should have gone running yesterday when it wasn't pouring. O well. Such is life.

So after that really sweet street market (can you say Christmas present shopping?) I came home soaked to the skin even though it had finally stopped pouring and I treuly felt the call of the road. I've felt this call before, but not like this. All I could think about was running swiftly along the tiber, shorts and a longsleeve (perfect cool but not freaking cold weather, ah the joys of fall). Even though I promised to not run by myself in Rome, today I just couldn't convince anyone to go with me. I figured though at 11 am on a Sunday, who would really be out there? Before I knew it I was changed and walking out the door, ready to start hitting the pavement, or should I saw, cobblestones. I noticed that the stones were starting to dry and little pieces of blue were emerging. Maybe it would be a good run afterall. I headed out from the Campo on my usual route but at a much swifter pace, invigorated by the crisp fall weather and running on my own .

Despite it being 11 am, late for starting a run on a Sunday, I saw a shocking number of runners on the Tiber. Unlike other mornings, they all smiled at me when I smiled back, in fact, one guy even winked at me in a not creepy way. The run seemed to be going great. Running by myself is so meditative. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sure I could do my extra long runs all by myself, but for a few runs sometimes its really nice to get out ther alone. It gives me a chance to think about life and have a little Soph time before returning to my apartment with 8 other girls where alone time is nothing but a creul fantasy.

Before I knew it I was at my turnaround spot, heading back to the Campo happy as could be. As I started to head back, suddenly I found myself back at Ponte Sisto, my bridge back over the Tiber home. How did that happen? How was I all of a sudden about to finish my run? I felt like I had just started it. I guess I run faster by myself then with other people (shocker). But still, the way back felt like a blink of an eye. As I people dodged my way down the cobblestone streets back to the Campo, I couldn't help but think how lucky I am to run along the Tiber, past St. Peters and Castle S. Angelo. What will happen when I return to Seattle and there are no more monumental landmarks? It'll be sad but at least there are actul parks and trees and trails and NO COBBLESTONES (they really wreak havoc on my running shoes!)

Maybe next weekend I'll get to venture out on my own again. On Tuesday we leave for Naples/Amalfi coast for a week and hopefully I can squeeze in a gorgeous coastal run maybe to watch sunrise over the Mediterranean.

Happy running!
Soph

Another Beutiful Day in Rome?

Today I awoke, excited for my relaxed Saturday run. No pressure of getting to class, meandering pace. But alas, there was the sound of rushing water outside my window. Not rain, but water pouring. Along with the water were bright flashes and loud noises. Yes indeed, my first storm in Rome. I ran to the dining room windows to get a better view of the lighting bolts in the sky, and noticed that it was downpouring. It was awesome to watch, but I knew that running + cobblestones + pouring rain = bad.

Sadly, I sat at the kitchen table, eating my italian style honey nut cherrios, reading Once A Runner contemplating how I can safely run in the pouring rain in Rome. If Quenton Cassidy can run anytime anywhere way faster then me, why can't I handle running in the pouring rain in the beautiful city of Rome. After munching and pondering for a few minutes, I noticed a small break of blue sky in the dark clouds. Hope returned for my saturday run.

About 10 minutes later, enough time for me to finish eating, the sky completely cleared! It was incredible. One minute it was pouring and the next, it all burned off and was a gorgous day! By then it was about 9:30 in the morning and I was getting antsy to run. I recruited Catharine, we put on our running shoes and took off!

It was another adventure run, that started out like all my runs so far in Rome: along the Tiber. Ah the tiber. Its like the duamish. not very nice to look at, but better then running on cobbelstones since it has a paved path next to it. We decied that today would be an adventure run. We planned to run to the Borghese gardens, but since its like the Rome version of the Arboretum, only with a villa in it (it used to be one family's private villa) there are trails everywhere. we figured its only 2.3ish to get to the entrance, then a run up a nice hill, then park/tree/trail paradise in rome, or at least as close as we could get. running along the tiber was reminiscent of seattle. a little waterfront, an asphalt path, mapleish trees everywhere with their leaves falling not to mnay people. it was great!

After meaning through the Borghese gardens for a while, we turned back to the Campo Di Fiori for our run home. Then run home always seems shorter then the run out to a place. On the way I imagined how I can do long runs to the park, get lost on some trails, then do the short run back to the Campo. Running this fall is starting to look up!!!

Happy Trails (or cobblestone paths!)
Soph

My First Run in Rome!

Ah the start of a fresh school year. People laughing, walking to class....a market outside your window at 7am? Welcome to Rome, my home for fall quarter. I'm studying architecture in the eternal city, living in the Campo Di Fiori! Rome is a pretty interesting place. Lots and lots of people, especially tourists, but once the rain comes I think they'll go away. Its pretty hot here though for now.

This morning, I finally felt like going for my first run. I figured, I've been in Rome for 5 days, how lost can I really get? Well, as I promised my mom, I didn't run alone. I convinced my roommate Catharine to venture out with me early in the morning, only an hour and 30 mins before our group met 20 mins away at the Colosseum. We figured we had lots of time to run and shower and get ready. Apparently we didn't quite do the math.

Our run began by waiting for Garmy to find itself. It took so long! I forgot that moving hundreds of miles away from Seattle would confuse it a little bit. After waiting at least 10 or 15 mins for it to register, we were off! People dodging our way out of the campo, we found ourselves in a small side alley heading toward the river (the Tiber). We decided to follow the river on our first run to minimize getting lost. We found a staircase down to the riverside. It smelled an aweful lot like pee which gave me an iffy feeling about the riverside. Did I mention that most of the streets are cobblestones? That's also why we went by the river, it was our hope to avoid the cobblestones. As we decended, I looked ahead and saw beautiful pavement leading to a dirt path. No cobblestones.

We ran down past the island in the tiber, under many bridges and finally decided to turn back and run on the opposite side of the river. I saw a few runners, but on the whole I'm ot sure sure Italian people run, despite the many marathons in their country. As I headed back to the Campo I couldn't help but think about the long runs to come by the river and trough the neighborhoods of Rome.

Happy trails!
Soph