Definitely just a Wannabe. But not for long, I hope

Once upon a time there were three sports: swimming, cycling and running. I used to train all three of them. But,..

You remember the dog from the last post? He wasn’t as friendly as I hoped he would be. He didn’t bite me, but he was neither eager to play. I’m still in pain and I’m still trying to domesticate it!

I have to admit I’m not swimming in this period. Or, better, I don’t remember when was the last time I went to the pool. Bad me. On the other hand, I hope I’ll be swimming in the sea in the next period!

I didn’t achieve my weight goal either. Ice creams obstruct me! I’ve tried to eliminate them, but it seems impossible! They are everywhere!

So, no running, no swimming and no gym (and tutta ciccia e brufoli). I feel like a perfect triathlete!

On the other hand, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I wasn’t as lazy as it may seem. I focused on cycling and I’m proud of 332,4km I made from Monday 11/04 to Sunday 17/04 and 365,4km I made from Monday 23/05 to Sunday 29/05. I also do exercises at home, indoor cycling when it’s raining outside (and it rained a lot, unfortunately) and a lot of other amazing activities (kayak, long walks, trekking,..) with my Better (Stronger, Wiser and More Handsome) Half.

Just a half!

I’ve realized how important running is to me and since I was deterred from my favorite activity, I tried, and almost succeeded in satisfying my needs by cycling. I found a huge joy in it, I was making a habit out of it and it was becoming my new stress release valve. But, hey, don’t jump the gun! There comes a new plot point!

It was a pleasant Saturday morning of May 2016 that I decided to test my strengths on Pedro in a company of a really tough cycling friend of mine. Everything was going incredibly well, when, after 100km of bliss and other 30km more to go, I found myself kissing the asphalt of the Monfalcone’s roundabout. I don’t know if it happened because my friend stopped too swiftly, or it was me that was distracted, but the fact is that I fell off. I got up immediately and checked if we (Pedro, Garmin and I) were still in one piece and I knew I was fine the very moment I realized my only preoccupation was my outfit for the date I should have had later on that day. My knee was bleeding, my left part of the body was all scratched and my right hand was getting bigger and started to change colors-the dress I wanted to put on wouldn’t match those scratches, blood and the violet-yellow-green hand. As the alternative for the romantic dinner, we passed our night out at hospital, where they put my hand in a cast.

 

I had to pause for two weeks. But like really to pause! No sports, literally! I was feeling angry, nervous, frustrated, impotent, weak and could do nothing about it. I also wrote a few lines I have never posted (luckily for you). Sincerely, when my Handsome Half was around me, I had no difficulties because he would open and close the door for me, chop my food, help me with groceries etc. It was really tough though when I had to clean the mess, prepare a meal, or even change clothes with just one (left!) functional hand! What cheered me up was my new tri-suit that finally arrived! I put it on, had a glance at my leg (my knee and my tibialis posterior) and my useless hand and I found a smile on my face. The thought that crossed my mind was: I want to do a half ironman, so a half functional body should be good enough. That thought kept me going during my forced stay at home.

Don’t  you ever stop believing in fairy tales

After two weeks of inactivity, I returned to my beloved Pedro. I started with a new therapy for my tibialis and I hope it’s getting better this time. I bought a new pair of running shoes (I think I’ll write about them) and started to dream again about my race.

It had been  raining a lot in the previous days, so I was really happy that last Saturday was finally a perfect, sunny day for cycling! The plan was to cycle cca 100km in Slovenia and to climb the challenging 12% inclination segment from Brestovica pri Komnu to Sela na Krasu. Everything was great and I was doing fine. Suddenly, a few kilometers from Sezana, Pedro made a strange noise and I had to unclip my shoes because I was losing control of it. I got off and realized I broke something. My bicycle decided to leave me on the road! Thanks God my Super Half was 5,5km away from me, so when I called him to say what happened he rapidly took one Lipizzan horse and rode straight to me to pick us up (well, he didn’t exactly come on a Lipizzan, but, anyway,…)! We dropped Pedro off to the mechanics and we continued living happily ever after. Чича мича и готова прича!

Maybe, on September, there is still a possibility I could survive Pola, who knows! Time will tell!

PS

Fabio, thanks for the feedback, I really appreciated it. Even though I cannot promise I will post more frequently, I promise I will try to be more present online. Shorter posts are still fine, aren’t they? :)

Every dog has its day and mine was March 31st

Do you remember when you were a child and you desperately wanted to cuddle that huge, eerie dog? While nearing, you would stare at his eyes and see how his facial expression was changing. Can you recall that moment of fear and anxiety, that terror you felt when you were putting out your hand so the dog could smell it and decide whether to trust you or not? You were happy and afraid, concentrated on your moves and his reaction, tense and ready to recoil. You couldn’t be sure if you were doing the right thing and if it would have been better if you just hadn’t wished to approach him.

That’s how I felt on March 31^st. I was a terrified little creature approaching that enormous, savage beast called running. Since running hurt me numerous times in the past, my fear was justified. It’s like giving trust to someone who lost it, or, even worse, someone who is prone to loosing it and hurting you. But I did it. Once again, I decided to give it a try.

I know very well I can exaggerate from time to time, so I had to set some limits. I decided to go to the city park (Giardino Pubblico) near my place, so that I could go straight home if something should go wrong. The longest circuit is 600m with a few meters of descent/ascent and I planned to run no longer than 30min, no further than 5K, no faster than 6:00. Eventually, I ran 3km in 20min39’ (pace 6:52) and, hot diggety dog, I felt great! I finished my run with no cramps and no pain! Yesterday (the 2^nd of April), I did my second running session: 3,7km in 23min34’ (pace 6:21). I ran with a friend of mine. We were chatting all the time and my average HR was 126.

A dog’s age, 109 days of abstinence

Although I started going to the gym more regularly, working out at home and increased my swimming and cycling trainings, with no running I felt as I wasn’t working out enough. The abstinence from running was like a long distance relationship: it put my love to the test. Luckily, this test went well. I was jealous of runners. I missed my pre-coffee morning runs (both hills and easy runs), my LSDs by the sea or up the hills, my HIIT trainings and that feeling of being dog tired that, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get from any other activity. Three days ago, after my first post-injury run, I felt alive again, like a dog with two tails! Once again I realized what running means to me: it helps me wake up, it charges my batteries, it releases me from the stress and tension, it helps me keep calm during difficult periods, pull myself together and get a hold of myself when I get really nervous or angry. Running has been my escape valve for more than a decade now. It’s precious time I dedicate to myself getting my thoughts together. I’m in love with it and I cannot hide it.

Getting unleashed: going back to track

It’s really tough to take a break from what you love and it’s hard to know when you are really ready to resume your favourite activity. You have to bare in mind that you are not ready when you feel ready, but when your injury heals completely. How much time will you need to recover and what your running plan should be like after you come back depends on the type of the injury and its severity, on how long you took off from regular running and on the consistency and the quality of your treatment approach. As Jason Fitzgerald says, coming back from any injury requires a gradual approach; the first few days of running are simply to establish consistency, evaluate any existing soreness or pain and get your legs used to running again. You shouldn’t be greedy with miles, but grateful for every step.

Mental note to myself: PATIENCE is a key word both for recovery and for comeback programme. Don’t run out of it.

Back to gantts and charts

I plan my next run to be 5K with the pace 6:00 and above. Most probably, I won’t make triathlon training plans before May. April will be the month of gym, swimming, cycling and easy runs for me: I will try to avoid hills, keeping my mileage and pace low (<10km at pace 5:45-6:20). If you want to start running now, I will be glad if you wish to join me :)

My goal for the next period is having fun and enjoying sports in sunny Trieste!

I've been missing You

LSD Daydreaming & Interval Runs

LSD is runners’ favorite drug! It’s great for sightseeing, exploring new zones, chatting with running buddies, admiring views, meditating. It’s relaxing and energizing at the same time. But, when you mix your long run with a complex interval workout, the going gets tough. And, when the going gets tough, the tough get going, or get hurt. I got hurt.

When it’s more than just a crush

It was a sunny Sunday morning of December 12^th. I was looking forward to doing this long interval running. I wanted to give my best, to test my limits and try to go beyond them. Yes, I asked for it, I wanted it to be hard, to be challenging, to make me regret asking for it, to make me ask myself why the hell I am doing it, cursing that warm October evening of 2005, the day I decided to be part of the crazy running community. Be careful what you wish for, they say, you might regret it, they say. And they were right about it.

The great day arrived. I was so excited I couldn’t sleep well. My workout should have been: 20min of warm-up in the easy aerobic zone, 5 x 200m, 5 x 1000m, 5 x 200m and a cool down. It was a tough period of the year, I had some decisions to make, a bit of pressure at work, but my focus was pretty much on that Sunday. I had a date with that work-out. I put on the most beautiful running clothes I have, I got pretty and I even put a bit of mascara. I wanted everything to be impeccable, so I put a pair of compression socks and planned my work-out on Garmin Connect.

I was doing the second split of the last five (5x200m), I had been running for an hour and a half, when, all of a sudden, I felt a sharp pain a few centimeters above my ankle. The pain was so raging I couldn’t run the last 5-10m. I walked a bit, stretched and, after a pause, I decided to continue my workout (after all, I had already run for more than 13K and had just 600 more meters before the cool down. The finish line was in my eyesight!). I ran just 8m of 200m when the excruciating spasm literally made me cry, made me put my tail between my legs and go home (link to the training).

I couldn’t walk for a few days. When I realized the time itself won’t heal it, I went to see a doctor. The ultrasound showed 4cm long and 1cm deep tissue damage. The antibiotics therapy didn’t help me. In a few days I will take the Echo Doppler test and start with a laser therapy. I really hope I will be able to run again soon because it’s running that makes me smile, charges me up, fueling me with positivity and motivating me to try harder, to give more. But hey, obstinacy is my second name and two lousy runningless months won’t stop me achieve my goal! IM 70.3, I'm comming!

I've been missing you

I’ve been missing you

A lalalala long

A lalalala long long lee long long long, come on

A lalalala long

A lalalala long long lee long long long, hey-a

Daydreaming ‘bout that run

made me smile,

I knew I would be Ex-Haust-Ed

for a little while.

But before I began my run

my emotions started running wild.

I was excited

and that’s no lie.

If you’d looked in my eye-ye-ye-ye-eyes,

You’d have seen panic in my eye-yes, ooh ya.

Now got this to say to you, yeah

Boy, it really made me sweat

Sweat ‘til I could sweat no more.

I was ‘bout to cry out

but I pushed ahead some more-ore-ore.

Boy, it really made me sweat

Sweat ‘til I could sweat no more.

I was ‘bout to cry out,

but I pushed, pusched ahead some more.

A La La La La Long

A La La La La La La Long Long Lee Long Long Long, come on!

A La La La La Long

A La La La La La La Long Long Lee Long Long Long, ooh

So I asked myself

if I could do it or not

But the answer was

really close to get

And with a little bit of this

and a little bit of that

There comes the pain attack

My legs got tied

And that’s no lie

If you’d just looked in my eye-yes

You’d have seen the dreadful pain in my eye-eyes

Ooh yeah

(and I’ve got this to say to you)

Boy, it really made me sweat

Sweat ‘til I could sweat no more.

I was ‘bout to cry out

but I pushed ahead some more-ore-ore.

Boy, it really made me sweat

Sweat ‘til I could sweat no more.

I was ‘bout to cry out,

but I pushed, pusched ahead some more.

A La La La La Long

A La La La La La La Long Long Lee Long Long Long, come on!

A La La La La Long

A La La La La La La Long Long Lee Long Long Long, ooh

Happy New Year 2016

A letter to the past

Goodbye my dear 2015 and thank you for everything you gave me! Thank you for amazing people you brought to my life, thank you for all joy and success! Thank you for new passions, thank you for a few great moments of love and thank you for praising me for discipline and hard work. I didn’t know life could be so great and one mortal middle-class individual could actually enjoy it.

I didn’t like winter and I couldn’t stand cycling. Nevertheless, I tried my hand at winter sports (snowboarding) and for the first time I fully enjoyed winter and snow! I decided to invest into Pedro and cycling equipment and I found out I like exploring the zone I live in on my saddle!  I met some amazing people, I made myself at home in Italy, I closed a few important chapters in my life, making place for new ones. I graduated from the University in Italy, I got my Master degree in Serbia, I made a few Personal Bests on running, I got my contract renewed, I had awesome time with my friends, I made a few beautiful trips.

I got criticized for staying into my boxes, holding too much to my schemes, but since I have been building them all my life and they brought me nothing but the best up until now, guess what, I will continue sticking to them :P What would I like to change? Nothing, I think.

New Year Resolutions time

This is the first time I have difficulties in writing a list of New Year Resolutions. It’s not that I am not motivated, but I don’t know what more to wish for. I could say that I would like my 2016 to be the year of triathlon and I would like it to be as joyful as 2015 was. I would like to have a full-time employment, to finish one half-ironman race, to find right potatoes for Gnocchi and make a solid Tiramisù.

And let the show begin!

If I exclude my injury and a bit of cold I caught during the holidays, I could say that the New Year couldn’t start better!

My Garmin FR405 (named Mourinho) died on November 13^th. Four days later, my new baby Garmin FRXT920 (named Michelle) arrived and we started having awesome time together. She’s tough! We were together on December 12^th, when I got injured. I hope she won’t witness other injuries in the year to come, but record new PBs.

I still cannot run, but I enjoy my indoor cycling trainings watching films or youtube workouts (this one, for instance) and I work on my swimming technique. I’ll try to go back to gym, too. I joined two clubs, Alabarda Bike Team (have a look at our FB page and website) and Pool Sport Trieste (FB page), and I’m looking forward to having some great time with them! I hope my leg will get better soon, so I could run again and go snowboading, charging my batteries with exquisite Goulash and luscious Vin Brulè.

Best wishes

Considering I realized all my goals, had so much fun and succeeded in everything I was doing, I really enjoyed 2015! I cannot but wish you more joyful and successful year than my 2015 was! May all your wishes come through!

PS

Thank you, Friends and Family, thank you Mamma Generali, thank you Friko and thank You Munckin!