Castel San Angelo
Anyways, 4 days a week I run on the Rome Tiber River from one end to the other and back, varying the distances to accommodate 6, 8, 10 and 12 mile runs. The lengths of the run includes seeing Rome landmarks, sculpture adorned bridges, tree canopy covered pathways, railway tracks and ancient Roman arches. My runs also usually include seeing a trumpet player, roosters and chickens, serious road bikers, and men peeing on the walls. Sreet Graffiti on the River
First, let's discuss the lovely architecture. I do feel lucky to run in such an ancient and lovely city. I don't even mind the loads of graffiti, in fact I think it can be really cool. Part of the running path turns the white striped lines, which demarcate the path like a road, into male and female stick figures. Who wouldn't love that? The Castel San Angelo is a great road marker, letting me know I am on the last leg of my run. Plus the end of the path becomes much more lush, lined with trees and park benches. You even see roosters and chickens (why I don't know. Is there a farm on the river somewhere? So many questions)Look, It's Road Girl!
Okay, now let's talk about what I do not like about this path. First, WHY IS THERE ALWAYS SOME CREEPY MAN PEEING ON THE WALL?! These walls are hundreds of years old and they are being eroded away by urine. As I woman, I don't understand this. There are dozens of people on this path, people running, cycling, families walking (think of the CHILDREN!) and these d-bags decide to just whip it out and mark their territory. And it's always in the same place. It's like this corner of the river has a special gravitational pull for skeevy 20-30 year old bladder challenged men. Ugh.Creepy-Men-Peeing-Free Zone
Second, there are these bikers. These Lance Armstrong-wannabe bikers. They have on the full spandex outfit, streamlined helmets and shiny angular shades. They travel in packs, spinning down the path at break-neck speed on their state-of-the-art million dollar feather-weight chrome-blinding bikes. They are the worst. Like a pack of evil gazzells they race past me. I am trying to run on this little pathway and they think they are actually competing in the Tour de France. Do you know where 99% of all bike races happen? On a real road, not a 6 mile length river running path. You do not impress me.Clearly all that spandex has cut off the circulation to your brain.
There are a lot of birds on the river. It can be a little Hitchcock-esque
Was that enough complaining for you? It's just my way of garnering attention. In reality, the river running path provides more enjoyment than not. One time, when running, a man on a bike (those bikers!) was cycling past me and instead of keeping his eyes on the road he kept following my bouncing, um, upper body...and then he fell off his bike. Totally bit it. You can't pay for that kind of personal entertainment. And yes, the biker was fine, for you bleeding hearts out there. In reality my hate for bikes comes from the time when I was living in Florence and I was crossing the street on my bike (ironic I know) and a city motorcycle scooter type thing ran a red light and hit me. HIT ME! Ever since then I have been wary of anything two wheeled. Also, the driver of that "motorino" as we call them threw a fit and called me a witch telling me I had damaged his bike. So yeah, not a fan of bikers (no disrespect to my brothers who are major biking fans. To my knowledge they have never run over a nice blonde girl and called her a derogatory name, so, they are O.K. in my book).
Rooster Friend
So, that's just a little taste of what I experience on the river. The running part of it is really boring. I just....run. I keep moving my arms and legs, keep taking in oxygen. Drink water. You all know what running looks like. I do that at a rate of about a 9-10 minute mile. I hope to get that down to 7-8 by the marathon.
More to come soon enough....
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