Fit for Distance- Week 6 and 7

Week 6 (6/24-6/30) Results:

During Week 6 and 7 , I was in Italy and Greece for vacation. I love running while on vacation. It is a great opportunity to see the city, with a different perspective.  I did not run as many miles as listed on my training schedule, but I got extra miles everyday from walking so much around Italy and Greece. I built up my arm muscles by dragging my suitcase everywhere.

Sunday: 3 mile run- Cinque Terre, Italy
While in Cinque Terre ("The Five Lands"), I ran along Monterosso Beach. There was maybe only .5 miles of flat road (in the middle) that I was able to run on, I also ran up hills (east and west side).  I'm not sure why the map below has me running in the ocean, I can assure you, I stayed on land during my runs!  I did spend some time in the ocean later- the beach was amazing. Regardless, my view while running was amazing!

Route

Cinque Terre- Monterosso

Tuesday: 3.5 mile run- Florence, Italy
While in Florence, I ran near the Duomo (church). The streets and sidewalks (if they exist) are narrow. There are so many bikes, vespas, people, cars, buses, trucks, etc that I felt like I was playing the Atari game, Frogger, where I was the frog. I learned that running around the 'block' may add more miles than anticipated.

Route

Florence (between the buildings is the Duomo)

Thursday: 4 mile run- Athens, Greece
In Athens, there were wider streets and sidewalks, but just as many people, various vehicles, etc as there was in Florence. As a runner, it was neat running in Athens, the home of the first modern day Olympics in 1896 and again in 2004. I could feel the history beneath my feet.

Route

Athens

Sunday: 2 miles (5x hill repeats) Mykonos, Greece
Similar to Cinque Terre, there was very little flat road to run. So, I made the best of the situation and practiced hill repeats.  The hill repeats may not have been that fun, but at least the view was nice!

Route

Mykonos Hill

*The above picture is me walking down the hill (again, dragging my suitcase).

Tuesday: ~4 miles- Milan, Italy
My Garmin watch did not work while I was in Milan. I just ran around the city. Milan was the most 'American'-like city I visited. It felt like New York City or LA. And the sidewalks were a normal size! I actually saw other runners out too- I waved. Apparently that is an American thing to do... as the wave wasn't returned, but only a confused look.

Friday: 4 miles- Dallas, Texas USA (avg pace 11:14 min/mile)
After two weeks of travel, I was happy to return back to the US and back to my running group!! I was welcomed back with three 1 mile repeats, with a .5 mile warm up and cool down. It was a tough run back!