Tarquinia

(before the race. From left the Black Knight, Sir Umberto and Sir Giorgio)

At last the Black Knight entered the first race 4 months after the second surgery. The battlefield was Tarquinia an ancient wonderful Etruscan city full of historical places: museum, graves, art, castle, towers, churches, architecture and so on. (the castle of Tarquinia)

He arrived in a windy and rainy day, under a cloudy sky, to remind that he is alive, angry and always ready for new glorious adventures.
Indeed he was not ready to race because the mileage done was very very poor: December 0, January 35 miles, February 39 miles and March (until the day before the event) 80 miles. But he strongly desired to come back to compete.
The race course, 3 laps around the city, 11.4 km (ml 7.08 ml) was hilly, wet and most of it paved like the medieval streets. It was the worst for an injured leg. There were not any marks so he could not check the pace km per km. The official time was 1.00.45 but the chip final time was 1.00.38 (5’19”/km – 8’34”/ml) : 1st lap 20’04”, 2nd lap 20’10” and 3rd lap 20’24”. The last lap was a nightmare because the knee and all the muscles around began to hurt. The result was 195 of 227. It is a bad result but this is my situation now. I must work hard to try to get the old performances.

The miracle

Running - At last the recovery is complete: I am clinically healed. Of course there is a lot of work to do and a very little piece of “iron” will stay forever into the leg but I am ready to begin a running program after 1 year, 6 months, 4 days.
After the terrible crash the 99% of the doctors said: “The prosthesis will stay forever in the leg”; 50% said: “you will not have to run anymore” and 30% said: “I am not sure if you will come back to walk as before”.
Now after 2 operations (20 sept. 2007 and 24 nov 2008) and a tough physiotherapy the prosthesis were removed, I walk and I run again! I am very lucky.
By last Monday I started a serious training with 4 weekly workouts (10 – 12 km) and one swimming session (1600 metres). The pace is 5’30”/km (8’51”/ml).
In march and april I will enter 3 races only to breathe the smell of the competition and at the end of the year I would like to finish a sub 2 hours half marathon. The way is long and I hope to come back to race at my usual pace of the past. But if I will not succeed …. never mind, the Black Knight is however back!
What a pity I must forget the bike because my wife worries when I leave home, she remembers very well all the troubles following my terrible fracture. It (the bike) was a good help to heal but better to live in peace with her (my wife)! She spent bad days to stay day and night with me in the hospital and to drive me everywhere when I had to use the crutches. She is a wonderful woman.
Rugby. 6 Nations. Italy, the last with shame. Yesterday another heavy defeat against France: 50 – 8. That ridiculous Italian team doesn’t deserve such wonderful supporters (watch the movie). The head coach Mallet’s score: 8 loss on 8 matches. Wrong experiments, wrong decisions, wrong, wrong, wrong. For the first time I heard the “buuuuuu” and the whistling of disapproval. The Black Knight was there and disapproved too. He is very very angry.

Scotland

Sorry for the long silence but i don’t like to write posts with a simple list of workouts without more interesting (?) news and some images. Moreover it is difficult to tell something about running if I am only working to recover a good condition: I mean speed and mileage. At the moment the muscles of the knees are again weak to push more.
This situation get me a little lazy so I didn’t run while I was far from home for work and pleasure. In fact in this period “of silence” I went to Naples for the meetings of the Espo Sustainable Development Committee and the Ecoports Foundation Board - where I am member - and to Scotland with my son for the rugby match Scotland – Italy.
For the first time by 2000 I can say that this Italian team is a shame, the players go hard at every game but the head coach makes experiments!!! How can he make experiments against England, Ireland and Scotland??? If you want to try something of different do it with Luxembourg, Andorra, S.Marino, Vatican City not against such strong teams!! So Scotland received this kind gift: “our” head coach Mallett put the scrum half as full back, the full back as scrum half and we lost again!

The Black Knight crowned King of Scotland at Stirling Castle (near this Castle Braveheart defeated the English army).
The Black Knight under the monument built in his honour to celebrate his visit.

The King of Terror inside the Rosslyn Chapel (did you see the Da Vinci Code?)