My first run in Venice was great, I was thoroughly enjoying all thI decided to commence my training for my third marathon whilst on holiday in Italy...however, maybe not as crazy as it sounds..all my mornings were free to run as I wouldn't be working, and I'm always really motivated to run when I'm on holiday as it's a great way to sight see in a new city.
Speaking of which..there is no better place to see sights than in Venice. It is everything you think it might be and then so much more...but, running in a town that has no roads, cobblestone streets that end abruptly and if you are not quick at applying the brakes you could be in the canal!! and a little bridge with about 10 steps up and 10 steps down every 100metres or so, can be a bit of a problem...and of course all the sign posts are in Italian...can there be anymore hazards..oh yes..if you thought bush turkeys make a dramatic scene when you run by them, try thousands of pigeons, who don't like to be disturbed at 6am and instead of flying away from you they decide to turn and fly right into your face..pretty spooky..anything else..oh yes..some lanes are so tiny that you nearly have to apply my side step drill routine just to get down them..but, the most overwhelming feeling you get when you run in Venice is that you are trapped in a maze, you run and run for what seems like eternity to find that you have been doing the one block all that time..and then just as you start to panic and are at your wits end..you arrive at the door of your hotel and have no idea how you got there..unreal! Great for marathon training because a 45min run can be easily doubled, just by getting lost!!e beautiful old buildings lining the famous Grand Canal, however, you cannot run the length of the canal as the Palazzo's are lined up flush with the water so you need to turn off a cobblestone street..and therein is where the trouble begins..because, it turns into another cobblestone street and it is a dead end because of a smaller canal, so then you turn back and run up another cobblestone street and then you cross a little bridge and then you take another turn...get my drift, I was lost in 10mins.. but I had a lot of fun finding my way back. Of course I quickly discovered that the hardest thing about running back to your hotel in Venice after you have been lost for an hour is the smell of the freshly cooked croissants coming from the little bakerys on the way back..I quickly remedied that the second day I ran. by slipping a couple of euros in the back pocket before I left!
On my second run in Venice I was convinced I had the town mastered, I was sure I knew where I was going (St Mark's Square) and how I was going to get there...I ran over the famous Ponte Rialto, turned towards St Marks, oops another canal, turned into the next cobblestone street, it branched into another cobblestone street, with a tiny bridge, I ran over that..and you guessed it..lost again, but at least I had the euros for the croissants...albiet over an hour later..and by the way I never got to St Marks.
The third day in Venice, I decided to take a different tack, get to St Marks! and then run straight along the esplanade and back..I'd seen it on the Vaporetta the day before and thought that looks like a good run and surely I couldn't get lost on an out and back run?! I found St Mark's Square along with the thousands of pigeons, and a couple of street sweepers shaking their heads at me and no doubt thinking "Crazy Bloody Americano", I found my Esplanade, Oh heaven..I ran and ran to the sound of the Campanile Tower bells, got to the end of the Esplanade after crossing some big bridges with lots and lots of steps..then I turned up a cobblestone street...need I say anymore. The Campanile Bells were chiming again by the time I found my way back, I ran over the famous Bridge of Sighs although in my case it was more gasping than sighing... boy did I earn those croissants that morning.
A major update though for my running surfaces tip...you know how I rate concrete as the worst surface to run on and grass the best... cobblestones takes the crown from concrete any day, after three days of running on rock and cobblestones I felt as if my ankles, knees and hips were going to pop at any given time during the rest of the day.
Another thing to mention about Venice, I don't think Lazy Runner would work in this city. On the three mornings I ran here, I never saw another runner!! Just a few old guys with cigarettes hanging from the corner of their lips, wandering around waiting for their favorite coffee shop to open, looking at me as if I was an alien!
