Why Black Knight

The name Black Knight comes from this famous joke in roman slang. A man tells this story:
The Black Knight and the White Knight make a duel and the Black Knight kills the White Knight. Now the White Knight had 3 sons, they challenge the Black Knight to a duel and the Black Knight kills all of them. Now they had 3 sons each and the 9 White Knights challenge the Black Knight to a duel but the Black Knight kills of all them. Now they had 3 sons each and the 27 White Knights challenge the Black Knight to a duel but the Black Knight kills all of them.
Please stop the story, what do you mean, what is the moral?
The moral is: "Don't piss off the Black Knight"!!!!!!!!!


Friday, 12 May 2023

10 months later

After 10 months I am here again. 

Why the long silence? I was disappointed because I didn’t succeed in posting my comments on other blogs so, after many attempts, I gave up and with regret I left the blogsphere.

But… what happened in this long period?

 

Running

As usual I try to run every other day for a monthly mileage of 150 km (93,2 miles) but, getting older, I am always slower.

I entered 5 races. I prefer to race in the so-called Tuscia (Lazio Region): the paths are tough and the runners competitive but the ancient towns are really beautiful and spending a day there is relaxing. Moreover the swags are very rich and full of local products.

 

Oct. 30, 2022 - Latera – km. 9,3.

2 laps  with 2 long heartbreak uphills.

Stats:

9,3 km in 57:35;

89 of 97 overall;

5 of 5 in my a.g. (65/69 y.o.):



Nov. 13, 2022 - Montalto – km. 11

1 ondulate lap.

Stats:

11 km in 1:05:51;

198 of 209 overall;

7 of 7 in my a.g. (65/69 y.o.):




Dec. 4, 2022 – Canino – km. 10

One lap with a final heartbreak hill under a rain storm.

Stats:

10 km in 58:35;

464 of 574 overall;

13 of 19 in my a.g.  (65/69 y.o.):



Feb. 5, 2023 – Roma - Remembrance Race – km. 10

1  lap with a short uphill at the end.

Stats:

10 km in 56:58;

366 of 492 overall;

17 of 25 in my a.g. (65/69 y.o.):


Apr. 30, 2023 – Montefiascone – Francigena Trail – km. 11,3

After 27 years I have run a real trail again. What a big mistake! 1 lap with long steep uphills and downhills on an impossible dirt track completely ruined. For the first time in my running life I walked many times. But not all was so bad: the scenery was wonderful and the swag very rich.

Stats:

11,3 km in 1:19:36;

150 of 178 overall;

4 of 6 in my a.g. (65/69 y.o.):



Normal life

I keep myself busy enjoying the company of our 4 grandsons and spending some days on the Bolsena Lake with my wife. Often the families of our childrens join us there.

Moreover, in march, I spent 4 days in Scotland with my son and his son.


Edinburgh - Greyfriars Bobby:

Loch Ness (of course we didn't see Nessie):


Dunfermline - Robert the Bruce's grave: 


How many trails have you run? Do you like this kind of running race?

42 comments:

  1. Did you win potatoes and honey?

    Welcome back!

    Great shot of Nessie. :) I believe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you!
      Yes, I did. Potatoes and honey are local products.

      Delete
  2. Welcome back, glad to see a new post. Lovely photos and scenery around the places you run. Blogger is a pain but everyone has their issues and we try and work them out. Lots of comments go in to your spam folders so you might want to check it ofter if you don't already, Have a wonderful weekend!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I got into the troubles again. As you can see I don't succeed in posting comments with my google account. This is a very boring situation.

      Delete
  3. You have a lovely and active lifestyle. Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  4. We walk every day, along a beach today. Well done yourself!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brava! Following a daily routine is the secret for a healthy life.

      Delete
  5. Me alegra leerte de nuevo y que hayas disfrutado estos meses con tu viajes y nietos. Te mando un beso.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congratulations on all your races! Well done.
    Considering that last trail race was a disaster, you did very well. I love the goodies that you get in Italy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now all my races are a disaster because I got very slow and I always finish in the last pack but .... I don't complain because I like to run and to enjoy the atmosphere of the race.
      We get such goodies only when we race in little towns.

      Delete
  7. Well I must say it's good to see a post from you. I personally wondered if you was alright as in health. So glad you are, well hopefully seeing as you are still running.
    You certain have done well, and the prizes look interesting too.
    Lovely to see the scenery where you go running.
    I believe all of us had a lot of trouble commenting and with blogger in general a while back, even now some comments go into the spam and each day I check to see if any comments from bloggers are there, usually a few.
    Take care.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I like to keep in touch with the blogger friends but it became a big problem because I didn't succeed in posting comments. As you can see I have problem again, in fact I am writing this reply without being able to use my google account.
      About the scenery, I live very close to Rome but I prefer to race in the little towns around here the enjoy the scenery, the places and the local food.

      Delete
  8. Bentornato nella blogosfera! Complimenti per le corse...io scio (fondo) e vado in bici, ma di correre non se ne parla dopo un' operazione al ginocchio. Ti auguro buon proseguimento e grazie della visita al mio blog! 🌷🌞🌻🌼🪻

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Io non so nemmeno come sono fatti gli sci!!!! La montagna mi ha sempre messo soggezione ma è normale per un vecchio marinaio come sono io! Buon week end.

      Delete
  9. I think that Blogger has been driving everyone crazy, but we are all very happy that you stuck it out and are now back with us. Too bad that we are not closer so that we could celebrate your racing successes. Look forward to connecting with you on a regular basis again. All the best - David

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, I missed the blog friends, your stories and your photos. It a pleasure to stay connected. But as you can see ..... Blogger put your comment on spam again!!! Have a good Sunday.

      Delete
  10. I was so happy to see your comment on my race recap! And glad to see you are still running. Yep, getting older here as well and getting slower, not to mention a little more injury prone. But it beats sitting still. Keep in touch!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Check your spam folder. I left a comment for you yesterday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for advising me. Now I will check the spam every day.

      Delete
  12. Welcome back to the blogosphere, you have been missed! Congrats on the races you've run - you got some nice swag, too! I do enjoy running trails, but don't run as much as I used to so my weekly run usually consists of keeping it local and on paved trails or streets.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. Glad you enjoy running trails, it means that you are a strong runner! In the towns around here the swag is always good. Today I have brought home wine, cheese and pasta.

      Delete
  13. Hey there! So great to see you again! Hey getting slower may be tough (emotionally), but you're still physically quite active. Your races all sound interesting, and your finish times don't look terribly slow. There must be a lot of guys in your age group who are kicking buttucks! Way to keep on keeping on ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! "My" races sound interesting because the places are very beautiful: ancient, little, quit and in the middle of the country.The other runners are very competitive because there the routes are difficult with long uphills.
      However I don't like to race in the big cities: too crowded, a lot of traffic and difficult to park before the start

      Delete
  14. You have been busy! Congrats on all the races. I do enjoy trail running -- if it's not too technical and is scenic. I'm even slower on trails than on the roads, but my first half post Pandemic (which I still haven't written about months later) was a trail half.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A trail half is a very tough challenge but you did it. Congrats. I will never do it!

      Delete
  15. Glad you back to blog.... and doing great things as usual

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! But unfortunately the "great things" are in the past .... many years ago.

      Delete
  16. Welcome back... glad t hear that you are still running and racing.

    Love that you win such mazing prizes. Congrats on your efforts.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Glad to see you back! I've been thinking about you and wondering what you were up to. Sounds like you've been busy. Yes- it's hard to get slower, and frustrating. My solution is to take up trail running! I know you say you don't like trails, but everyone runs slower on trails. And you won't be tempted to compare your trail paces with your old road paces, because it's so different. But even if you don't end up on the trails, I say it's a victory to still be out there. A lot of people give up running as they get older, but not us!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for this kind and wise comment. About the trail: mainly I want to avoid injuries so I prefer to say "no more". Of course I make many workouts through the country but in this case the slow pace is not a problem.
      You are right ,many friends of mine gave up when the pace got slower. I prefer to keep on running until I can.

      Delete
    2. Lovely to see you back! What happened with the comments - was it WordPress or other blogging platforms? That's annoying, isn't it. I have phases where that happens on one or two days and all the comments I post disappear. I famously don't like running on trails and when I did my trail ultra (most of them are trails) I trained for a road marathon to get my distance then did a 10 mile trail race on worse surfaces than my ultra, and practised once on the ultra route as it was different to the terrain we get here. It was OK but I went straight back to roads!

      Delete
    3. I have problems again. With Safari it's impossible for me to comment by my Google account. Moreover the comments go to spam or disappear. With Firefox the things go better.
      About trails. I decided to participate only if I know very well the route and the distance is not over the 10 km.

      Delete
  18. Good man, keep it up you’re an inspiration to us old guys!

    ReplyDelete

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