It's lovely here in Rome!

Oh how I wish I could have actually said it for real! The Rome Marathon was run today and instead of giving you a report about how I did running it, I'm reporting that we received 5 more inches of snow today in Anchorage and I'm depressed about missing the marathon and the rest of my "Trampathon" through Italy, Paris, and Vienna. I was sure as hell determined to do something, ANYTHING to help take my mind off what I was missing today. So, after attending an early mass at my church, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, I headed to Anchorage's indoor running track at The Dome (see link), the site where I had been training for the "Trampathon" and where it fell apart due to my heart problems. The last time I ran at the Dome (actually the last time I ran before my January 13 operation) was on December 30, 2008: I ran 4 miles that day and it was marred with dizziness and lightheadedness. After dressing out I slowly walked onto the track and was overcome with emotions: I was determined to run "Rome" today no matter what. As I trotted around the track in the far outside lane, other runners much, much, much faster than I passed me in lanes 1 and 2. However, that didn't bother me because I was out there in my element "running Rome". With each lap I imagined the Roman street scenes I was sure to have seen along the way. After 2 miles, I walked one cool-down lap and called it quits. There was no finish line in the Colosseum to cross, no medals handed out, and no bottle of Italian wine to chug afterwards with my fellow marathoners. There was only the screaming sounds of soccer players on the infield and the stale smell of the men's locker room.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not moping around the house everyday feeling sorry for myself (although Marian might have something to say about that). I realize that not being in Europe on my retirement trip has given me an interesting opportunity to experience "what if." What if I had been in Europe the past few days? Well, I would have missed a nice lunch with a dear friend that I worked with at the Minerals Management Service; missed a spirited meeting with the Huffman O'Malley Community Council; missed a few brews with a golfing buddy; missed a fantastic dinner hosted by close friends and hearing the touring adventures of a couple who spent Spring Break in Italy and Greece; missed a lovely walk with our dog Bailey and friends on a beautiful frozen lake; and missed a date with my daughter Hannah to see the musical "Annie" performed by a national touring company. So you see, I'm working on putting things into perspective.

But then there is my good buddy David. David and I were hoping to cross paths in Italy while I was there also. Well, he is there...in Rome...and I'm not. He is my eyes and ears and I'm experiencing Rome through his emails to me...check out his latest...

hi wayne,
thanks so much for your email. as i am travelling alone, it is great to be in touch with friends back home. although i just had a lovely conversation and italian lesson with henry at the front desk. he is italian, but his dad was working in el paso and he was born there. he is 40 and his first baby is due may 1! he seems very excited! it is so cute to see him tear up at the prospect. what a glorious day! this is really an amazing city. i am so glad that i decided to come back. i tallied it up, this is my 8th visit to italy, 5th to rome, and this is the second time i have spent two weeks in the capitol.

today was the Rome marathon!! i wanted to get some photos and video clips of the action, and boy did i! today was a beautiful day, so the race could not have had better weather. the finish line was at the Colosseum, i caught the first, second and third place finishers of the disabled competitors, the men and the women. all the first five finishers were from Kenya, both men and women, not the disabled, first there went to an Italian. the whole thing was done i classic Italian fashion, seemingly chaotic! but it was managed chaos, at least from a spectators point of view. it was glorious, glorious!!

from there i wandered around the palantine hill, over the river for lunch in trastevere (literally means the other side of the tiber river.) the restaurant was terrific. i had eaten there with caroline and maryellen four years ago. still as popular as ever. sunday in lasagna day, it was out of this world!!! and is served as the primi piatti, for secondi i had the lamb a la cacciatora, i would describe it as braised in olive oil with rosemary! heaven! the contorni was chard, i guess, hard to say, but yummy. with dessert, wine, water and bread it came to 27 euros! what a deal.

from there i spent the afternoon wandering and wandering, once around the island in the river, isola di tiburtina. then to all my favorite hot spots, campo di fiori, piazza navona, panteon, and back again. another meal, wine and pizza, it was a grand, i would say a perfect, day.

ok...enough already. i hope your recovery is proceeding well. tomorrow i hope to be off to the amalfi for a day overlooking the med. warmer today, in fact, i was over dressed, oh well.
love ya tons!!! ciao bella, baci baci, dac

Tomorrow is another cardiac rehab day and I must say, the three days a week sessions are doing wonders for me. Hal and his staff monitor our work outs carefully and provide lots of motivation. There are about 12 people in my rehab class and every week someone seems to "graduate" out of it (Graduation seems to occur when the insurance coverage ends!).

I enjoy the weight training but it always makes my chest sore...I may have to get that checked out by Dr. Misbach this week.

I always make sure to get at least 30 minutes on the treadmill. So far my pace is about 4.3 mph at a 2%-to-3% grade. I also try to get some time on the elliptical trainer. I went 40 minutes one day and my butt was sore for two days! Hey, I think I now know how to get my lost butt back!

One final thought via a quote:

If at first you don't succeed, you are running about average.

M.H. Aldeson

When in Rome, do what the Romans do ... ciao bella, baci baci, dac!