Still in hot Puglia, Southern Italy. Long distance running in the heat seems to be not well indicated, especially when there is no water support, but a Salomon belt with only 400 ml of hot fluid and a fruity gel that gets hot just after 5 km.
This morning I had intervals, which usually give me more stress due to the fact that keeping a moderately high pace is the actual exercise. Not today.
Running a shorter mileage was such a relief, because of those 30 degrees (and more) around me.
There are several aspects of the country side that are worth mentioning.
Nice roads and no cars whatsoever are invaluable. Ok, some barking dogs sometimes. But if they're not in a gang they're actually harmless.
A million cicadas chirping so loud in the middle of nowhere, more than just breaking the silence, at the point that the beep of the Garmin at every km was barely audible.
The weak wind blowing at its best to dry the litres of sweat on the chest and the arms, dropping on the quads in a continuously interrupted flow.
Finally, the scarce shadows of the crowns of olive trees on the left side of the road, like they were inviting me to cool down for a fraction of a second before going back to the road, exposed to that sun, yellow and white, stubborn to deliver that amount of degrees every runner would fear to go into.
And he would be so right!
