Two croissants, five pizzettes, and an ultramarathon โค๏ธ๐โโ๏ธ๐ฎ๐น
I woke up at 5:30 with the thought of running more today. I can't even remember falling asleep. I had crashed out after another day of wandering around, on Mount Vesuvius, through Pompeii and Naples, with tens of thousands of steps taken. I had found the best Sfogliatelle on Earth, which by the way, they really were, indulged in two days' worth of all sorts of traditional goodies, so I had a terrific carboloading ๐คญ
Around 6:20, I left the house thinking I would run on the promenade, and then eastward, along the seaside. I had a 35 km workout planned and intended to run about 30 km and then return, pick up Carmen, and run another 10-12 km. Another marathon outing. But plans never quite work out as expected ๐ I had taken my belt with me, didn't feel like carrying a backpack. And it had everything: phone, GoPro, headphones, water, except for the gels, which I had forgotten ๐
The city was deserted, after a night before where you could barely move through the crowds. There had been a proper street festival, "Festa di San Giuseppe," a celebration dedicated to Saint Joseph.
After 1 km, I reached the seaside. I caught a stunning sunrise, with the sun rising just behind the peak of Mount Vesuvius. It was already warm enough to ditch the jacket. I covered the next 4 km on the promenade, right by the seaside, until Fontana del Sebeto, an important point in my runs here, because of the water fountain ๐คญ
The next 5 km were a continuous ascent through Posillipo followed by a steep descent, ending up again by the seaside in Coroglio. At km 15, I was already in Pozzuoli, on the promenade, and I should have turned back, but I couldn't, it was too beautiful.
Because I had forgotten my gels, I planned to make a stop here and have a cappuccino and a croissant. I continued for another 2.5 km through a small park right by the seaside, which I had spotted on the map. At its end, I had to turn back because the road got blocked, so no more ideas could pop into my head ๐คญ
I headed back on a dike, hopping on huge cobblestones. A few locals walking their dogs looked amused at me, wondering what was going on in my head ๐คญ Back on the promenade, I looked for an open cafรฉ and was glad to find one right by the seaside with a superb view. Unfortunately, I couldn't pay by card, so I continued my run. I found a cafรฉ "to my liking" in the next town, at km 21. It was owned by Don Giovanni, a cafรฉ owner since forever ๐ He invited me to sit on the terrace and then served me with what I ordered. A perfect cappuccino and a croissant "con crema," which was actually filled with jam and absolutely delicious, were just what I needed to keep going. The way back was uneventful. After climbing back up in Coroglio, I felt like singing while going downhill. I also "shot" a "music video," I'll post it in the next few days ๐
Back on the seaside, at Fontana del Sebeto, I doused myself from head to toe and instantly drank two flasks of water, about 1 liter ๐ It was quite crowded here. The promenade was full of people, as they had also woken up and wanted to take advantage of this beautiful day.
I got home after 35 km on foot, singing "3 Sud Est" as I entered the door. Carmen was ready, I changed my shirt, and had a glass of cola. I didn't take gels because I liked the idea of running with croissants and cappuccino ๐
After 5 minutes, we set off again, making our way through the crowd until we reached the promenade. Good weather, great sea, nice route, Carmen started asking about what's beyond the fountain, after about 4 km, as if she wanted to run more. - "A winding road along the coast," I said, with a slight uphill ๐คญ Why tell her it was a 6 km climb ๐ It was obvious she was thinking of doing a half marathon and that's all she needed, then we'd turn back.
After another 2 km, I told her that's how the road goes until the end. She was happy ๐คญ After another km, I felt like all the carboloading from the last few days was over. At km 44, I found a Pasticceria that was just what I needed. The fact that there was a line, about 3 people, was an indicator that they had good stuff there ๐ I ordered a croissant "con crema" and 5 pizzettes, those small pizzas the size of three fingers in diameter, about a bite's worth. When it was time to pay, the lady told me they didn't accept cards. The fact that she wasn't very convincing made me think there was another issue. The commission ๐ I told her I could pay the commission just to let me pay by card, I was drooling with desire ๐คช I then continued, running and eagerly biting into the croissant filled with jam, again. It was delicious and disappeared very quickly ๐
I didn't head towards Coroglio to avoid going downhill, and I climbed until Carmen reached her distance, almost 11 km, then we turned back. I laughed and ate the pizzettes until we reached the top. And if there were 10, I would have finished them all, they were that good.
The return was a piece of cake, running downhill to the fountain, where we had a proper splash fest. The last 5 km were quite tricky because the promenade was absolutely crowded. It was a real challenge to run there. The bike path helped, but not always. And the last km, through the historic center of the city, was the cherry on top. We walked more than we ran.
I finished the run on a little street near the accommodation, where there was a food market, from where we had been feasting on all sorts of goodies in the last few days.
I finished with 56 km in 5:46:20, plus the breaks. It was a really nice run, done with two croissants, five pizzettes, and a cappuccino, just enough I'd say, plus a lot of water ๐ I really liked Naples, and I'll definitely come back โค๏ธ๐โโ๏ธ๐ฎ๐น