World Harmony Run

From August 10 to 16 I was part of the World Harmony Run in Bosnia and Hercegovina and also Croatia.It is always interesting to be part of the run and since the Olympics had just finished people are reminded of it when they see us running with a torch.. As part of the team you go out and run your shift. sometimes in the countryside sometimes in Cities.The average distance per runner per day is around 10 km, but some like to add to their daily stint but joining others on their shift.The official meetings we have are sometimes quite simple and other times involve traditional dance and local or national TV. If you ever get a chance to participate take the chance.

Bastille Day

Yes today is Bastille Day and when I ran this morning it completed 18 months of my running streak which actually equals my second longest of all time.The longest of course is the four and a half years I did from March 1997 to September 2001. As I have said before I never force myself to go out and run, but when I am in one of these streaks it becomes the natural thing for me to do everyday., the consistency of running everyday  becomes the thing to do and makes the day complete.

Fragrance

most mornings in Sarajevo I run from the apartment where I am staying to the river and run on the sidewalk, it is lined with Linden trees, which at this time of the year are full of flowers.The flowers are very fragrant and on occasion I am reminded of a few tree lined streets in Queens, New York where I would run and I would have the same experience.

Update

This past weekend I was on the Dalmatian coast, mostly in a place called Biograd. I got to swim a lot, which in the mornings was preceded by a nice run by the sea. On Sunday I ran a 2 mile race, which it turns out was a little short since my time was 14:03, which would have been my fastest for about 2 years. Since I moved to Sarajevo I have lost a little weight, I think from the good food here and my reduction in junk food.
A few weeks ago my friend Nataliya from the Ukraine won the Edinboro' marathon in 2:39:46, which was 26 seconds slower than when she finished 2nd in Utrecht 6 weeks earlier.
Finally it is nice to be able to go out and run in just T shirt and shorts now that the weather has warmed up ;)

500 Days

This morning in Sarajevo was a little cool, but dry. On my current running streak I have now completed 500 days. When I was here in October/ November there was  smoke in the air from fires to keep houses and such warm, so I did notice some slight breathing problems, but now in the Spring everything is much better, I have to look at the chance to run a race somewhere I am kind of still settling in as far as that is concerned.

In Bosnia

I am managing to maintain my running streak. I traveled by bus overnight to Sarajevo where I will be living for a while. When went out for a run a few hours after my arrival I noticed some quite painful tightness in my lower back on the left side and this was repeated this morning when I also ran. It was similar to what I experienced  when I was here in October last year, I persisted in running every day then and it went away so I fully expect it to do the same this time. I am 10 days from completing 500 days having just completed 16 months at the beginning of the week.
On Tuesday some friends of mine finished the Unix 6 day race in Hungary, with my friends Wolfgang Schwerk and Andrea Accorsi finishing 1st and 3rd in the Man's edition and Monica Barchetti ( Andreas wife ) wining the woman's race. Congratulations to them all.

Marathon friend

Last week a friend of mine from the Ukraine ran 2:39:20 in the Utrecht marathon, it was a personal best for her and she finished second among the women. I first met her and her brother 3 years ago and 2 years ago she came to Ljubljana and finished 10th in the city marathon, with a time of 2:46. Last November she ran 2:43 finishing 3rd in the Podgorica marathon in Montenegro. I talk with her from time to time and she tells me how things are going in her training and also smaller races that she does, usually in Poland. Because of her improved times she is now being invited to races with expenses being paid, which is a big improvement..