After a superlative breakfast at our hotel we hit the road a 9.00, heading out of Kozani towards Chalkidonia. Today the weather conditions were for the most part a runner’s dream: nice and cloudy, cool, with the occasional refreshing breeze, the sun only popping out from time to time. It was an ideal day for Dipavajan to start his marathon training.

He started with a fairly flat 7k stretch along the wide roads from Kozani towards Veroia, surrounded by numerous fields of pale green and the odd bulking power plant towering up now and then. Later he got to do 5k of interval training downhill, and boy, did we have to tackle some hills today. Mark was allotted a 5k stretch winding mercilessly up steep slopes.

After this I continued upwards for another 4k, the inclination having resided a bit by then, and was later rewarded by 6k of downhill.

Colm and I had the same experience today, that speeding downhill seemed quite effortless: the body was just running, fast and easy, while the mind and heart were joyful, enjoying the speed and the scenery, which consisted of a blanket of leafy green forests. It was a real thrill!

Oh, and thank God for pasta! Those of us who had pasta at yesterday’s excellent Italian meal really felt that it was with us today making running slick and smooth. A wish to all runners: May the pasta be with you!

Distance: 105km

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