This is not a blog about running!

First, let me make one thing clear.
This is not a blog about running. Running is an important part of my life, and at some point I would like to explore in more detail this special affinity. I like the endorphins of course, post-exercise, but I also like the discipline and the test of patience. Yes, I am one of those people who actually like discipline and perhaps even routine!

So, I have posts coming up which are not running related, I already have them half-written mentally, kicking to get out, though we will all have to wait a bit longer before we can read them on the computer screen!

But today I want to talk about morning runs and in particular this morning's run.
Now I am not really a morning person and I always have a tough time running in the morning. It takes about twice as long for the body to wake up as it does in an evening workout. For me, at least. But I also remember Meseret Defar, who is very sweet and easy-going, giving exactly the same answer when I briefly interviewed her post-race for the IAAF World Cup in Athens in 2006. She said, I celarly remember, that the morning workouts are always the toughest for her.

Today, my motivation for the morning run came from a promise. Some time ago I promised a friend from Barcelona, Daniel Justribo, an avid runner who also likes writing, that I would send him a few pictures of the Stelios Kyriakides statue in the suburb of Filothei.

Daniel had written an article on the life of Kyriakides, and I thought it would nicely complement his post. So, today, I ran with a mission. Starting from home, in Aghia Paraskevi, and running all the way to Filothei, to take some pictures and then head back. Distance unknown, I estimated it would be something like 7km, although in the end it ended up being slightly longer, at 10.6km.
The weather was perfect, a cool sunny day, in the morning hours just before it starts getting hot in the city. The pavements were a hassle, I had to watch every step, pavements are so dangerous in Athens, in some places completely falling apart. Some mayors need to look more closely into this issue!
But when I reached Filothei, the shade of the acaceas, the tranquillity, the empty streets lined with pretty houses, the carefree joggers on the Filothei track, the lingering stream behind the Stelios Kyriakides stadium, and finally the beautiful statue of Kyriakides himself on the outside of the small luscious square perfectly rewarded my inspiration and kick-started my day!
The digital camera in hand, I took my photos and then headed back happy, and satisfied! Here is one of them, the rest you can find soon in Daniel's link below! 

Daniel Justribo's article on the life of Stelios Kyriakides (for the Catalan speaking friends out there!) can be found by clicking on the link
http://www.corredors.cat/index.php?option=com_jfusion&Itemid=91&jfile=index.php&topic=83.msg469059#msg469059