Typically, David and I train together but today I decided to run on my treadmill as opposed to running outside. It was very windy outside and besides I had a treadmill mapped run picked out for a long time that had been sitting on my list and waiting for me to run. David decided to run a custom built half marathon from Cozy Cove to Fast Eddie’s. His goal was to do quite a bit of hill training today which he definitely accomplished in his self-created half marathon!

While running I always watch TV (Netflix movies, food network , etc.) or listen to an audiobook or just enjoy the path I am running on as I am able to experience it in street view (3D). Today I chose to run in Fondamenta Mocenigo, Venice. Searching through Netflix I decided to watch Netflix’s Chef Table. Little did I know the experience I would encounter when the two collided into one.

As I began to run and the series started (Season 1, Episode 1) with the story of Chef Massimo Bottura’s journey as an Italian restaurateur and the Chef patron of Osteria Francescana, a three-Michelin-star restaurant based in Modena, a very surreal feeling encompassed my body.

As the episode began, I felt as though I was truly running through the streets of Venice while experiencing the most amazing love story and success story of a master Chef from Italy. The treadmill allowed me to experience the beauty of Venice while the show engaged me in a learning experience that mapped to the history, environment and beauty of Venice that I was experiencing while running through the streets of Fondamenta Mocenigo. I was so absorbed in the experience the time just flew by on my treadmill and instead of looking at how many miles I had left and how fast I was going I just continued to become more absorbed in the experience. Towards the end of my five mile run I kept thinking about how great it would be to have a glass of great Italian Wine- what a way to top off of this great adventure.  I completed this five mile run in 53:45 which ended up being under 11 minute miles – one of my best times ever!

The other reason this was such an amazing experience is that the story was very intriguing to me. David and I visited a restaurant in Nashville, The Catbird Seat a year or so ago and had the same feeling when we departed the restaurant that many of Chef Borrua’s first guests had when he first opened the restaurant. We felt the food was good (too small of portions) and definitely over-priced. As the story unfolded I became very appreciative of the passion, perfection and artistry that Chef Borrua brought to his famous restaurant Osteria Francescana. I am now very excited to try the Catbird Seat once again with a different attitude and appreciation for the perfection, artistry and unique tastes that this great restaurant delivers.

I realize I have not written in a while (will be adding posts from the last year of our running adventures) but felt compelled to share this story and experience as this is a great way for everyone to enjoy an absorbing experience while burning calories during your run or walk. I am also planning on creating another section in this blog where I will be sharing these types of mapped runs/learning experiences for you to enjoy!

Exercise Equipment- Nordick Track IFIT Enabled Treadmill – https://two-gether.net/2013/04/20/nordick-track-ifit-enabled-treadmill/