She Do Run Run

Bonjour from the City of Light! SD and I are in France for our European vacation. We arrived in Paris on Tuesday morning and were able to check into our room at 10:30. Such a blessing when you've been traveling for 19 hours. First order of business--a bath! Then we explored for a little while until we could no longer keep our eyes open and returned to our room for a long nap. 

Somewhat refreshed, we headed to L'epi Dupin,l our favorite Paris restaurant where we had a 21:00 reservation. The food was as good as ever and we waddled happily to our hotel.

We were staying near the Arc d' Triumphe and had a weeklong metro pass so getting around was easy. The next morning (Wednesday) I got up around 6:30 to go for a run. I remembered to pack everything but a sports bra--Mon Dieu! I had to make do with what I had and made sure to keep my jacket zipped. 

I ran down the Champs Élysées to Georges V then crossed the river and turned right to the Eiffel Tower. There's a small park there and I got passed by other runners as I jogged along. I had run there years ago so it felt familiar. I headed back to the hotel and joined my husband for breakfast. Total run was about 5 miles.

After that, SD had the bright idea to walk up the Champs Élysées to Notre Dame. It was a pleasant walk but then he dragged me to the Isle St. Louis and to who knows where until by the end of the day I had shin splints! And that was before we went to visit the Louvre, which is open until 22:00 on Wednesday. My dogs were barking!

There was no way I was going running on Thursday and we spent the day shopping in the swanky Madeleine district. We had a wonderful lunch under the stained glass dome at Printemps, a department store that carries every designer you've ever heard of. 

There were plenty of chic Parisians and I don't know how they can walk on stone pavers in high heels all day. I was wearing sensible walking shoes(Merrell's) and was in pain. I searched in vain for a pair of canvas skimmers. No matter, I survived and went to a cute little bistro that SD read about in the NY Times. The food was again fabulous and it was a perfect last night in Paris.

Since we weren't leaving till after noon on Friday, I had time for one more run. First, breakfast in the hotel consisting of oatmeal and brioche and, of course, cafe latte. Then I ran along the Seine from the Arc d'Triumphe to Notre Dame, with a short detour through the Tuilleries and around Pei's infamous pyramid. It was wonderful and I felt so free!

On the way back to the hotel it started to rain, so I took the metro from the Place d'Concorde. I had intended to run through the Arc d'Triumphe but it was too confusing so I just ran back to the hotel for a total of 7 miles. 

You can get really get to know a place when you run through it. Maybe someday I'll run the Paris Marathon although I'm not sure my legs can handle the cobblestone streets. Regardless, I have some more wonderful running related memories as I run the world!

The Wine Country Half Marathon was yesterday in Paso Robles. It was the second time I ran it; the first time was two years ago and I placed 3rd in my AG, running 11:15 mpm. This time, not even close! I did run hard, though, and pulled in 9 out of 11. The top three in my age group all ran under 2:15, including one woman who was two years older than me! My time was 2:36:48; 11:58 minutes per mile overall.

The heavy rains and recent traveling put a dent in my training schedule and I knew I wasn't in my best shape. I did run 12 miles on the course a couple of weeks ago, and that was my longest training run. At least I knew I could do that distance. But how fast could I go?

It was butt-cold in the morning and I had all my cold weather gear on while waiting for the race to start. My friends were also running this race, but they car-pooled and I arrived before them. I ran a little to warm up and then went to the portapotty. This is a pretty small race (665 finishers) so the line was non-existent. I saw my girlfriends on my way to the toilet, but then didn't see them when I got out. I headed over to the gear drop and reluctantly took off my warm clothes. I kept the jacket on though, even though I was wearing arm warmers with my ss shirt. Of course, half-way through I had to wrap it around my waist. Sigh.

One more stop at the portalet and I headed to the starting line. I still didn't see my friends, so ran by myself. I figured they were ahead of me, but later learned that they were staying warm in their truck and didn't hear the starting buzzer!

Crossing the starting line, I started my Garmin. I was running at a pretty good clip, but many people were passing me. Turning around, it looked like I was going to be the last one. And I hadn't even gone 1/2 mile yet. What a fast field! But experience had taught me not to go out too fast, so I watched my speed and tried to enjoy the scenery. We passed a pasture and a horse was running around, stirred up by the crowd I guess. That was fun.

Between miles 2 and 3, the Huer Huero Creek crosses Buena Vista Rd. Normally there isn't any water in it, but lately the road had been closed because the creek flooded it. Race directors were worried that they'd have to change the route, but it was bone dry by Sunday.

Remembering the San Francisco Half last July, I looked for a runner to keep pace with. I found a young woman and we ran along together for a few miles. I never got her name, but she was from Santa Monica. Being familiar with the route, I gave her a few pointers. I warned her about Airport Rd. which is downright hazardous because it's so torn up. In fact, I got a twinge in my left knee running there and I was afraid I was done, but I was able to work through it. Whew!

There was a water stop at J. Lohr Winery, but no portapotty. Dang! I had passed up the first one because the line was too long, but an hour into the run I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold it. There weren't any bushes where a girl could discreetly relieve herself. Turning onto Wellsona Rd. a half mile later, I saw two portapotties. There was a short line and I debated about passing it up. I opted for comfort rather than speed and stayed. The line moved pretty fast, but still, I lost a few minutes. That was just before mile 7, so imagine my chagrin when I saw a lone portapotty just before mile 10 with no one using it.

Wellsona has some rolling hills and horse farms and then turns into River Rd. On my training runs I headed south on River Rd. but the course first headed north and uphill before looping back and heading south. Grrr. As the southbound runners passed me, I looked for my friends but didn't see them. I did see an elderly couple who I had talked to at the packet pickup. They were probably in their 70s and had run the Portland Marathon. I was a little daunted to see them ahead of me, but I cheered them on.

As I looped back southbound I finally saw my friends heading northbound. They were running in a pack and taking walking breaks. I try to only walk at the water stations, so that I can consume my drink. Since I was wearing a belt, I was usually able to run past the water stations.

Between miles 9 and 10, I started to get run down. Up until mile 10, I had been running between 11:30 and 12 mpm, but after mile 10 it went over 12. My legs were tired and I was surrounded by walkers. I so wanted to walk too, but I made myself run faster--surprisingly, that relieves the fatigue. I remembered another Dori--the fish from Finding Nemo--and kept repeating, "just keep running; just keep running." As I did I passed several people, including the elderly couple I mentioned earlier.

A friend of mine's sister passed away recently from colon cancer and I dedicated my race to her. As the going got tough, I thought about Nancy and how well she handled her struggle with cancer these last three years. I was wearing a LiveStrong bracelet which reminded me why I run.

After mile 12 the course veers onto private property and up a, "You've got to be f-ing kidding me!" hill. It was short but very steep and I made myself "run" up it, although my pace was over 18 mpm. I was so close to the finish that I didn't want to break form and start walking. At the top I caught my breath and then picked up the pace to the finish line. The announcer called my name and I raised my arms in victory.

I got my medal and a bottle of water, then walked back to cheer my friends in. A friend of ours, the woman who introduced me to everyone when I first moved here, was there and we waited together. Once they were all in, we took pictures and got some egg burritos--post race food. I drank a couple of cups of coffee and it was so good! Here we all are:

So, another race. It was a good test and shows me areas that I have to work on. My main race is the Portland Marathon on October 9, so that will be the focus from now on. If I do another half, it will only be to see where I'm at fitness-wise. I've got all summer to work on my speed and endurance, in my never-ending quest for a 5-hour marathon!

Photos by T. Howland.

Hurray, spring is here! The hills are lush with all the rain we've had. I got home on Saturday night from my trip to the other wine country and woke up to my beautiful view. It was storming, so I slept in instead of doing my scheduled 45 minutes of drills.

I only ran twice in the week I was gone. Partly because of the heavy rains and partly because we were traveling with another couple. I did run across the GG Bridge as I had posted I would and am so glad that I did. We stayed in Sausalito, so it was interesting to start in the opposite direction than I'm used to. The weather was beautiful, but I couldn't take any pictures because my cell phone battery was dead, even though I thought it had been charging overnight. Sigh.

Back on schedule today, though--I have a half-marathon in three weeks! I woke up, showered, dressed, had breakfast and had SD drop me off on the highway. I ran towards town and met him at the bagel shop after the run. During the run, I saw bluebirds and red-tailed hawks, oaks and vineyards. The shoulder is wide and although there was some traffic, it wasn't horrible. Here's a picture I took a couple of weeks ago. It gives you an idea, even though the sky wasn't as clear today.



The temperature was 42 degrees when I started, but the sun was shining so it felt warm. I even took off my gloves. About two miles into the run, it started to shower. It was somewhat light, so didn't hamper my run any and I quickly dried.



When you're running point to point, there aren't any options, so when the second downpour came, all I could do was keep running. At least the bill of the cap keeps the water off my face, but I got plenty wet. That too passed, and as I neared the bagel shop I still had twenty minutes left in my two-hour workout, so I took a detour and ran up Kiler Canyon, past almond orchards and about twenty turkey vultures roosting in the trees. They kind of disgust me and clearly there was some tasty morsel that I was keeping them from. I was almost afraid they would swarm and attack me, but they were well behaved. Here's a picture of Kiler Canyon, taken a couple of weeks ago.


Tomorrow's workout: 90 minutes of speed training. Not sure it's going to help me in the half, but hopefully it will lead to a PR in Portland. Hmmm, that has a nice alliteration. I think I have a new mantra: PR in Portland!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm in San Francisco with my husband and some friends from Minneapolis and I plan to take them to the Buena Vista bar later for Irish Coffee. Of course, I'll be wearing a bit of green--my Shamrock pin from the old country.

First though (after some sleep!) I plan to run across the Golden Gate bridge. I brought my Human Race t-shirt from a previous year. The Human Race, you may remember, is an 8K St. Patrick's race that I used to run in St. Paul. I used to really enjoy that race and since there aren't any races in SLO to celebrate the holiday, I'll have to make due with past events.

And yes, I'm still running, although not blogging about it these days. There are lots of reasons--Facebook, SDs retirement, too many commitments--but I still like to pretend that I'm a blogger. And I've been saving a joke to share with you on St. Patrick's Day; after all, it's a tradition! Here it is:

An Irishman goes into the confessional box after years of being away from the Church. Along one wall he sees a fully equipped bar with Guinness on tap. On the other wall is a dazzling array of the finest cigars and chocolates.

Then the priest comes in. "Father, forgive me, for 'tis been a very long time since I've been to confession, but I must first admit that the confessional box is much more inviting than it used to be.

"Get out," says the priest. "You're on my side."

May you be fleet of feet, strong of heart, and always find your happy pace. :-)