paris-versailles
official time: http://www.parisversailles.com/lgc_resultat_indiv.php
me smiling for the camera: http://www.maindruphoto.com/product_info.php?cPath=1612_1613&numbercompetitor=10103&sort=1a&&products_id=4891517&language=en
As some of you know, last weekend I went to Paris by myself in order to run the Paris-Versailles 16k, a race between the Eiffel Tower and Versailles. I was a little nervous about running it because I'd been having some trouble with one of my legs (shin splints, as it turns out), but it seems to be normal for me to have some kind of running related pain. I do have some fancy new custom made inserts to go in my shoes, though, so I'm hoping that those will keep me from getting injured, as long as I make sure to change shoes often.
In any case, Paris was just wonderful. I avoided going to Paris last year because I had such a good time there with my friends during my study abroad experience four years ago...the memories are so perfect, I guess I just didn't want to ruin them! In doing this, however, I forgot just how much I love Paris. When I arrived on Saturday, I went straight to the expo to get my runner's packet, then I went to the hotel, a very nice little place not far from the Eiffel Tower (a strategic location for the race).
I had all of Saturday afternoon to do what I wanted...I had planned to visit the catacombs, but they were closed due to "actes de vandalisme." Boo to that, I say. So instead, I went to visit the Tour de Montparnasse, which has a view that rivals the Eiffel Tower. When I arrived, I went in the wrong door...I asked the man in the reception hall how to go to the top of the tower and he jokingly said "Well, we get a rope and we tie it around you and I pull you all the way up to the top!!" Haha, who says Parisians aren't friendly??
After taking in the view, I took a stroll down the Champs Elysees, mainly because one of my French friends told me he really wanted macaroons (a type of cookie) from a specific bakery there. He said that the macaroons from this particular shop were the best, I kind of didn't take him seriously until I found the place and saw all of the people falling out of it! Half of Paris was there, I think!
I took care to eat a decent dinner and found a nice pizzeria not far from my hotel. As I was eating by myself, I took the opportunity to eavesdrop on the conversation an older couple was having right next to me. Pardonnez-moi, but their amusing conversation is in French:
They come in and sit down.
femme: Tu n'enleve pas ton blouson?
homme: Ah oui...
he tries to take his coat off, but the zipper gets stuck. His wife gets up and tries to help him. She can't get the zipper unstuck.
femme: Ce n'est pas le jour, hein, ce n'est pas le jour!
one minute later
femme: oh la la, la la, la la. Mais, tant pis, hein, tant pis.
The husband keeps his coat on for the rest of the meal.
Maybe you had to be there, but this was quite an amusing exchange!
Sunday morning was the race... it started at 10am, but I had to get there much earlier as I had a bag that needed to be checked by 9am. Therefore, I had to sit and wait around almost a half an hour by myself before the race started. I guess, though, that this paid off in the end because I got a good starting position. In most races, the race organizers try to put the faster runners in front...but this was not the case here, unfortunately. Instead, they started us off in waves of about 500 random people. This meant that all throughout the race, people were passing me from the waves that started later. It was kind of disconcerting, since I'm used to running half marathons where I start with a group of runners who have about the same pace as me!
Another reason I wasn't such a big fan of the "wave" system is that I heard that some runners didn't start until 11am, which is way, way too late. I was already hungry at quarter past 10 when I started...I can't imagine the case of the runners who started later.
One other difference about this race that struck me is that instead of having just porta-potties, they also had open-air urinal stands. I have never seen such things before and I tried not to stare. I also couldn't believe the number of men who pulled over to the side of the course to pee during the race. Incroyable...that would never be allowed in the US, nor is it something I saw happening during the half in Luxembourg!
Well, back to the race...I was fine for the first couple of kilometres, until I hit the hill of death in the middle of the course. People keep telling me that I must be crazy, but I felt like we were going straight up! I actually stopped running and started to take big steps to get to the top of the hill (or prolonged incline, if you will). The only good thing about this is that what goes up usually comes down, so there was a nice downhill section not long after and then the course flattened out toward the end.
I'm quite happy with my time: 1h 39min 16 s, 10 minutes a mile or about 6:15 per kilometer. About 14,000 men ran the race compared to about 3, 000 woman, so the race was really fast! I think I would've ran much more slowly, but I kept having the feeling that if I didn't pick up my pace, someone was going to literally run me over!
Arriving at Versailles was probably one of the neatest things...because you're like, ah, there's Versailles! I really did it!
Unfortunately, once the race ended, there was practically no support whatsoever and I had some trouble pulling myself together and finding the metro. This caused me to miss my train back to Metz...it was no big deal to change the ticket, but it would've been nice to have gotten home a little sooner (and not to have had to pay to change my ticket!) The one thing I loved was being in the Parisian metro in my running shorts and shoes...I got some strange looks, but I didn't mind the judgement because on that day, I was one of the 17,000 coolest people in Paris :-)
me smiling for the camera: http://www.maindruphoto.com/product_info.php?cPath=1612_1613&numbercompetitor=10103&sort=1a&&products_id=4891517&language=en
As some of you know, last weekend I went to Paris by myself in order to run the Paris-Versailles 16k, a race between the Eiffel Tower and Versailles. I was a little nervous about running it because I'd been having some trouble with one of my legs (shin splints, as it turns out), but it seems to be normal for me to have some kind of running related pain. I do have some fancy new custom made inserts to go in my shoes, though, so I'm hoping that those will keep me from getting injured, as long as I make sure to change shoes often.
In any case, Paris was just wonderful. I avoided going to Paris last year because I had such a good time there with my friends during my study abroad experience four years ago...the memories are so perfect, I guess I just didn't want to ruin them! In doing this, however, I forgot just how much I love Paris. When I arrived on Saturday, I went straight to the expo to get my runner's packet, then I went to the hotel, a very nice little place not far from the Eiffel Tower (a strategic location for the race).
I had all of Saturday afternoon to do what I wanted...I had planned to visit the catacombs, but they were closed due to "actes de vandalisme." Boo to that, I say. So instead, I went to visit the Tour de Montparnasse, which has a view that rivals the Eiffel Tower. When I arrived, I went in the wrong door...I asked the man in the reception hall how to go to the top of the tower and he jokingly said "Well, we get a rope and we tie it around you and I pull you all the way up to the top!!" Haha, who says Parisians aren't friendly??
After taking in the view, I took a stroll down the Champs Elysees, mainly because one of my French friends told me he really wanted macaroons (a type of cookie) from a specific bakery there. He said that the macaroons from this particular shop were the best, I kind of didn't take him seriously until I found the place and saw all of the people falling out of it! Half of Paris was there, I think!
I took care to eat a decent dinner and found a nice pizzeria not far from my hotel. As I was eating by myself, I took the opportunity to eavesdrop on the conversation an older couple was having right next to me. Pardonnez-moi, but their amusing conversation is in French:
They come in and sit down.
femme: Tu n'enleve pas ton blouson?
homme: Ah oui...
he tries to take his coat off, but the zipper gets stuck. His wife gets up and tries to help him. She can't get the zipper unstuck.
femme: Ce n'est pas le jour, hein, ce n'est pas le jour!
one minute later
femme: oh la la, la la, la la. Mais, tant pis, hein, tant pis.
The husband keeps his coat on for the rest of the meal.
Maybe you had to be there, but this was quite an amusing exchange!
Sunday morning was the race... it started at 10am, but I had to get there much earlier as I had a bag that needed to be checked by 9am. Therefore, I had to sit and wait around almost a half an hour by myself before the race started. I guess, though, that this paid off in the end because I got a good starting position. In most races, the race organizers try to put the faster runners in front...but this was not the case here, unfortunately. Instead, they started us off in waves of about 500 random people. This meant that all throughout the race, people were passing me from the waves that started later. It was kind of disconcerting, since I'm used to running half marathons where I start with a group of runners who have about the same pace as me!
Another reason I wasn't such a big fan of the "wave" system is that I heard that some runners didn't start until 11am, which is way, way too late. I was already hungry at quarter past 10 when I started...I can't imagine the case of the runners who started later.
One other difference about this race that struck me is that instead of having just porta-potties, they also had open-air urinal stands. I have never seen such things before and I tried not to stare. I also couldn't believe the number of men who pulled over to the side of the course to pee during the race. Incroyable...that would never be allowed in the US, nor is it something I saw happening during the half in Luxembourg!
Well, back to the race...I was fine for the first couple of kilometres, until I hit the hill of death in the middle of the course. People keep telling me that I must be crazy, but I felt like we were going straight up! I actually stopped running and started to take big steps to get to the top of the hill (or prolonged incline, if you will). The only good thing about this is that what goes up usually comes down, so there was a nice downhill section not long after and then the course flattened out toward the end.
I'm quite happy with my time: 1h 39min 16 s, 10 minutes a mile or about 6:15 per kilometer. About 14,000 men ran the race compared to about 3, 000 woman, so the race was really fast! I think I would've ran much more slowly, but I kept having the feeling that if I didn't pick up my pace, someone was going to literally run me over!
Arriving at Versailles was probably one of the neatest things...because you're like, ah, there's Versailles! I really did it!
Unfortunately, once the race ended, there was practically no support whatsoever and I had some trouble pulling myself together and finding the metro. This caused me to miss my train back to Metz...it was no big deal to change the ticket, but it would've been nice to have gotten home a little sooner (and not to have had to pay to change my ticket!) The one thing I loved was being in the Parisian metro in my running shorts and shoes...I got some strange looks, but I didn't mind the judgement because on that day, I was one of the 17,000 coolest people in Paris :-)