Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Sunrise Paris Run

I haven't run since we arrived in Paris last Friday. We've been doing a walk a day from Frommer's "24 Great Walks in Paris." Between walking and eating and drinking and watching CNN International and getting used to it being 8 hours ahead of Arizona time and enjoying not being woken up at 5AM by our kids and just enjoying being on vacation, it's been hard to get up earlier than 9 or 10 AM. But today, I decided to go ahead and set an alarm for 6AM and head out for a run.

I thought I might run in the Bois de Boulogne, a large park near the apartment where we're staying, but the streets are so twisty and turny that I thought I might get lost on my way home. So I decided to just head down the Seine. It's tough to get lost when you follow a big river!

The alarm went off and I dragged my tired butt out of bed. I had a quick snack of French yogurt and honey (mmmmmmmmmmmmm), and headed out the door. I walked the 1/2 mile or so from our apartment over to the Seine, waiting for my Garmin to pick up a satellite. Finally it asked, "Have you moved hundreds of miles since the last time you used your Garmin?" Why, yes I have! I finally got a signal, and I set out.

About all I can say is "WOW!!" I must be the luckiest person on the face of the planet. 2 weeks ago I got to do a run in one of the best places God has created. Today I get to do a run in one of the best places Man has created. Watching the sun come up over Paris as I huffed and puffed down the path along the river was just magical. My route was like a history text. I passed le Grand Palais, la Place de Concorde, les Jardins des Tuileries, le Musée du Louvre and le Pont Neuf. When I got to le Pont d'Austerlitz, I paused over the Seine to admire the scenery.

I headed back on the other bank and was treated to even more great sights: le Jardin des Plantes, l'Institut de Monde Arabe, Nortre-Dame de Paris, le Musée de Orsay, le Quai d'Orsay, les Invalides, le Musée de Quai Branly and finally the Eiffel Tower.

The Garmin claims I ran 8 miles. It seems like it wasn't updating several times. But whatever-- that was one of the best runs I've done in my whole life!

Activity
Route:--Elev. Avg:118 ft
Location:Neuilly-sur-Seine, Elev. Gain:+75 ft
Date:12/31/69Up/Downhill:[+1515/-1440]
Time:06:00 PMDifficulty:3.6 / 5.0
Performance

Distance:8.09 miles
Time:1:13:32
Speed:6.6 mph
Pace:9' 05 /mi
Calories:1341
Map
Elevation (ft)
Pace (min/mile)
Splits
MilePace (min/mile)Speed (mph)Elevation
Gain
actual+/- avgactual+/- avg
19' 36+0' 316.2-0.4-33 ft
28' 06-0' 597.4+0.8+92 ft
39' 09+0' 046.5-0.1-82 ft
49' 49+0' 446.1-0.5+46 ft
513' 45+4' 404.4-2.2-43 ft
610' 19+1' 145.8-0.80 ft
710' 49+1' 445.5-1.1+10 ft
810' 20+1' 155.8-0.8+16 ft
end10' 19+1' 145.8-0.8+69 ft
Versus average of 9' 05 min/mile

1 comment:

Bill Major said...

Wow, sounds incredible. I'd say yes, you are one of the "lucky ones"...one of many reason being that you are a "runner". I've discovered that running allows you to see some pretty incredible, beautiful things. RUN ON!