A Day in Alsace - Strasbourg

This weekend I ran both Saturday and Sunday.  Although the temperatures and weather conditions were pretty much the same, the runs felt like night and day.  Saturday morning I did my long run and it was tough.  I felt so exhausted only 6 miles in (which were all downhill or flat), which is a bad sign and quite surprising as my daily runs are 8+ miles.  I was super sweaty and just couldn't get enough water.  Because I ran the Town Lake trail, I was able to refill my bottles about half way through, but still drained them by the end of the run. Although my average pace was okay, I felt like I was slogging through the last few miles, I didn't enjoy it and I felt wiped by the time I got home.

This morning was completely different.  I decided after yesterday's sweat-fest long run that I would treat today as a recovery and go easy.  Nonetheless, it was one of those oh-so-easy-everything-clicks runs that remind us why we love the sport.  I felt really good, never very thirsty and each mile got progressively faster without trying.  Halfway through, things felt good, so I tacked on an extra mile around the pond before heading home.  When I got home, I did feel like I could have kept running.

Isn't that just how running is, always going in cycles?  I'm certainly hoping for another good one tomorrow!

This week I ran 46.5 miles (!) and swam 2km.  Beginning of the week here.
Friday: 8.5 miles total; Track workout, 3.5 miles hard
Saturday: 11.45 miles; sucky long run
Sunday: 9 miles; awesome recovery run

I have two more cities to recap from my trip to Europe.  Read earlier reports for Biarritz, Bordeaux, Paris & Echternach.

Timber frame houses in Petite France

After Echternach, Boyfriend and I took a train to Strasbourg, located in the Alsace region of France.  The Alsace region borders the Rhine river and Germany and throughout history was shifted back and forth between Germany and France.  This makes Strasbourg an especially interesting city to visit because of the mix of French and German culture.  This is reflected in the architecture (timber-frame houses) and cuisine.

Strasbourg is a really old settlement, having been around long enough that it was at one point under control of the Roman Empire.  It thrived during the Middle Ages as a trade city.  To protect itself, the oldest part of the city (now known as Petite France) is an island surrounded by the Ill river, which flows into the larger Rhine river.  A series of little bridges cross the Ill to connect it to the rest of the city.  This old part of the city is extremely charming and the best place to stroll, shop and dine (if you are a tourist).  We were lucky to have beautiful sunny weather and blue skies.

Sunshine in Petit France

Boyfriend thoroughly enjoyed the Alsacian beer, and now picks himself up a Fischer Ale (imported from Alsace) whenever he warnts a treat.  I also enjoy the Alsacian style beer!  Anyone know of this style being produced in the US?  Very little is imported, and when it is, it is pricey!

Another major attraction in Strasbourg is the cathedral, which took over 200 years to build and when completed in 1493 was the tallest building in the world (beating the pyramid in Giza!)  Interestingly, this cathedral has only one tower because they ran out of money to build the second.  The stone is a sandy red color and the style is gothic.

Intricately carved front of cathedral

A side view showing the one tower

We climbed to the top to get a panoramic view of the city and Boyfriend got a little artsy ;)

Itty-bitty Strasbourg

We stuck around the cathedral to see the Astronomical clock, which only goes off once a day (12:30pm).  This is a massive clock with many intricate, moving pieces.  In addition to tracking the time of day, it tracks month, day of the week, lunar cycles and many more things!  I really enjoyed seeing it go off.  The best part was the shut down the cathedral during that time so only the people who buy the clock ticket (which is very cheap) are inside, so we got to walk around the cathedral without the crowds.

Astronomical clock

That evening, we took a tourist boat ride around the Ill river.  It came with an audio recording in many languages that pointed out sights and gave a lot of history.  Sometimes these boat rides are cheesy, but I really enjoyed it.  We got to see a lot, learn a lot and the city was beautiful lit up at night!

The next morning, I explored the city on foot in running shoes (of course!).  I decided to stick to the jogging/biking path that ran alongside the Ill river.  I figured it would prevent me from getting lost, which it did.  Unfortunately, the city center has a lot of traffic, so I found myself stopping at a lot of intersections early on.  After a few miles, it calmed down.  I ran past the European Parliament (which is located in Strasbourg) and kept along the bike path heading towards the Rhine.  After 3.5 miles, I turned around and retraced my path back to the hotel.  I didn't see any other runners out, but lots of people were using bikes to get to work or school.  I did notice on the map some big parks not too far from the city center, so I think there are some other nice running options.

Running along the Ill river in Strasbourg was charming

Later that day it was back to the train station and on to Germany, which I will tell you about soon!

Passing through Paris

Paris skyline from Sacre Coeur

Today I will recap another piece of my recent vacation in Europe (4 days in Paris), but first a little running update.

Monday: 1.5 hrs of flag football practice
Tuesday: 8.66 miles, easy
Wednesday: 8.74 miles, hills

Monday night it almost rained, even started drizzling, while I was playing flag football after work.  But, it never did rain, and now we are left with even more miserable humidity than usual.  The past two mornings the humidity has been well above 90% with overnight lows around 77F.  Sigh.  August is definitely the worst month in central TX, but at least the roughest part of summer is drawing to a close.

In recent posts, I mentioned my adventures in Biarritz and Bordeaux.  From Bordeaux, I took a high speed train to Paris, where I met Boyfriend and we began traveling together, while is arguably more fun!  This was his first trip to Europe, so it was even more special.  Paris is of course a great city to start in!  The last time I had been in Paris was the summer of 2006, when I interned with the French company Air Liquide.  I was excited to be back, albeit briefly.

We spent the first day on our own and then the next 3 days (and one day at the end of the trip) with a Parisian friend of mine who I met during the internship in 2006.  We stayed in the 14th arrondissement, which is on the left bank and south end of Paris.

On our first day:

We visited hilly Montmartre

And climbed up Sacre Coeur

Climbed to the third tier of this tower

It was windy up top!

And saw Notre Dame on Ile de Cite

After our first day, and checking off some of the must see's in Paris, boyfriend was very flexible about our remaining days.  Seeing as how I had done all the major museums and touristy stuff six years ago, I was inclined to pick some less common sights that I had missed doing.  Thus, the next two days we did day trips by train from Paris.  First, we went to Chateau Fountainebleu, which was inhabited by many French kings and famously by Napoleon I & III.  We chose this Chateau (over Versailles) because it is much less crowded and tickets are very reasonable.  The estate and gardens are so beautiful and well preserved, I highly recommend it!

The front of the massive Chateau Fontainebleu

Hanging out on the staircase from which Napoleon made his farewell speech before he was banished to Elba

The gilded throne room of the Chateau (the inside was so beautiful and lavish)

 The next day, we visited the medieval town of Provins.  We had a lot of rain and coldness that day, but we didn't let it stop us!  This is a walled city that hosted many of the champagne fairs during the Middle Ages.  It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site (and sister city to Pingyao!)

Caesar's tower, the oldest part of Provins, which was first built in 1137!

Smelling some of the beautiful roses, for which Provins is well known!  We bought rose honey and mustard

The old town square

The old city walls; this is main city gate and where there used to be a drawbridge 

So in addition to all the fun things we saw, we also got to spend a lot of time hanging out with my friend and his fiance, which was really awesome!  They took us to some great restaurants and strolls through Paris at night.  Unfortunately, I didn't run while I was in Paris!  I had run for over a week straight while in Biarritz and Bordeaux and needed a little break.  I did intend to run a few times, but then I ended up staying up pretty late socializing and couldn't get myself going in the mornings.  Sometimes that happens on vacations.  Fortunately, I have run many, many times while staying in Paris in 2006.

So, after several days of not running, we got back on a train and headed to Luxembourg for the next stop in our adventures.

Have you been to Paris?  Have you run in Paris?  What is your favorite section of the city?
-I love Luxembourg gardens, which are just so beautiful and great for strolling and eating a french macaroon!

Running in Bordeaux

Running this week...

Monday: 8.25 miles, slow & hilly

Tuesday: swim 2 km

Wednesday: 8.27 miles with 5.27 at solid tempo pace

Thursday: 8.28 miles, slow and hilly

It's still central TX, so it is still hot & humid every morning, making me a hot sweaty mess <1 mile in.  Running with a water belt is definitely helpful this time of year, although I do not like the added weight.  Without it though, I really can't do more than a couple of miles.

Last post, I talked about running in Biarritz, France.  After finishing my conference in Biarritz, I met up with Boyfriend and we traveled around a bit together.  Because of the timing of flights from TX to Paris, and the train schedule, we were unable to meet up until two days after my conference finished.  So, I had some extra time and decided to visit the city of Bordeaux in southwestern France.  Why Bordeaux?  Well, all the high speed trains to Paris from Biarritz pass through Bordeaux, so it was a convenient stop over point.  Plus, as one of the largest cities in France with a rich history (mostly related to wine), I knew it would be interesting enough to pass a day.  I should mention that I speak French conversationally, so traveling by myself is not a problem!

Checking out the wine museum in Bordeaux, France

In retrospect, more time would have been very nice and I would like to go back so I could visit the vineyards and surrounding countryside.  The city was pretty, but mostly monuments, shopping, parks and history.  I only got to taste a little wine because it was a Friday afternoon and that is not a good tasting day (a lot of places were closed).

Basilica St. Michel

Fountain at Place des Quinconces

Suddenly, I was in LA!

The cathedral

So after arriving by train, I checked into my hotel (an Accor right by the train station) and set off on foot to explore the city & find food.  Fortunately, the weather was beautiful, sunny and clear skies but not too warm.  I covered a lot of ground, and even though the city has a light rail, I managed on foot, which was good because I was going to be spending plenty of time on trains.

I had some great food while I was there!  I had lunch at Viva Las Vegans, which is a vegan/vegetarian cafe in the old, pedestrian section of the city.  For dinner, I had Thai at a little corner shop that was so tiny but the food was fresh and excellent.  This choice was pretty spontaneous because I was really hungry and tired, but none of the other restaurants were going to open for dinner before 7:30pm, which is very typical of the French!

After a full day, I headed back to my hotel before dark (I was by myself after all), and got up bright and early the next morning for a run before catching the train to Paris.  Bordeaux is situated along the Garonne river, which I could see from my hotel, so naturally I ran along the river.  I like running along waterways, especially in new cities, because it reduces the likelihood that I will get lost.  Often, they have great trails/walkways as well.  I was a little disappointed by my run though, as the pathways along the river only stretched for about 2 miles on either side.  As I was aiming for 7 miles, it made things a little repetitive.  I prefer to just keep going a long ways in one direction.  Nonetheless, I did enjoy crossing the beautiful Pont Pierre several times.

Pont Pierre over the Garonne (full disclosure, not my picture)

I noticed many others out for a run, which was nice, and probably not atypical of a Saturday morning in France.  After my run, I cleaned up and headed to the train station for the trip to Paris.  I enjoyed my brief visit to Bordeaux, but intend to come back again to fully enjoy this wine region.  I think the best way to see it is with a rental car.  I can only imagine the beautiful running in the countryside...

Running in Biarritz

I didn't get as much running in this weekend as I'd like.  Yesterday I ran 8.05 miles at a leisurely pace and I was hoping for a long run of ~12 miles today to finish off the week with 5 days of running and 2 of swimming.  Sadly, I turned off my alarm and promptly fell back asleep and slept until after 9am.  Unfortunately, it is too hot this time of year in TX to run if I do not get up quite early in the morning, so there was no chance of making it up.  Boo.  But, I desperately needed the sleep.  I think what I have realized is that I cannot run both mornings on the weekend, and I should move one of my swim days from the weekday to the weekend.  That would allow me to sleep in one day, because I can't swim until after 10am (when the pool opens) anyways.  Solid plan for next week, hopefully I can execute it.

I did have the extreme pleasure of watching the women's Olympic marathon this morning, which was awesome!  I DVRed it and watched every minute.  It is so rare for marathons to be broadcast on tv, so it was a treat.  I was sad for Desiree Davila, who is my fav of the three US women.

Desiree Davila, my facebook friend! (That is actually true)

So one of the reasons I lapsed on the blog was a work conference extended to vacation trip to France in June.  I was attending an engineering conference in Biarritz, France for one week, and afterwards met up with Boyfriend to take a week and a half to explore some other places in western Europe.  I ran the whole time I was there, as that is something I love to do when I am in new places, and the running was actually great.  I had come from TX where it was already in the high 90s everyday to european temps in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Biarritz is in the southwestern corner of France, bordering Spain.

It is a very small and pretty seaside resort.  It is known for gambling, golf and surfing.  The coastline is very dramatic here and the city is small and walkable, with most of it along the sea.

Surfers, heading down to the beach

It was a great place to run!  I did six runs while here, starting with the first afternoon I arrived.  I either ran along the sea wall or around the two lakes in Biarritz.  The sea wall route took me past all the major attractions and tourist center, including the former palace of Napoleon the III (now a very expensive hotel), up to the lighthouse, and into the next town.

There aren't many pictures with me in them because I was traveling solo

View of the main beach, casino, Hotel Napoleon & Lighthouse

I stayed in a cute little hotel (Hotel Eduoard VII), which was a converted home and has 18 rooms and a beautiful salon where breakfast was served daily.  It was only a 6 minute walk from the convention center and main beach.

my Hotel

You can see the convention center on the left, which had gorgeous ocean views

Although I really enjoyed running along the sea wall, it was always a little crowded and I enjoy variety in my runs.  So, I used google maps to spot some nearby (within 2 miles from my hotel) lakes, which dirt paths around them.  I ran there half the time.  This took me towards the non-tourist center of Biarritz, which was a fresh perspective and it was always very quiet.  Sadly no pictures, because I do not run with a camera.

Dramatic rock outcroppings

Overall, I really enjoyed Biarritz.  It was quaint, pretty, walk-able and the running was a nice way to see so much of the city!  The terrain was very varied, along the sea it was quite hilly, but in the town center much flatter.  If you find yourself in SW France, definitely check it out and go for a run!