We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Programming.....: Training for Philadelphia {Weeks 5 & 6}

I love to travel. How cliche is that sentence? Well it's true.  And for my job, I have found myself traveling internationally 3 times in the past year. India, Germany and this time France.  While it may sound exotic and wonderful, there are some strings attached, in the form of 25 undergraduate university students. During weeks 5 and 6 of my training cycle, I traveled to Paris for 9 days with 25 students. While I had lofty goals of getting up every morning before our 8-10 hour days and running the prescribed miles on my training schedule, I didn't quite make it.  I did, however, successfully walk my way around Paris over and over and over again. And at the end of week 6, I did the same thing in Madrid while visiting a friend from my year living in Germany.  Here's a quick visual recap of "what I saw on my summer non-vacation".

On Tuesday, I knew I would be sitting on a plane for 10+ hours for the rest of the day, so I woke up early before my flight and got in 3 quick miles.  Nothing fancy, nowhere fancy. Just 3 miles.

I arrived in Paris on Wednesday morning.  Due to thunderstorms in Dallas, I arrived 2 hours late. Thanks, Texas.  A few of my students waited for me at Charles de Gaulle airport to take the RER train into the city.  If you ever fly into that airport, get ready to walk a few miles to find anything (the train station, a taxi, your terminal, a bathroom).  At this point, I was low on energy due to a lack of sleep and food.  After dropping our bags at our hostel, the last thing I wanted to do was go running.  Instead, I wandered with my students to a local cafe.

Then, I went here:

Please ignore the "I just flew 6000 miles" hair.

On Thursday morning, I left our hotel in the early morning and wandered through the streets of Paris for about 3.5 miles. It was such an awesome time to be out on the streets.  Apparently it was also a national holiday, so everything was particularly quiet.  I ran down to the Seine river and looked to my right. Why, Hello Notre Dame. Such a beautiful city.  I ran back towards our hotel and happened upon the Luxembourg Gardens, running for about half a mile inside the gates. The view of the Eiffel Tower in the background was pretty amazing.  I felt so accomplished when I got back to the hotel.  All before breakfast:

View of the Eiffel tour in the background, NBD.

Our first day, we were scheduled to go on a bus tour through the city. With it being a holiday, there was no traffic and we were able to see so many of the sites.

On Friday, we found ourselves on a guided tour of the Louvre. For anyone who doesn't know, you could spend a few years wandering through this museum and still not see every part of the collection.  We saw of the few highlights, including this older women:

Mona, behind bullet proof glass.

We then headed over to Pont Neuf for a boat tour on the Seine River. This was my 3rd time in Paris, but my first time with the opportunity to take one of these tours. It presents a different view of the city. If you find yourself in Paris for more than a few days, I would recommend adding it to your itinerary.

Saturday morning we visited with a representative from the French Red Cross. I have to say that I have learned more about health systems throughout the world in the three years I have been in this position than I ever thought I would learn in my lifetime. I feel like I almost take more away from these visits than my students.  After our tour, we headed over to Montmartre for a walking tour through the neighborhood.  I love this area of Paris. I also really love guided tours.  This was our 3rd tour of the week and I love how detailed they are. Montmartre has the feel of a small village nestled in the city.  Artists and musicians are everywhere.

On Sunday, we took a tour of the palace at Versailles.  Talk about tourists.  Thousands of people from all over the world were swarming the front gates of the palace when we arrived.  I was so thankful for our tour guide.  After a quick but thorough tour, we were left to our own devices in the gardens. Or should I say forest.  We saw runners in the gardens as we explored. I thought about how amazing it would be to run through the gardens at Versailles for a training run. Walking would have to do for now.

Optical illusion: objections in front of gates may seem skinnier

Monday afternoon after our activities, a few students and I hopped on the RER train to Disneyland Paris! We had to check it out! Considering my love for Disneyland here in California, I was excited to see the park. We took so many pictures! It was almost surreal to be in a Disney environment in Europe. Completely different from all my previous travels.

Our hostel was right around the corner from the famous Catacombs.  Tip: If you're planning to visit the Catacombs, go early! They open at 10am, and only let in about 200 visitors at a time.  Since it's an approximately 2km path underground, the line moves slow.  Our group showed up about 8:30am and there were about 30 people in line ahead of us.  By the time 10am rolled around, the line wrapped around the traffic circle. Unbelievable. The visit was really interesting. Pictures don't even do it justice, but I'll give it a try:

On Wednesday, I was determined to get in at least 1 more run, since I'd obviously been failing. With a "free day" scheduled for the students, I had more time to myself.  I ran down a different boulevard, Tobiac, to the Seine. Note to self: the road on the map is longer than it seems. I started my run about 8am.  A little bit too late, unless you want to be running in amongst commuters briskly walking to work.  Even still, Paris is such a great city for runners.  The Seine offers literally miles of running paths along the river with beautiful views.
We finished off our day with an adventure to the Garnier Opera House, which is now hope to the Paris Opera Ballet.  I wish we had had the opportunity to see a performance.

In the late afternoon, we did as Parisians do, and sat on the grass in the Luxembourg gardens with a snack.  People watching at its best.  A great way to end a solid week in a beautiful city.

The students left me on Thursday and I was off to my next adventure: Madrid.  I've only been to Spain once previously, so I was excited to explore a new city.  I was especially excited because one of my best friends from my year abroad lives in Madrid.  It's always fun to see a city as one of the locals.  The weekend was filled with tapas and tinto de verano. Exactly what I needed after a jam-packed week with students.

Afternoon perfection.

Jamon, anyone?

On Sunday morning before I headed to the airport, my friend Ben assured me we would get out and run some miles.  I was so excited to run in a new city.  While most Madrilenos are flooding out of clubs at 6 in the morning, we were out the door headed to the Buen Retiro Park.  We ran down to the park and did a full loop before heading back home.  Now, I may not be the fastest runner. I'm the first to admit it.  But, these miles were killing me.  I could barely keep a 12 minute mile pace.  Horrible, considering I was keeping about 10:30's the week before I left for Paris.  My confidence was thrashed, until I remember Ben saying that Madrid is one of the highest cities in Europe at 2,200 feet above sea level.  That may not seem too high to some people, but to me that's crazy.  San Diego sits at sea level, especially where I typically run.  So, basically, I should work on that.

After our run, I packed my things and made my way to the airport for my 24 hour journey home.  I was so excited to see my bed when I got home on Sunday morning.  And truthfully, I was extremely excited to get back into my normal training cycle.