30.6.10
Je suis à Paris!
I am finally in Paris and it is simply surreal. Beautiful buildings and streets. I arrive around 7am and took my luggage to the hotel, changed clothes, and walked around the neighborhood. I must have a fantastic accent, or look, because I can't tell you how many people mistook me as a French woman. I love walking around here. It is so interesting, nothing I could find anywhere in America.
29.6.10
Still in the States...
Now I am in Charlotte, North Carolina waiting to board and there is this adorable little girl with her mother sitting across from me. She is eating a croissant from Starbucks and her mom is speaking to her in French. The little girl responds in English. I've seen a lot of families like this who switch between Spanish and English, but I've never seen a French/English bilingual family. So interesting. Children who speak another language are so cute!
Today is the day!
"Paris is always a good idea." - Audrey Hepburn
Today is the day! I can't believe how quickly time passed for it to get here. It still feels like it should be much further away. Yet I will be in Paris in only 14 hours! I don't think it has hit me yet, but I bet it will right as the plane touches down at Charles de Gaulle.I'm not too nervous yet, but I bet I will be when I walk off that plane and find myself in a whole new world. I'm worried about making my way on the Metro and making sure I have the right ticket and get to where I need to go. Spain and Italy will be easier to navigate, I think, than France because I know the languages better. I must admit I have a fear of how the French people will treat me, mostly the ticketeers at the Metro and the concierge at the hotel. I've decided to begin each conversation with what little French I know. "Bonjour!" and "Comment ça va?" and "Je m'appelle Hilary" to make sure I don't look like an ignorant American. Which I will still appear to be, probably.
I really hope that I have the energy to stay up and walk around once I arrive. It will be nearly midnight central time when I land, but nearly 7am Paris time. I don't want to waste half the day sleeping! I can only hope I can kill time on the flight by sleeping! Which reminds me of the 3 hour layover I'll have to deal with in Charlotte. I'll probably end up doing something stupid like paying $6 for a magazine I'll flip through once...or get a head start on the wine consumption I plan on doing in the next two weeks! Probably not a good idea. Hopefully my coach doesn't see this...
Today is the day! I can't believe how quickly time passed for it to get here. It still feels like it should be much further away. Yet I will be in Paris in only 14 hours! I don't think it has hit me yet, but I bet it will right as the plane touches down at Charles de Gaulle.I'm not too nervous yet, but I bet I will be when I walk off that plane and find myself in a whole new world. I'm worried about making my way on the Metro and making sure I have the right ticket and get to where I need to go. Spain and Italy will be easier to navigate, I think, than France because I know the languages better. I must admit I have a fear of how the French people will treat me, mostly the ticketeers at the Metro and the concierge at the hotel. I've decided to begin each conversation with what little French I know. "Bonjour!" and "Comment ça va?" and "Je m'appelle Hilary" to make sure I don't look like an ignorant American. Which I will still appear to be, probably.
I really hope that I have the energy to stay up and walk around once I arrive. It will be nearly midnight central time when I land, but nearly 7am Paris time. I don't want to waste half the day sleeping! I can only hope I can kill time on the flight by sleeping! Which reminds me of the 3 hour layover I'll have to deal with in Charlotte. I'll probably end up doing something stupid like paying $6 for a magazine I'll flip through once...or get a head start on the wine consumption I plan on doing in the next two weeks! Probably not a good idea. Hopefully my coach doesn't see this...
23.6.10
The ordinary one.
Yesterday: 4 miles, 32 minutes.
Today: 7 miles, 1 hour.
"Top results are reached only through pain. But eventually you like this pain. You'll find the more difficulties you have on the way, the more you will enjoy your success."
- Juha Vaatainen
Ohmygosh less than 6 days left until my trip. Is this really happening? I can't wait to see Bonnie, Erin, and Jean! Paris is going to be absolutely magical. And with a few of my best friends, I couldn't ask for a better time! Bonnie booked us a few nights at the Hotel Garden near the Bastille. From pictures, it looks adorable.
Today: 7 miles, 1 hour.
"Top results are reached only through pain. But eventually you like this pain. You'll find the more difficulties you have on the way, the more you will enjoy your success."
- Juha Vaatainen
Ohmygosh less than 6 days left until my trip. Is this really happening? I can't wait to see Bonnie, Erin, and Jean! Paris is going to be absolutely magical. And with a few of my best friends, I couldn't ask for a better time! Bonnie booked us a few nights at the Hotel Garden near the Bastille. From pictures, it looks adorable.
21.6.10
The one that took forever.
Yesterday: Father's Day 5K, 23 minutes.
Today: 6 miles, 50 minutes 1 second.
"Man imposes his own limitations, don't set any."
- Anthony Bailey
Oops, looks like I dropped the ball on updating for awhile. This one will have to be short as I have to be at work in 30 minutes. Anyway, yesterday my dad and I ran the Father's Day 5K for Village Shalom. Now we aren't Jewish and we don't have a relative in the nursing home, but I thought it would be something fun to do for Father's Day. Plus I wanted to see how much better I could run after upping my training. Well, I surprised myself in that I did worse in this 5K than in the last one (which was 22:15). Ugh. But I guess my sleep and eating habits haven't been the best lately. Even though I didn't do as well as I had hoped, it was a good wake-up call that I need to get myself together in order to improve!
Today: 6 miles, 50 minutes 1 second.
"Man imposes his own limitations, don't set any."
- Anthony Bailey
Oops, looks like I dropped the ball on updating for awhile. This one will have to be short as I have to be at work in 30 minutes. Anyway, yesterday my dad and I ran the Father's Day 5K for Village Shalom. Now we aren't Jewish and we don't have a relative in the nursing home, but I thought it would be something fun to do for Father's Day. Plus I wanted to see how much better I could run after upping my training. Well, I surprised myself in that I did worse in this 5K than in the last one (which was 22:15). Ugh. But I guess my sleep and eating habits haven't been the best lately. Even though I didn't do as well as I had hoped, it was a good wake-up call that I need to get myself together in order to improve!
12.6.10
The one on the rainy day.
Wednesday: 10 miles, strides/intervals, 1 hour 26 minutes.
Yesterday: 10.25 miles, 1 hour 24 minutes.
Today: 5 miles, 42 minutes 8 seconds.
"You know you're looking at a winner."
-Justin Timberlake
Ah my work schedule has totally messed up my workout schedule. Coach has a regimen for us to follow every week yet having to stay up late at work and work doubles gets in the way of running. So to make up for it this week, I ran two 10+ mile runs. Which makes me feel pretty cool, but it's tiring at the same time! I swear my job could count as cross training; weight lifting at the very least!
Only 17 days until Europe. It's getting so close but it's still surreal that I'm even going! I mean everything is booked and planned, but it feels like the trip should be a lot further away than it is. I ended up having to change hostels in Rome because I overlooked the fact that my original place didn't have air conditioning. Out of the three cities I will be visiting, Rome is NOT the place to lack air conditioning in the middle of the summer.
Yesterday: 10.25 miles, 1 hour 24 minutes.
Today: 5 miles, 42 minutes 8 seconds.
"You know you're looking at a winner."
-Justin Timberlake
Ah my work schedule has totally messed up my workout schedule. Coach has a regimen for us to follow every week yet having to stay up late at work and work doubles gets in the way of running. So to make up for it this week, I ran two 10+ mile runs. Which makes me feel pretty cool, but it's tiring at the same time! I swear my job could count as cross training; weight lifting at the very least!
Only 17 days until Europe. It's getting so close but it's still surreal that I'm even going! I mean everything is booked and planned, but it feels like the trip should be a lot further away than it is. I ended up having to change hostels in Rome because I overlooked the fact that my original place didn't have air conditioning. Out of the three cities I will be visiting, Rome is NOT the place to lack air conditioning in the middle of the summer.
7.6.10
The one with a morning off (of work).
Today: 5 miles, 42 minutes, treadmill.
"Once you're beat mentally, you might was well not even go to the starting line."
-Todd Williams
"Once you're beat mentally, you might was well not even go to the starting line."
-Todd Williams
2.6.10
The sunny one.
Today: 6 miles, treadmill, 46 minutes.
"Pressure is nothing more than the shadow of great opportunity."
-Michael Johnson
I absolutely love the sun. Forgive the bad joke, but it really does brighten my day. I always feel happier after an hour or two at the pool. Today felt especially great laying out after a 6-mile run.
"Pressure is nothing more than the shadow of great opportunity."
-Michael Johnson
I absolutely love the sun. Forgive the bad joke, but it really does brighten my day. I always feel happier after an hour or two at the pool. Today felt especially great laying out after a 6-mile run.
1.6.10
The last one of May.
"The woods are lovely dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep."
- Robert Frost
- Robert Frost
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