Semi Marathon de Paris

We made the three hour trek to Paris on Saturday for me to run the half marathon on Sunday. We got a bit of a late start, but luckily Autumn was feeling better after a week of having the flu...so at least that was in our favor :o) I had packed some sandwiches for the road, but left them in the fridge...urg...I really didn't want to eat out both meals the day before the race, but oh well. So our first stop (after Autumn's two hour nap) was McDonald's. While I was waiting in line, there were four girls in front of me speaking perfect English. Turns out they were Americans from the military base in Belgium and were headed to Paris for the race too. What's even more funny is one of them went to Mizzou...where Jacob went...such a small world!

Anyway, when we finally arrived at our hotel (The Novotel Paris Vaurigard...same place we stayed last time) we were ready to relax, but we had to get to the race expo to pick up my shirt and packet. I didn't really think our hotel location through very well. I just wanted to be close to the eiffel tower of course...and didn't even worry about where the race was...assuming we could easily take the metro. And we could take the metro...unfortunately it was not easy...or quick! It took 3 trains and about an hour each way...oops! So when we finally made it to the expo it was already 5 o'clock! We gathered up all my goodies...including my short sleeve dry fit shirt with my "sort of" eiffel tower on it...my main reason for running right? Haha!


And then made the trip back to our hotel. We had planned to also go see the eiffel tower, but it was 6:30 by the time we got back and Autumn was getting hungry and it was getting dark out :o( So no eiffel tower for me.

The next morning we enjoyed our free hotel breakfast (totally one of the reasons we love this hotel, the hot FREE breakfast is awesome!! My mouth was watering as I watched Jacob polish off some eggs and sausage and pastries...my orange and dry bread looked pretty shabby in comparison, but I didn't want to over do it. Then we headed back to the subway and boarded our train for the race. Luckily we were so far away the train was almost empty when we boarded (otherwise I don't know how we would have crammed the BOB on). But by the third train and a few stops more and more and MORE runners kept piling in! The train was literarily bursting at the seams. It was just as bad (or worse if you include the fact that many Europeans don't smell that great) as a metro link ride after a cardinals game! We were barely putting along by the end as we finally reached our destination. Here you can see all the people making their way to the start.

The race started by the beautiful Chateau de Vincennes. Jacob and Autumn explored it for a few hours while they waited for me to return. Here are a few of the pictures of it.

I signed up to be in the "2 hours 10 minute" or more group...turns out since I was hoping to run the race in exactly 2 hours and 10 minutes this was a mistake and I should have signed up for a group ahead. I was weaving in and out of people for at least the first two miles as I tried to get ahead of all those running at a much slower pace than I wanted. It made for a rough first couple of miles, but finally opened up enough that I could maneuver around a little easier. It also meant that our group didn't start until quite awhile after everyone else...in fact I didn't cross the starting line until 35 minutes after the race officially started. That's a long time to be crammed in to a little pen waiting to go. Overall though the race went fairly well. It was pretty flat. The weather was pretty nice (cloudy and started in the upper 50s I think and was in the low 50s by the end with a chilly breeze). And they had music and such to entertain you along the way. We also ran by the Seine River for a bit and caught a great view of Notre Dame and even the Eiffel Tower off in the distance. The water stops were a little too few and far between for my liking and I was kicking myself for not bringing my own, but I survived. And they had fresh fruit at each water stop...oranges and bananas. I just had one orange slice around mile 10 and it was delicious! It does make for quite the treacherous terrain though as you are trying to navigate your way through all the orange and banana peels on the ground. When you add some water to them, they are REALLY slippery! Don't worry though...I didn't fall...I saved that for later on the ride home when leaving a gas station with some sodas...ugh! Leave it to me! I'm great at finding those slippery spots!

After the race we headed back to our hotel for me to change and get the car. I had spotted a Kentucky Fried Chicken a few blocks from our hotel the day before so we headed there for some lunch...mmmm...those chicken strips were divine! And with full bellies we headed home. Unfortunately a few accidents and some rain made for a long 4 and 1/2 hour trip so we didn't make it home until 8:30! We were all tired and hungry and happy to be home!

I wish we would have had more time to go see the eiffel tower and other Paris sites, but it still was a great opportunity and I'm so happy to be able to say I ran the Semi Marathon de Paris.

ps...my official time was 2:15:47