20 Km de Paris
Ran another race over the weekend: the 20km de Paris
The race was supposed to start at a nice late hour (10:00 a.m.), but the actual race didn't start until a breezy 20 minutes later. I guess that's just how they do it here in Paris, unlike the races in the bay area that start promptly at the appointed hour (usually 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning). It felt great to "sleep in" on a race day.
The weather was perfect: slightly overcast at times and sunny during certain points of the race. The course took us all over the city, starting at the base of le Tour Eiffel, through the Bois de Boulogne (a foresty park in Paris), along the Seine River, past the Musee D'Orsay, past the Tuileries and Place de la Concorde, and ending at le Tour Eiffel again. There were families, tourists, and spectators cheering and lots of shouts of "Allez, allez, allez!!!" I even got a "Vous êtes superb, Madame!" (I must have been looking particularly haggard) along the way which made the race for me and kept me going for another few kilometers.
Like La Parisienne, the 6K race I ran last month, the music along the way kept me going, as well. It wasn't just piped in rock music, but live entertainment: African drummers, a small contingent of a high school band, a brass quintet, small rock bands, and best of all, bagpipers in kilts all along the route. It nearly brought tears to my eyes to hear one group of bagpipers playing "Amazing Grace". They were the best part of the race.
I hit a bit of a wall at 13K and started feeling hungry, so when the refreshment table appeared at 15K (there was one every 5 kilometers), I was grateful to see some snacks: oranges and prunes never tasted so good. I bypassed the sugarcubes they passed out...I've never seen that before at a race.
Once again, as in La Parisienne, they handed out those confounded plastic water bottles! I couldn't believe it and will write a letter to the organizers politely suggesting that they hand out paper cups of water instead. The waste was appallling -- mountains of plastic water bottles along the side of the road and throughout the course. Between the water bottle missiles (from runners taking one swig and throwing the almost-full water bottle off to the side) and the slippery orange peels strewn all over the road after each refreshment stop, the course was a bit hazardous at some points. I'm prone to slipping and falling as it is.
Afterward, there was a huge bottleneck that lasted at least 15 minutes to get out past the finish line to collect a medal and a bag of snacks. Despite this, the race was very well organized overall. I'd like to run it again someday.
The race was supposed to start at a nice late hour (10:00 a.m.), but the actual race didn't start until a breezy 20 minutes later. I guess that's just how they do it here in Paris, unlike the races in the bay area that start promptly at the appointed hour (usually 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning). It felt great to "sleep in" on a race day.
The weather was perfect: slightly overcast at times and sunny during certain points of the race. The course took us all over the city, starting at the base of le Tour Eiffel, through the Bois de Boulogne (a foresty park in Paris), along the Seine River, past the Musee D'Orsay, past the Tuileries and Place de la Concorde, and ending at le Tour Eiffel again. There were families, tourists, and spectators cheering and lots of shouts of "Allez, allez, allez!!!" I even got a "Vous êtes superb, Madame!" (I must have been looking particularly haggard) along the way which made the race for me and kept me going for another few kilometers.
Like La Parisienne, the 6K race I ran last month, the music along the way kept me going, as well. It wasn't just piped in rock music, but live entertainment: African drummers, a small contingent of a high school band, a brass quintet, small rock bands, and best of all, bagpipers in kilts all along the route. It nearly brought tears to my eyes to hear one group of bagpipers playing "Amazing Grace". They were the best part of the race.
I hit a bit of a wall at 13K and started feeling hungry, so when the refreshment table appeared at 15K (there was one every 5 kilometers), I was grateful to see some snacks: oranges and prunes never tasted so good. I bypassed the sugarcubes they passed out...I've never seen that before at a race.
Once again, as in La Parisienne, they handed out those confounded plastic water bottles! I couldn't believe it and will write a letter to the organizers politely suggesting that they hand out paper cups of water instead. The waste was appallling -- mountains of plastic water bottles along the side of the road and throughout the course. Between the water bottle missiles (from runners taking one swig and throwing the almost-full water bottle off to the side) and the slippery orange peels strewn all over the road after each refreshment stop, the course was a bit hazardous at some points. I'm prone to slipping and falling as it is.
Afterward, there was a huge bottleneck that lasted at least 15 minutes to get out past the finish line to collect a medal and a bag of snacks. Despite this, the race was very well organized overall. I'd like to run it again someday.
posted by Lynna | 7:06 PM
1 Comments:
Hi xoxoxo,
The Cerritos Man can do more than walk! He can stand on his head, courtesy yoga.
:-) C. Man l
Like the #3 in the gang of four
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