Half marathon training

Yesterday I signed up for the Zooma Annapolis Half Marathon which takes place on Sunday, May 31st.  This will be by far the longest race I have ever run, considering my longest to date was 8 km (5 miles).  And this week I started an official training program from the Runner's World website, though I haven't looked at the Zooma training programs yet, so I may make a few modifications after reading through them and seeing how the RW program goes.

So far it hasn't been too bad, since the first week is just three 2-mile runs at a fairly easy pace, which has been my typical exercise routine anyway.  I've decided to add my weekly schedule to the blog to (1) help remind me and (2) keep me publicly accountable, since I'll be training on my own before I get back to the States.  But I know several other women who have signed up, so I'm sure they will also help me stay on track (pun intended).

Edit: The race is the weekend after Memorial Day.  

Paris

I love Paris in the Springtime Winter!

We had a lovely whirlwind trip to Paris and crammed as much into 42 hours as anyone possibly could, I'd say.

Taking the Eurostar from London was pretty easy. We ordered tickets online, and I really liked the ability to select our individual seats, because they show you which direction the train faces (and for someone like me who gets motion sickness, being able to select a forward-facing seat is a livesaver!). Our trains were almost completely full, probably because we were traveling on the weekend and the fact that it was the end of the school holiday here in England. But the entire trip took less than 3 hours. Sigh--if only we had high-speed rail in the US! Can you imagine going from DC to NYC at 300 km (186 miles) per hour? It would only take 75 minutes!

We arrived at Gare du Nord after 5:00 p.m., waited in a long line for a taxi, and checked into our hotel, which was a quirky, artsy place on the Left Bank in the St. Germain district, only a block from the Musée d'Orsay. The location was great because it was very centrally located, yet it was in a quiet part of town. We heard no street noise whatsoever from our room--heaven!

Okay, we're finally in Paris--what to see first? We decided to visit the Louvre first because it is open until 10 p.m. on Friday nights, and the admission is reduced from €9 to €6 at that time (and boy were we envious of those under 26 who can get in for free!). To call the place "huge" is the understatement of the year. You would need at least a full week there to attempt to see everything. And you get quite a workout when you visit--the museum is like a maze, and there are stairs everywhere. I think people with mobility issues or in wheelchairs would have a difficult time getting around.

We saw Mona and Venus first, and I think I like Venus better. You can get right up close to Venus. To see Mona, you have to stand behind a fence about 15 feet away from her, so you can't really get a good look. Plus, you have to fight with hundreds of other tourists with their cameras zoomed to the max, flashes going off right and left, taking picture after picture because their shots aren't coming out (you want a correct exposure for taking a picture of your friend with Mona? The room is dim, your friend is 2 feet from the camera while Mona is 17 feet back and behind a layer of glass that reflects the green exit sortie sign. Good luck with that--I can't even work that magic).

We worked our way through a good chunk of the place, lingering in the rooms that were cool, moving hurriedly through those that weren't (seriously, Louvre--do you need the heat on with eleventy thousand people here?), and stopping for a quick self-portrait (mirrors make that easy). I think my favorite part was the section on Mesopotamia, partly because I couldn't get over how, well, "cool" it was to be staring at the Code of Hammurabi. The Code of Hammurabi!!!! The history major in me was squealing in glee. I don't understand why hundreds people are nearly trampled trying to snap a picture of Mona and only a dozen or so were gazing at the Code. Sigh. And even though Iraq's Baghdad Museum just reopened, I doubt I'll be going there anytime soon, so I have to enjoy seeing these artifacts where I can.

The Louvre's collection of Egyptian antiquities was impressive, but we were spoiled having already visited the British Museum's collection, which was (1) free (2) in English and (3) had many more mummies. So we didn't linger there.

Venus de Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace, and Hammurabi's Code

On Saturday, we came up with an ambitious plan to see most of downtown Paris, walking in a clockwise circle. It wasn't until we came back to London and I was able to map this out with the Gmap Pedometer that we discovered that circle equalled 10 MILES! In one day! No wonder out feet hurt afterwards! Here is our route.

We started at the top, literally. After reading that the Eiffel Tower gets very crowded if you don't get there when it opens, we decided to get there when it opened at 9:30 a.m. We also took the stairs (670 of them, I might add) to avoid the lines at the elevators, because it was a few euros cheaper, and because we wanted to be able to brag that we climbed the Eiffel Tower. So here it is: We climbed the Eiffel Tower! The very top of the tower (only reachable by elevator) was shrouded in clouds anyway, so there would have been no point in going any further than the second level. We enjoyed the great views, even on an overcast day.

Leaving the Tower and the dozens of tacky trinket-sellers that leave no tourist un-accosted, we walked across the bridge towards the Trocadéro, then to the Arc de Triomphe, and then down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Our next stop was the Musée de l’Orangerie, which houses among other paintings eight of Monet's Waterlilies, which hang in two rooms especially designed for them and to accommodate Monet's wish that they be exposed to as much natural light as possible.

Grabbing a baguette sandwich on the street, we proceeded to walk along the Seine down to the islands and then into the Notre Dame, which is free! If you want to climb the tower, there is a cost (and a long line), but we declined, having climbed enough stairs for one day. On the way back to our hotel, we wandered through the noisy, crowded Latin Quarter and indulged in some fancy chocolate. After a two-hour nap (!) we had a lovely dinner at Alcazar.

Monet's Waterlilies at l’Orangerie; the Notre Dame

We left the Musée d'Orsay for the last day because we only had a few hours on Sunday before our train left, and it was so close to our hotel that we could easily see it before catching a cab back to the train station. It is a very impressive space, having once been a train station before being converted into a museum. If you are a fan of impressionism, this museum is a must-see! Monet, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Seurat, etc., are all here with many of their most famous works.

Musée d'Orsay; view towards Montmartre and Basilique du Sacré-Cœur faint in the distance

Overall, it was a wonderful city break, and we really enjoyed ourselves! One day we will definitely go back to France for a longer trip. You can see more pictures here.

Catch up from Last Week: Mel's Visit!

Because I am such a devoted tour guide and host to my guests, I have very little time for blogging while they are here. :) After two weeks of visitors followed immediately by my birthday, I was a little tired. So here's a catch-up from last week.

Mel is one of my best friends from college, so I was very excited when she said she would be able to come visit! This was her first trip to London (and Europe), so we were determined to see EVERYTHING while she was here. And we nearly did!

One of the first things we did was "master" the London bus system, which is very easy to use and cheaper than taking the tube! Plus, who doesn't love the sight of a double-decker? Especially when a self-portrait can get you St. Paul's Cathedral in the background (out the right-side window).

When we arrived at Trafalgar Square just minutes before 12 p.m. on Valentine's Day, we came upon a huge crowd filled with couples. After a countdown to noon, we witnessed a mass kiss-fest. Can you say photo op?

During her stay we also saw the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, went to Harrods, Kensington Palace, St. Paul's, the National Gallery, the Tower of London, Tate Modern, the British Museum, Millennium Bridge, Big Ben/Parliament at night, and went to the theatre! Whew! We also had some of the best weather I've seen since moving here--in five days, it only rained once, just briefly. Sunny days in London are so wonderful!

More pics:

Changing of the Guard National Gallery

St. Paul's Cathedral View from St. Paul's

Mel, I hope you had a great time, because it was fun having you here!

Thirty

Well, today is my 30th birthday. It's still a little hard to believe that my 20s are gone. GONE. While lying awake in bed last night, I tried to remember what I did for my last decade-shifts (seeing as how I've only done this twice before).

20: I was a sophomore in college, and I remember my mom baking me a cake and mailing it to me, but what arrived was a box of crumbs. I also remember feeling so relieved that I wasn't a teenager anymore, because a 20-something = cool, while teenagers = so very uncool. Then I had a flashback to 7th grade when being 13 equalled cool, and I couldn't wait until I could kiss 12 goodbye. But who's kidding whom here--I've never been cool. :)

10: Now this I remember.  Getting to add another digit to your age? Totally awesome.  I mean, how often does that happen?  Sure, you add your second after just one decade, but reaching a third takes another ninety years!  And by the time you get that third digit, well, you're really too old to enjoy it.  

So 30 is here.  What did I do today people?  I certainly didn't work.  I went shopping!  Before you get too excited, let me tell you that I was mostly running errands.  I purchased a fleece throw, a scale, two pay-as-you-go cell phones, soap, and a box of cupcakes (as seen above).  The cupcakes are Lola's, purchased at the Foodhall at Selfridges, and a box of 4 will set you back £6.90.  How were they?  Well, I've only eaten one so far, but in a word: delightful.  The icing is more sugary than buttery, which is definitely my preference.

As for gifts, M bought me tickets to see Wicked next week.  Yay!  And we're going to Paris this weekend. (Let me just say that it is terribly fun to throw around the phrase We're going to Paris this weekend--could anything sound snootier?)

But now for the serious part--gettin' old ain't no joke.  This is what 30 looks like:

Holy cow, are those wrinkles on my forehead?  And yes, that is my bathroom.  You gotta go where the natural light is.

Bath

Bath! And it must be pronounced with the "ah" sound, like as in the word "body." I can't even say it the other way anymore. Bath is a delightful place, as everyone had told us (and they were right). It is definitely a must-see, if only for the architecture, which is predominately Georgian and remarkably unchanged in the last 200 years.

Bath, of course, got its name from the natural springs that the Romans used for a community bath. These springs are very unique, seeing as they occur nowhere else in England, according to the guide at the Roman baths (we started our tour there, figuring we'd go about our visit in chronological order). The baths were very interesting, but I felt that there was a ton of information to process. Fortunately, they have guides who give a 15-20 minute presentation every hour, and I learned most of what I learned about the baths during that time.

After leaving the Roman baths (and trying the water in the Pump Room, a sample of which is included in the cost of your ticket--just tasted like warm water to me), we set out to explore the rest of the town. We could have opted for a free guided tour provided by the Mayor's office or paid for a guided tour through one of several operators, but we decided to do an audio guided tour that I found on the Bath tourism website, which anyone can download for free and which is compatible with Ipods. So we put on our headphones and set off for about an hour and a half.

The audio tour focused on Jane Austen, who lived in Bath for several years in the early 19th century and wrote about the town in several of her books. In this way I felt the audio tour was superior to other tours--it included selections of Austen's writing throughout the tour. For example, while we set out on the Gravel Walk on our way to the Royal Crescent (above right), we listened to a scene from Persuasion, where two of the main characters engage in a touching conversation on that very Walk. Because we had headphones on--meaning we weren't pausing to read from a book or following a huge crowd, straining to hear the guide--we could walk at our own pace, enjoying the scenery and the commentary without distraction. And being able to pause/rewind with the touch of a button is great.

After finishing our audio tour, we returned to where we had started and toured the inside of the Abbey, which is beautiful. And they even let you take pictures inside! We ate lunch at Sally Lunn's, which is the oldest house in Bath, and we also stopped for some fudge, because I can't resist buying fudge. :)

For more pictures, go to our Picasa Album.

The Abbey The baths, green from algae.

Pulteney bridge (similar to the Ponte Vecchio) 1st floor--Doric, 2nd--Ionic, 3rd--Corinthian.

Jane is taller than I expected . . .

Snow Day!!!!!

We have SNOW! Yes, it snowed all night over most of southern England, and it is still snowing this morning! According to the news, this is the most snow London has seen in 18 years! All of the buses have been cancelled, most of the tube is down or has major delays, Heathrow has cancelled all flights until 5:00 p.m., and rail service over most of the area has also been severely disrupted.

The roads are a mess, and the sidewalks are treacherous as well. After a flurry of phone calls and emails, M finally got a hold of someone at his work who told him not to come in. So he gets a snow day! I still have to work--boooo! :)

Last night we played in the snow after walking back from a Superbowl party (we stayed through halftime, but were too tired after that). At that point, it was about 1:30 a.m., and the streets were very quiet, save the people outside having snowball fights. It was like all the adults were magically transported back to childhood--giddly laughs and squeals of glee everywhere! And the snow was the most perfect snow I have ever seen--it packed incredibly easily, making it excellent for building snowmen and snowballs and any other form you desire!

This morning, we took a walk through Regents Park, and it was the fullest I've ever seen it--tons of people taking pictures, families with children building snowmen, teenagers making snow angels--just a lovely time! Londoners who have to go to work are probably having a terrible day. But for those who can go out and enjoy the snow, it is a fantastic Monday!

See more pictures in our Picasa album.

Beware of evil snowman! The pond is partially frozen.

We won't starve at least!

Self portraits. Can you tell we were excited?