first race "run in lyon" finished!

I finished my first 10km race!! And I ran the entire darn thing! If you told me two years ago that I'd be racing, I would have looked at you like you grew three heads.

After the night of minor attack of the nerves, I set my alarm clock for 6h45 with a breakfast of protein mix and 2 bananas. Breakfast of champions I tell you. Meeting my friend outside of my apt, we set out to Place Bellecour for the race. There were so. many. people.

Start line (courtesy of Run in Lyon)

Place Bellecour in crowds

There was no way I could have taken pictures during the actual race as I wore an armband for my phone. The weather forecast predicted rain and lucky for me, it started pouring the moment I finished the race. Because there were so many people, our section didn't cross the start line until 20 mins after 9h00. I didn't hear the gunshot that went off as there was loud music blasting from the speakers. Some thoughts during the race:

Km 1 - 3: I think I'm going too fast. Why are there so many people? And where's that darn Tunnel?

Km 4 - 6: The Tunnel is sooo long. Where's the light at the end of the Tunnel? It's so darn hot in here.

Km 6 - 8: Ok, here we go, last 4 km of the race. I can do it. There are hills! Why didn't I see this in the route? My knees are doing ok.

Km 8 - 10: Ok, almost done. Almost there. It's drizzling! I see the finish line! Gotta finish fast.

The moment I stopped, it started raining hard. I grabbed some Gatorade and found my friend. So glad I didn't have to take the metro or public transportation because it was packed, literally like sardines. I felt like I took a dive in the river after getting home, then showered and made my way to my French family's lunch gathering. Apparently, there was a glass of champagne waiting for me. :D The large lunch definitely made up for the amount of calories I lost during the race. I actually fell asleep when I rested in the living room from food coma.

I ran the 10k in 01:01:00, missing the hour mark, but the most important thing is that I ran the entire 10km. According to the results, I averaged around 9.7km/h which is usually faster than my practice runs. Either way, I'm extremely happy to be running in this beautiful city.

Two things I learned during this race:

1. I really need to change shoes. In fact, according to my app, I ran 737.59 km in my current shoes. Definitely time to change them to avoid anymore knee pain.

2. Be prepared for hills next time and do more cross training.

I can't wait to hit the pavement again in a few days after I recover from this one. I have to fulfill that goal of getting my 5k in under 25 mins.

Bonne semaine, tout le monde!

final race update for 'run in lyon'

The race is Sunday. *Insert minor panic attack*

Oh, did I mention that it's going to rain too? That will be fun. And an experience. Get this, there are 25,000 people in the race. I'm wondering how they're going to fit that many in the Tunnel de Croix-Rousse. My friend and I picked up our t-shirt and documents this afternoon to avoid the crowd tomorrow. Place Bellecour was packed today so I imagine that on Sunday, it'll be even more packed. The 10km, semi-marathon and marathon participants will be starting together at 9h00 on Sunday. Here's the race route for 10km.

Let's get this show on the road. I can't wait until it's over. My training schedule is over and I can plan another race next year.

Final training schedule:

Totally freaking out. But it's going to be awesome. I never thought I'd be racing a 10km, let alone racing in Lyon. I can't say enough how grateful I am to be back and actually living once more in this beautiful city.

加油！！

race update #2 + other updates

This is the second to last week of the the race and I can say so far that this is pretty cool. Sure, it's only 10km race, but my first one ever! I may be excited for now, but I can assure you all that I may flip out the night before the race. Here's a small update on the race:

(Please enlarge me)

You'll notice that last Saturday I only ran 8km. This is because I experienced some knee aches and pains the Saturday before that doing a 9km. So I added extra cross training all last week and ran this past Saturday's 8km with no pain at all. I also biked the route last Sunday. The Tunnel of Croix-Rousse is a never-ending tunnel of concrete. And since this Saturday, I'm off to Geneva, I'll either do the long run before dawn on Saturday or Sunday morning. 

The weather has definitely chilled down and I'm LOVING IT. After a nice hot weekend, it's finally fall weather. I can't believe I've been here for almost 8 months. Time flies by too fast these days. 

As I've neglected to update for the past 3 or... so weeks, many activities have taken place. One of them was the Biennales Danse, which happens every other year. I got to see it in 2010 where the theme was La Vie en Rose. This year was Rio carnival and the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Danse.

Gigantic birthday cake

That was fun and the amount of people at the parade was incredible. I'm also incredibly grateful to be here again for the danse.

Then a few days later..... I made dumplings! Look how pretty they are!

After that exciting weekend, this past weekend was the Journée de Patrimoine. Again, 4 years ago, I went to the Hôtel de ville. This time, I went to Fourviere. I ended up taking a tour going up the towers of Fourviere.

The massive amount of stairs to the top

The breathtaking view from above

St. Michel

I'm so ready for autumn to come. My skin is still very confused at the moment, after being subjected to so much weather change the last 2 years. I'm more than ready for the cold weather to get there. As for travels, I will magically appear in Brussels and Strasbourg in the near future! Can't wait to eat my way through Brussels and see the Christmas markets in Strasbourg.

12 more days until the race. Let the madness begin.

race update + more traveling

This past weekend, I popped into Aix-en-Provence. Having never been there, it was everything I expected of a typical provençale town. Lots and lots of beautiful fountains and lots of walking. Surprisingly enough, I didn't climb any hills over there. There was lots of wine and sunshine involved, as predicted.

I got a super cheap train at 6am for 10 euros (thank you OUIGO!). Slept through the entire ride and got to Aix TGV around 7h28. For anyone traveling to Aix, there's actually two train stations. One is about 18km outside of the city. The other is in city center. But there's a navette, aka bus 40 to get you into city center for an extra 4,10 euros. I went to see my generous friends as they hosted me for the night. We definitely indulged in some serious food orgasm and wine drinking, all in moderation of course. So typically French and so typically chic.

Fresh flowers always at the farmer's market

spiiiices

Musique dans la rue!

Of course chilling wine in the fountain is the way to go

And then there was more rosé....

Cours Mirabeau

So, it's the fourth week of training. My thoughts so far?

I'm enjoying this. I'm doing a lot of more strengthening and stretching. Strangely, I've also got into ballet workout. My cross trainings have been mostly cycling back and to work.

Here's my training schedule so far:

I've been using the Hal Higdon training plans and they work out fairly well. My personal schedule has been adjusted according to the weather and my activities. I haven't had any knee issues...yet. I think the stretching helped, especially stretching the IT band.

I can't wait until Autumn comes. Pumpkins are starting to appear in the markets! First sign that fall is coming. Looking forward to the race in October. I may have a panic attack before race day but I'm also kind of expecting that. Never in my life would I have thought I'd sign up for a 10k race!

À bientôt!

august auras

View of Lyon from Croix Rousse

I have officially begun training for the 10k race in October. Before I mostly just ran for fun and for the workout (always feels good after a nice long running session). Now it's time to get serious and get ready for that 10k. I never ran a race before and thought about doing a 5k before a 10k but there's no 5k races here. And the Color Run hasn't made it's way to Lyon yet....so the 10k it is!

Before, I was running about three 5k a week plus a longer run on the weekend, which meant usually around 6.4k to 8k. Now I need to add in more strengthening and cross training, which includes swimming and cycling now. The main thing is to strengthen my left knee. The IT band on my left knee causes me issues if I go for a long run without stretching properly. I may have to go buy a knee brace just in case. Otherwise, if anyone else has advice, I'd be happy to hear that. The plan for now is to take it slow, stay calm and KEEP RUNNING.

I took a quick weekend trip to the countryside again under all the storm and the rain. It was a quick getaway from the city and be in the nature for a bit. I slept a lot. And then there was more sleeping. The peacefulness of the countryside is a true treasure.

Mon bébé, you're quite comfortable, aren't ya? 

Home in the garden - I'm in love all over again

And for my next trick! I will appear in Aix-en-Provence soon. I can't wait as I've never been there before and a friend will be hosting me for the weekend. I do believe that some much needed sun and wine drinking are in order. So much in the coming months so I'm quite looking forward to that. My best friend is coming for my birthday and I'm seriously excited.

I also have no idea what's happening next year since my contract is until the end of the year. Whatever happens, I'm determined to stay in France for as long as possible. For someone who's moved 12 times in the last 7 years, I'm kind of ready to stay somewhere for a bit longer now. I've got everything here I could ever need. Why would I ever leave? I'm having a beautiful love affair with France that will not be denied. Everything that I've said last year has come true. I know I'll be here for a long time. Hopefully more than three years. Yes, I'm going to get see the Fête des Lumières this year! Not only that, I get to see the Bienniale de la Danse this year as well. As some of you may remember that in 2010, the theme was La Vie en Rose.

I look forward to autumn coming in its full glory and making pumpkin pie with my French mom.