Race Plan for the Zazzle B2B 12K

Zazzle.

They print stuff.

So apparently the connections to the Bay to Breakers have to do with creativity. Okay....

"Zazzle is now the title sponsor of the world's most creative footrace.  Learn how Zazzle is changing the game."

How many people really pay attention to who is sponsoring or underwriting a race they are running in or thinking of running in?

"OOooooo! Zazzle! This one is being sponsored by Zazzle? I definitely want to run it!"

I don't think about this.

Ever. Unless it's a charitable organization.

Moving on...

I ran 4 miles on Tuesday night. It was pretty awesome. A complete 180 from that freaky 7-mile run on Saturday... you remember ... the one where I almost puked and had Einstein hair and the armpit vagina? Yeah. That one.

Tuesday night was beautiful. Not too windy (unlike Saturday), kind of cool (so no unsightly tank top), and I had waited long enough after eating (so no impending vomit sensations). The plan was to gently pitter-patter along for 40 minutes doing 10-minute miles. That was my intent.

But I found The Zone.

Feeling pretty effortless, I found myself rattling off 9:20's for the entire run. See... pretty awesome. This decided my race plan for Sunday.

Instead of shooting for my delusional one hour, meaning an 8:02 average per mile over the 7.46 miles... including the big, gigantic hill in the first half and the 50,000 official entrants and the 300,000 unofficial runners and the 50,000 people just standing and shouting and getting drunk and stumbling out onto the course... I am opting for taking the first 3 as they come. This will mean shuffling along with the crowd at a snail's pace, I am sure. This will be my warm up.

The 3-mile mark is essentially the top of the mondo Hayes Street Hill (here's the map). Even with all the significant impediments to fast-ish running, I want to hit that point in less than 35 minutes. I want to go sub-9-minute miles for the next 2.5 miles and then open it up for the last 2. "Opening it up" might translate into "stay alive" on race day! But I'd like for it to mean 8-minute miles. So that's the plan. That would put me at around a 73-minute finish time.

I plan to take lots and lots of pictures. Maybe even vlog while on the course... cuz I am a total vlogging superstar now :P Hopefully, I'll see those Bare to Breakers runners ;-) Actually, maybe I don't want to see that.

Ouch. I hurt just thinking about it.


If you were running in the world's most creative footrace, would YOU wear a costume? Would you run naked?
– I am really debating the costume angle. Since I am not really racing this one, a costume might be fun! Any suggestions? And don't say 'naked'... cuz that ain't happenin'.

Day 5

It's always the darkest before the dawn.

When we used to travel frequently with the kids, we would talk about and remind ourselves that it took 5 full days to regain humanity when going through 9 time zones.

Day 4 was always the worst. It was always that day when we'd look at each other and ask "What the f were we thinking? Why the f are we here? Why on EARTH did we think this would be a GOOD idea?" I think dissolution of relationship probably entered into both of our brains... at least briefly. Every single time. But because we did it so much, we KNEW that it was Day 4. We KNEW that the awful part was almost over and the bliss was about to begin. We KNEW it. We had so much practice doing it.

When Day 5 would start off feeling like the Apocalypse, we would look at each other... knowingly... and say "Day 5." By the end of that day, all hope was restored and life was glorious once again.

We are out of practice.

It's been 5 years since we've done this.

Today is Day 5.

We all woke up kind of scattered. Except Q-Man. He kept sleeping. We had early afternoon plans so it wasn't a problem... yet. In an effort to keep us on the adjusting-to-the-time-difference plan, I attempted to wake him up around 10. He woke up, came downstairs, then went back up and crawled back into bed. I went up 30 minutes later and he said his tummy was hurting. If you read about our 'frolic' at the Louvre, then you know where this is going :( Click there if you missed it. Or don't.

After he threw up... in the toilet YAY! ... not on the floor at the Louvre or in the line for security at the airport... he went back to sleep for the rest of the day. Daddy stayed back with the sick boy and the toddler, which allowed the two older kids and I a grand day out. My husband is really smart and really kind :)

Apparently, that was the only time he threw up all day, and he slept until 3. He feels much, much better. Wonder who'll get it next? No. Don't even think that!

"So what did you do?" you are wondering.

First, we went to the Musée de l'Orangerie and saw the enormous Monet Waterlilies with some of our stateside friends...

They were all I had imagined them to be... 

gorgeous.

Then we went to the Cluny Museum... the National Museum of the Middle Ages. A gallic-roman bath ruin and really, really old castle filled with really cool really old stuff... the kids LOVED it.

Big G found a gargoyle that reminded him of his Louvre experience...

And I found out that Jesus was a breastfed baby!

When we were done there, the kids were hungry. They had something they have never had before... really.

Almost 9 and 11 and a half... and this is the first time 

they have ever eaten something from 

McDonald's.

We walked with the fries through the Quartier Latin and then over the bridge to the Ile de la Cité and...

Baby X's supermodel photo shoot in front of Notre-Dame.

While we were walking around taking in these sights, I saw a lot of people who had run in yesterday's Marathon de Paris... if you missed my post yesterday with the highlight video of the leader pack at 15.5 miles, click here. I could tell they had participated by the way in which they went up and down stairs and kept telling their non-running companions "no... I'm okay. I got it."

As we were nearing home, eating still-warm-from-the-oven bread from the boulangerie (that's bakery ;-) ), Big G remarked, 

"This day just went from excellent to AMAZING!"

That, my friends, is Day 5.

Spectating at the Marathon de Paris

This morning was the Marathon de Paris. This took me completely by surprise and is oddly the second marathon I have witnessed in this lovely city. The last one was a World Championships marathon back in 2003. That one was very different from today's. This one had 40,000 entrants... only a small percentage of whom were super-fast.

I was allowed the morning to myself so that I could make my way around the city unencumbered by whining, hungry or vomiting children. I was so excited. I can't remember the last time I left the house with just a couple of dollars in my pocket, my sunglasses and my camera. It felt amazing!

I jumped on the Métro and headed into the heart of Paris. My plan was to get to the Place de la Bastille (about the 5K mark on the way out and the 13-mile mark on the way back... figured I'd get to see the big pack and the leaders from right about the same spot... just one quick pivot). I had a huge brain fart, though. For some reason, I thought the "République" station was at the Place de la Bastille... the whole French Revolution and the importance of the Bastille in it and the République that arose from it... I don't know actually what or if I was thinking :P So I had a bit of a walk... and had to seriously move it to get to the Bastille in time to see the leaders... or so I thought.

Okay... long walk.

And then I saw the Place de la Bastille...

You can barely see the mob at the foot of the monument...

A little clearer now...

Here's a little video of the people running a 4-hour pace...

I saw the pace guy with his banner so I know this.

Then I tried to get to the other side of the street by going into the subway system... and got lost. I couldn't figure out how to emerge on the correct side of the street, so I just got on a train headed a little further up the course.

The weather was beautiful... for tourists.  I think it was awfully warm and sunny to be considered ideal marathon-weather. I stationed myself on the Pont Neuf, very much at the center of town and roughly the 15.5-mile mark. I knew the leaders were approaching because the helicopter was getting closer. Suddenly, I heard applause....

the first wheelchair competitor.

Moments later, I heard more applause and cheering and this came through...

the pack of leaders.

Can you see that pace car?

1:15:23 

at 15.5 miles into it

(I am in the videos, too. The 'V' of the shadow on the road... my head is close to the point)

Then the battery in my doo-doo camera died. I waited to see the women blaze by... pace car said just over 1:25. Both leader-packs were such a sight to behold. They look effortless at 15.5 miles. I know they are working, but the grace and lightness and steadiness... awe-inspiring and beautiful. For the first time, I noticed that these fast distance runners have really big hamstrings. Not sure how I've been missing that :P

After watching the fastest women race out of sight, I decided to head up to the finish line... thinking I would get to see the winner cross the line. That would have happened... if I hadn't have gotten lost again! Arriving at 2:11 into the race, the first guys were done! So I waited around to see the woman winner. I took the battery out of the camera and tricked it into thinking it had more juice!  Go, me! My doo-doo camera is super lame and I missed the shot of the winning woman crossing the line in 2:22:55! But I did get this shot...

She was in the women's top 10, but I'm not sure where.

You can see how doo-doo my camera is.

I clicked the button when she was at the left of the frame.

Then I headed back to about the 18.5-mile mark... directly across from the Eiffel Tower. I took this picture right after the 4:00-hour pace banner went by. I didn't have a very good vantage point, but there is a single-person deep line of spectators at the curb and then a pretty solid mass of runners between the curbs. I saw a lot of people peeling out of the pack around this part... limping away, walking away with bright red chest spots where their unprotected nipples had chafed to bleeding, practically crawling up the stairs to get on the Métro to go home... 18.5 is a tough spot, and the weather conditions made it even tougher.

Then I went home. This time, I did not get lost.

I want to wish all of you with upcoming marathons and other races (I know Boston is next weekend) the very, very best! I hope the conditions for you all are fantastic, the support/aid stations are in the perfect places, the portapotties are convenient and clean, and your equipment of choice functioning optimally :)

A bientôt!

The Frolic at the Louvre

The word "frolic" carries with it connotations of fun and merriment, doesn't it?

Then I think I need to pick a different word.

Perhaps "fiasco" is more suitable?

You may ask, "Why in the heck did that woman take all those kids to the freakin' Louvre?" Right. A museum. Lots of priceless works of art... masterpieces, in fact. Are kids even interested in that biz? Ummm... not generally speaking.

Well, Big G really had a hankering for the Louvre. And given all his 'challenges' so far on the trip, I thought it would be nice to let his preferences dictate the course of action today... plus we have a local friend who knows the museum inside and out and how to hit up all the kid-critical/kid-interesting exhibits and artifacts. She can do from a 30-minute up to a 5-hour customized tour, depending on the interests of the particular group. And she is leaving town tomorrow... so today had to be the day.

Things seemed to be going in a good direction for a "frolic". Everyone slept through the night... from about 11 pm until about 8 am or later. Everyone ate breakfast and got dressed. And we left the house on time.

As we were walking to the Métro (subway), Big G mentions that his throat hurts. No time to run back to the house for throat lozenges... I indicate that this is a time one must "soldier on." He is not really one who "soldiers on". All seemed okay through the Métro ride and the walk to the musée. But this was the scene as we waited for our friends to find us...

And when they found us...

He really wanted to try to see some of the sights, so he got up and tried to "soldier on"...

Here we are, toting the stroller up hill and over dale...

lots of stairs in that place...

the cardio and strength workout for the day ;-)

But...

it was like a Zürich flashback...

This time, however, he did give about a 30-second warning and we were in front of a gifty kiosk, but the chick did not understand my inquiry about a plastic bag... she smiled and shook her head and pointed at the elevator. My French is not that bad... chick was not even trying to understand me. As we waited patiently for the elevator, he barfed on the floor in front of the chick's gift nook. He really did try to hold it in... he really did try to wait... poor kid.

The elevator arrived, and we stepped over the splattery puddles to go in search of a bathroom. We were successful in that mission. He got cleaned up. We returned to our group... still in front of the gift shop-wannabe. Dad was mopping up the mess with Kleenexes. Big G indicated that he was going to spew again... this time the chick nearly dove at us with a roll of plastic bags... nice, thick ones that would have really helped the situation in the first go-round. But better late than never, I always say :P She dropped her aloof, cranky-butt demeanor and became quite helpful. Yay! 

As this was now the scene, Daddy decided the out-of-doors might be best for the boys. 

A little fresh air for health (Big G) and attitude (Q-Man).

(note plastic bag now in possession)

Our amazing tour-guide friend took us on a whirlwind 30-minute tour, hitting primarily Greek Antiquities and Italian Renaissance...

Baby X with the Venus de Milo...

Baby X in the Mona Lisa Room...

it was mobbed and La Joconde is right behind 

Baby X's head

(she did push through the crowd up to the front and saw it closely).

We saw the guys through this window... 

that red jacket just to the left of center is Q-Man!

Daddy is the one sort of next to him with the black backpack.

And here is one of my very favorite things in the Louvre...

Cupid and Psyche

by Canova.

Baby X takes a moment to kick back.

Because we had a stroller, we got to ride up the ultracool pillar-elevator in the middle of the big glass pyramid. 

We found the rest of our family, our friends went home, I knelt down in someone's nasty gum which stuck to my jeans (I know the ice cube trick ;-) ) and Miss C tried to go for a swim in the water feature.

We made our way to the Métro, were accosted by fake deaf people soliciting distracted tourists for money (I know they were fake because I saw them talking amongst themselves when they didn't know anyone was looking), got on the homeward-bound train and collapsed in a heap...

Tired pups.

I'm thinking we'll lay low tomorrow :)

Are you a gotta-see-it-all kind of traveler? Or a chill-out-and-act-like-a-native kind? Or something in between?

The Flight...

Was totally uneventful... while in the air.

After spending the early part of Wednesday frantically packing and taking care of the odds and ends that go along with going on vacation (thankfully, no pets anymore), we picked the kids up from school and whisked them to the airport... how's that for jet-set lifestyle?

Taking a trip as a party of 6 generates a lot of luggage. It just does. There is no way around it. Five checked bags and 6 carry-ons... plus a stroller and a car seat. It is SIX people, though. Count up the number of people before you make comments about the amount of luggage or make jokes about traveling light ;-)

We got to the airport 3 hours before the flight's scheduled departure and so had plenty of time to wander around, eat some food, get bored, watch Miss C run in circles for about an hour... then off to deal with security. It was a breeze. Whew. All of my old travelin'-mom skills came back to me. I know the people behind us in line weren't clued into how quickly we were moving for a family with 4 kids, but we zipped through.

The flight was not packed... such a bonus. And the flight crew was very friendly and helpful and professional. We flew on SWISS... two thumbs way up.

Everyone got at least a couple of hours of sleep, which really seemed to take the edge off for the rest of the travel-there phase. Baby X slept on the floor, the two boys shared three seats and curled up in the fetal position, Miss C had her car seat and the two grown-ups slept sitting up. The in-flight entertainment was exceptional. First leg of the journey... successfully complete.

Arrived in Zürich feeling good... except for Big G. He looked a little grey around the edges. He said he wasn't feeling so great.

 We took the connecting tram between terminals...

you can see he isn't very perky.

We needed to walk a bit from the tram area to terminal proper...

Used the bathroom...

and got some love from Daddy...

Assessed our carry-on situation prior to proceeding to the second 

security checkpoint...

As we were loading all the crap stuff into the plastic trays and onto the conveyor belt, 

Big G had the urge to purge...

no pics, luckily.

I caught it all in a ziploc bag I just happened to have handy...

Go, mom!

except for a little bit of splashing on my hands and a few splatters on the floor.

The Zürich security personnel were so sweet about the whole thing...

much more so than TSA would probably have been.

The second flight was only one hour... and it just flew by (hahahhaha!)

We watched the Alps for quite a while.

And finally arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

We made our way through the tunnels of moving sidewalks...

Claimed our baggage and found the rental car.

Here is where things finally got 'interesting'!

The beautiful, immaculately-new minivan (so if anything at all happens to it, they KNOW we did it :P) is the perfect size for us and our stuff. We got in and all remarked on how comfortable it is. Oh, and it has GPS! Great! That will be such a help! Except that neither my husband nor I have ever used GPS. I was able to get it to speak English and program a route, but we couldn't hear the lady tell us where to go. And it was really hard to keep watching the little screen and drive at the same time. We got really, really lost and had a little... tiff. 

Finally we figured out the GPS thing and at that point it became very useful :P

When we arrived at the address of our friends' house, we became quite confused. There are often a few variations on an address that ARE quite important even if you think they are not. 'Bis' is important. 'A' and 'B' are, too. And so is 'T'. Our friends had included this important information, but my American brain just glossed over it. My French was good enough to get some help... even though Baby X remarked, "I think they know you're American, mom." Nice vote of confidence ;-)

And we found it...

Such a cool house ...

in

Les Lilas.