La course du dimanche

My final course that I tracked after I came home. I was just surprised as you may be when I realized I ran that much!

          Saturday night, sitting on my bed, nearing 1:00 am, I came up with the grand idea to go on a run from my home-stay all the way to the Eiffel Tower. Little did I know that other avid runners were thinking of doing the same by participating in the 20km Paris run. I would later find that out when I reached Trocadéro and I found myself being the only runner sweating like crazy. 

          
          According to my plan, I would wake up at 7:15am, leave my home-stay by 7:30, and get to Trocadéro around 8:07, the time my good pal Google informed me the sunrise would begin. As I prepared my running essentials, I went on a search for my running jacket and failed to find it: twenty minutes down the drain. Then I go on iTunes to download a French podcast to listen to while I run. I encountered so many options that I spent almost 30 minutes attempting to translate the titles. I ended up choosing one on la politique sociale d'Obama that talked about Obamacare and the most recent political quarrels of États-Unis, which ended up being quite interesting. It was 1:52am and I was finally ready to fall asleep, but I forgot that people are arriving back from their soirées or even starting them. So it took me 20 more minutes to fall asleep to the sound of the music from the floor above me and of the obnoxious laughing happening outside my window.  

The running essentials: my high school watch, shuffle, keys, Navigo pass, and debit card in case of an emergency, which my Les Deux Magots breakfast falls under. 

         
             You might guess that, from the beginning, I was behind schedule. For those who know me quite well might have expected me to have slept through my alarm, but HA, I didn't. Yes, I woke up late, but I was adamant to go on this run, especially since I stuffed my face with pastries the day before. So I left at 7:50am, which gave me no time to get to Trocadéro by 8:07am since I live approximately three miles away. I gave up on the idea of being alone by the Eiffel Tower for sunrise, but as I started my run down rue Guynemer, passing the Jardin du Luxembourg, I decided to take a longer route to see more iconic places of rive Guache before reaching my final destination. So without further ado, I present to you my Sunday morning run:

Fall time in Paris: passing by the entrance of Jardin du Luxembourg.

The pigeons are up and watching me stretch and pray by Saint Sulpice. 

I finally found Pont de Arts completely empty except for one man preparing to sell locks for the day. Fun Fact: the government removes some of the locks every month because they are afraid that the weight will break the bridge.

Completely alone except for some overachieving tourists making the line to greet Mona Lisa.

I finally saw some fellow runners around Jardin des Tuileries.

Place de la Concorde. Reason I started praying at Place de Saint Sulpice: most confusing and
 terrifying crosswalk that exists in Paris.

Just me and the first busload of tourists capturing a photo of l'Arc du Triomphe. 

Impression, soleil levant à la Tour Eiffel.

Done and not yet aware that I ran 4.79 miles! Go me!! 

        

         Overall, it took me around 50 minutes to run 4.79 miles (60 minutes if you include the stops I made to take pictures and search for my location when I got lost on the way to Trocadéro…oops), only one-fourth of the 20km race that happened that morning. I might not be ready for a 20km race since I was gasping for air going up the  five steps of Trocadéro, but seeing all the runners this morning motivated me to begin training for one. Maybe I will run the Washington D.C. Nike Half-Marathon or the 10-mile Cherry Blossom when I am back in Baltimore...or maybe do both? 

Having my "American breakfast" with freshly pressed jus de Pamplemouse while sitting by an older Frenchman enjoying his tartines and espresso at one of Hemingway's most frequented cafés.

          What I do know is that I want to do a sunrise run again, especially while I am in Paris. I get to sightsee, exercise, and save mama from a heart attack as she checks my spending abroad (unless I end up treating myself every time I go running to breakfast at Les Deux Magots…). I want to try to go to the Eiffel Tower one more time for sunrise when I will be sure that no race is happening and I will be one of the few living souls awake. After that, I will take myself somewhere else and explore another part of the city. I haven't been to Sacre-Coeur so maybe that will my next destination? You will have to stay tune to see where I go next Saturday or Sunday…

Going home.