Training Log Archive: bl

BHS about 7:20 with intent of repeating yesterday but without any particular expectation. Felt a strain along right hamstring & asked nothing of the w/o after that. Walked, stretched & jogged some. Too zealous yesterday.
HS kids showed up for a class at the track at 0755.

Back to the Y. $42/month, didn't make it there this past month.

At BHS - got the idea to go there on the late side. Got home last night around 9pm. So by 0910, the sun was already warm out of shade. Had to remove shirt after a mile. Right leg worked 5 wks s/p common femoral endarterectomy so that was most pleasing though not surprising. Clearing a 70% blockage has to lead to results. There were some stair climbs etc in France that I could not have done before either. Did 40 sit ups too. The latter is my psychological defense against middle age paunch (along with calorie burning, ice cream discipline etc). I haven't done any sit ups since a week or so pre-op, so some 6 wks. So it seems I can "move forward" :).

Walked to Sacré-Cœur this morning. I thought the Hertz city map would be more than satisfactory. It was wrong on numerous occasions. Picked up a tourist office map at Gard Nord. Google maps on the cell proved backup. It became rainy, even a bit distracting at times. Spent a night by Bassin de la Villette, part of a canal system. Wikipedia said it was the largest fresh water lake in Paris. That surprised. It also said it was first filled December, 1808.

Turned the car in yesterday. That was a sigh of relief. It offered more range & possibility. It extracted some anxiety & frustration. Navigation near drove me insane a few times. The car gps often took us on circuitous (admittedly attractive) routes that seemed idiotic at times. When a destination was chosen, this screen appeared. I took it to mean "abandoned' and 'beach" (plage in Fr.). The gps literally took us to a low-tide beach at the bottom of a concrete ramp in one small town after dark.

In the big cities such as Paris, many intersections were very complicated and it was about impossible to tell which was the desired choice. Over the next few moments, I could see what was what. And it wasn't always a "pretty" result given traffic density and one way streets etc. Give me simplicity or give me... No dents, no scratches, no bruises in 2200 km.

C • Google translate 3

Walk near the airport. Found some woods, a quiet, little-used park with pond for some green.

An early enough morning walk in Rouen. Had hoped to be able to make such walks/jogs a routine but routine isn't easy when traveling. And 4 weeks post-op this Tuesday calls for "no excuses".

Still sleepy, nothing like a Starbucks in sight. Passed by Rouen cathedral and a smaller one that still is most impressive. Then along the Seine briefly. Back to some memory lane, this time ('91) passing thru Rouen on the boat. From Rouen to the Baie de la Seine was increasingly worrisome as the current strengthened and Honfleur, a "port of refuge", didn't seem attainable. So we were spat out into the shallow Baie de la Seine, having been in a "womb" of canals for months. We made our way over to Le Havre, hitting bottom gently twice, stepped the masts and said 'Au Revoir' to wonderful France.

Last few days have been Normandy D-Day beaches, Bayeux cathedral and tapestry, 1584 Chateau St-Germaine-de-Livet and Honfleur at the mouth of the Seine, the port of refuge we missed in '91.