#4: Run along Seine River in Paris, France (07/25/16)
On our first stop of vacation, we flew into Paris, and I got a full introduction to the City of Lights by running along the Seine River past countless monuments and famous sights. Within just a few miles of running, I passed by the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, and the Musée d'Orsay, all right along the water, along the pedestrian-only running lanes. Each monument was swamped with tourist traffic, but the fact that I was there early in the morning made it easier to navigate. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and the city itself is so full of history that I felt transported into a different age almost immediately when I arrived. I did a total of 11 miles through the city, getting down into the 5:40/mile pace for the last few and averaging 6:01/mile for the entire run. For me, the entire experience was incredibly surreal, because I had never imagined all of these separate famous sights to be in such close proximity, and the frequency with which I passed them only compounded that experience.
#3: Long and Strong Day at Hawk Harrier
On the last full day of camp, my group took to the roads to go after our "long and strong" effort, which meant that we started the first mile as a group, then progressed into our own paces and got competitive into the final few miles. The loop itself was roughly 8.1 miles, with an uphill stretch between miles 2-4 and a downhill stretch for miles 5 and 6. After a fairly level opening 1.5 miles on Stafford Road at around 7:16/mile pace, we started to bump the pace up. When we hit the beginning of the uphill, the group began to spread out, and I pushed the pace from the front during the ascent. We continued on at a nice clip, going 6:22/mile pace for the all uphill stretch, and once we hit the top, I pushed the pace even faster and broke away. From the point on, it was more of a solo effort, and I cruised downhill to a 5:03 mile before levelling out and closing in some 5:17/mile pace work. This was one of the first longer and faster efforts I'd had during the summer with significant climbing involved, so I was glad to see that I haven't lost my edge in attacking hills. Throughout the rest of the summer and into the season I intend to take as many fartlek-type efforts and moderate runs on the hills that we have around our school as possible, whether that may end up being around Belmont Plateau or Manayunk, but this loop was a great way to get that type of work started.
