Weekend in France

We just got back from a quick two days in France - my friend Joy, her husband and son (my godson) are there visiting her in-laws and we were invited for the weekend.  Always a treat to be in France, even if it's short.

A walk through the village on Saturday afternoon so the boys could score some pastries:

Fun times with good friends, what more do we need in life?

Great Breweries 25K

My walking buddy Ingrid and I signed up for this new running/walking event months ago and despite struggling with high hamstring tendinosis since I returned from the US, I was looking forward to it.  Both my doctor and my physical therapist said walking was perfectly fine for me, and I didn't really want to have to cancel.  I've been having most discomfort from sitting and driving, so I knew the worst part was going to be getting there and coming home afterwards in the car.

The race headquarters, start and finish, was located at the famous Duvel brewery complex in Puurs.  Despite being extremely crowded and busy, the event was well organized and we quickly got our race bibs, t-shirts and hit the porta-potties before lining up to start.  The full marathon started earlier in the day; we started at the late time of 11:30 after the 25K runners, as the day quickly turned from gray and misty to sunny and hot.

The course took us through beautiful countryside and fields on the way to the Palm brewery in Londerzeel, where we walked through the restored castle as well as the modern brewery building, and got a free taste of their new beer, Cornet, while we took a break to eat our sandwiches and get out of the sun a bit.  

The course continued - this area of Belgium is not far from where all of my in-laws live so it was fun to pass through.  There were tons of walkers, of all ages, shapes, sizes and speeds.   We particularly liked the clown in the beer barrel suit we passed several times:

The day continued to be extremely hot and muggy.  We, along with many other participants, were not really prepared for the heat - the forecast had been rain and storms - and so I didn't have sunglasses or my usual hat.  It got pretty uncomfortable, and at the next two beer-tasting spots we stuck with water, sports drink and a banana.  Lots of people were partying pretty hard at those stops, where there was always a bar, live music and beach chairs, but we kept on going.  We were afraid if we had another beer and sat in a beach chair we'd never be able to get up and keep walking.

At about 18 km, we started to hear thunder and in the distance a dark cloud started to roll towards us.  The wind picked up and it suddenly got cooler which was a huge relief.  Luckily, we only had to put our raincoats on for about 15 minutes or so - we were spared a really big storm.

After a bit more than 5 hours of walking we finally made it back to the Duvel brewery, where after you came in and got the usual stuff (a medal, a cookie, another sports drink) they had a big tent with a bar where, with vouchers on your race bib, you could have three different beers from each of the breweries we passed.  

Ingrid only had one beer, since she was driving, I tried two: a Tripel Karmeliet and a Palm Special Hops.  Nom nom.  I can tell you, after walking 25 sweaty kilometers, those beers tasted so good!  We got a gift box with three bottles of the beers to take home, too!  Quite a marketing event for the breweries, I guess.  

If you look closely, you'll see that the medal also serves as a bottle opener - how convenient!

All in all, it was a very well organized event with a great atmosphere.  My legs, while I definitely felt it in my calves and feet, were fine and while I was very stiff when I got home, my tendinosis didn't seem to be aggravated by the walking, which is great.  Ingrid and I felt like 25K was just about as far a distance as we would want to walk at this point - any longer seems like it would be too long, and five hours sounds just about right - as long as there's a cold beer waiting at the finish, that is!

Three races (part 3)

Ever since the inaugural Illinois Marathon/Half-Marathon I've been saying to Joy that I was going to come and do this event with her.  We met when we both studied abroad in Dijon, France in 1987 and have been friends ever since, and we both graduated from the University of Illinois together in 1989:

In 2007 we ran our first race together, in my hometown - the Leuven New Year's Corrida:

So doing the Illinois Half Marathon with Joy has been on my bucket list for quite a few years now, and this year, things worked out!  

Unfortunately (and this is why I don't have any pictures, except the one below after we finished) the weather was terrible.  The evening before, for the 5K, it was perfect.  But we woke up to pouring rain, and a chilly 54 F.  Luckily, there was no thunder and lightning and the race was not called off, as it had been the year before.  So Joy's husband drove us as close as possible to the starting corrals and we tried in vain to stay dry and warm while we waited for the start.

Once we got going, despite the rain, wind and cold, dare I say we enjoyed ourselves?  We did, actually - we talked the whole way, thanked the volunteers along the course (they had it worse than us, we reasoned - they had to stand still), laughed, looked forward to refueling stops, and sloshed along in our sponge-like shoes.  I can tell you, for a fact, that cold and rain is good for one thing - preventing blisters!  My feet were very comfortable - perhaps because they were numb?

The course itself was flat, started out going through campus, wound through Urbana and some beautiful neighborhoods with old stately homes, through a nature preserve, and some newer neighborhoods, and finally back to the University of Illinois campus.  It would have been great to do it on a sunny day, but we both said blistering heat wouldn't have been fun either.

It was a relief, though, when we finally made it to the finish, in nearly four hours, crossed the line in Memorial Stadium and at last, chilled to the bone and completely soaked, were able to get out of the wind and rain.  Patrice, God bless him, picked us up, and we spent the rest of the day curled up in front of a wood fire, proud and happy of our accomplishment:

And we weren't even last:

I'd do it again in a heartbeat (but I'd pray for no rain).

Three races (Part 2)

My next two races took place at the University of Illinois - my Alma Mater!  The first one was a 5K on Friday night - and the best part about it was that my 13-year-old godson agreed to run with me (even if he wasn't very enthusiastic about taking a pre-race picture with his mom and godmother):

I was a little bit nervous about running with him, hoping I wouldn't be too slow and hold him back.  But he had been out of soccer with an injury for a while and assured me it would be okay.  So we set off on the fun course that went right through campus, and past all the Greek houses.  A few sorority girls were out on their lawn watching the runners and one shouted at us, "You're gorgeous!"  I looked at G and asked him if he heard what they said.  He looked puzzled for a minute, and so I told him, "They were talking about you!"  Did I mention he's gotten tall and handsome?

Then we had to run past all the bars and fast-food joints on Green Street - the food smells were killing us!  Finally we were on our way back to Memorial Stadium where the race finished right on the football field - how exciting to run in with all the lights on.  Very impressive!  G sprinted ahead of me (it's one thing to run with your godmother but another to cross the finish line with her, LOL!) and I followed shortly after - in my usual time of 35 minutes.  If nothing else, I am consistent!

Part 3 (the half marathon) coming soon...

So...those 3 races in April I told you about... (part 1)

 A couple months ago I mentioned that I had three races planned in April, which was a big deal for me, not having participated in many organized events in the past few years.

The first one was a 5K in Texas that my sister Christy found would be taking place the weekend I was there visiting.  We both signed up.  In the meantime, I found out that a fellow blogger, Kim, was also going to be in Texas that same weekend, visiting friends with her husband Stephen - and not far from where my parents live!  The race venue was not too far from where Kim's friends, Gina and Steve, live, and so they offered to meet us at the finish of the race.

Christy and I got to the race venue early enough to watch the kid's mile fun run - there were lots of little kids to cheer on.  I texted Kim our bib numbers so they would be able to watch out for us at the finish - we had never met in person and you always wonder if you're going to recognize someone from pictures.  And then Christy and I set off.  The course was an out-and-back around some baseball fields, a lake and a park - the weather was pretty nice for Texas - not too hot, but warm enough to be enjoyable.  And the field of participants was small, very small - maybe 200 people.  I ran at my usual comfortable pace (finishing in 35 minutes as expected).  As I came around a turn towards the finish line I could recognize Kim's posse waiting at the finish, and I started waving.  It was so fun to have them cheer me in!

Once we finished the race we hung out for a bit at the park - Kim, Stephen, Gina and Steve were all great and willing to wait for the organizers to announce age group winners, because, having seen who came in before me, they thought I might have won an age group award.  And Gina and Steve's son Luca was such a charmer!  At first it is a bit strange to meet someone you know through blogging in person - you actually know a lot about each other just from having read posts throughout the years, but you're still technically strangers.  In my experience, though, having met (and ran a race with!) Dutch blogger Fran a couple years ago, you quickly get past the initial awkwardness and the conversation starts to flow as if you'd known each other for years!  Same thing with Kim!

And then - what a surprise - they started calling out age group winners - and I won first place! Everyone tells me I shouldn't say this, but - full disclosure - there were only four people in my age group - LOL!  But I don't care, it was a first for me to win an age group award, and having new friends and my sister there to celebrate it with me made my day!  

And I actually got to stand on a real podium.

More soon about races #2 and #3...

16K Trail Walk

I've been on a training plan to walk the half marathon with Joy at the end of the month and yesterday my husband joined me on the 16K I had to do.  I plotted out a route on my walking paths map and our oldest son drove us out to the starting point, from where we would walk home.  It was a gorgeous spring morning, as you can see!

It took us 3 hours 45 minutes to walk 16.4 km.  We had a packed lunch with us and stopped along the way to eat at a nice picnic spot and then at a cafe when we were almost done for a coffee (those two stops are not counted in the time).  I was a bit worried about stopping, that it would be hard to get up and walk again (Ingrid and I never stop when we walk) but actually it was a nice little rest and didn't seem to make it harder to go on at all.

The trails were challenging - a lot of ups and downs, muddy, uneven paths, and cobblestones.  The half marathon in Illinois will be flat and paved.  I honestly feel like the variation in trails is a lot healthier for my body and leaves me feeling less sore than walking on the monotony of paved roads/sidewalks.  The advantage to paved, however, is that you don't have to keep your eyes on your feet as much.  There's a Swiss Flag to everything, I guess...

Surprise! Upcoming Running/Walking Events

I haven't done many events the past couple years, but surprisingly enough I have three that I am signed up for this month, one that I will probably do with my son Florian in May, and a big one with Ingrid in June...and at the moment I'm struggling a bit with sciatica but walking and running feel okay (thank the Lord).  Here's a run-down of the events themselves:

• Running for Education in India 5K with my sister Christy in Texas on April 24
• Illinois Marathon 5K and Half Marathon with my bestie Joy on April 29/30 (I'll be running the 5K and we're walking the half together)
• Linden Trail Run 7K with my son on May 17 (we still have to sign up)
• Great Breweries 25K Walking Event on June 5 with Ingrid - yes, this will combine walking with beer tasting - not sure if this is a good combination or not ;-)

I am bit apprehensive about the travel to the US in a couple weeks.  Our airport is still not back up to full capacity after the bombing attacks, and it's not sure yet if it will be soon.  My husband and I flew to Venice last weekend, and the flights went out of a regional airport in Liege, which went smoothly, given the circumstances.