7 - sunday

this morning after church, I drove to Jamestown for my last long run of marathon training (oops, I realize I already claimed this.  apparently I can't read a calendar.  today was it for real, yo.) - a 20 miler, the same course as the one I ran last Memorial Day.  it's a beautiful spring day.  warm sunshine, blooming flowers, the works.  it's not exactly a flat course, and I had a tough run yesterday, but I was feeling good from church and the nice weather.  I was excited to get out and run.

I changed from church clothes to running gear in the bathroom of the Jamestown recreation offices, because I am a classy lady. then I took this cheeseball picture. 

the run up the east shore of the island was straight into twenty-mile-an-hour winds, easily gusting over 30.  but I was rewarded for my persistence when I reached the north tip, and had this amazing view: 

 I don't actually know these people, or else I would have traipsed into their yard to show you that you could see clear from Jamestown to Providence and that the bay was the bluest and clearest I have ever seen in my life.

after rounding the tip of the island, I turned back along North Road (funny, because I was running south).  this is a pretty lonely stretch of the run.  miles 6-10 are along the interior of the island (no pretty bay views) and pass by such charming attractions as the town dump and the highway interchange.  it's also SUPER hilly.  there was no wind here, which made the warm sunshine feel uncomfortably hot, and I began drinking more water than I had planned.  my hip flexors were getting tight from the hills, I was feeling pretty bored, and it took a lot of effort to maintain my pace.  

then I saw this:

boys and girls, these pictures are NOT zoomed in.  three fluffy-tailed fawns came bounding across the road, entering the woods just ahead of me.  they let me get this close to them!

this amazing sight was all the inspiration I needed to propel me through the tough miles.  


further down the road, the Jamestown windmill, dating to 1787:

in town, daffodils abloom:

and finally, Beavertail light at the south tip of the island.  it was FREEZING at Beavertail, so I just snapped this quick shot and hurried on my way.  I ran out of water shortly beforehand (probably because I drank so much so early out of dehydration from the heat-wind combo).  I was worried about making it back to town, but in the end I was fine. 

I did today's run a whopping 18 minutes faster than when I ran the same course last spring! not a bad little Sunday at all. 

6 - saturday

confession. 

this morning, I worked on job application cover letters and polishing my resume, which boasts that I am well organized.  but really, one of my worst traits is that I am a horrible procrastinator. (it's after 9:30 pm, and I am just now eating dinner.) and even though I am a lover of gourmet cooking and fine foods, I have a terrible affection for greasy, salty, calorific fast food and all I had for dinner last night were tortilla chips. I have loads of school work to do, but instead I spent an embarrassing number of hours today playing online Scrabble.  

I procrastinated all mother-effing day.  I even procrastinated by reading a magazine article about how to overcome procrastination.  I am the worst.  

but lists...lists are my friend.  lists knock my intimidating pile o'stuff down into manageable chunks.  my friends know this about me. before I left for Paris, I had the following conversation with one of my bests:  

me: so much to do!!

Miriam: do you have a packing list with the weather written on top?

me: no! I'm freaking out!

there's been no time for making a list!

Miriam: oh god!

make a list.

things always feel less stressful with lists!

which is why finally, at 5pm, I made myself a list. and then went to the grocery store to buy myself toothpaste, so I can brush my teeth for the first time since I've been home from Paris like a real adult.   

blurry, so you can't see that my list has things like "MAKE A NICE DINNER" and "SHOWER" and "don't sleep in like an a-hole" written on it. 

it's going to be one heck of a week, but now that I have it all laid out I feel so much calmer.  this slice of deliciousness isn't hurting things, either.

5 - friday

happy april fools day!


new england is notorious for tricky weather.  today I awoke to rooftops blanketed in soft white snow.  I checked the news; clever headlines read "joke's on new england for april fools snowstorm" and "no joke: snowstorm heads to new england."  


my alarm went off before 6am, and I felt groggy from yesterday's travel and time change as I clumsily dressed for my physical therapy appointment.  I hurt my medial collateral ligament in february, and have been getting ultrasound and strengthening therapy to help me overcome the injury before I run the boston marathon (in 17 days! ahh!).  I didn't even bother brushing the snow off my car, and my windshield wipers made easy work of pushing it out of sight.  as I jogged from my car to the hospital, each footstrike erased a little piece of mother nature's joke from the sidewalk.  


by the time I left, falling snow had turned to bone-chilling rain and all of the accumulation had washed away.  it was only 8am, and it looked like the "april fools storm" had never happened at all.  but all this about april fools aside, the no-shit true news of the day is: I graduated from therapy! I'm cleared to run the marathon! 


and that makes me one VERY happy girl.  look at this knee. doesn't it look strong? come on. humor me. (for the record, taking a picture of one's own knee is exceedingly difficult!)

4 - thursday

I am finally home at the end of a very, very long day.  my alarm went off just before 6am and I awoke to the sounds of pouring rain on the balcony and the whoosh of the street sweepers down below.  


to get to the airport we lugged and pushed and elbowed our way through rush-hour metro traffic, onto the commuter rail with our enormous suitcases.  after a quick jaunt through the duty-free shops, we boarded our VERY full flight back to new york.  on our way to paris, we rode on a brand new airbus that was so empty we could lie down across rows of seats.  no such luck today.  we were on a (comparatively speaking) tiny boeing with no air vents that was completely full of families and babies and oversized luggage.  it was not pretty.


anyway.  I snagged a window seat and was glad for it, because I couldn't sleep at all and was so hot that the only relief I could find was pressing my palms against the cold glass as I looked down at the icy north atlantic below us. 

which made me think about t, and all the places in the world he's seen through the same rectangular frame. his job with the air force takes him to places all over the country and the world.  although I'm sure there's some novelty lost to the fact that it's work for him, I imagine how amazing it must still be to see it all from above.  I also got to thinking about this trip and how it stacked up against my last trip to paris, which t was with me for.  I hope for us that we can travel together, not alone from airplane windows or separately because one happens to be deployed halfway around the world. travel is something we both love, and something I look forward to us sharing.


.......and then we landed in new york, after the bumpiest, swerve-iest landing (hey captain, you're driving a big old airplane, can you hold 'er straight on the runway? ok thanks).  frustrating hilarity ensued. it took us an hour to clear baggage and customs.  it took us another half hour to get the shuttle to the private lot where we'd left the car.  and when we got there? another 45 minutes spent jury-rigging the rearview mirror because *somehow* it had become detached from the windshield and *somehow* none of the lot attendants had noticed or knew who or how it happened.  we tried superglue, duct tape, and zip ties to get it to hold in place.  I saved the day with the lace of my trusty mizuno:

  
(if there's any place in the world to get a harsh back-to-reality check, it's queens.  not only is your lovely vacation over, not only is it sleeting here and sunny where you came from, not only is everything taking a hundred years today, but oh, ps, your car is mysteriously broken, so use a shoelace to hold it together while you drive for 3 5 hours in the aforementioned nasty weather.  back to reality indeed.)  

3 - wednesday

I am exhausted and have had WAY too much champagne.  such Wednesdays are few and far between, so I won't apologize...just bear with me for now. 


today we slept in late and then headed out in search of pastry, chocolate, and good shopping.  the bakery that was recommended to us by friends (pain et sucre) was closed, but we persisted in our trek through the Marais to a NYTimes-recommended chocolaterie and on the way, made time for the (free!) Musee Carnevalet.  the museum's current "new" exhibit is of French business signs from the 1700s' when literacy was low -- including the famous Chat Noir sign.  

what a nice way to waste away the afternoon. afterwards, we hunted down the famous chocolaterie:

and then we went to the Moulin Rouge for dinner and a show.

and now, I am pleasantly champagne-drunk and ready for bed.  bonne nuit, mes cheries..a demain!

2 - tuesday

today was a ridiculous day.


we spent the morning on the Eiffel Tower:

(hey t, why you so far away? hmm?)

after the Eiffel Tower, we went to the most ridiculous lunch of all time.  we ate ate Le Cinq, the two-Michelin-star restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel.  our meal was eight courses.  we may never be hungry again -- it was amazing.


tomorrow is our last day: we plan on sleeping late and doing light touristy things midday before the Moulin Rouge at night.  can't wait!

1 - monday

here we are again: day one.


I pulled myself out of bed before dawn to make a very important and bittersweet phone call.  t is off for another deployment, his fourth in 18 months.  we have grown so much together in this time, but somehow it doesn't get any easier to have him gone.  this time will be extra trying - I'm moving in with him at the beginning of the summer, but he won't be there.  we both have a lot of adjusting ahead of us.  


when I'm stressed or have a lot on my mind, running is my favorite way to clear my thoughts.  I'm in Paris this week with my mom, and had the last long run of my Boston Marathon training on the schedule.  twenty miles through the streets of Paris? you don't have to ask me twice.


after t and I said goodbye (for now) on the phone, I laced up my mizunos and headed out.

this was a run that I will never forget.  the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, and flooded the entire city with the most beautiful light. 

highlights include: Jardin des Plantes and the Menagerie (what's up ostriches at 7:30am!), Notre Dame, St Michel, Jardin de Luxembourg, St. Germain, Invalides/Ecole Militaire, la Tour Eiffel, Place Charles de Gaulle/Arc de Triomphe, Parc de Morceau, Madeleine, Place de la Concorde, Jardin des Tuilleries, the Louvre, l'Opera, and Place des Vosges. we are staying in Chatelet, so that was my start and end point. 


I joked to my mom after the run that I had seen the whole city, and we could go home now. (I also joked to t that he should go awol on his layover in europe and come join us in Paris. he politely declined. next time.) 


I feel very blessed to be in such a beautiful place to distract myself from the stress of t leaving. maybe I should go on vacation somewhere amazing every time he deploys? ;) just kidding!