Sunday, July 22, 2012

Views From A Run in France

I'm staying with my in-laws at their home in France at the moment, as part of my family's summer holiday (we've also been visiting the UK).  They live in a lovely, quiet village called Villamblard and are surrounded by beautiful countryside.  


Yesterday morning marked my first official long run for my NYC marathon training, and I had an 8 miler planned. I decided on a simple out and back route. It turned out to be the most beautiful and satisfying run I've had in a long time. 

The weather was just right, cool, sunny and fresh, with not a smidgen of the NYC humidity that I find so hard to deal with.  My pace, while far from fast, was steady and sure and my legs felt good the whole way. 

I'd been worried that I would find it difficult to run here as there is a complete absence of anything resembling a pavement, with just grassy verges at the side of the winding, hilly roads.  

After a couple of shorter runs, however, I soon got the hang of it: basically you run towards oncoming traffic, stick to the side of the road, and hope that the cars will make way for you (if not - you quickly jump back onto the grass!).  One downside to this is that you can't run with headphones - it's just too dangerous as you can't hear what's coming, and with so many twists and turns to the roads, you need to have your wits about you.  However, the genius that is my husband, suggested I run with my iphone playing through its speaker, so I gave that a try.  Considering that I saw, at most, about 15 cars and 2 people on the whole run, you can imagine how quiet it was, so I could easily hear Joni Mitchell (yes, I am old and I may well be a closet hippy), singing as I ran past fields of corn and wild flowers. 



'I am on a lonely road and I am travelling, travelling, travelling, travelling.....'.  Oh yes, Joni. I am.  I am.



4 comments:

charlotte said...

isn't it lovely to run somewhere beautiful. Enjoy your travels. x

Milady said...

Hello,

I have a question about your blog, could you please email me? Thanks!!

Melanie

robinbb said...

Those pictures are beautiful. What an amazing run.

Maharaja Express Fare said...

WOW, great article, so interesting, Stunning pictures and nice write-up.
How is your wrist now? Hope you give it some rest before your next adventure.
Your blog is a very good travelogue.