I’m here… Now what? (MT Week 3/17)
James Bond would have been proud. I arrived at the Marseilles airport, got a parking ticket from the El-Al desk, found a car with a specific license plate, took the key from under the front wheel, drove to a house somewhere in Provence and voila! I’m home. James doesn’t need to know that I didn’t understand how to put the car in reverse or that It took me 40 minutes to find the El-Al desk or that after each thing I did or place I arrived, the only thought in my head was ‘Alright… I’m here… Now what??’ . All that matters is that I successfully swapped houses with another family and that my Orbea is safely by my side.
The day after I arrived, I went on a short 60km ride along part of stage 4 of the Tour De France. I actually rode from the house, to kilometer 31 in the stage and continued until kilometer 59. Aside from a few sprayed slogans on the road, there was no way anyone could have known that the tour had gone by only a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately , my polars’ battery is dead and I don’t have any documentation of my awesome ride; however, I found my old Garmin 0.1 in my backpack and used it instead. Remarkably enough, it did the job quite well and I didn’t even get lost.
Garmin 0.1 - yes , a pen and paper
The next day I went on a longer 80km ride that left from Aix en Provence which is about 15 minutes from the house. The ride was beautiful and the bike lanes were perfect… the drivers were courteous, views were breathtaking and after it rained butterflies* I couldn’t help but thinking ‘Is this real??’. With all do respect to every other country in the world, France is better! I am so glad that I took my bike with me. Being in France without a bike is like being in a bathroom without toilette paper – You manage but something is not quite right…
* May have only happened in my mind
Silly bike... Only people can go shopping
Working out while traveling
I’m on week 3 out of 17 in my marathon training plan towards the New York City Marathon. It’s not going to be easy to train once my family arrives but I’m determined to get all of my hill, fartlek and long runs in while I’m here. The day that I arrived, I ran 45 minutes around the little city of Bouc Bel-Air, where the house is located. Running whenever you arrive in a new place, even if it’s not for a long time, is a great way to figure out where you are, know what’s around you and plan your real runs later during the week. Tip: Make sure that you fly with compression socks so that your legs are fresh.
Since then I’ve done one hill workout and one long run. The best way to get the runs in is to just wake up early and do them. If you leave anything for the end of the day, it just doesn’t get done. On vacation, you never know what time you’ll get back. Tip: Workout according to time and not distance. This way you’re not stressed about holding other people up; just run half the time and turn around.
Sunflower Field
Something I saw on the way
Maccabiah Half marathon
On the 21st of July, I participated in the Maccabiah Half Marathon. If you asked anyone who ran the race to describe it in one word, they would say HOT. It began at 18:30 so everyone was soaked before the race even started. At each water station I took a water bottle and ran with it. It was so hot that when I poured the water on my head, by the time it touched my ears the water was warm… It was so hot that about 20 people were sent to the hospital for dehydration… It was so hot that my running clothes were soaked all the way through after the first 20 minutes … It’s hard to describe. Due to the terrible conditions, I also had a terrible time – 2:03. Fortunately, I made my coach promise to make me faster so the problem is as good as solved.
Stuff I need
As you know, my birthday is coming up 
Joking… No one has to buy me anything BUT I have accumulated some things that I will purchase soon for the marathon training. Please let me know if there is a better product that I have overlooked.
CW-X Women’s Pro Fit Shorts
Some More Photos
Popularity: 30% [?]
Tags: 2xu compression, bouc bel air, compression calf guards, cw-x, cw-x shorts, france, fuel belt, half marathon, maccabiah, maccabiah half marathon, Nathan speed 2 wastpack, netanya half marathon, provence, Tour de France, water pack
Cycling, Exercise, Marathon, Random, Running | anat | 
July 29, 2009 9:18 pm
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By beetak, July 30, 2009 @ 2:24 am
you are my girl and you are popular with me!
By Steve Ryan, July 30, 2009 @ 3:04 am
Be sure to read it in order to use the house as long as possible.
By Aix, August 17, 2009 @ 6:03 pm
Hi!
I’m so glad that you were able to bring your bike out for a ride because unfortunately most people do not have the luxury of being able to transport a bicycle. Aix-en-Provence I think is one of the most beautiful areas to go road biking and mountain biking and is home to some of the most well maintained roads and endless mountain bike trails. One of my favorite things about the area is how friendly the people are and how willing they are to show you around the area. You can always park your bike right next to a local restaurant on the corner and have a simple steak frites lunch(my personal favorite) and very friendly service by the locals themselves.
Weather hiking, mountain biking, cycling or just looking around, there will always be something that will take your breath away in Aix-en-Provence.