Training Log Archive: Nadim

From La Cesearn, France to Mont Saint Michel. After about a 4 hour bus ride from Paris (I watched The Bells episode of Game of Thrones along the way) Peggy, Max, Samantha, and I walked the last part to the famous World Heritage site. As we hiked in showery skies which were clearing. We got a great and gradual sense of the grand scale of the rock and the buildings. I stopped my GPS at the base but we initially hiked the medieval streets to the base of the monastery. Getting on the ramparts, we descended to the base again where we then ate. Later, back up the busy streets to the base of the monastery we went but this time we went inside. The designated route was still a maze of halls and corridors. Sometimes these would dump us out onto a patio overlooking the ocean or the mud flats. Everything was decorated in stone. It was all quite interesting and fun. After our time got short we took buses back to Paris.

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Paris, France; Catacombes. Peggs, Max, Samantha and I took to the underground this morning after a bit of street and train orienteering. We got to nearly the front of the long line with our pre-paid tickets except we couldn’t find Peggy’s. Fortunately she was able to download from her email and it was accepted. The tunnels were about as neat as advertised. According to the audio history they were built to keep disease from spreading in already overcrowded gravesites. It was claimed that people living near existing graveyards had their milk spoil quickly and worse. When an overcrowded graveyard crypt broke and spilled into the cellars of nearby homes it was said that enough was enough and the government ordered the movement of exist graves into tunnels dugout for that purpose. In all, it was said that the remains of 6,000,000 people were moved. They used the space for new graves.

Inside the tunnels it was cool—said to be 57 F. The walls were limestone. We descended a spiral staircase 20m. Initially there were just signs of the excavation carved into the walls and regular lighting. Spaces opened up here and there. The ossuaries started with femurs arranged neatly, parallel, and stacked about +5 feet high along both walls. These went on for long stretches. Skulls were arranged in the stacks sometimes randomly but often in patterns. There were heart shapes and crosses or box and row patterns. All of it was interesting and as I recall from pre-reading, was done for respect. We only were allowed to see a small part of the extensive tunnels. We popped out at a staircase in an inconspicuous building between apartments on a boulevard. Inside there were lots of living people but it never got crowded. Samantha zoomed ahead, having gotten creeped-out, but she was happy to arrive at the gift shop where the theme was still bone symboled trinkets.

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Paris, France. After exiting the Catacombes at Avenue Rene Coty, we rested and then started a hike to the Pantheon. The problem was that we went 180 degrees in the wrong direction for about half a mile. Talking, we were distracted and we were in a park on the center median where it was hard to see side street names. Figuring it out, we got moving and had a snack at a pastery shop.

The Pantheon was neat. The grand outside with ornate carvings was matched by even more grand interior displays of marble floors, large sculptures, carved ceilings, and diffused natural lighting. I also enjoyed seeing the great pendulum swinging in the center of things. The basement was neat too with basic geometries of white walls with side room crypts. This mausoleum holds Voltaire and Madam Curie along with other French elite.

We walked from the Pantheon to Luxembourg Gardens where the French Senate convenes. The gardens were pretty, well kept, and well used.

We decided to keep walking. My left knee continued to hurt at times. It felt better when I climbed but then I’d tire quickly. The streets were interesting and it wasn’t too hot. We snaked through the Latin Quarter and across Ponte Neuf to Les Halles Forum. We took refuge for a while in a mostly underground shopping mall there and had more snacks.

We gutted it out with a walk back to 24 Saintonge. Along the way we passed an Asian part of town. I had a nap before we went it again to eat dinner on the sidewalk in Place De Republique. A walk around the lively square revealed street shows and skate boarders.

Paris, France; starting in the 3rd Arrondissement. From 24 Rue de Saintonge Bât., Peggy, Max, Samantha, and I did some touring. We headed out to walk to Notre-Dame and had falafel lunch in an alley cafe in a Jewish part of town. We unexpectedly came to a tourism office where we were able to pickup pre-purchased tickets for other parts of our trip—we were going to a different tourism office. We couldn’t see much at Notre-Dame. At ground level there were walls and fences and construction equipment. The basic features of the 2 towers and the rose stained glass were visible. We crossed the Seine into the Latin Quarter and stopped to rest at the Fontaine Saint Michel. It was feeling hot before then though it was in the 70’s F (later this week it’s expected to reach 102 F). We walked back over the river Pont De Arts bridge.m, and across the Louvre grounds. We hit one more office for tourist tickets before ending up at the Pyramides Metro station. Getting closer from there to where we started we did some grocery shopping and schlepped up 4 flights of stairs to finish. Though we had some transportation issues getting our days going, this was a full and fun day.

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From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. It was warm this morning. I started slow and a little sore. Once on the CCT, I picked it up. I was pulling for a guy who caught me from behind at around Massachusetts Ave., and most of the way to Georgetown. He pulled ahead the last half mile and I stayed with him but got ahead again on the streets. The winds were calmer today. I slowed a little more with traffic at the end.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. I left work late again. The streets were pretty open so I made good time getting to Georgetown. I got some help on Ohio Dr. when I caught a slow moving car and stayed behind it until I hit the trail. I was 13:07 leaving Georgetown which is about 2 minutes faster than some days. I rode the rest by myself, passing the occasional cyclist, runner and walker--not many people running in the heat. Even leaving late it was 89 F when I started. I got home at about the fastest I've ridden in months.

Starting, my left knee was still at the point of needing to be careful. On the ride and and at the start of this ride, I also had an unexplained pain where the left calf joins the tendon. I felt it when pushing forward and maybe something happened to it when my chain slipped the crank on a hard push off Sunday. It wasn't hurting later.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. to 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. I hadn't ridden all the way into work since July 2. Some of that was due to rain but the most of it was my focus on running. I felt it best to ride today, to give my left knee more rest. It started felling a little better during the day. The ride started nicely. The shady spots felt cool. I got passed by 2 riders together just as I hit the flats at Fletcher's Boathouse. They went by fast, slowed enough for me to be 50m back for a way, then speeded up again. I had to slow for a large gaggle of geese crossing Ohio Dr., where there was a headwind. There were so many geese that a car had been waiting there a while as they kept coming from one side to the other. A photographer was there to catch it all too.

From 13th & C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD. It felt hot starting out but may have only been in the upper 80s F. I was not so energetic and had headwinds getting to Georgetown. I passed some people there and left pulling for at least 2 people. After 1.5 miles or more, the guy following me took a pull. Soon after an electric bike with a short heavy guy went speeding past. The guy in front of me and behind me sprinted to catch up and did. I needed to ride my pace so I watched--going faster at this point hurts when I wouldn't expect it to, and I also didn't want to aggravate my left knee. The electric bike guy slowed before Fletcher's Boathouse and all 3 regular cyclists passed him. As I was going up the hill alone, the electric bike went tooling on up fast again. Overall, I did okay based on my finish time. I was surprised to weigh out at 190 lbs.

From Northfield Rd., to Bethesda Ave. Peggy, Max, Samantha, and I all rode into town for dinner. It was still warm out. Max and I had spent part of the day cleaning the basement. For some reason, as soon as I had gotten out of bed, my left knee was not feeling right. It seemed like something was just a little out of place and wouldn't fall back. It was achy. I could have just run too much over the week or just yesterday. I decided to rest.

From Bethesda Ave., to Old Georgetown Ave. to Northfield Rd. After dinner we all rode back but Max and I stopped off at the urgent care to get his stitches out of his finger. He and I were able to do that so quickly, and Samantha rides so slowly, that Max and I were able to catch-up to Peggy and Samantha before they got home--Max sprinted to do that and I was feeling it.