Spring is here. After four months of days with really short daylight and miserable weather (grey skies, rain and cold), is it a wonder that the blue skies, the warm gentle sunshine, and the green vegetation fill me with such joy? It’s a bonus when you come across golden fields of rapeseeds. The small four-petaled …
Rambouillet Semi-Marathon completed at a finishing time of 1:48:20. Mixed feelings. The result was disappointing as it was 3 minutes slower than the initial target I gave myself, and 6 minutes slower than my personal best. However, I have to admit that my target dropped to 2h00 during the race. Steep climbs, False flats, Headwind, …
Less than half a day to Rambouillet Semi-Marathon . Surcompensation Silviu and I have finished the Surcompensation (“Overcompensation” in English), our last run before D-Day. We did a relatively, easy-paced 5.5km run, interspersed with 6 sets of 20s sprints, with 30s of recovery between sets. I have never heard of “Surpcompensation” (translated as “Overcompensation”) until …
What do you do with leftover rice from a sushi-takeout meal? Turn it into home-made fried rice – a quick-to-make, fail-proof recipe for a lazy runner like me. The local sushi restaurant always gives us two portions of white rice to go with our sushi takeout. It is a waste to throw them away. One …
I kickstarted 2019 with a 10km race, Foulées de Malakoff, at the beginning of February. It was a Championnats de France 10km qualifying race. If I could hit below 48min, I would be qualified for the national championship at the end of the year. 10km History The 10km race was supposed to be a part …
I participated in the Albi Marathon in Albi, as a Championnat de France qualifier. My 2017 Paris Marathon time qualified me for the annual national race, competing with the crème de la crème. The race course was easier than the Paris Marathon one, yet I was more than a minute slower this time round. To …
I did my first race of 2017 today, a cross-country race of 5886m (6km & 51m/D+ per Strava) – Championnat de l’Essonne de Cross. I did not know that I was going to do this race until 4 days ago. During the training session, my coach approached me to ask me to be a back-up …
A French Cross race is basically a race on grass and dirt roads. In the winter, it will be running in muddy puddles and you got to wear running shoes with spiked lugs. Silviu and I both participated in our first winter cross – Cross International du Val de Marne. I was in the 5490m …
Familiar sounds Just finished my running homework, done for today. It’s 1630 on a Thursday afternoon. I did my run during the warmest period of the day – a couple of hours before the sun sets. I am sitting at the dinning table by the casement window that faces rue de Paris. Chatters of students …
A Picture Is Worth A 1,000 Words The idiom “A Picture Is Worth A 1,000 Words” popped into my mind when I first saw the photo taken of me at about 2km from the finishing line of X2 Race. The photographer (Hila Tibi) had captured my innermost thoughts at that very moment when I lifted …