Four finishers in Paris

That's better. As I said, there were four of us finish together and this is all of us at the finish line.

Promotion

I sit today with only slightly aching legs and the race that seemed a long way ahead is now behind us.
On Saturday, four of us, all friends from Sussex ran in the 3rd edition of the Eco Trail De Paris. We all finished the 80kms (50 miles)together in 10 hrs 40 mins which was a brilliant effort

Today I laughed! As I read the results because out of the 1255 finishers we were consecutively 651st through to 654th. This was a fantastic achievement but what was making me laugh was the order of names. 654 Charlie, 653 Cliff, 652 Pete and 651 was Me! Does this fluke of administration mean that I can have a promotion in the Sussex mens fitness league, even though we did actually all finish at the same time?

One thing is for sure, wherever I am in the fitness league, I am now qualified to wear tights!

Tights at the ready

I started training for this silly event six months ago and as I stood beneath the Eiffel Tower on the morning before the race I was starting to wonder if I had done enough to prepare.
Too late to worry about it I went to find a coffee!

To Paris..

Last summer, my good friend Dai and I went to the French Alps to support some other friends who were competing in an extreme ultra marathon in the mountains there. It was amazing to be at the finish line watching some of the competitors come in and foolishly I was inspired!

Not long after returning from our brief sojourn in the Alps and still foolishly inspired, I signed myself up, to compete in the 2010 Eco Trail de Paris. http://www.traildeparis.com/pages/public/index.php?v=event&id=6

In the morning tomorrow. Mrs P junior and myself have tickets on the Eurostar to Paris and the silliness is upon us.

At 1230 on Saturday, the start gun will go and together with a few hundred other tight wearing Europeans I will make my way over 80kms (50 miles) towards the Eiffel Tower. Where, we are all aspiring to finish the race by climbing the stairs of that famous land mark!

Winter Olympics

It is a while ago since I left Canada and the excitement of the winter Olympics but it was a good experience, especially the day we got up on the mountain to see the womens freestyle skiing. My pictures do not do justice to the wonderful atmosphere.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

Tonight the winter Olympics openned in Vancouver and our 3 ring circus is in full swing. I think that I should be the MC but feel like a juggling clown.
However, we took a few minutes to watch the fireworks tonight. The atmosphere is wonderful and everyone is busy.

Olympic Flame

This morning the Olympic Flame arrived in North Vancouver. Hundreds of people have run with it, over 104 days on it's long journey, through thousands of communities all over Canada.

So today we were thrilled that we could take off from work to go and enjoy the excitement. There was quite a crowd gathered out side here early this morning and it really was great fun!

Only real men wear tights!?

After a week in Canada all I can say is that, apart from working and sleeping the only other thing I have done is some running. It is a great place for running because of the cooler weather and it is easier to find circular routes that include trails, than in those other hot places.

I have finally broken out the tights and have been seen prancing about in the forests and on the trails of Vancouver. I am not sure that I really qualify to wear running tights yet but it's too cold for shorts and I am aspiring for greater things. Only 6 weeks to the silly event in Paris so best just pretend that I am man enough for the tights and get on with it.

Arrived

We had just checked in on the radio to the traffic separation scheme entering the Juan De Fuca straight, as the forecast was warning of hurricane force winds off of the North West corner of Vancouver Islands. Another bullet dodged and we were well on our way to the safety of sheltered waters.

I would like to say that the sun rose but actually it was more like, day broke to reveal the scene that was exactly in my minds eye when I wrote the last entry here.

We are safe alongside, greeted by old acquaintances and starting to feel the buzz as the city is making final preparations for the Olympics.

Unfortunately the only running I am managing is from my nose!

They can almost smell the Maple Syrup

It has been a long ocean passage. In it self an unremarkable journey but we have been very lucky indeed with the weather! I had taken some advice, read lots of books, studied the endless marching of low pressure systems and tried to time the gaps. I looked at historic wind and current charts and looked at the route that Captain Cook took when he did this journey (he did it in the summer!) In the end we were just lucky!

Best was for us to stay south for as long as possible, adding 600 miles to our journey but skirting out of the weather systems, then making a run for it up the coast hoping for a gap between the endless violent winter depressions. On one day, we heard that a 700 foot container ship had lost more than 60 of its containers from the deck in bad weather. We were chugging along just 130 miles to the south of it! It is not really a place for a pretty yacht. I think that it could be compared to putting a girl guide in the middle of an international rugby match.

The thing that always strikes me with travelling by sea is that it is just time, sea and weather. The view is more or less the same through the whole journey. Some days it is rough, some it is calm, sunny or raining but pretty much what you see, is an endless watery horizon. On this journey we have crossed a season as well as an ocean. There has been no tell tail signs of leaves changing and days drawing in, just Bam! It was hot now It's cold and dark and it's winter. The view is still the same though.

The last land we saw was the lush green of Diamond head and the turquoise water peeling in over the reef at Waikiki, palm trees swaying in the warm breeze. Tomorrow it will be raining and we will cruise up the Juan de Fuca straight with snow capped mountains ahead and pine trees shrouded in mist. The contrast is incredible. We are excited to be arriving in Canada and I for one am very relieved that this journey is nearly over.