Prague and the dreaded treadmill

Hello World!

Prague must be one of the most beautiful places on the globe.  I took this photo about 10 o'clock in the evening on my last day...  Did we have rain!  But it didn't damper the awesome time and days filled with lacrosse and sight seeing.  The place is amazing with a bridge dating back to the 1300's (Charles), the largest castle in the world (by land mass) and the largest equestrian statue.  A little bit of Prague trivia...  Prague means 'door,'  as in door between east and west.

The reason for my trip was to be a somewhat responsible adult accompanying my two older daughters' lacrosse team to the the Lacrosse World Cup.  What a great time we had!  They and their team played well and came in 2nd in their division.  Saturday, we saw the U.S.  women defeat the Aussies in a nail-biter that could have gone either way.  Hard to say when I've been so pumped up and into a game; actually lost my voice!  Other highlights include a bike tour, walking through the winding cobblestone side streets, the history and the architecture and the small mom and pop shops...  Didn't buy much but was tempted by the glassware...

So, I ran on the treadmill for 4 days straight because I was in Prague and it was raining -- did I mention the rain? -- and I didn't want to get lost.  That's the real reason, fear of lostage.  It's a beautiful city but is definitely not conducive to running; I actually didn't see anyone running on the streets.  In fact, no one was running on the other treadmill in the hotel gym, except for one day.  Do you ever wonder who's running on the treadmill besides you -- and sometimes more importantly -- what they ate last night?  And what about the overly cologne-scented?  So anyway, this was a guy that I had seen on the elevator the previous day with Michael Pollan's relatively new book, In Defense of Food, tucked in his carry-on's side pocket.  I usually talk with like minded foodies, but I couldn't do it this time.  The garlic seeping of his pores was almost enough to make you fall off the treadmill!  Luckily, I outran him :)

I complain about the hotel gym and the treadmill but it really wasn't too bad.  A treadmill is like a security blanket, always there when you need it.  I got a couple of good sweats in...  I ran a 14k, 12k, 12k and a 10k.  I even got fancy and used the elevation mode!  I ran my tempo on feel as the pace conversion between miles and kilometers was making my head hurt.  Does anyone out there know what pace a 4:17k is?  Friends thought that I was off to run another race;  not my turn, this time, though next time I travel, I'll see if anything is going on.

So, today was the official kick-off for fall marathon training which means hard efforts and ice baths.  We ran a good one on the Washington and Lee Track this morning.  The group did a 8X800 which means we ran around the track twice, 8 times.  I wish I could say I was the fastest or the fittest but I'm proud of the times today, especially when I compare them to where I was a year ago.  So here's the stats:  3:09, 3:01, 2:59, 2:56, 2:58, 2:57, 2:57 and 2:59.  But who's counting?   :)

Cheers and what a beautiful day for a run.  Oh, and a happy belated birthday to running coach George who turned 31 again!  How many times has that been again, George?

RunningBrooke