Feet back on the ground

Happy 4th of July, all! I hope that you are all out there celebrating safely and having a lot of fun.

I have returned to the US and just wanted to update you on how everything is going. On Saturday I was still in Paris, and I had to check out of my hotel by 11:30am. Running that day's 6-miler before then wasn't really an option, and of course I didn't want to run it after that because I couldn't take a shower anywhere. So, I just burned some time wandering around the city until my evening flight from Paris to Dublin. And, when I say "burned some time," what I really mean is "moped around because I missed my girlfriend, who left earlier in the morning to continue her vacation." I was very seriously bummed.

Anyway, my flight to Dublin was delayed and when I finally got there, the hotel where I had my reservation told me that -- despite the aforementioned reservation -- there was no room for me at the inn. They shunted me off to a different hotel, a lot further away from Dublin proper. This one was still in Dublin county, in a small little town called Ashbourne. The hotel was gorgeous (only 3 months old!) and my original hotel paid for my stay even though it was more expensive than what I had paid them. So that was nice.

I didn't have a map of Ashbourne or any readily identifiable way of estimating distances, so instead of trying to measure out 6 miles precisely, I just went for a 70-minute (ended up being about 72 minutes, actually) run in and around Ashbourne. The hotel was outside of city limits, so I got to see the Irish countryside as well as the town and its lack of much to see at all. The run felt really good. The temperature was moderate, and there was a light mist in the air. I would have taken the camera but for that mist and the weatherman's promise of scattered showers. But I did take a photo in my room, before I took off:


Why do I always have to try to make it look like I'm running? Did I think that anyone viewing this would actually think that I was running through my hotel room? I'm a dork.

Anyway, as I said, the run was great. But then, once I was cleaned up and ready for some lunch, I realized that I was just too tired from a week spent traipsing around Paris and then running that morning to take the bus (~1-1.5 hours) to Dublin, and Ashbourne didn't really have anything to entice me. So, as lame as it is, I ended up just hanging out, reading, in the hotel bar. I had both lunch and dinner there, as well as two (I chose moderation, as I am in training...) of the best pints of Guinness that I have ever had in my life. I wasn't sure if I'd even notice a difference between what I drank there and what I get here in Chicago, but it was no contest. Sweet, sweet nectar of the brewing gods... Guinness. Love.

So, I returned to the States and have actually been confronted with some pretty serious health issues with my dog that came up while I was away. Too much to go into here right now, but I'm really wrestling with some difficult choices and just thought that it bore mentioning.

Lastly, I went for our normal 40-minute run yesterday evening. I ran a little bit faster than normal (and missed Agnes a great deal - I have really grown accustomed to running with her) but still felt pretty good when I was done. It was good to get back on the path here lakeside, but hardly anything can beat running along the Seine and under the Eiffel Tower. Not to mention that the flies were out in FORCE on the path last night. Yuck!

Okay, that's all for now. Sorry for the long post but I just wanted to bring anyone who is following all of this up to speed. Tomorrow is another 40-minute run, then Saturday is the 7-miler!

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to check back later!