April's European vacation exercise thread!

[AprilN]

Hi there everyone!

I just got back (LATE last night) from a wonderful two-week vacation to Germany and France, and I'm proud to say that I exercised every day! Not just walking around, either (although DH and I did a LOT of that as well), but moving to intentionally burn calories. I'm really proud of myself, so I thought that instead of posting to every exercise thread from the past two weeks I would just post a summary of all my workouts.

I like to think of this as my "River Tour 2005" as I managed to find 4 different rivers in various cities and towns to run along each morning. Thanks to my awesome Garmin Forerunner, I've got a complete record of each workout automatically saved. Here we go...

• 4/9: jogging around my parent's neighborhood before heading to the airport, 3.49 miles in 30:04
• 4/10: walking two miles with DH along the Main River in Franfurt am Main, Germany, 2.01 miles in 35:30 (still recovering from jet lag)
• 4/11: jogging along the Main River, 4.46 miles in 39:13
• 4/12: jogging along the Rhein River in Hattenheim, Germany, 4.05 miles in 35:43
• 4/13: walking along the Mosel River in Bernkastel, Germany with DH, 2.16 miles in 36:42 (late night, didn't have time in the morning)
• 4/14: jogging along the Mosel, 3.96 miles in 34:24
• 4/15: jogging along the Mosel, 4.01 miles in 34:13
• 4/16: jogging along the Mosel, 4.04 miles in 34:21
• 4/17: jogging along the Mosel, 4.10 miles in 34:01
• 4/18: jogging along the Mosel, 4.09 miles in 34:38
• 4/19: jogging along the Seine in Paris, France... and then getting quite lost on the way back to the apartment, adding an extra 1.5 miles to my run, for a total of 5.55 miles in 48:01
• 4/20: jogging along the Seine, 4.08 miles in 33:49
• 4/21: jogging along the Seine, 4.33 miles in 37:31
• 4/22: jogging along the Seine, 4.02 miles in 34:08
• 4/23: jogging along the Seine, 4.00 miles in 33:19
• 4/24: jogging along the Seine, 3.92 miles in 33:08

Thanks for indulging me! Have a great day!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Wow---now i would love to go back and jog along the Seine!

Your "jog" times are AWESOME--I "raced" a 3.1 and finished in 31:09--you are kicking some serious tailfeathers!

Where was your apartment?...we rented in the Latin Quarter--nice area...but for a couple hundred more Euros, next time I am getting a nicer apt

 

[AprilN]

Thanks, Lisa!

We stayed in Beaubourg (3rd Arr.), just a block away from the Centre Pompidou and about half a mile from Ile de la Cité. Great neighborhood, lots of fun, with *really* convenient access to Metro and RER. It was a tiny studio (of course), with a loft bed, but cute and perfectly fine for DH and I - we even used the itsy-bitsy kitchen to cook dinner one night. We thought it was a great value, especially over a hotel!

I'm happier staying in a cheaper place, overall - more money for great food!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Thanks, Lisa!

We stayed in Beaubourg (3rd Arr.), just a block away from the Centre Pompidou and about half a mile from Ile de la Cité. Great neighborhood, lots of fun, with *really* convenient access to Metro and RER. It was a tiny studio (of course), with a loft bed, but cute and perfectly fine for DH and I - we even used the itsy-bitsy kitchen to cook dinner one night. We thought it was a great value, especially over a hotel!

I'm happier staying in a cheaper place, overall - more money for great food!

Nice--I looked on that side, but the logistics with the youngin's--we couldn't do a loft. No ER visits in Paris were on the itinerary . Next time-- a lift is a must do--5 flights of stairs with kids and strollers--oh what fun . For 690 Euro, it wasn't too shabby and we could walk to an open market daily.

I do agree on value--definitely doing the apt next time around--especially since it is hard to find a hotel for a family of 4 in Europe for a GOOD price .

 

[pixiedust27]

Hi!
I'm spending the summer in France and I had been wondering about exercise. I've been to Europe several times before but I've never exercised there beyond walking around all day.
This might be a stupid question but did you see any other people jogging around? I don't remember seeing people out exercising but chances are I wasn't paying attention. I'm just wondering if I'd stick out like a sore thumb running around.
Thanks!

 

[AprilN]

This might be a stupid question but did you see any other people jogging around? I don't remember seeing people out exercising but chances are I wasn't paying attention. I'm just wondering if I'd stick out like a sore thumb running around.

Not a stupid question at all!

I was typically out running between 7 and 9 AM, and I definitely saw other joggers/walkers, although there weren't many. The only place I probably "stood out" was in the smallest town we visited in Germany (Wehlen, near Bernkastel), but everywhere else, there were definitely other people out exercising.

In Paris, I was usually out during rush hour, so most people on the street were walking to work, but there was still the occasional jogger - I would see 5-10 on a typical morning. I'm guessing there were more people out 1-2 hours earlier, before they had to head off to work.

I don't think I stood out too much, except in maybe the smallest towns - and I just didn't let it bother me! I'm used to being the only jogger on the road anyway, because for my regular run at home (5:15 AM), I'm usually the only person crazy enough to be out there.

Have a wonderful summer in France - boy am I jealous!