And by the time I step ashore, I will have completed more than half the distance from my current home in Southampton to my old home in Paris! Pretty good going for a self-confessed former couch potato!
Virtually running from my current home in Southampton to my old home in Paris (and back again!)
25 February 2019
Land ahoy?
Although it's still only February, the sun has been shining brightly, making my 4 different walks and runs this week a real pleasure - if a little warm! I don't know how I'll cope with running in the summer - my preferred temperature seems to be as close to zero as possible! I've managed 28k this week, bringing my total to 164k and land is in sight! Only another 29k to go before I reach this attractive-looking spot on the northern coast of France:
And by the time I step ashore, I will have completed more than half the distance from my current home in Southampton to my old home in Paris! Pretty good going for a self-confessed former couch potato!
And by the time I step ashore, I will have completed more than half the distance from my current home in Southampton to my old home in Paris! Pretty good going for a self-confessed former couch potato!
18 February 2019
Making better progress
After a slow week last week, I have made better progress this week, with 23 km to add to my total - now at 136km. Only another 58k, give or take, before I can crawl out of the sea at Saint Valéry en Caux and catch my breath before heading overland to Paris. I might even make it by the first weekend in March! Or more comfortably by the middle of the month ...
So, no pictures of that red line across the channel, as it will will only have changed a little since the last screenshot, but I am including a photo of my dear kitty Bella. Very sadly she passed away in the small hours of Friday 8 February, and I miss her very much. She was 18 1/2. The house seems very empty without her. When I lived in Paris, I would have loved to have had a cat, but I don't agree with keeping cats indoors (especially in a studio apartment like mine!) unless it's their own choice, and there was the issue of who would look after it while I was on annual leave, and the idea of leaving it in quarantine when I returned to England - I couldn't have coped with that, and I don't think any pet should have to, either, so my home in Paris was cat-free. Now, I'm finding it hard to be without a cat, so although I am still grieving for the loss of Bella, I am looking for another cat in need of a home.
So, no pictures of that red line across the channel, as it will will only have changed a little since the last screenshot, but I am including a photo of my dear kitty Bella. Very sadly she passed away in the small hours of Friday 8 February, and I miss her very much. She was 18 1/2. The house seems very empty without her. When I lived in Paris, I would have loved to have had a cat, but I don't agree with keeping cats indoors (especially in a studio apartment like mine!) unless it's their own choice, and there was the issue of who would look after it while I was on annual leave, and the idea of leaving it in quarantine when I returned to England - I couldn't have coped with that, and I don't think any pet should have to, either, so my home in Paris was cat-free. Now, I'm finding it hard to be without a cat, so although I am still grieving for the loss of Bella, I am looking for another cat in need of a home.
Admillo Moonshine BELLA 18/09/2000 - 08/02/2018
R.I.P.
11 February 2019
Slowing down!
Only 13k / 8 miles this week, so I'm not making very good progress! A combination of bad weather and busy evenings have made it very difficult to get out and run, and I am going to have to do better over the coming weeks if I am to hit my goal of getting to Paris by Easter!
The line on the map has only moved imperceptibly since last week, so I shan't put up a fresh picture of the channel! But I will show you these - mud and all, to prove that I did get out at least once last week and run in the rain/mud!
Will try harder this week!
The line on the map has only moved imperceptibly since last week, so I shan't put up a fresh picture of the channel! But I will show you these - mud and all, to prove that I did get out at least once last week and run in the rain/mud!
4 February 2019
Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink
I am well over halfway across the Channel by now, at 100k! It's 164km from where I first dipped my toe in to landfall at Saint Valéry en Caux so another couple of weeks should do it - if it stops raining long enough for me to do my scheduled runs. I must admit I am looking forward to standing on dry land again: I'm sure my toes and fingertips will be wrinkled beyond all recognition by then!
When I lived in France, all those years ago, I didn't have a television. There didn't seem much point. French TV drama was not particularly inspiring, and there were not the same opportunities as there are now to watch channels from different countries. Now, though, I can imagine I would be glued to the set. Walter Presents on Channel 4, and BBC4, have been showing some great French police procedurals and political thrillers and this weekend, kept indoors for most of the time by the snow and ice, I watched the entire box set of 'Le Passager', a series of murders with a Greek mythological theme. It's the kind of thing that Inspector Morse would have enjoyed investigating in his heyday, but it was bang up to date with a maverick female lead detective, and the final episode - while satisfying as a culmination of the series - left the door open for a 2nd series, which I very much hope will be made.
But back to my challenge, to get to Paris and back. It's been a bit of a struggle to do 100k this month in 'proper' running/walking alone - I don't count my everyday steps, just those when I go out for a run or a walk - but Easter is late this year, 21 April, so another 11 weeks at a minimum of 25k a week should see me 'home', in front of my old building in the 11th arrondissement. Springtime in Paris! I can hardly wait!
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