We’ve been dreaming about it.
We’ve been fearing it.
We’ve trained for it.
It’s now 10am on Sunday October 9th 2011. It’s raining cats and dogs like some would say (or comme vache qui pisse).
First impression is chaos. Somehow in Brussels in was better organized with different groups according to the level of the participant. Here it’s missing or we didn’t find it. It feels like a mess and if it wasn’t for the crowd moving in one direction we could get lost and miss the start.
Anyhow around 10am, the first ones are leaving, we are somewhere at the back and we make our progression through the bridge (Pont d’Iena) towards the starting line. Ambiance is good, people are nervous but happy, and ground is covered by all the plastic people used to protect themselves before the race. Slowly but surely we reached the starting line and here we go!
Of course it had to start by going uphill but we knew about it so we tried to keep a decent pace.
And a decent pace we kept during the whole distance. With around 8min10s to 8min30s per km, we had a pretty steady pace the whole time. Training is finally paying out.
The first 5 km went very smoothly and lonely in the Bois de Boulogne. 5 to 10 km were also relatively easy. After 10 km we started to feel the distance and clearly after 15 km, we wanted to finish (and not only because we really had to go to the bathroom). The last 5 km were really difficult but with a very strong motivation and always a smile, we powered through until the end.
2 hours 46 minutes and 54 seconds.
That’s an average of about 7.2km/h. Not bad for walking.
As much as I am proud of this accomplishment, a small part of me is disappointed. We were expecting a great race through Paris and it could have been really nice despite the rain if we didn’t have the feeling of being the last wheel of it. Organizers were packing out even though there were many participants to come, some of the volunteers on the side instead of cheering us up were suggesting us to pass the “3rd gear” or “hurry up because they want to go home”. Most of the live bands stopped playing before the end. It feels like for any one taking more than 2 hours, you might as well not bother because except for your family and friends, no one will be waiting for you at the finish line.
Overall, I’m very proud of myself. And as my mother would say… who would have believed that me hating sports and sucking at it big time at school, I would one day power walk the 20K of Brussels and Paris in the same year!
PS: for the pictures and video… you know where to look.
PS2: I’m also very grateful to Alice who bore with me for the whole time. Alone it would have been extremely hard. Together it was easier thanks to 20 km of stories. Yep, women can talk for long:)
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