Busy!

I leave for Lyon tomorrow. Sunday morning I will run the marathon and then Meredith and I catch a train to Paris. We fly to Turkey Monday morning. We'll spend a couple days in Istanbul before going to Selcuk (via Izmir), near the Mediterranean coast. From Izmir we fly to Kayseri and stay in Goreme, in the Cappadocia region. Then we return for another couple days in Istanbul before I fly to Dublin to meet my sister. Molly and I will spend four days there and then return to Montlucon so I can teach. Before she leaves, we're spending the weekend in Paris. I'm excited!

Perspective

Meredith created a new activity a couple weeks ago in which he dictates letters to the students in order to spell words or a sentence. He introduced it to his students as a sort of self-quiz exercise.

Of course I copied the idea with my students, and after seeing that the first class didn't really hate the 'quiz,' I introduced the exercise to other classes as a game: Try to decipher the secret sentence! They love it!

Weeks fourteen and fifteen

Week fourteen
M - 7 miles
T - 0
W - 5 morning / 8.5 evening
R - 13.5
F - 13
S - 0
S - 0
Total: 47 miles

Week fifteen
M - 0 miles
T - 0
W - 0
R - 5
F - 6.5
S - 7
S - 15
Total: 33.5 miles

Year to date: 814.5 miles

I just have one week left until the Lyon Marathon and then vacation. I still need to come up with a reasonable goal, pack, and shake the last vestiges of this cold.

I have been watching so much Scrubs that the Todd made a cameo in my dreams last night.

Goodbye, CPE

France Puts End to Controversial Jobs Law

but France faces more protests

In more personal news, this past weekend was a lot of fun. Friday night Daniela made dinner for all the Montlucon assistants for our last real night together. On Saturday Meredith, Dan and I, plus Kim and Julia from Clermont went up to Paris. The marathon expo was a bit disappointing, but we had a good night out on the town. Unfortunately, I woke up Sunday with a terrible cold. Really, I can't accurately say "wake up" because I didn't sleep the night before because I couldn't breathe out of my nose.

Now I'm just working on getting well, eating lots of veggies, drinking litres of water, and being a good teacher, as well as watching every episode of Scrubs with Meredith in random order. Really, it's quite the ideal lifestyle without the cough and snot and with the addition of running.

AP photos of French protests this week

I'm spending part of the weekend in Paris to spend time with friends from Montlucon and Clermont-Ferrand. I'm hoping to check out the marathon expo and watch at least part of the race Sunday morning as well.

No news

Today I failed to negotiate a protected bib at the Lyon Marathon. The website states that the 'preferential' bib standard is a 3:15 but after emailing the race director, they don't accept projections from half-marathon times. I wasn't planning to take advantage of the special corral (because I'm running with Meredith) and I don't think it would make a real difference in my result, but if there's, say, special food somewhere or massages, I would have definitely taken advantage of the bib.

Last night we did go out to Buffalo Grill to celebrate the half-marathon, though. If you come visit me, please be advised that I consider it to be a highlight of Montlucon and dinner there is therefore required.

I also found out yesterday that my CAF rent assistance came through -- and has been paid to the rental agency since December so they now technically owe me. I feel like I have come into a lot of money recently, although having such a meager salary makes any financial gain seem significant.

Quote of the day (in translation):

Does your husband play rugby?
-my nine-year-old student Alexei to me

Games we play

The number game
Two students stand in front of the chalkboard. I say a number in English and they must quickly write the numeral. Fastest kid wins and takes on a new opponent. Tricks: distinguishing thirteen from thirty, fourteen from forty, etc.

The letter game
Same concept as the number game, except I say a letter of the alphabet in English. Tricks: A vs. H, I vs. Y vs. E, G vs. J, and (to my surprise) O vs. R.

The school supply game
Students are divided into two teams and told to choose two school supplies that we've learned, such as a pen and a pencil sharpener. Each team sits in a line with me in the middle and with the collection of things at the back of the line. I say the name of an item and student at the back of the line must choose the correct item and then the team must relay it to me. First team to give me the correct item gets a point. Tip: Don't allow scissors.

The emotion game
Students are divided into two teams. A representative of each team comes to the front of the room. I tell them an emotion to mime. We all say together, "How do you feel?" and the two students (silently) demonstrate that emotion while their teammates guess. The first team to guess correctly gets a point.

Number bingo
Students make a 5x5 card and write in any numerals of their choosing from, say, 1-99. I say the numbers and they mark the corresponding numeral. First kid to get a line of 5 numbers in a row wins but must read the numbers in English to claim his/her prize. Tip: Make sure they're crossing out the correct numerals.

Letter bingo
This has the same premise as number bingo. The main difference is that I distribute pre-made bingo cards which the students must color according to our phonetic color code. When we start playing, this allows for some self-checking: If students are confused about the letter I've said, other students can tell them the color as a hint.

Week thirteen + Riom 1/2 Marathon

M - 17 miles
T - 3.5 (morning) / 7 (evening)
W - 10.5 (5k tempo)
R - 6
F - 7
S - 5
S - 15 (Semi-marathon de Riom)
Total: 71 miles
Year to date: 734 miles

This morning I raced the Semi-marathon de Riom with Meredith. My main goal was to break my previous PR (1:32:36, set on an absolutely perfect course). I really wanted to dip under 1:30, though, so I had 1k, 5k, 10k, 15k, and 20k splits for a 1:30 finish written on my arm.

We got up obscenely early to drive to Riom, although the discomfort of the early hour was mitigated by the beautiful scenery of the Massif Central. We got a little lost once we got to Riom, but a guy taking an early morning Sunday stroll set us in the right direction.

After a short warm-up we lined up with the other runners. There was no countdown before the gun went off so the start was a bit of a shock. About four women took off in front of me, but before even hitting the 1k mark I had moved into 2nd place.

The course was 3 loops of rolling terrain with only a few flat stretches so it was hard to maintain even splits. Through the first loop we were more or less right on pace for a sub-1:30 finish.

In the second loop a wind started blowing, and somehow it never became a tailwind. At some point in here, some guy tucked himself behind me and drafted for a good 6k, letting me pace him, which always feels like a drain on my mental energy. I was pretty annoyed, and just about to ask him if he wanted to take a turn in the wind when he passed me fast. No matter: I blew by him in the last 4k.

I began the 3rd loop by setting a 15k PR. I knew I'd have to do this to hit my goal, and although it wasn't as fast as I needed for sub-1:30, it was a good confidence boost as the wind picked up. I knew I'd really have to run hard in the last 6k to break my old PR.

The last few kilometers of the loop were uphill, and I really struggled toward the end. Meredith was yelling at me and trying to coax a kick out of my poor legs, but they were awfully tired. I think that's normal, considering the distance and pace!

After 300m on the track we finished together in 1:31:51. I promptly bent over and puked on the track. I managed to make it through the chute, but before claiming my t-shirt, I spent a few more minutes on my hands and knees on the infield grass vomiting some more. I was pretty embarrassed, but I felt much better after.

I was the 2nd woman overall, and the 1st senior woman. This netted me a trophy, a rose, and a decent amount of cash. I was really excited to be called up to the podium until I saw the men's podium: The emcee insisted on interviewing the top finishers. I am still shaky with my French skills and certain I was going to embarrass myself, but he was very kind and spoke slowly with me.

All in all, I am very happy with the way the race turned out. Although I didn't break 1:30, I think it's definitely within my ability, especially on a flat windless course.

Chirac speaks

Chirac Offers Compromises on Jobs Law
I watched his address on the evening news last night. Embarrassingly enough, my strongest reaction was wondering how this man was elected President: He is a mediocre public speaker and his voice made me want to go to sleep! I also got the impression that he really didn't understand or empathize with the frustration of the young people and was just trying to please everyone.

Key Events in the Standoff Over French Law
This article provides a good timeline of the CPE conflict in France, although it's notable that some of the details of the electrocutions in Clichy-sous-Bois are completely glossed over.

A Look at France's Divisive New Labor Law

France faces more protests next week that could snarl train, road travel