Running in Paris

Just five days after returning from Boston, I flew overseas to Paris for a business trip. I don't often blog about my job, but I am the Chief Marketing Officer of a technology company. The company where I had worked for five years was acquired last October by a global business based in France. We have offices in the United States, but none of them in my area, so I am 100% remote. 

At the end of April, we had a two-day executive committee meeting in Paris. I flew out on Saturday evening, slept on the plane, and arrived on Sunday morning. 

I had all day Sunday to explore the city on my own. I would have loved to have run but I was exhausted from travel, my hotel room wasn't ready for me to change clothes, and my legs were still recovering from Boston. The trip was perfectly timed because I didn't feel like I needed to maintain a training schedule and I wasn't even "supposed to" run for at least a week after the marathon to allow for a complete recovery. Thankfully I traveled in workout shoes so I was able to walk around the city while waiting for my hotel room to be ready.

On Sunday night we had a team dinner and it was the first time I had met my colleagues. The acquisition happened in October and being fully remote, I had met none of them in person. Everyone was exactly as I expected, though you never know how tall people are from video meetings!

I did not run on Monday or Tuesday because meetings started at 8:00am, which felt like 2:00am to my body. The executive meeting was over by Wednesday, but I had scheduled 1-on-1 meetings with various colleagues to get the full advantage of in-person collaboration. Those started at 9:00 so I had time to run beforehand. 

I woke up at around 6:00 and headed out. My hotel was located close to the Arc de Triomphe. My plan was to run to the Eiffel Tower and then along the Seine river. After that, I wasn't sure where I would go. 

I had not been to Paris since 2003 so I didn't know my way around. I went in 2003 as part of a tour group for young travelers. I should also mention that I am somewhat fluent in French. It was my minor in college, which required me to write essays and read novels. I also took a course in French phonetics where I perfected my accent and pronunciation. As a result, my French colleagues told me that my French was excellent and they barely noted an American accent. I was surprised at how quickly my French came back to me, having not studied it since college. Reading and speaking it are the easiest for me, but it's sometimes hard to understand when people speak it if they speak quickly or don't enunciate clearly.

After leaving my hotel, I made my way to the Arc de Triomphe, which was about half a mile away. Then I followed a road that led to the Eiffel tower. It was early, so the streets were mostly empty. I had to cross quite a few intersections and was grateful that there weren't many cars. I brought my self-flying drone with me to capture videos of the run. 

I found the Eiffel tower easily, which was helped by the fact that it's so tall and you can see it from far away! I was surprised to see the large Olympic rings were still there at the base of the tower. Thankfully there were only a few tourists which made for clean photos and videos. 

Next I ran along the Seine river which was my favorite part of the run. It was so scenic - lots of castles and beautiful architecture everywhere. And there were other runners too! I was hoping someone would recognize me from Instagram, but no luck! 

After running along the Seine, I used Google Maps to make my way towards the Louvre Museum. I ran through the Jardin des Tuileries to get there. It was gorgeous near the Louvre and throughout the gardens. Also, the weather was perfect. About 60 degrees with low humidity. I really lucked out on the weather and the timing of this trip. As I mentioned earlier, I hadn't been to Paris since 2003 so it felt like I was seeing everything for the first time. 

I then consulted Google Maps and I realized I could run straight through the Jardin des Tuileries to the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe. By now the city was more busy and I had quite a few stops along the Champs-Élysées. It was also challenging navigating my way around the Arc. I made it back to my hotel at exactly 6.2 miles, or 10K.

It was one of the most iconic, beautiful runs I had ever done in my life and I was so grateful that I had the opportunity to do it. I also felt empowered and proud of myself for navigating the city all on my own and being able to communicate in French. Most importantly, I was grateful that my job situation worked out so well. You never know how things will go with acquisitions!

Both the Boston Marathon and this trip to Paris were wonderful "distractions" from my housing situation, which I blogged about earlier. If had been hanging out at home, I would have been obsessing over whether or not we'd have to move out of our house before the new house was ready. Because we were so close to the finish line, I had assumed that by the time I got back from Paris, we'd have the Certificate of Occupancy and be ready to close. Unfortunately, there was still no Certificate of Occupancy by Thursday so I spent much of the flight home on my computer checking the county permits database and feeling very anxious about the situation. 

On Friday morning, we FINALLY did get our Certificate of Occupancy and I was jumping for joy. It was a mad rush to get everything ready for closing and moving, but what a huge relief!

April was definitely and eventful month for me, and I am grateful to have had amazing experiences in both Boston and Paris.