Overnight flight to Paris for the long weekend. Travel had gone smoothly - easy drive to Logan, we all had seat assignments. Sadly I was not near Susie and the kids as the plane was full and we couldn't get seats together. Easy boarding, looked to be on time......then the pilot comes on "we are pulling back to the gate". That sound you may have heard was the jet bridge malfunctioning and it poked a hole in the plane". Massive groans..... Shockingly they were able to round up a new plane - clean it, fuel it, stock it re board us in 2 hours! Better a few hours late than a day late.
Usually I have no problem sleeping but I only managed 2 hours or so. Ended up taking a 30 minute nap while hanging out in my in laws room waiting for our room. It was great to see Mike and Helen Clay. Martha and Emma arrived a few hours after us.
Given everyone was operating on minimal sleep and the typical jet lag we kept it laid back.
1. Walk from hotel to Place de la Concorde
2. Musée d'Orsay
3. Bateau Mouche - short boat ride to next destination
4. Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris
5. Walked past the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville on the way to the subway back to hotel
Excellent first day.
Weather went from overcast to sunny to rainy. Staying at the Hotel Costes. Quite the scene. Seems to be well liked by the celebrity and model crowd. Here is what the guide books say "The bar, restaurant, and hotel have in turn become a favorite among Paris fashionistas and entertainers. Most, though, come here to see and be seen
The bar at Hotel Costes is a den of opulence, dedicated to detail, intimacy and the expectations of the frighteningly wealthy. Fun but not my kind of hotel.
Tonight I figured out that I won't be able to visit Crossfit France as it's way out in Villeparisis. About a 35 minute drive if I had a car. The other trouble is I can't pull up the website to confirm the class times as it needs flash which my iPad doesn't support. Hotel gym and run most likely.
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After 3 or 4 hours of sleep I was wide awake from midnight to 5am. At 5am I feel back asleep and would have slept through noon if it was for a call from the in laws. With the better part of the day gone we snapped into high gear and started day 2. Again the priorities were sites the kids wanted to see.
1. Champ de Mars
Fran - I'm not sure quite how this became the gold standard bench mark. In fact I think too many people freak out over this WOD. Even though I have been chipping away at Fran for years, what is burned in my mind is an epic fail on a PR attempt at Crossfit New England back in 2009. See the footage here - Fran Disaster . Not only are my pull ups ugly but I'm rolling around on the floor like I have been shot.
Not a lot to say about this one. Pick the pace that is closest to red line and stay after it. I did the 10am class so there was a score on the board to chase which is good. Dave C put up a 4min flat. Certainly wasnt feeling confident in my burpees after the chipper fail but they felt better in the warm up. Jack was in the class so the mood was good. That dude does burpees like he is a human spring. If I could stay close to him then I knew I would be fine. He was 2 reps ahead when he hit the bar. Blasted thru the SDLHP straight. All reps unbroken. 3:46 There is room for improvement for sure.
A visit to Crossfit New England to train with some of the old guard who I started down this crossfit path with 5 years ago. They have a week full of lady benchmark WODs. Fran, Diane, Angie, Kelly You can tell Ben has hit the reset button and they are beginning their drive for the games. Im guessing this baseline period will be followed by a strength building phase focused on the OLY lifts. The idea is that you need to get strong before you focus on conditioning. This is exactly what I need to be doing as well. 
