some of the fastest 

one of the bravest... 

Jn after the finish line... 

Central Park Half Marathon day today

Hey hey hey!!
I'm so happy, I've just run the Manhattan Half Marathon in Central Park this morning and did much better than expected!!! Overall place:1609 out of the 6328 that finished the race. My time was 1:52:51, which is excellent as the goal was to finish under the 2hr barrier!
Actually the weather was perfect for me: not too hot (the race started at 7am), it even rained a bit, and the high humidity (82%) didn't bother me too much.
The race itself was tiring and my right leg has been slighlty painful most of the time, but it was much easier than the training! It's really the same as climbing, I really realize training helps a lot, it may be obvious but it helps so much, it's unbelievable...
I felt really good during the first lap, as I was running relatively slow, and then I gradually accelerated in the second lap. I had the feeling I was really flying in the uphill sections!
Such a big crowd, and many friendly supporters on the side, I really enjoyed the atmosphere... It was definitely a fantastic first experience for a half marathon...

Check back later for pictures...


You can search for runners results here: http://web2.nyrrc.org/cgi-bin/start.cgi/aes-programs/results/startup.html?result.id=a50828&result.year=2005

2 week ends in a row

We've just spent 2 week ends in a row in the city, wow!
Last sunday we met Braloo in NYC, as he's now relocated in New Jersey from France. After my 10km training in Central Park, we went for a brunch to an Upper East Side Restaurant called Uptown. Good, but not filling enough. At least we all know what everyone is talking about for the typical brunch: a mimosa is a cup of Champagne with orange juice...
Later we walked through the Carl Schultz park on the East River, then the East Village and the Lower East Side, Chinatown and SoHo, to end up in a French restaurant at apéro time in the West Village... And later at Elise's favorite restaurant: Vietnamese food and white wine...


On the way, we could at last see Moby's tea bar (Teany), the huge Chinese supermarket we had been looking for, J&R Computer World for computer geeks (I mean us) and a few more places...
Lots of walking this day...

We had a good time in the heat, and Elise even cooled down in Washington square's fountain...

It's the safest time to fly ever!!

Don't be afraid, travel more, fly more!!

Frustrated

Today I feel: frustrated...
Oh, nothing important. It's just I had spent hours on the Internet trying to find the best plane ticket for a one week vacation in late September. We had finally found a good deal to Mexico's Yucatan.

Today, I wanted to check again and possibly book this flight.
Damn it, it's gone, the price is $100 more... Argghhh, I have to start my search over.

So I'm open to all destinations as long as it's not too far from NYC (6hr flight max) and not too expensive.
I'll find it, for sure... eventually, definitely..

ShenZhen

The latest book I read (I don't read a lot shame on me...): ShenZhen (in French) is the humorous story (in the form of bande dessinée) of a Quebecois living in France who's sent by his company to ShenZhen, near Hong Kong for a few months.
It's actually very funny and there's a little touch of humour on almost every drawing...
Recommended for all who can read French... (Here to buy at Amazon)

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Climber rescued from major peak

I'm trying this "Blog this" feature with an interesting mountain story about a crazy Slovenian who climbs solo...

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Climber rescued from major peak

Haf marathon - continued...

Yes, I made it!
I ran 20km this morning, while the temperature is a record-breaking level.
That was really exhausting, I have to stop to get more water!
My overall time was 1h52min. I'm quite happy as my goal is to do under 2h in two weeks...
Thanks for the support :-)

My mountain pictures from July

They are all at http://jnster.free.fr/july-france/

Antonis at Twin mountain (especially shot for Loic) 

More involved

Hey, I've gained some experienced now, and am getting better integrated in the US. The proof is that I'm getting more involved in local activities.

First example was last saturday: instead of joining a hike with the Columbia Hiking Club, I volunteered as a leader. We went to Indian Head mountain, which is the only area unknown to the others that I could show them :-)
It's a great feeling, a bit like organizing hikes with Randos-Alpes, and the usual friendly people joined. Among those I was happy to see again: Ana, Antonis and Anton...
At the end of the day, we were back in New York early enough so that everyone could spend their evening as they wanted. The hike was fairly easy compared to last time in the snow... And this time we did enjoy the magnificient views. I will post pictures later...

Second example of my involvement in local events is that I decided to run the Central Park Half Marathon on August 28th. I'm not used to long distance running, so I have to train at least a little to be able to finish the race in decent conditions. It's going to be the first time I run this distance. I estimate it will take me 2h+. The hard thing is training: I went running twice so far, in Central Park, for about an hour. A full loop is 10km and with the round trip from home, must be around 12km...
And it's horribly exhausting... You can't imagine... This is harder than hiking, mountaineering, or climbing. After I come home, I can't do anything for the next... hours. I wonder how I'm gonna run 21km!
Well, the next objective is to actually run 21km this saturday or sunday. Please leave me comments to encourage me, I'll need virtual supporters! I don't even know why I want to suffer this much :-S Everybody is telling me I have a runner body, being skinny with thin legs. I can't even imagine running with a lumberjack body :-S.

Here are few pictures, this is how it's like to run in Central Park:






Anyway, if I can bear the distance this week end, I'll be able to stand the 6000 people running around me on Ausgust 28th. As I like crowd, this mass will hopefully push me forward...

Remember, the force is with you...

Mon homonyme...

In French only... Sorry... But the link is French only so, you English speaking people are not missing anything.

J'ai découvert mon homonyme sur Internet: Jn. Et il a aussi un blog, très sympa, sous forme de BD.
Allez faire un tour sur les carnets de Jn

In the USA, you can buy your ambassadorship

You know I have overcriticizing politics, but this time, the story is incredible. It's not just about about the money, it's also about the character of the new US ambassador in the Netherlands.

A very interesting article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/elizabeth-warren/who-has-tea-with-the-quee_4934.html