Roland Garros 2008 - Day 5

Hangover does not begin to explain how I felt as I woke up this morning.  I felt ill and I almost bailed on running.  I even reset the alarm since I didn't have to be in until late but as the bed is not comfortable (I determined lying there that the cause of my hip pain is from an odd lump in the mattress and I sleep on my right side and my hip was right on top of it) and the room still is not cool.  I contemplate saying something to the desk, but I keep telling myself I'll try to ride it out.  Anyway, I told myself the hangover was my own doing, I had no one to blame and that it was a lame excuse to avoid the exercise I knew I needed.  So, with a small bit of trepidation, I got up, staggered around the room and got dressed for my run.

Run.  That's one way to put it.  I have determined that I can complete 5 full circuits around the garden in the 50 minutes I typically run.  For today, however, I hit a wall early and of course the booze was to blame.  I had to walk the third lap as I just didn't have the energy and was convinced at one point I was going to duck into a quiet area and barf.  Thankfully, I did not.  Still, it was a workout so I have done my level best to get back onto my regular routine of 5 per week.  I just wish I knew the distances I was covering.  I am not convinced I am die hard enough to buy the $120 add-on for my Polar to tie to my shoe and allow it to broadcast the distance.  Since most of my running is on a treadmill anyway, I can get it from there.  I will say that since the adjustments done after my last MAP (Metabolic Assessment Profile) test my watch does a much better job of determining the calories I am burning.  That's quite awesome.  Now, I have found a lot of Internet ranting about the efficacy of a MAP and whether Lifetime Fitness (the largest purveyor of this test) are just scamming idiots like me, but I actually like having the knowledge and in that respect it can't be much of a scam. :)

Because I was feeling so bad, I really didn't take advantage of my night shift.  I did manage to find a calling card and to find a small grocer where I could buy some drinks to keep in the mini bar.  I just felt too ill to go wandering around town, and really kicked myself for that.  I knew I wasted one of a very precious few days.  In the end, I went to work early instead so I could sit miserable there instead of wander town miserable.

I called Colleen using the new card.  I am not doing anything that couldn't be overheard, but I do prefer a degree of privacy.  The SIM we bought for the phones here apparently did not have adequate minutes for International dialing, so having the card gives me that option.  I can pop out in front of the building and call her and even if only for 10 or 15 minutes, I get to hear how she's doing.

The weather held and we had a full day of play across the venue.  I am not sure how far behind they still are, but it is catching up as many of the courts shut down with lots of daylight left so I am sure the tournament coordinators are confident we're in good shape.  I can only hope we're entering a quiet phase and play will advance without incident.

The call was made to have Indian.  I never pass up the chance.  The first restaurant they found I was told was not a good place, and this was a new one.  We didn't get out of the venue until well after 10:30 and had a 30+ minute train ride to the part of town where the restaurant was.  Le Maharajah claimed to serve nonstop until 11:30 so if we got seated before that we'd be solid.  We arrived just before 11 which was nice.  Their menu offered a "prix fixe" option.  That's a multi-course meal for a fixed price.  I opted for the 29 Euro option, and I wasn't disappointed.  I highly recommend the place if you happen to get into Paris.  Including the two beers, the check was 41 Euros per person.  We left the restaurant just after midnight, and realized that for most lines, the last train would leave the endpoint at 12:30 AM so there was a slight chance we'd wind up somewhere away from the hotel and no train to get back.  In the end, we made it back without incident.

Got into the room just before 1AM.  Nightly routine and I became acutely aware that the room was hot.  That settled it, I was going to complain at the desk the next morning.  Never managed to find a spot where my right hip didn't hit that odd lump in the mattress.  I'll have to work on that.

Cheers!