Roland Garros 2008 - Day 9

7 AM comes early.  There is no easy way around it.  I fell out of bed and into the workout clothes I'd laid out and hurried to get my run in today.  Another 5.4 miles under my belt.  The run doesn't seem to get any easier really.  Add to it what is now a dime sized blister on a toe on my right foot, the nagging hip pain and the return of a mild amount of left knee tendonitis and I feel like I am abusing my body for no good reason.  Still, I am determined to keep fit and that means some degree of sacrifice even when working out of the country.

Working the early shift makes for much shorter postings, as I don't really do much more than get up, run, have breakfast, walk to the metro, go to the venue and then sometimes leave early for dinner.  When I started the day, I had planned to stick around all day and then go to dinner with the rest of the crew.  Steve managed to talk me out of that though, so I did leave though only about an hour before the end of play.

Today was shopping day.  I bought some items for Colleen, some items for Derek, and some items for Haylie.  I spent more than I should have, but less than I could have. LOL  It is always that way.  I just hope I have enough room in my bag to get it home.  I don't have a sense of how much more loaded down the suitcase will be, but I am bringing home more than I took.

For dinner I chose to get out and just wander to over to the Opera area.  It seemed relatively tourist friendly, and had a variety of restaurants available.  I found one that served horse burger, and quickly wandered on, settling on Bistro Romain which is a chain, but I was in the mood for Italian and it was the closest to where I was.  I hate that I eat at 10 or later while here, but it happens. They had an all inclusive menu at 33.50 Euros which included a starting champagne cocktail, a half bottle of wine, entree, main, dessert and coffee.  I added in a half liter of Evian and a Limoncello as a digestive.  It wasn't a bad meal, though it was quite chain.

I left with a bit of a stuffy nose and a tickle in my throat.  I don't know if the wine caused an allergic reaction or if I am coming down with something.  We'll have to see as the remainder of my time here lurches on.

I called Colleen from the room.  I miss her so terribly I can't get past it.  Hearing her voice is such a welcome relief.  Seeing the picture she mailed me from her phone was awesome too.  I love her with all my heart and I haven't quite gotten beyond the guilt of being here this close to the due date.  We chatted about nothing much and then she let me go as she was trying to get settled from a very busy day.

I drifted off to sleep knowing that I'd be up yet again in the morning for a run.  I also had decided that tomorrow would be one of the two cemeteries I wanted to see while I was here.  We'll see if the weather cooperates with both activities as the forecast is for rain all day.

Cheers!