morning run

Do you know how I like to start my Mondays? With a morning run. There is no better way to get my head free for a full work/study-week ahead than to get up in the light of dawn, lace my shoes and head out into the early morning for a short run. That was what I had planned for today. But as often happens, things turned out differently. First off, I did sleep in. Watching the unbelievably long “Wolf of Wallstreet” in the cinema yesterday evening and still making time for some reading before I went to bed was probably a bit too much. Thus when my alarm went off at 7 this morning, I pressed snooze 3 times in a row, before turning it off for good and sleeping until 9. By then I was pretty hungry, so I took the time to make myself a PBJ Sammy and drink some coffee while reading through comments and blog posts. It was around 10 when I finally headed out the door.

The chosen route for the day went alongside the Canal d’Ille-et-Rance and should have taken me around 5k. But then the first part of the route which went through the city was partly not paved, so I needed to take a turn earlier than planned. I decided to just run a bit farther alongside the river at the end, before turning around. The sky was clear, the sun came from the side, the air was cool and fresh – you may call it the perfect . I felt like I could go forever.

So after I passed the first bridge, where I could have changed to the other side of the canal, I chose to keep running. I forgot the time and when I noticed that I left the bridge pretty far behind, I thought I could make it to the next one - without knowing if there was any coming soon or not. Runners were passing by all the time. Seriously, who claimed that French people stay slim without working out? There are so many runners here in Rennes – I must have seen around 20 on my run this morning. Might have been the weather or the time, but also if I am out for a walk in the late afternoon, they seem to be everywhere. So much about the “French paradox”. Eating healthy and working out doesn’t sound so paradox to me. But I’m digressing. If I knew how to say “bridge” in French I might have asked them when the next one will come. I didn’t (now I do, “pont”), so I kept running. Then, shortly after the decision that it was time to turn around, I made one out in the distance. Heading there I passed a hose pipe bubbling over with water on the other side of the canal and all I wanted to do was getting over there and having a few handfuls. Too sad that the bridge turned out to be for trains only and wasn’t accessible from the running trail.
canal d’ille bridge
water
train bridge Rennes

Long story short. I turned around and went back most of the trail on the same canal-side before I took a shortcut (which I luckily remembered) through the city back home. And you know the best part? It started to rain 30 seconds before I arrived at my door and hasn’t really stopped yet. So, in the end, it seems like I ran the perfect distance for the day.

What motivated me throughout the run was a talk I had with a friend of mine the night before. She told me that her “new years resolution” was the plan to run a half-marathon this year. Since I’ve been flirting with the same idea for quite a while I was super excited to share my thoughts with her and start dreaming again myself. Being able to run 8k in 55 minutes today easily, though I’ve barely been running the last month gave me the final kick I needed. Also, how could I not make use of such an awesome running route as the one along the Canal d’Ille? I am working on my training schedule currently and I’ll share more details with you soon.

Do you have any sporty goals this year? What’s your favorite running weather? And where is the most beautiful route you ever ran?