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The race shirt and bib. Such a nice round number. |
I was going to do the race recap for the Nice Half Marathon in the good, the bad, the ugly format I’ve done before, but I really couldn’t think of anything bad, and there is absolutely nothing ugly about Nice. Instead, playing on the title of Haruki Murakami’s book What I talk About When I Talk About Running, I I thought it would be fun to share with you the Nice Half Marathon edition of what I talk (to myself) about when I’m running.
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Much of the race course was along this famous avenue. |
The start line
- Le Meridian Hotel needs a renovation, non? It’s looking a little shabby.
- Is someone funky? At the start line?!
- Wow dude. Those shorts are tiny. Save the speedo for the beach. Or not.
- Listen to this guy announcing the start of the 20th Nice “semi” marathon. Everything sounds so much better in French. Even the races.
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At the start, with the Le Meridian behind me on the right. Shabby looking, huh? |
Kilometer 1 – 7
- I’m running on the Cote d’Azur. Un-freakin’-believable!
- Look at that beautiful blue water.
- There’s just something about a palm tree.
- I really need to find a way to live here. Really. I mean, seriously.
- Damn. I’m doing a 6:11 min/km (9:57 min/mile).
Kilometer 8-14
- Am I the only black person not running as an elite runner?
- I am definitely the only black person this far back.
- I really need to work on my speed. I already can’t dance. Black people are going to disown me soon.
- 10k! Yeah, baby! Half way point. Well, almost half… wait, are those the elite runners heading to the finish already?
- I love this Vanilla flavored Powerade gel. It tastes just like cake batter. Yum!
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The all-important bling. Don’t you just love the palm tree? |
Kilometer 15-21
- This hat is really making me hot, but I need it for the shade since I don’t have sunglasses. Definitely time to break out the visor, get a little ventilation.
- Maybe, I’ll stop here (kilometer 16) and just go to the beach. It is right there.
- Is that Coke at the hydration station? Seriously? And warm Coke at that!
- Screw the Coke. Get some wine out here. It is France, after all.
- Kilometer 17, so only 4 more to go. So that’s, what, 3 miles? What’s the conversion, 1.6K is a mile or is it .62? Damn metric system!
- Damn. I’m doing a 8:07 min/km (13:03 min/mile).
- 1 km to go! Pick up the pace, pick up the pace, pick up the… aww, why bother? The finish line will still be there when I get there. I hope.
What do you talk (to yourself) about when you’re running?