march 13 - canals

oh it was a tough start today. sore knees, tired, some days are just harder than others. it's a good thing i have a new daily destination to keep me motivated. i ran through the centre of Abbeville and on the way out i came across a canal!

one day i shall have a small narrow shallow boat and we shall putter through the canals stopping to buy baguettes and wine and cheese and wave to the farmers. once clear through Abbeville my path becomes the perfect country road and somehow my knees are no longer sore and the day is beautiful.

distance today: 5.1 km

distance to date: 156.85 km

march 10 - abbeville

oh c'est beau! i knew this detour would be worth it. i pushed the run just a little bit longer today and finished in the centre of Abbeville, i just kept picturing having a cafe au lait in the town square and made the distance. hey, just do whatever it takes to motivate you to finish.

the city is quite modern having been rebuilt after being destroyed one night by the Germans in WW2. fortunately St Vulfran's Church remains intact and the flamboyant gothic facade is spectacular.

now i must go and find my cafe au lait.

distance today: 7.65 km

distance to date: 151.75 km

mar 7 - choo choo!

more noises as i go! after leaving les moutons (the sheep) in the fields i hit my first fork in the road. big decision.... i wanted to go inland to see the city of Abbeville and from there it would make sense to go straight south to Paris (ooohhhh, Pareeeee!) but i'm enjoying the coastal route and i'd like to get to Dieppe and Rouen. and so i've detoured which is going to take a bit longer than i thought. however since this is a virtual tour it's not costing me anything so what the heck.

at my fork in the road i turned east through the town of Noyelles-sur-Mer. Noyelles is known for it's steam train, a very big tourist attraction.

Very lovely town. I ran through the town and back to the fields which are making me think of patchwork quilts. Another decent mileage day which finished in Port-le-Grand. Must find a bistro, looking at all those sheep all day, need lamb chops.

distance today: 7.2km

distance to date: 144.1 km

mar 4 - baaaaa

what a fantastic day! it was mighty hard to get going today, this is the sort of place where i could all afternoon just sipping, reading, doodling and staring into space.

however i pushed on and found my perfect house.

after winding my way through Le Crotoy i hit the highway with fields on one side and the Baie de Somme on the other. plenty of conversation today, baaaaa, looks like lamb might be on the menu tonight!

and finished off with yet another spectacular view.

distance today: 7.2 km

distance to date: 136.9 km

feb 28 - mmmm... salty air

after a couple of days off for recovery (very important) today's pace was slow slow slow and long! my longest day yet! now that's something to celebrate and i intend to do just that here in the fantastic town of Le Crotoy. oh i can almost taste that verre du vin, i think tonight shall be blanc. but i'm getting ahead of myself i'm so excited by the thought of wine.

the run began through more fields to the beginning of Le Crotoy. I passed by la gare (the train station) and ran to the north west end of town before turning in the 2 blocks to the beach. and what a beach! Le Crotoy is on La Baie de Somme. Wow. Words fail me. La Baie is 2.5 km wide at the narrowest point! And so much to see along the promenade.

distance today: 8.5 km

distance to date: 129.7 km

feb 25 - eglise

today was a short fast run. i've been reading about how to improve my running and i'm learning a lot. i remember way back when i was in shape i found that i never really got any better. turns out if you run at the same pace for the same distance you won't really get faster or better. so now i shall have 3 different types, 1 is endurance - slow and long, 2 is speed - short and fast, and 3 is sprints - alternate sprints and walking. today was a speed run. i began through fields southbound down the D940. i veered east to the town of Rue because there's a spectacular eglise (church) to see.

and check out the medieval house! i bet there's a walk in fireplace for roasting huge hunks of meat which you wash down with tankards of ale. and sit on a long rough trestle table.

after a run through town i headed west back to the highway south and finished the town at the edge of town.

distance today: 5 km

distance to date: 121.2 km

feb 23 - les champs

today began with a decision, to go westward back to the sea and sand or continue south through the countryside? having seen a few towns the last few runs I opted for the countryside. I'm sure Fort Mahon was stunning however I enjoyed a few kilometers of champs de ble (wheat fields). just a nice steady run.

distance today: 6.5 km

distance to date: 116.2 km