The full day of rain in Paris couldn’t keep our spirits down yesterday as we enjoyed warm croissants, strong coffee, long walks, museum visits, umbrella pictures, beautiful gardens, and finally a perfect dinner.
I hope you guys are having a wonderful weekend! We’ve spent the weekend enjoying as much fresh air and sunshine as possible while also enjoying some delicious homemade Mexican and lovely cocktails. Parker has been such a trooper this weekend even during his short lived meltdowns.
I woke up bright and early Saturday morning to log my last long training run before next Sunday’s Geneva Half Marathon. Knowing that I had 10 miles on the schedule, Amy suggested I head out to The Little Miami Scenic trail, a great multi-use path near their home in Madeira.
The Little Miami Scenic trail is 75 miles of runner or bikers paradise! It passes through 12 different Cincinnati area towns and provides the perfect mix of sunny and shady spots while also having rest and bathroom areas along the trail. The views are a mix of horse farms, rivers and streams, wooded areas and small town squares which have built around the trails activity such as Loveland’s downtown area. The trail has mile markers every half mile which makes keeping track of distance easy.
The weather was picture perfect for a run – sunny and cool. I wore my compression socks, shorts, and tank for the run while jamming to my new playlist on Spotify.
Instead of doing 5 miles out and back I split the run up into 4 parts, 2.5 miles each, so I could explore the trail in both directions. Amy had mentioned that one would have more river views while the other direction is shady and wooded. I even had some surprise company along the wooded portion of the trail as I ran into 7 wild turkeys crossing the trail. 
There were solo runners and running groups alike out on the trail with me logging their last long run before the Flying Pig marathon next weekend.
I followed my training plan logging negative splits and an average of 9:17 pace overall. Considering that I didn’t have any fuel I’m hoping that means that I can keep at least this during next week’s half marathon.
While last week’s training wasn’t strong due to our travel in different cities, this week’s 5 runs have me in a very different mindset for the half marathon. I finished this run feeling strong and excited for the race!
What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen on a run? These wild turkeys were definitely the weirdest thing I’ve seen on a run!
I’m currently flying somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean en route to Cincinnati! It’s a bit of a whirlwind trip as I am only in Cincinnati until Sunday evening. I’m bursting at the seems to see Amy and Ryan along with their new bundle of joy, baby Parker. How adorable is this little guy? I am also excited to take Charlie, their cocker spaniel, out for a few long walks as the weather is supposed to be 75 degrees!
I was up extra early this morning to pack for the trip as I didn’t have time to pack last night. Instead of packing, I enjoyed one too many glasses of wine at girls night! We laughed over Indian food at Bombay Cafe for almost three hours. These girls have really made Geneva feel like home and our weekly dinners provide each of us with a space to laugh about husbands or dating, share travel adventures and ask for Geneva help. Our venue changes each week – sometimes it is a casual home cooked meal at one of our homes and other times it’s in a new restaurant we’ve wanted to try. I was thrilled that the other girls were keen to switch things up with Indian cuisine last night as I’ve been craving it lately. I’m a novice when it comes to Indian food so I let everyone else guide our shared plate orders but in the end we had the perfect amount of food including Tandoori chicken, a delicious lamb dish, lentils, and a few veggie dishes! 
The 5am alarm was not a welcome sound but luckily I was able to pack light for this trip as I’m back in Geneva Monday morning. Packing and traveling is getting easier as I have started to appreciate the value of packing only essentials versus over packing. In addition, there are some essentials which I now keep together for easy grab and go. I basically grabbed everything on my essential list, which is stored and updated on a list app on my phone, before zipping my bag shut. I also keep a travel outfit always folded together in my drawer so I don’t have to worry about it being dirty or searching for it the morning of a flight.
Travel outfit:
Here are the essentials that I pack on any trip:
Many of the items I pack serve dual purposes such as the running water bottle, which stays full during travel and keeps me hydrated on flight. My travel compression socks can also be used on a run while my plane outfit can also serve as an extra days clothing. I’ve been traveling with my Mizuno running shoes as they are my lightest shoes and are also perfect for wearing during the day when exploring new cities. Having a travel accessory bag always packed and stored in my closet has kept me from forgetting important things like chargers. I’ve wasted too much time and money trying to replace them in foreign countries.
What is your one travel essential that you always have to have with you on a flight?