Morning Run or Musings from the Back of the Pack

Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda won the marathon at the London Olympics Sunday with a time of 2 hours, 8 minutes and 1 second. . . . How many hours of training? Pairs of shoes? Anecdotes? I was always at the back of the pack on those morning or afternoon runs. . . .

Years ago, the morning run with the Florida Track Club in Gainesville took us from the track, along Southwest 34th Street , by Lake Alice and to the old museum. Most runners did a second loop. The afternoon run usually went through University of Florida agricultural test fields beyond No Name Road, through a pig farm and past houses with lots of mean dogs. Any of you beginning runners can empathize—you have barely enough energy to complete the run and hope you will not have one more, hill, curb or untied shoelace. Plus, many of the people on these runs were Olympians or world or national champions—Frank Shorter, Jack Bacheler, Marty Liquori, Jeff Galloway, Dick Endris, Barry Brown, John Parker, Ken Misner and Byron Dyce. . . to name a few. I was so far at the back of the pack that I only learned of the memorable moments much later (my sister Margaret was a distance runner and kept the pace). Why Jerry perfected his elephant call. What happened to the new guy who challenged Jack to a fast-paced workout. Who carried the eggs to throw at swerving drivers. And who left the fake rubber snake on the running trail. . . . I would love to interview Kiprotich and hear his training anecdotes.

Summer will be hot, but not just anything goes on the Côte d’Azur

“Summer will be Hot,” Performed by Eric Charden Hey Even if it rains, it will be a hot summer In t-shirts, bathing suits From the Cote d’Azur to Saint Malo "L'été s'ra chaud" Hey Même s'il pleut l'été s'ra chaud, Dans les t-shirts dans les maillots, D'la Côte d'Azur à Saint-Malo Summers on the Côte d’Azur evoke topless beaches, a glass of rosé and a dip in the Mediterranean at the end of the day . . . pebble beaches . . . and the ubiquitous dog! But wait. . . a recent article the Nice Matin pointed out rules and regulations and fines.

For example, indecent exposure (bare chest or bathing suit) in town can lead to a 38-euro fine. And there is a reason for this. Some years ago, seaside business owners complained—scantily clad beachgoers walking around town were driving away business. Most likely, this was not in reference to supermodels. . . . And that glass of wine . . . . No drinking on the beaches in Nice between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. However, right across the boardwalk, you have plenty of restaurants and bars, particularly in the Old City. A late-night dip in the sea. . . .That too carries a fine. In Nice, the beaches are closed between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. (1,500-euro fine).

And the pooch—France, which is a dog-friendly country, has set limits (38-euro fine unless dogs are allowed, and 35-euro fine for dog litter). And probably the most surprising rule, you can be fined 38 euros for picking up a souvenir beach pebble. Although readers complained about the lack of restrictions on the towel-to-towel vendors, who tread among bathers, hawking massages or hats, sunglasses and bracelets, some cities now have rules that prohibit these activities.

Yes, it’s one hot summer. And as one reader pointed out, to enjoy a glass of wine or a beer on the beach in the evening and a dip in the sea would cost him 1500 + 38 euros in fines. Most likely, these rules will be nearly impossible to enforce. Still, you might want to keep some euros in change. . . .just in case you pocket that beach pebble without thinking. What do you think about restrictions? Photos: Crowded public beaches v. private beaches at Juan-les-Pins.

Musings - 2012 Olympics

It’s a good thing I am not involved in planning and organizing the Olympics because I would be worried about the $15-billion plus price tag, given the original $3.9-billion estimate and the recession. Have we lost sight of the earlier purpose of the Olympics with the pomp and circumstance of today’s ceremonies? Even the Cannes Film Festival has been substituting wine for champagne and pissaladière for fois gras. . . . An excellent article by Michael Joseph Gross in the June 2012 Vanity Fair retraces London’s campaign for the bid to host the Olympics. Findings of studies that opposed the bid pointed out with the exception of Barcelona, Olympic cities have not enjoyed post-game economic returns. And London would have to renounce social works projects to focus on game preparations. Not to mention the quirks in agreements—Heineken paid for exclusive rights to sell beer (hence no beer from the UK). But the dealings and controversies surrounding the Olympics shouldn’t detract from recognition of participants who devoted years of their lives to training. . . . 1948 – 4,104 athletes from 59 nations (~$1.17 million) 2012 – more than 10,000 athletes from ~ 205 countries ($15-billion+) And pissaladière is a good alternative anyway. . . . Here's an update on training costs:

So Many Saints, so little time on the Cote d'Azur

I got caught up in a procession last July when walking to the port to look at ocean-going yachts. Barefoot sailors in white and blue shirts carried a statue of a saint and followed a group of bagpipe players.

In the festival of Saint Peter, patron saint of fishermen, a procession winds throughout the old city of Antibes and ends up near a port where a wreath is throw to sea in honor of those who have lost their lives. But I had missed a similar festival, that of Notre Dame (Our Lady) de Bon Port, in which the Virgin is taken from the Chapel of La Garoupe, known for its ex-votos and 10th-century nave, and also paraded by barefoot sailors.

The French have amped up summer festivities—patron saints, gastronomy or flowers—to appeal to tourists. I met up with my sailors later in the morning. They had deposited their saint and now were complaining about sore feet and . . . bagpipe music. I am sure we can find a patron saint to remedy these ills.

Too Much Information and Way too Many Words . . . Jane Tolbert Muses about US road signs

With today’s focus on concise writing (and text messages and tweets, which force us to abbreviations and emoticons), our US road signs continue to have a prolix style. Take a look at this sign in East Sandwich (beach):

Just across the street, another sign: beach sticker and parking times and dog details. In contrast, a sign at a port on the Cap d'Antibes conveys a significant amount of information.

Although Europe has been using pictograms since the late 1960s, and the US talked about it, our signs continue to carry too much information. One writer for Slate pointed out that most road users are English speakers. But 62-million tourists visited the US in 2011, according to the Department of Commerce. In South Florida, the main language seems to be Spanish. Are these signs with TMI more costly? Do they lead to more accidents as drivers crane their heads to read as they whizz by? Or do people actually read these signs? An article in a Cape Cod publication said no one noticed a misspelled road sign (Masphee instead of Mashpee). But maybe the argument about TMI would get you out of a parking ticket. Has anyone tried?

Is my glass half full? And what is full anyway?

We were at a restaurant the other night, ordering a glass of wine and hoping we would not get a huge glass with a tiny taste of pinot grigio at the bottom. Is it an illusion--the large glass with less or the small glass with more? The standard glass of wine in the United States is 5 ounces (125 ml.) as shown in the photo. But what I had not considered was that a full glass (6 ounces, close to 177.4 ml.) contains a lot more alcohol. That lack of standardized measures can give you more than a serious buzz. An article in a UK publication points to the dangers of using household teaspoons to dose medicines. A dose is based on a 5-milliliter teaspoon, but household teaspoons range from 2.5 to 7.3 milliliters.

Tablespoons have the same problem--the lack of standardization (contents range anywhere from 7 to 15 ml). What an impact on recipes, coffee and diets! It's more than a problem of U.S. measures versus metric. It's that our measuring tools are not standard. Now about that glass of wine? Was it really 5 ounces? It looked more like 4. . . .

A Surprise or How we (non-gamblers) ended up in Atlantic City . . .

I have always avoided cities where the main entertainment is gambling, where most visitors remain sequestered in dark, chilled rooms, working their machines with the blinking lights and carnival sounds. But the exception--a wedding shower for my son and his fiancée was to be held in Atlantic City.

My daughter and I were invited but not expected, given that we live “out of town,” in Florida and France. But my daughter started thinking. What if we made a surprise visit? We told no one of our plans except the mother and sister of the bride-to-be. We arrived for an informal brunch, disguised in floppy hats and big sunglasses. It was a surprise.

We had some surprises with the city itself. We had expected loud music on the boardwalk and waves of tourists. We didn’t expect hustlers (always with a proposition), exorbitant fees of ATM machines and lack of grocery stores . . . combined to wear us down. But we found respite in quiet evenings at Bungalow’s, a Mediterranean restaurant with a large outdoor terrace and tango music in the background and in beaches at the south end of the boardwalk.

Our last day in Atlantic City should have been with family and friends at the wedding shower. But a series of thunderstorms with high winds (known as a derecho) charged through the Mid-Atlantic states early Saturday morning, leaving much of the area (with the exception of the casinos) without electricity. Needless to say, the wedding shower had to be postponed, and many people are still without electricity. If you go-- - Atlantic Club Casino Hotel – nice rooms and good rates (if you use Hotels.com or Expedia) at the south end of the boardwalk. Easy parking. Best to go during a weekday. - Bungalow’s restaurant—corner of the boardwalk and California Avenue. Also numerous fast-food and high-end restaurants (in casino hotels) line the boardwalk. - Jitney transportation (along Pacific Avenue, to casino hotels, marina and Tanger Outlet mall). $2.50 - A nature reprieve – wetlands and marshes near Cape May in the south and the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge just north. - Other – Going south—Margate has luxury beach homes and Lucy the Elephant. Wildwood, a beachside resort with boardwalk has the amusement park rides, fast-food and souvenir stores as well as restaurants, Wawa grocery stores, liquor/wine stores, and ATM machines. - Travel –Direct flights from Orlando and other cities (some cities have direct flights only in the summer). Philadelphia International Airport is an easy drive (about an hour).