Picturesque Prague... and Our First Marathon!

I know that at the end of my last post, I said my next post would be all about our trip down to Italy... well, I have decided to postpone that for a little while.  Instead, I would like to share all about the trip we took to Prague, Czech Republic last weekend.  Not only did we enjoy the sights of the charming city and celebrate my wonderful husband's 29th birthday, but Daniel and I also ran our very first marathon!!!  We are both quite thrilled that we finished the race successfully and finally accomplished this life goal.  Much more about the marathon in just a bit... 

So the four of us (my mom, dad, Daniel, and I) started the drive to Prague the morning of Thursday, May 7th.  After driving due east for about six hours, we finally arrived... the countryside throughout the drive was absolutely beautiful, but still we were all glad to reach our destination.  We soon found the little apartment we had rented for the weekend.  When researching for the trip, I had tried to book a nice place near the center of town... but I didn't realize that we would be just a block away from Prague's historic hub, the Old Town Square!  We settled in and then decided to do some exploring.  Since the Old Town Square was just around the corner, of course I had to snap a few pics.  

The first is of the Jan Hus memorial... as the rector of Prague University in the early 1400's, he was dedicated to fighting against Church corruption.  He met his fate when he was burned at the stake because the Church claimed he was a heretic for proposing radical reform. The inscription on the memorial reads "Truth will prevail."  He is still a national hero today.  The next photo is of the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn... have you noticed that they like really long church names over here? :)  If you look closely, you'll see that the tower on the right is a bit thicker than the tower on the left, following the architectural conventions of the time.  The Old Town Square was also surrounded by some attractive old buildings and cute cafes as well as the Church of St. Nicholas.  

We were quite hungry from the trip, so after just a quick look around the Old Town Square, it was time for dinner!  Since Daniel and I needed to start carbo-loading for the race, we found a small Italian restaurant nearby.  After a satisfying meal, we decided to walk around and take in some more of Prague.  It was such a pleasant evening... the weather could not have been better. We took in the Prague Castle from afar... we were planning to check it out the next day, so we just enjoyed the view of it all lit up for the moment.  We also saw the famous Charles Bridge down the Vltava river... after wandering around a bit, we soon found ourselves walking across it.    

Prague has a very peaceful sense to it.... it is touristy enough that you feel totally comfortable, but it is also not so touristy that you feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of people around.  Walking around the city on that lovely spring evening, I must admit that Prague was absolutely enchanting.

Friday was Daniel's birthday... as I mentioned earlier, we thought that a nice way to celebrate would be to check out Prague's foremost attraction, the Prague Castle.  On the way up there, we found ourselves on the grounds of the Czech Senate.  Established in 1996, it was pretty cool to realize that we were visiting one of the world's newer democratic bodies.  The grounds are really quite nice, with very pretty gardens.

We then made our way up to the Prague Castle.  It is actually a complex consisting of many buildings, including the Old Royal Palace, St. Vitus' Cathedral, and even the offices of the President of the Czech Republic.  We first strolled through the Gardens of Paradise, enjoying the view of Prague sprawled out below.  We then found ourselves in the main courtyard looking up at the striking edifice of St. Vitus' Cathedral.  

Before going inside the church, we decided to first go see the Old Royal Palace.  The main room of the palace is Vladislav Hall, which was used for coronations and even jousting tournaments.  Off to the side of the hall is the Riders' Staircase... with its low steps and vaulted ceiling, it allowed the knights on horseback to make their entry in spectacular fashion.  In addition, we saw the throne room, and there was also a balcony with another great vantage point of Prague as well as of the river.  

Just across the courtyard from the palace is St. George's Basilica, which was built by Prince Vratislav in 921.  After visiting this simple chapel and pursuing some shops nearby, it was time to go see more of St. Vitus' Cathedral.

The front of the cathedral showcases its classic Gothic design, while the rear reminds me a lot of the Notre Dame in Paris.  Inside, the cathedral boasts high vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows, as well as the insanely large silver coffin of St. John of Nepomuk, which weighs 3,700 pounds.  While churches like this are incredibly impressive, it often seems that they are more of monuments to those who built them than actually places of worship.  It is a bit sad really... thankfully we can worship God anywhere, and what He cares most about what is in our hearts, not that we are praising Him in an ornate church.

Once we were done exploring the Prague Castle, we headed back toward the heart of Prague.  We swung through the Old Town Square, and this time I made sure to get a picture of the four of us.  We also walked around the corner to see the Town Hall and its astronomical clock.  

After some downtime, we went out for Daniel's birthday dinner.  We found a nice little restaurant nearby, where we had some great food and, of course, dessert!  After dinner, we once again enjoyed an evening stroll through the city... as we headed back to the apartment, we took in the Old Town Square all aglow with lights.  Overall, I believe Daniel had a very Happy Birthday... welcome to the 29 year-old club, babe :) 

We decided to make Saturday a low-key kind of day in order to rest up for the marathon.  Our big outing of the day was to go check in for the race at the Prague International Marathon Expo.  While I had been really nervous the whole week, going to the expo and getting our race numbers made me much more excited about the marathon.  Plus, we met up with some of our friends from Frankfurt, Matt and Heather O. who were also running the race, to do some more carbo-loading at the expo's pre-race pasta party.  The carbo-loading continued that evening when we met up with several more of our friends from Frankfurt who were also in town to run the marathon.  Needless to say, we called it an early night in preparation for the race.

Sunday was the big day!  It has been quite a while since I have been that anxious/excited about an athletic competition.  After months and months of training, which involved running hundreds of miles, it was hard to believe the moment was finally here.  Thankfully, Daniel and I both felt confident and ready.  After taking some pictures, it was time to get in line for the start.  

Speaking of the start line, here are some pictures I found on the marathon's website... as you can see, there were thousands of people running the marathon, about 6,000 I believe.  Everyone lined up in groups, waiting for our turn to start.  Because we had been waiting for a while to get to the start, I decided to take a last minute bathroom break.  Well, apparently seconds after I left, the whole mass surged toward the start line... so I got to run across the start all by myself!  At least it made it easy for my parents to find me and cheer me on :)  

Other than my slightly delayed start, most of the race went really well.  Of course, Daniel was speeding ahead and I just tried to keep a steady pace.  Beforehand, we had planned out places to meet up with my parents along the route, which was nice because it gave us something to look forward to throughout the race.  It was also a great chance to get some extra gatorade, water, energy gels, and even advil!  We really needed the extra liquids because, as you can see below, it was quite sunny and rather balmy that day.  When I saw balmy, I am talking about a warm 75 degrees... now that might not seem that hot normally, but when you have been training in 30-40 degree weather for the last few months, it definitely seems hot!  As the race wore on, with the warmer conditions, the last 6 miles were quite a bit slower for both of us than our first 20... it definitely took some mental endurance, but we both pushed our way towards the finish line.  

Daniel was so speedy that they didn't get any pictures of him as he crossed the finish at an amazing 3:30!  Just under an hour later, I was nearing the finish line myself... though it is hard to see, I have quite a big smile in the first two pics below because the the finish line was in my sights.  I was quite happy as I crossed the finish at a time of 4:25!

One of the best parts of the whole experience was having my parents there to cheer us on!  My dad was really hoping to run the race with us, but about halfway through the training, his knee started acting up.  While I would have loved to have him running beside me, I think it is best that he decided to listen to his body and take care of himself.  And if he ever wants to run a marathon in the future, I will be there with bells on to run it with him... most likely!  But seriously, overall Daniel and I thought the marathon was a really good experience, and we were both very happy to have finished the race successfully.  Although we don't know if there is another marathon in our future, I definitely think it's a possibility.  Only time will tell!

Just shortly after finishing the marathon, we were on the road heading back towards Frankfurt since both my parents and Daniel were flying out the next day... my parents back to California and Daniel to Norway for a work trip.  Thankfully, my parents had a safe trip back to the States, but I definitely miss them very much!  It was absolutely wonderful having them here.  Now Daniel and I are back to the grind... except that for the first few days after the race, we were definitely in slow motion!  Saying that we were sore is a huge understatement!  We are both grateful that the soreness is pretty much gone now, and we are feeling back to normal for the most part... yet I think we will wait a little while before deciding if we will be running another race anytime soon :)

As always, thanks so much for reading the blog... I hope that you enjoyed reading all about our trip to Prague and the marathon.  Now I still have to post about our weeklong trip down to Italy, so check back soon for that.  Until then, take care!