Sun Run

Sunday, April 17th I took part in and completed my first race! I'd been wanting to do a race for a few months now, and the Sun Run seemed like the perfect start. It's only 10km which is a small start, but I had to start somewhere:) I even talked my Dad into doing it! It was a "first" for both of us, competing in a race and doing the Sun Run. Fun Fact: The Vancouver Sun Run in 1985 started with approximately 3,700 participants..It has now grown to the single or second biggest 10km run in the world (depending on how many people sign up each year..the msot was 60,000..this year it was about 50,000)

 I did not used to be a runner.. I mostly started running regularly in the last year and a half. Even then, I just did it to stay somewhat-in-shape and not gain any extra pounds..In the last year, and moreso 6 months, my enjoyment of running has just taken off and I can truthfully say I really like it..ha.. The run was such a great experience! Here are some details..

The Prep: I was running about 4-5 times per week for a long time, usually the same few routes, and @ the gym on the treadmills. Usually at the gym, I would just go by time and run anywhere from 20-50 minutes. My "usual" run outside went from a 20 minute jog to a 6km (30min approx) run with hills. I also started and finished a boot camp that ran for about 2.5 months which gave me the motivation to work out reguarly, really helped me build my muscle mass and core strength, and I learned a lot about eating before/after workouts. In the last few weeks I've been making myself workout or run 6 times a week, and it's turned into a great routine that I'm really loving! It's the perfect way to start my morning (I have waaay more energy now, so getting up at 6:30-7:30 isn't too hard anymore) I've run pretty long before, maybe like 8-9k in the past, but I needed to run the full 10km straight to make sure I could do it. Last weeek thats what I did! After that, I knew I could do the Sun Run. My goal was to run it under 55 minutes.

The Day of: The race kicked off at 9am, so I was up at 6:30! Dad and Ivy came over and we made strawberry protein shakes..Mm!!!! I also topped it with a homemade oatmeal energy bar for carbs. An hour before the race my Dad and I were both so jittery. I was thinking.. "wait..WHY did I sign up for this?!" We paid $50 though and we were not backin out! ;)

The Conditions: Were deeeevine. Cool morning start, warmed up a bit as we were running with a really cool breeze. AND it was sunny with hardly any clouds. :)

The Crowds: -- were CRAZY! 50,000 people, plus thousands more showed up to cheer everyone on! It was so cool being surrounded by so many people all doing the same thing with the same passion and positive energy. There were cameras everywhere and helicopters and live entertainment along the way.

The Race: Was such an adrenaline rush! We had these little chips on our shoes so when we went over the start line it clocked us in and set our time at the finish. I took off with a pretty fast start and tried to dodge all the people around me. Some people were so insane and hardcore they dashed off and tripped and make tons of people fall :S About 4km in my thoughts were.."WHY WHY WHY AM I DOING THIS".. but all the people along the way cheering us on was helpful and everyone around you running makes you motivated to keep going (esp. when you're passing them:)) At about 7km I was just telling myself that I was almost done and to keep going! 9km I accidentally clicked my watch so I didn't know what my times was anymore.. I knew I was about 50min and I had to make the rest in under 5 min so I pushed it up and over the cambie bridge! It helped when the runners around me were all encouraging each other and seeing signs that said "Just think of breakfast" with bacon and eggs :) The last stretch when I could see the balloons and end line was the biggest rush - You really don't know how fast your legs can go until your in a race like that and all warmed up! yikers!

The Best part: Finishing (of course). The feeling after was a huge sense of accomplishment and fun! There was so much positive energy flowing around and highfivin...and your body feels so good right after..it really is a "natural high". Seeing my Dad finish his first race too was sweet and doing it as a "father-daughter" thing made it even better.

The Worst part: Having to constantly dodge people (you're pretty much surrounded 360) just to keep up your pace and keep running. I think I could have downed my time by a minute or so especially around the corners where it narrows and you're reeeeally slowed down and have to almost forcefully push through just to make good time.
After the run we showered up and walked over to Mel and Jonny's (since we were already downtown and parked in their underground guest). Mel made a wonderful lunch for us of focaccia bread w/the oil/vinegar dip and a yummy salad --which I could not resist taking photos of (surprise, surprise). Speaking of surprises, she is SHOWING finally! I am so excited that my sister is pregnant. Seriously, this little brewing fetus is blessing the whole famjam!

Dad, Ivy and I then took the opportunity to head down over the boarder to Bellingham, WA. I've been searching for PB flour everywhere but nowhere in Vancouver seems to sell it! Trader Joes apparantly sells it and Dad usually picks up groceries and gas in the states, so away we went! Sadly, after going to three different stores and exploring the cute little city a bit, we didn't have any pb flour. BUT I did get some great healthy buys, cheese for rachel, and gas for Dad! Did I mention how much I love living so close to the US? Seriously, I got tons of good food for a fraction of the price here. Not to mention bottles of Wine are 2.99 (I resisted!!) annd our dollar is worth more than theirs right now.

After all that, the drive home was beautiful. The sunset was so colourful, and we listened to some fitting tunes by Norah Jones. Our legs were starting to hurt, and this girl was pooped! I may have fallen asleep in the backseat to this song :) (p.s..play it while you read the rest!)

This morning, surprisingly I woke up at 7:15 without any pain! (It may have helped that I took a T3 last night for my headache ;p) I did some quick chores and headed off to the gym/school. Of course on the way I picked up the Vancouver Sun to check my official time!!! You have no idea how excited this girl was to pay $1.25 for that newspaper haha. The lady at the checkout could tell I was happy - she said she did the race too and was really excited for me that this was my first time. On the skytrain I could hardly wait to read my results and didn't want to wait till after the gym so I peeked and my time was....53:41! Ya baby! Under 55 :) Mission accompleesshed.
Here are just a few pictures from the special day. Hope you enjoyed reading this little re-cap as much as I did living it!

                                                                   pre-race jitters..

                                                                  Yipee!! Doneezo!

                                                      hyped on the finish..time to fuel up

                                                                     so tired.

Yum!



woop! TJ's rocks.

 

This morning in the library...

                                                                            Yay! :)

Adios!