Va-va-va-vancouver

Week 8: April 27-May 3

Bike: 166 km
Run: 10 km
Swim: 5000 m

It's been 3 weeks since I headed down to Vancouver with a crew of Whitehorse girls to run the Vancouver Marathon relay. This trip to Vancouver was a great way of disguising a girls/shopping/eating week-end as an athletic endeavor. It was also a chance to catch up with my lovely friend Kailyn, who I don't see nearly enough. Whenever I do get a chance to see Kailyn we do very important Vancouver things, like shop at Betsey Johnson (where nothing fits and we can afford even less), strut down Robson (where she fits in an I look like a Burly Mountain Woman returning to civilization) and eating mini-cupcakes (the worlds greatest invention, because it allows you to eat 4 kinds of cupcakes without stuffing your stomach).

The real reason ("real" meaning what we told our husbands/bosses/boyfriends) we went to Vancouver was to do the relay marathon. Our team went to Vancouver with three goals in mind: 1) kick some Kenyan butt and run away with the Marathon title 2) have fun and 3) look hot. We managed to meet two out of three objectives, which isn't that bad. As everyone knows, the most important part of a team challenge is the team name, ours was "I'm too sexy for these running shoes", an homage to Right Said Fred and the legacy of bad 90s music. Our outfits were carefully designed around the theme, and as you can see we ended up being quite the sexy group of ladies.

I started off the race with a run down towards Granville Island, I'd love to give details, but let's be honest - I just followed everyone else and didn't pay much attention to where I was going. Because I was only doing 10 km instead of the regular 42km, I had the pleasure of starting the race approximately 9000 people earlier than normal. Running with people who average a 3h20 marathon, instead of a 4h30 marathon certainly changes your running perspective. One of my great pleasures was watching the marathon leaders go by after turning around near Granville Island. Every time I watch the future winners race by, I can't help but get a little teary eyed. It's amazing how beautiful really great runners look when they are cruising along. Plus - seeing the leaders only 1/2 km from the turnaround made me feel pretty good about myself - last year in Victoria, I watched the fast guys run past me when I was 8 km into the half marathon, and they were 5 km from the end.

After my leg, I passed the baton to Nicole, one of Jenn's friends from Vancouver. Nicole was a great addition to our team, and definitely embraced our sexy theme. While Nicole started her leg, I transitioned from my running shoes to my biking gear and set off to be support for the rest of the marathon. I wasn't sure how it would work riding along the marathon course, but my biking portion was actually more fun than my running portion. It also gave me a chance to reacquaint myself with the diversity of Vancouver. Nicole's portion of the marathon ran through the less glamorous parts of Vancouver and my biking took me around East Hastings, and kept me weaving through some peoples' sleeping spaces. After spending the day on Robson, it was a good reminder of some of the social issues that can be easier to ignore than look straight at.

Lisa was the next to go and got the pleasure of winding through Stanley Park. In an attempt to keep up with her and get my morning coffee, I managed to one-hand weave down W. Georgia street with a coffee in my hand. Tracy was the next to go and ran the tough climb up to Burrard bridge before heading down to Kitsilano. Finally, Miss Jenn took us all the way back to BC Place wearing a boa, dress and fishnets the entire time.

Following our triumphant completion of the marathon, we continued our Vancouver adventure with shopping and a trip to the Eatery - a super cool Sushi joint that featured a flying Astro-Boy.

The next day, I left the girls behind to begun my solo adventure to the Gulf Islands.

Sierra posted this on May 19, 2008 from the outside | | permanent link