11 posts tagged “stanley park”

After a threat of first 90%, then 30% chance of precipitation, race day morning dawned perfectly cool with a mix of clouds and sun.  Not a drop of rain was in sight.  (Thank you, Vancouver!)

Shane and I left the apartment just before 6 a.m. to head to the race start (on the other side of downtown).  We drove over to park in Shane’s work lot, as it’s located right next to the Skytrain, which we planned to take the rest of the way (my monthly transit pass allows me to travel with an extra passenger on Sundays, woo!).  We arrived at the starting line around 6:20, giving us plenty of time to use the Port-a-Potty and stretch.

The half-marathon group lined up as we got closer to 7 a.m. (the official go time for the race).  We jumped in around the middle of the pack, both of us feeling a lot of nerves at that point.  I was anxious about running my first half-marathon; Shane was feeling the pressure of meeting his ambitious time goal (1:45).  But soon we were flowing with the massive, 6,000-strong crowd toward the start.  We wished each other well and set off on our individual journeys to The Black-Eyed Peas “Pump It” blaring over a pair of gigantic speakers.

I felt good from the beginning.  All the time spent tapering (not to mention the pure adrenaline of finally running this long-planned-for event) gave me an extra bounce in my step as we moved into the Gastown portion of the race.  I thought maybe I was running a bit faster than my anticipated 2:15 pace time, but I didn’t know for sure.  (Nor did it really matter; my primary goal was just to finish.)

Around the 10km (or 6-mile) mark, the route followed the seawall leading into Stanley Park and then hopped up on the road that circles the park (Park Drive).  This was when I started to feel nervous again, as the infamous Park Drive hill to Prospect Point was coming up.  Prospect Point is essentially the highest point in Stanley Park, and veterans of this half-marathon will tell you this long, steep climb to the top is intensely challenging (especially being located in the middle of the race).

Thankfully, since Shane and I had done a training run on this hill, I was able to reach the crest without any issues.  It also helped that some amazing spectators were lining the road, yelling encouragement at the top of their lungs (supportive words can do wonders for tired legs).  And the downhill on the other side?  That was almost worth the pain of ascending (almost).

Soon I hit the 10-mile mark and began running along Beach Avenue.  A large crowd had gathered by English Bay Beach to cheer us on, so that was a nice boost.  I definitely struggled as we entered the last 3km (about 2 miles remaining).  My calves were burning like they’ve never burned before, but I knew we were close, so I pushed through the discomfort.  And sure enough, soon the end was in sight.

If you’ve never experienced the finish line of a race, it is simply incredible.  The enthusiasm from the assembled crowd and the pick-up in pace by just about every runner out there is electrifying.  I flew through the end, crossing the finish with my arms held high and cheering as loudly as my tired lungs could handle.  I recently heard this moment described as empowering, and I couldn’t agree more.  I felt like I could take on absolutely anything.

Shane and I met up within minutes of my finish, both with the AWESOME news that we had done better than we’d hoped.  I managed my first 13.1-miler in 2:05:24, ten minutes faster than I expected to be (holy shit); Shane broke his half-marathon PR by nearly six minutes, completing in 1:43:12 (well under his goal).  Hell yeah!

We then made our way back to Shane’s work to shower up - a logistical decision made because we had reservations in the restaurant just above Canada Place at 11:30.  This particular place - Café Pacifica in the fancy Pan Pacific hotel - is known in Vancouver for its extravagant (and yes, expensive) brunch buffet, which we were eager to partake in.

After logging the longest distance I’ve ever run, that food tasted fucking delicious.  There were freshly-squeezed juices, assorted pastries, salads, fruits, sushi, dim sum, stir fry, salmon and sole, bacon and sausage, (every kind of) meat and potatoes, omelettes and eggs Benedict, and the most beautiful dessert spread you can imagine.  We lingered there for a couple of hours, taking our time through four (yes, four) separate buffet trips.  It was a wonderful way to end what was truly a spectacular morning.

And - as you might expect when everything goes so perfectly according to plan - it wasn’t long before we were discussing when we might want to train for another half to do it all over again.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned on this blog what got me started running.  The story is simple: my brother randomly decided to go for a run his freshmen year in high school.  I figured if he (of all people! ha!) could find the motivation to try running, so could I.  And out the door in a pair of old Reeboks I went.

Running stuck with me from the start, but not with Ian.  He lasted 2 or 3 weeks back then, and aside from some sporadic attempts to take up the sport in college, he never laced his shoes up again.  But late last year, he started expressing interest in developing a regular running routine.

Anyone who knows me can probably guess how excited I was to hear Ian was maybe feeling the bite of the running bug again.  I LOVE finding new runners to share my enthusiasm and knowledge with; training for the TC 10-Miler with Jon, Shannon and Carrie was a huge highlight of my running life (and Shane’s).  The idea of being able to run with my own sibling sounded like so much fun!  So once his mileage started going up, I suggested that Ian think about running a 5K with us in Vancouver.

Thus, on the last Saturday in March, Shane, Ian and I lined up for the Dave Reed Spring Classic 5K in Stanley Park.  Ian did really well – he struggled through the last mile (his lungs are not quite used to outdoor running yet), but pushed through the discomfort to run the whole race.  And he completed it in 29:06, which is an awesome time for a first 5K!  I was so proud and pleased to have the chance to run next to him – my initial running inspiration, really – as we made our way around the seawall.

We celebrated the milestone that evening with a delicious Thai dinner and a liberal number of drinks.  (Shane downed three martinis; Ian went through 40 oz. of beer.)  And then, as all post-running parties normally conclude, we sat down to assemble Legos into the wee hours of the morning.

As promised, here are some pictures from Bright Nights in Stanley Park (the event we attended with Ian over Thanksgiving weekend).

Ian drove up on Thursday to spend part of the Thanksgiving weekend with us.  Although, given that Canada’s Thanksgiving has long been over, it turned into more of a Christmas weekend than anything else!

We kicked off the fun with a Thanksgiving-style meal at Rooster’s Quarters on Denman.  Being the non-cooks that we are, Shane and I thought this “homestyle” restaurant would be perfect for eating some poultry.  The three of us ordered chicken and beef entrees, accompanied by an appetizer of poutine (which, you may remember, we tried for the first time at the PNE with Carrie).  It was a decent meal, although a far cry from the traditional dinner (plus cinnamon Jello salad!) we’re used to enjoying courtesy of my mom.

On Friday, we spent the day shopping inside Pacific Centre Mall and along Robson Street.  Shane and I were mostly on the hunt for Xmas presents, while Ian was hoping to take advantage of the favourable exchange rate to buy a few gifts and some clothes.  We met with varying degrees of success, although one notable moment for me was buying a little stuffed Mukmuk (the fourth and final 2010 Olympic mascot sidekick, released last week)!

That night, we went to Stanley Park to check out Bright Nights, one of several holiday light displays set up here for December.  This is located in the same area as the pirate-themed Halloween exhibit we saw in October.  The plaza was much more decorated than last time, and I plan to go back in the next couple of weeks to take some goddamn pictures (the rain has made me unbelievably lazy in this department).  We visited the children’s farmyard again – where the animals were MUCH more active than before – then hopped on the train to see the elaborate Christmas decorations along the railway route.

I have to say, the rain definitely enhanced the lights.  The wet leaves twinkled in the dark, and the fine mist falling from the sky almost looked like snow!  My favourite part of the ride was the ice-skating polar bears hovering on top of the water we when crossed over a small pond; it really did look like ice, albeit ice with occasional raindrops.

After a night of games and drunken debauchery Bailey’s consumption, we all took it easy on Saturday morning.  We grabbed lunch at Blenz with Ian before he left, then got back into our regular routine.  Not to worry, though, we did make one more Thanksgivingy stop that evening, when we went to Steeps (it's the new TeaSource) for a pot of tea and a perfect, delectable slice of pumpkin pie - mmm.  Happy (belated) Thanksgiving to everyone back in the States!

Shane’s birthday was on Tuesday, and he was lucky enough to have that day and Monday off (thanks to the 11/11 holiday – called Remembrance Day here – and his ETO hours).  So we had four lovely days to celebrate.

On Saturday, we went to Granville Island to check out a small art show called ReVision at the Granville Island Hotel.  The show featured recycled art: original pieces made almost entirely of second-hand materials by local artists.  There were some really neat creations on display, my favourites being a rainbow painting covered in broken glass bottles, an enormous spiral made of aluminium bottle caps and a water fountain designed with used instruments (saxophones) and old pipes.

We were also treated to the sounds of Swarm, a Vancouver-based percussion ensemble.  The group’s founder built all the instruments himself, using mostly recycled materials.  So for instance, the drum set was constructed around an old suitcase, and the players used rubber pipes (cut into varying lengths) for part of one song and different sizes of pots and pans for part of another.  They were very entertaining and quite talented; I highly suggest checking out their videos to see for yourself.

We took it easy on Sunday.  Shane watched football and played video games, while I got absorbed reading a fascinating, behind-the-scenes election piece put out recently by Newsweek.  The article, entitled “Secrets of the 2008 Campaign”, tells the stories of the Clinton, McCain and Obama campaigns as recorded “by a special team of reporters who were granted year-long access on the condition that none of their findings appear until after Election Day.”  It’s a terrific, unbiased read for anyone who followed this election cycle.

On Monday morning, we drove to the Vancouver airport to complete the process of enrolling in the Nexus program.  Joining Nexus means we are “pre-screened” to cross between Canada and the U.S.  Put into practical terms: we get special cards that permit us to use express lanes at the border.  We received our actual cards at the end of our airport interviews (held with Canadian and U.S. customs officials), so we got to use them when we went down to see Ian (for a delicious Thai dinner) that evening!

On Tuesday, we wandered around the Vancouver Museum for a few hours, mostly in the Stanley Park exhibit.  We learned a lot about the “unnatural” aspects of our next-door neighbour, like how many of the animals found in the park were imported (including the squirrels!), that Beaver Lake is actually lined with concrete and how most of the existing trails were originally built as logging paths.  Then it was off to Central for drinks and appetizers and Cupcakes for birthday cake(s).  Whew - what a weekend. 

Happy 31^st, sweetie!  And next year, let's shoot for five days!

We did several fun Halloweenish things in the lead-up to my favourite holiday.  We enjoyed the festive, orange-and-black atmosphere at the Granville Island Public Market, where I sampled some delicious pumpkin soup.  We bought a couple of tiny pumpkins (for one loon), which we decorated with the aid of some Sharpie markers and a little creativity.  We watched Cloverfield and Children of the Corn.  And we ate lots of fabulous, fresh candy corn, all from the States (thanks, Mom!); it is for whatever reason difficult to find this beloved sweet in Vancouver.

On Halloween, we decided to spend the evening in Stanley Park.  Every year, the park hosts the Ghost Train ride along with other activities in the “children’s area”.  This year’s theme was pirates, and I couldn’t have been happier, as this meant the speakers blared out highlights from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie scores (co-written by the enormously talented Hans Zimmer) all night long. 

The weather this year was perfect – cool but dry, with an appropriate, eerie mist hovering amongst the tall trees.  We started off participating in the Creatures of the Night walk.  Our tour guide captain led us along a short trail, as we hunted for “treasure” by candlelight and learned what that term means for a variety of nocturnal animals living in Stanley Park (hint: not gold doubloons).  The highlight of our walk was meeting up with a “raccoon” who, despite struggling with his English lines, delivered them with such enthusiasm (“Let me see your...puppy...dog...EYES!”), we wanted to applaud.

Next, we boarded the Stanley Park miniature train, which slowly chugged around the track while we admired the detailed, pirate-y displays (some involving live characters) along the way.  I have to say, the folks behind the decorations certainly went all-out; we were thoroughly entertained and impressed the whole time.  The best moment, in my opinion, was watching a headless man stumble around looking through treasure chests for a while until finally finding his head again.

After we pulled back into the train station, we disembarked to visit the children’s farmyard.  This, too, was made-up with all sorts of awesome Halloween props and lights.  Along with the décor, we saw snakes, small birds, turtles, iguanas and tarantulas in one building, and (sleeping) bunnies, cows, llamas, horses, pigs and poultry in another.  Then it was time to head home.

But no trick-or-treating holiday would be complete without treats.  So we stopped along the way to satisfy our sweet tooth with – what else? – Halloween, pumpkin-flavoured cupcakes.  (Shiver me timbers!)