Lululemon SeaWheeze Half Marathon - Vancouver

Second half marathon of 2013, completed!  I am happy to report I ran my third half marathon at a personal best of 2:05:10, a six minute improvement over the half I ran at the end of May.

Starting line: Photo Credit

This time Tom and I travelled to Vancouver to meet up with Andrew and run  with 10000 other runners in the Lululemon Seawheeze Half Marathon. Ashley was supposed to run in the race as well,  but the flooding in June caused the Ride to Conquer Cancer to be postponed to the same weekend,  so Tom ran in Ashley's place.

I admit I was disappointed that Ashley wouldn't be joining team Greig in Vancouver.  For the last three summers the four of us have done an annual hike.  A hike wasn't possible this year, but the race weekend would have served as a satisfactory substitute. Nevertheless, Tom and I are proud and happy for Ashley to be participating in the ride-- a particularly meaningful event for her this year.

Thousands of runners: Photo Credit

Lululemon knows how to put on a good party, but good gad do they have ridiculous rules about race package transfer. Essentially, their policy is no refunds, and no package transfers. Which... Seems unreasonable when you pay $128 for a spot in the race! For example, Ashley couldn't run in the race because of her ride-- but she wasn't allowed to transfer her package to Thomas. Something about liability (blah blah blah). But... Couldn't the new runner sign a waiver like the original runner did? Wouldn't that get rid of all your liability problems? Just sayin'...

But never fear! We bent the rules, and Tom ran in Ashley's place.

Race route and elevation profile.

I don't know Vancouver too well, so I was pretty turned around during most of the race. But I do know that we ran past BC place, over the Burrard Street Bridge, and around the seawall in Stanley Park. It was a beautiful course, and there were hundreds of spectators that came out to cheer at various cheering stations around the route. There were mounties on stilts, carnival performers, cheerleaders, and even transvestites strutting their stuff! Instead of pace bunnies, there were pace "beavers," and there was a brunch of muffins, waffles, tiny quiches and fruit at the end of the race.

I learned that Vega sports drink (a clean, plant-based nutrition supplement) is disgusting (I grabbed it by accident thinking it was water at one of the hydration stations). I spat it out and ditched the rest of it (and did NOT make that mistake again).

SeaWheeze 2013 Finishers!

By the end of the 21.1km, I was ready to stop running-- but I felt great! I found Andrew and Tom without too much difficulty, and we gobbled down some brunch before heading back to the hotel for a much needed nap.

I'm not sure what my future running plans will include, but the half marathon course has not seen the last of me! But for now... Much more rest.

Sunshine Coast - British Columbia

Ferry to the Sunshine Coast.

If you've known me for any amount of time, you probably know that Tom and I have a preference for all thing Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts related. It seems like anything this company touches is gold, whether it's their vacation properties in Banff, Lake Louise and Emerald Lake, or amazing restaurants all over Calgary.

A few years ago we noticed that CRMR had picked up a new property on the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia called the Painted Boat Resort. We were both interested in trying it out, but the Sunshine Coast is a long way to go.

So when Mallary and Colm's wedding popped up in Kelowna, and the Lululemon Seawheeze Half Marathon popped up a week later in Vancouver, we realized this would be the perfect time to head to the coast.

View of the bay from the Painted Boat Resort.

The Painted Boat Resort does not disappoint. Set in a calm, secluded embayment, we had a stunning view of the water and marina. We had a spacious suite including a full kitchen, living room and dining room, as well as a spacious bedroom and bathroom. There was also an additional bathroom and bedroom in our unit, but because we didn't pay for a two bedroom unit, the bathroom and bedroom were locked so we couldn't go inside!

Unit bedroom.

Unit kitchen.

Being close to the water gave us an opportunity to play in the water! We took out a sea kayak one afternoon, and tried stand-up paddle boarding on a second afternoon. We also enjoyed the infinity pool in the resort (which was SUPER cold), and the hot tub.

In order to keep in shape for the upcoming Seawheeze, Tom and I made several attempts to run in the nearby community of Madeira Park. Unfortunately, the community doesn't have much of a sidewalk, and running along the highway was a bit daunting. As an alternative, Tom and I investigated the Skookumchuck Narrows trail. We ran this trail twice-- once in the evening so we could see the tide pouring into the narrows, and once in the afternoon so we could see the water rushing out. The trail was approximately 7-8km round trip, and provided a good variety of elevation change and scenery. 

Tide flowing into Skookumchuck Narrows.

On our way back to the car on our last trail run, I thanked a couple of ladies who moved to the side of the path for me. As I passed, one of the ladies yelled, "SHOW OFF!" at me! In another instance in one of our earlier runs near town, and old man slow clapped for me as I run by, and hollered, "Way to to go, Miss!" I had to laugh-- there was no other way to respond!

By far, the best part of the BC is the fresh fruit. Tom and I gorged ourselves on fresh peaches and nectarines every morning and afternoon. By the time our last day arrived, we had soaked in a mass amount of sunshine and Vitamin C, and were ready to head into Vancouver.

Next up, the SeaWheeze!

Kelowna & Newlyweds

I can barely remember the last time I was in Kelowna. I know I've been there before-- I remember talking about the Ogopogo, and I remember a white and blue castle on a mini golf course (which is STILL THERE). But it has been a long, long time, and I have never experienced it as an adult.

Sun setting over the Okanagan.

On Sunday I caught a morning flight to Kelowna where I was picked up by Jill. Each of us (Jill, Jasmine, Paige and I) had made our way into British Columbia so we could partake in the wedding festivities of Mallary and Colm.

The wedding took place at the lovely Summerhill Pyramid Organic Winery. There were around fifty guests in attendance, and the ceremony was held on a second floor open-air balcony/patio. There was a second wedding occurring at the ground floor of the winery, and we watched the guests sitting in the blazing sun, slowly melting... So we couldn't help by be a bit smug on the shaded patio. We were able to enjoy the ceremony in comfort!

Beautiful bride Mallary, and new husband, Colm.

While the newly-weds powered through photos (seriously, they POWERED THROUGH their photo session), we gobbled down delicious appetizers, and sampled various wines from the vineyard. We were all feeling pretty good by the time the bride and groom rejoined us.

Wood wine rack. 

Now, if you know Mallary even a little bit, then you know she's a bit of a foodie, so we had high expectations for dinner. We started with a deconstructed caesar salad, followed by braised short rib on a bed of vegetables, followed by a rhubarb berry crumble with vanilla bean gelato. Dinner and dessert was fantastic!

Deconstructed caesar salad.

Dinner was followed by your typical wedding traditions. Speeches from the families and wedding parties, first dances, cake cutting, and a whole lot of good times! The venue didn't seem particularly pleased with the music on (at one point, they told the DJ that someone "might call the RCMP on them"), and they turned the music off at exactly 12:01am (they meant business). But it didn't matter, we helped Mallary and Colm celebrate their marriage in style.

Jasmine, Jill, Mallary, Paige and I.

 Mallary and Colm-- Congratulations!

There's No Place Like Home

It has now been six-weeks since the flood, and we are finally, FINALLY, home!

 

Home sweet home, it is!

 

Things are not entirely back to normal. The gas line to our BBQ is still turned off, and the parkades remain inaccessible. The streets in the community are packed with several hundred extra cars that would normal be tucked away in the parkade.

 

But we have hot water and electricity, and most importantly, are sleeping in our own bed! Never take for granted the comfort of your own bed.

 

I will not miss the excessive heat in our rental condo, the non-draining sink, the cupboard knobs that seemed to pop off their screws on a daily basis, the giant hole in the closet door, or the never ending clouds of cat hair that rose from every nook and cranny in the place-- no matter how many times we vacuumed!

 

HOWEVER, I will miss the proximity to Ashley and Andrew, the quick walk to the train station to get to work, and the truly spectacular sunsets.

 

Home sweet sweet home.

Conflicting Reports

After hearing we could be out of our condo for another eight weeks, Tom and I decided to look into alternate accommodations. I spammed some property owners on Rentfaster.ca, and found a couple who was willing to rent their condo to us on a short-term basis. We moved in on Wednesday.

So... Imagine our surprise when we received an e-mail from our condo property manager on Friday night, saying, the "City has relaxed the occupancy regulations to allow you to return while the repairs are taking place.  This occupancy is conditional, once all of the repairs are complete and inspected unconditional occupancy will be given."

The e-mail goes on to say that at this time, tap water is not potable, and drinking bottled water is recommended. There is no hot water or gas, and only partial electricity. No timeline was given for when those services would be restored.

My first instinct is to wonder-- why would anyone want to live in their condo when they can't shower, cook or drink water? The parkades continue to be completely off-limits to residents, which means the ~500 units of residents will have to find street parking if they want to live in their condo. Street parking was already a problem for our building, and that was with 500 stalls in the parkade. I can barely imagine what a nightmare it will be!

Last night we received a second e-mail staying that hot water will be restored by Sunday, and electricity can be requested unit-by-unit to be turned back on.

We will be attending a townhall for the condo buildings on Monday evening, which will hopefully clear up the many questions remaining.

In the meantime, I am not sure if I should be happy or not. Had we known turnaround would be this quick, we certainly wouldn't have tracked down a rental condo. Now we find ourselves wondering how soon we can get home, what life will be like in a condo under active construction, and how our new landlords will feel about us leaving so quickly. 

Wish me luck!

The Next Eight Weeks

The last two and a half weeks since the flood have been trying, to say the least. But Tom and I have been lucky in that we have an awesome support network of friends and family who have been willing to open their homes to us.

On Thursday night, our condo board updated their website, stating that, "Although a definitive timeline can not be given at this time, it is safe to assume at least two months of remediation and repairs before residents can return home."

Apparently all mechanical systems that were housed below grade were destroyed in the flood. I don't know what specific mechanical systems those include, but it doesn't sound good.

If you had asked me 17 days ago, on the night we were evacuated, if I thought we were going to be out of our home for upwards of 10 weeks, I would have told you you were crazy!

On the positive side, we're in much better shape than many other Albertans. All of our possessions are still intact, and we are now on the hunt for somewhere to rent for a few months. Things could definitely be a lot worse.

Waterton and Goat Lake Hike

On the June 14-16th weekend, Tom, my friends and I headed south for our annual Waterton trip.

Waterton National Park.

Initially, our reason for the trip was to attempt to hike Crypt Lake, a scenic 17km trail that takes you past waterfalls, lakes, meadows and through a mountain. Unfortunately, the snow pack was too high on the trail, and we did not want to face avalanche warning and use ice axes! Instead, we opted to hike to Goat Lake.

Although we didn't see much wildlife (or any goats) on our trek, the weather was absolutely perfect for hiking. It was about 15 degrees and overcast-- cool enough for exerting yourself, with no pounding sun to overheat you!

Wildflowers were in full bloom, with a colourful array along the trail.

Wildflowers in bloom.

Indian paintbrush.

The first 5km of the trail were easy-- a slight incline along a wide ATV trail. We covered the distance quickly in about an hour. We saw a big brown rabbit with white feet, and some sort of bird-- possibly a grouse. When we reached the Goat Lake junction, the trail quickly changed to about 2.5km of intense incline. There were some pretty interesting rock formations exposed along the way, which, as you can imagine, impeded the progress of two geologists and two geophysicists.

Tom, myself, Jill and Jeff studying rocks.

Tom and I taking a break from our upward trek.

As we reached our highest elevation, we passed a scenic waterfall. Although about 90% of the trail was clear, there were large patches of snow as we approached Goat Lake.

Waterfall.

Goat Lake.

Goat Lake was teeming with fish which we could clearly see in the clear water. They were are all pretty little, but actively jumping and swimming around. Goat Lake has a backcountry campsite on it's shores, so we stopped in one of the sites to have our lunch. Of course, this also gave me an opportunity to re-adjust the various bandages and moleskin plastered all over my feet to keep blisters at bay.

Me re-bandaging my feet!

As we headed back, we took in the panoramic view.

Group shot.

And even saw a butterfly or two on our way back down.

Butterfly (or moth?)

Then we headed back to the cabin to rejoin Ashley, Steve and Gill for a Mexican dinner in Twin Butte.

Ashley and Steve enjoying the sun.

As always, good times had by all.

I think we'll try to hike Crypt Lake again later in the summer!