LAST WEEKEND IN FEBRUARY

The countdown is officially on...T-minus 7 days until I am on a plane to New Zealand.

On the weekend I finally tackled a goal I have had for a while now, the big run to Squamish. I went to do this run a while back sometime in 2011 but just wasn't quite into it and turned around at Nelson Creek in Caulfield. I decided that when I would attempt this run again I would start there because the run from North Van to Nelson Creek is pretty boring. Peter dropped me off in the morning and off I went.

I have been seriously lacking some motivation. I am not to sure why but perhaps its a combination of solo training, horrible weather, and just wanting to be doing other things. Yes, believe it or not, I don't ALWAYS want to be running...With that said, I have been pretty good about just getting out there, even if it does take the nudge and support of my partner Peter. Coach Watson has been pretty good at reminding me how much better I will feel if I just get out there and run and he is right about 100% of the time. This weekend, I guess I was in need of a mission, something more than just spending 4 hours running around in the trails I always run around in.



The weather was just stunning- chilly with a near blue bird sky. I was wearing full length tights, a long sleeve shirt, a windbreaker, and gloves. The only thing I took off were the gloves but they went back on several times.

There was a sign early on that said 44km to Squamish. That's a little over a marathon, I thought...perfect! From there I broke it down into 6 mile chunks and each time 6 miles was ticked off it was like little mini victories that got me closer to the finish. It's a great run because you pass by all these little sub sections: Lions Bay, Porteau Cove, Furry Creek, Brittania, and lastly, Shannon Falls and the Chief.

I am not to sure what it was about this run but it was just awesome. Perhaps it's the landscape which just seems to get more and more beautiful as you near Squamish. Maybe it was the fact that I was the only person propelling myself on foot across the Sea to Sky Highway. I didn't even see any road bikers this day, which you often see training for the Whistler Grand Fondo. Nonetheless, I was pretty bliss-ed out the whole time.


(If my run had finished here in Brittania, I would have been eating at this local joint- Mountain Woman).

As far as car traffic goes, I never felt scared or worried about vehicles as the shoulder in most cases is pretty wide. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun adventure. It took me approx. 4 hours to reach downtown Squamish which is way faster than I had anticipated. For some reason I thought it would be more like 6-7 hours but I was wrong. The hills were all very runnable and running the entire thing was no problem.


(Peter and I on the Lions Gate Bridge, the windiest day ever!)

The previous day, Saturday, I woke up a little tired and minorly hung over from quite simply way to much fun the night before. The combination of Raclette and an end of the night jam session was killer. I may have also broke my back trying to attempt the worm.

It was a beautiful day, and we decided to head out for some "Urban Mountain Biking". That's just slang for riding our Mtn Bikes around the city. We started over the lions Gate bridge. I knew there was a wind warning for greater Vancouver but holy crap was it nuts out. We...ok...I...were moving at a snails pace and it was all I could do not to be blown over. I just couldn't stop laughing it was all to hilarious. There was a guy running just ahead of us who was having to hold his hat on his head but perhaps holding the bum flap on his short shorts would have been better.

Next we descended onto the Stanly Park Sea Wall where the waves were just crashing up all over it. It was just nutty! We then proceeded over to Granville Island for some lunch. I always forget how awesome this place is and how I should come over here more often. Yes, it is a busy place but I think that adds to the excitement. After some soup and the best doughnut I have ever sunk my teeth into we crossed the Granville Street Bridge. However, just before we merged off the bridge Peter pulls over and starts yelling something at me. He's telling me to take out my phone and call 911. He saw this guy fall out his window 4 floors down and land on a sub roof. After a few minutes it was evident that he was in fact still alive and breathing but he was not moving.

After a while the paramedics came and low and behold, my good friend Shauna's boyfriend, Josh, was one of them! We watched the entire process. The firefighters came and had to hoist up their ladder onto the sub roof. In the end, he got taken away in the ambulance. I asked Josh the next day what had happened and apparently the guy was just trying to fix his curtain. He was standing on a chair and one of the legs broke and he fell through the glass window. He broke his hip, hand, and maybe his pelvis and had internal bleeding. It just boggles my mind how one minute your fixing your curtain and then the next your in the hospital. I am glad he survived.

We finished off the evening with a little outside boulder session at cypress Falls. I think I bouldered for a combined total of 10 minutes and my obliques are just destroyed. Ha! It hurts to touch.

Alright that's all to report. Time to go do some push-ups and toughen the hell up.