a hundred miles and runnin...

Well not quite...try 10K!

Yesterday was the annaul Vancouver Sun Run, an event that is coveted and well-known in the running community of Vancouver and across the country. (For the non-locals, the Vancouver Sun is the major newspaper, equivalent to TorStar, and is the major sponser of the run) I, personally, had never heard of it before moving out here a few years ago, and was caught off guard one day when I tried to do a little spring-shopping and realized there was not one open street, bridge or sidewalk that would get me to the small but vibrant downtown core.

This year, an overzealous colleague took it upon herself to enrol our firm as a "corporate team". So I joined. Why not? I hike, I jog a bit, I walk my puppy alot, I can do this! Back in January when I signed up I thought: This will be GREAT! It'll be perfect time for me to get into shape for summer where I'll SURELY be hiking up mountains and attacking switch-back after switch-back.

Eagerly, I keyed in my personal user and password information, printed off the 10K route that I'd have down pat by the time race day comes, and posted a running training chart on my wall that I found on-line, thanks to my boss. (Yeah, he ran a marathon once and nearly died. Should have been my first clue.)

There it was, all the information I needed to get into shape. To welcome spring with gusto! And some super cut quads to boot! And there it was, tacked to my bulletin bored, with one checkmark beside Week 1.
Mon Walk and Xtrain.
Tues Run 20-25 minutes.
Wed. Walk or Xtrain.
Thurs Run 20-25 min.
Fri walk or Xtrain.
Sat OFF!!!!!
Sunday 2 mile. 2 MILES?? Fuck this! I'm hung to the tits!

The digressing and procrastinating grew with every week that past. I became so immune to the chart on my bulletin board that I began to tac other odd reminders and industry-buzz facts over top. It became an inspirational failure. By March, the orange highlighter that I had so eagerly traced over the course to keep me enthused, had faded.

"April 2006 Sun Run!" now read "A l 06 su un ."

Last Monday, the dreaded email popped up in my inbox - "Hey Guys!! The Sun Run is nearly here! Get your last week of training in, don't pull a muscle, see you on the course 8:30 Sunday April 24!"

Oh I'm so Fucked! Can I possibly use the excuse My Dog Ate My Running Shoe? This was true, sadly, I had recently come home to see one of my Saucony's in his mouth, with the entire heel shredded around him, but I couldn't bail out like that! That's so WEAK!

Tuesday night, I dragged my ass down to the local Coast Mountain Sports, bought a new pair of Asics, and thought screw it, I'll walk!

All day Friday the emails buzzed across through my inbox, planning start times, end times and meeting times, and one-by-one, people began to drop out. "Sorry guys, I'm sick, won't be there Sunday...good luck!" "Hey ALL - Might have a date Saturday, just in case, I won't be there" The more I read, the better I felt, I have a new pair of runners and a wining smile, I'm gonna kick some ASS!

Friday night - shared a pitcher with my husband over a plate of greasy Dirty-Bird. Couldn't resist! An old Ontario fav that we cling to!

Saturday monring - Took dog to beach, thought about going for a quick jog, cleaned house instead.

Saturday night - had a glass of wine with dinner, okay fine, 2! Went to bed with a knot in my stomache, not too sure if it was the food or the nerves.

Sunday morning - 6:15am - Race Day!

Woke up feeling scared and excited. You know the feeling. You're gonna barf and hiccup and laugh all at the same time? Right. I had suddenly realized that I wouldn't be the only person running this damn thing! A record 50,000 people were expected to gather on West Georgia Street to run this race. Race!? I'm being timed? ALL these thoughts flooded over me as I showered, put on my gear and ran out the door with an apple in my mouth, and a hip sack with cell phone, just in case I didn't make it! "Good Luck babe - I'm proud of you!" said the Huzb as I headed towards the door - "Thanks...I'm gonna fucking die!"

Got to the office, hooked up with my colleagues and the three of us, the last ones standing, headed towards the start line. "Well, one of them said, "at least this way we'll all have a place on the podium". Right. I thought, I'll be laid out and you two will have to carry my sorry ass, but whatever.

The anticipation in the crowd was exciting to me. And if you know me you're thinking 'holy SHIT you've changed' as there was once a time when i could barely go on the subway let alone deal with crowds of this mass. We were to start in packs (thank god someone thought of that, I mean can you imagine 50,000 people all running at the same time?) and had to wait about an hour for our moment of glory to begin as we ran past the start line and took off for our run.

As we started past the finish line, I was elated to feel how fresh and energized I felt. The sun was shining, I was running alongside to work pals, and the scnery around us was breathtaking. Nothing like a backdrop of mountains and glistening snowpeaks to get you in the moment. Before I knew it we were 3km in, had passed throught the outskirts of Stanley Park and heading towards Beach Ave where we would run along the sea line until we reached Burrard Bridge! We're half-way there already? Holy shit! I need water! This is amazing! I'm so happy I'm feeling great! (clearly the endorphins were kicking in hard, I felt like I'd just flipped an e!)

Luckily, I really needed to pee, or I totally would have overexerted myself, I mean you don't just pick up and run 10K without any TRAINING do you?! So, we decided to pull back and slow down. The sun was really starting to beat down, we were thirsty and I did I mention I really needed to PEE?!

We speed-walked a good portion of the last half and ran the last Km into the stadium. Total Chariots of Fire moment here people, we looked like SUCH losers, arms up in the air, running full speed, mouths wide open with ear to ear smiles, what a moment! (Thank god for fresh air - talk about oxygen deprived!) High-fives and Hugs all around...We Did It!!!! Let's EAT!!!!!

Monday morning: Quads are locked. High-heels aren't helping. Need Advil Extra-Strength. Abs hurt. Hips stiff. Wondered slowly into kitchen at work to pour coffee and checked out the front cover of the Vancouver Sun. Vancouver Sun Run 2006 - See results inside!

Quickly, I scanned the thousands of alphabetized names to find my time:

92 minutes, 52 seconds.

Not bad, for the first run of the season!