At first, I kind of ignored the St. Patrick’s 5K Run (sorry, TJ) but I registered after talking to Chui and learned that I could get a deep “Staff” discount :D. Oh, and it being a Saturday race meant I didn’t have to sacrifice a long (16K) Sunday run! Important factors, you know. ;)
The race headquarters were at Brockton Clubhouse in Stanley Park that has a non-descript ground floor and an English-style pub upstairs. People were milling about in costumes and music was blasting that it …

I had a typical night-before-the-race sleep with what I’m pretty sure was a dream. I “awoke” at 3:26 a.m. to a loud pop that made me freeze in my bed. You know what I thought it was. I waited for flashing red and blue siren lights to stream through my window but it never came. I figured that the safest point of my apartment was in my bed although I considered crawling along the floor to the window to peep out. Then I drifted …

(Day-long workshops on Monday and Tuesday really wiped me out especially when the weekend was also very tiring. That’s why this recap is late in coming.)
At the end of Saturday, I sighed because it felt good to warm my insides with eggnog latte and I glanced at the collection of Starbucks’ “The Way I See It” quotes on our coffee cups. I sat up straight when I noticed that mine was Quote #263, which just happened to be my relay team’s identifying number! Not only that, our …

It has been such an eventful long weekend it’s difficult to wrap my head around getting back to real life. With that, I’ll just tell you about marathon weekend and my first trip to Kelowna!
The drive and hotel
After coming to this region just a few weeks ago, I have to say I preferred the drive this time around. The Coquihalla Highway has beautiful stretches made more beautiful by the turning autumn leaves. The colour red was relatively absent compared to the shocking and long patches …

Happy Canada Day weekend! Happy Free Agent Frenzy! Happy weekend, indeed! =D
Though race package pick-up started on Thursday, I didn’t get around to going to the mall until Saturday. I ran there, actually, and walked around swanky Oakridge Mall in running gear, to the horror of NPY who wasn’t with me at the time.
For all those interested, I logged the contents of my goody bag and they included…* A less tailored (read more polyester) but still tomato red race shirt. They had run …

(Alternatively, “The Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon 2007 recap.”)
And I won!!
Oops, let’s start at the beginning….
* Having slept around 11:30, it was moderately easy to wake at 4:45AM, head out, and arrive at UBC by 6:30. Got the routine down pat, you know, water bottles ready, what to eat, timing chip already on my right shoe. I don’t, however, sleep in the shirt I will race in.* We had to wait for everything. Wait in a winding queue to store our gear. Wait and anxiously watch …

I am such a fraud….
Okay, back-track just a bit.
On a glorious Friday evening, I brought NPY to the Vancouver Marathon “Urban Lifestyle” expo at the Westin Bayshore. There was much fanfare — like, “Celebrate your training” — which is the reason why I keep getting sucked back into it all. We saw three people from clinic activities – I felt so popular, you know? =P I was looking forward to walking from booth to booth to peruse the big honkin’ finisher medals they give …

Vancouver Sun Run 2007 Originally uploaded by kk+.
(Updated with complete official results.)
This year, I had the most company I’ve had at the start line! It was also the coldest start in my memory of Sun Runs. Burrrrrr…..!
This year was special because NPY – definitely not a runner – was coerced to come along. After predictably waiting 30 minutes until our wave started, we started running with him trotting alongside of me, carefully counting the blocks then ducking …

So I teased the hockey-loving Boy about how First Half half-marathon swag slaps a #1 on you (on the shirt and the medal) no matter how you place. And doesn’t his beloved (and so adorable-looking) Roberto Luongo also sport the #1??
Anyways, even a few days after the fact, I’m not remotely coherent about recapping Sunday’s race but will try my best in point-form….

The race is very intimate. With only 2,000 runners, there was fortunately only a limited extent and duration of road closures.
It doesn’t take a …

In all its glory, this is what happened before, during, and after my very first marathon ever….
Pre-race
Despite using my watch without problems on Saturday morning, I realized in the evening that it had frozen at the screen displaying my godawfully high BMI. I had picked up 3 pacebands earlier in the day for the finishing times of 4:30 (4 hours 30 minutes), 4:45, and 5:00, and wondered how useful they would be when I didn’t have a watch to track my own time!
Before we went to sleep Saturday …