2014 SeaWheeze & Vancouver: Take Me Back!

I‘m home from Vancouver and am so excited to share some highlights and pictures from my time away. Vancouver is a truly amazing city and lululemon did an incredible job on putting on the most impressive half marathon I have ever run in and I have run in a lot of half marathons over the course of the past 9 years! So here’s the run down of our trip! 

Getting There….

The downside to traveling to Vancouver is that it takes a LONG time to get there from Boston. My hubby and I left Boston on a 6:40am flight to Toronto and then connected from there to Vancouver. We arrived at our hotel around 1:30pm Canada time which is 4:30pm Boston time.

Grandville Island

Once we were settled into our hotel, we took off to explore the city. The weather was perfect, just around 65 degrees with no humidity. We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel which is right downtown and a very convenient walk to most places throughout the city. We walked around Robson street where most of the shops are (including the new location for lululemon) and then headed to Grandville Island.

We took the Aquabus which is quick 5 minute scenic boat ride. This island was perfect for what we wanted. It had a farmer’s market with fresh produce, fish and food, great restaurants including the Grandville Island Brewery (which scored points with the hubby) and just had the most spectular views. So relaxing! It was the perfect way to start our vacation.

We ended up walking around, tasting some samples of beer at the Grandville Island Brewery and then getting fresh sushi and eating it on the dock to watch the sunset. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Let the SeaWheeze Festivities Begin!

6:15am the next morning, my hubby and I were up and ready to go. That’s the great thing about being on Boston time (it’s 9:15am), getting up early was actually easy. We headed to the Vancouver Convention Center where the SeaWheeze activities were taking place. Our day entailed:

• Picking up our race packets
  
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• Admiring the sunrise/view
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• Getting a SeaWheeze tattoo
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• Getting a massage (YES!)
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• Eating a great pancake breakfast
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• Shopping at the SeaWheeze store
• Noon yoga practice!
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• Ambassador picnic & bike ride of the SeaWheeze route
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• More sushi picnic style, this time in a park near our hotel

SeaWheeze Half Marathon

Another early start, this time 5:30am, but my hubby and I were ready to rock and roll. With some water, banana and tea/coffee, we walked down to the starting line. 25 minutes later we were settled in at the starting line and ready to rock it out. We positioned ourselves between the 1:50 and 1:55 pace groups, with our target pace of being under 1:53 minutes which was a stretch for us but we were ready for it.

AND ready for it we were! The course was unbelievable. Running around the seawall and through the city of Vancouver was not only flat but so beautiful. We enjoyed every step even though we pushed our pace right from the beginning.

One of my favorite moments is around mile 10 along the seawall when I “ran” into another Team Fox marathon runner. She recently moved to Vancouver and had run the past 2 New York City marathons for Team Fox. It was so touching to hear her story of how she got connected to the organization. It’s amazing how no matter how far away you are from home, your community is always by your side. That’s the power of running for you 🙂

After talking with her, I felt even more inspired to run faster and that we did. My hubby and I finished in 1:52:23! Our personal record! 9 years of running and training! The finishing time was not only awesome but lululemon provided cool medals and great hats and saje wellness sprayed us down with essential oils to help with inflammation and also provided us with some samples. We even got a waffle breakfast with blueberry topping. My favorite!

Let the Celebrations Begin!

After our race detox, we went back to the hotel to rest and shower. A couple hours later, we were ready to retox. We went to the Tap and Barrel right by the Vancouver Convention Center and enjoyed some post-race beers. We had great food and great conversation with a local canadian couple who were seated next to us. We then topped it off with Gelato!

Sunset Yoga Festival

Run.Yoga.Party pretty much sums it up! After a little bit more resting, we headed to Stanley Park for the Sunset Yoga Festival festivities. We blissed out to some yoga and then rocked out to the Colourist and Capitol Cities. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Whistler Here We Come!

The next morning we rented a car and headed to Whistler. Our adventures in Whistler included the Peak 2 Peak Gondola ride, Paddleboarding on Lake Nita at our hotel and dinner and breakfast right on the lake. I highly recommend the Peak 2 Peak Gondola ride. Very scary but in an awesome way. Nothing beats the views and being surrounded by nature in the mountains!

The Nita Lodge is also a great place to stay. Great rooms and such a great location on the lake. They also provide free Paddleboards, canoes, kayaks and fishing gear.

We’re Back in Vancouver

After one final stroll through Whistler Village, we headed by to Vancouver early afternoon. We checked into our next hotel and then headed to the Athlete’s Village to grab some drinks and food at Craft Beer Market. It was my hubby’s birthday so it was important to make craft beer a focus for the celebrations 🙂 The restaurant was awesome with a great selection of beers and really great bar food. After we feasted and tasted some brews, we got back on the Aquabus while the sun was setting. We made our way to Sunset beach and took in our last night in Vancouver.

Goodbye Vancouver (sad face)

Early the next morning, we began our journey back to Boston. First flying to Montreal and then to Boston. I have to admit that usually at this point in the vacation I feel ready to come home, but I was ready to stay another week. I really loved the city and our time there that much! I’m so grateful for this experience to explore, to set new personal records and to spend time celebrating and hanging with my love! A big thank you to lululemon for putting together amazing events that we will always remember! NAMASTE!