Yes, I did!
A fortnight after the finale of the Times Colonist Health Challenge, there's this little thing called the TC10K. This race in particular is the reason my Wednesday nights have involved power walking with the Crystal Fools, and I was sure...certain even...that participants in the Health Challenge would be forced to participate. We weren't. So, I embraced my new lifestyle and the free pass that Shannon had given me via email and signed myself, as well as my parents, up for the walk. My darling husband, Stéphane, had already enrolled as part of his company's (Genivar) team in the competitive walking section. If you've ever seen Stéffi on the treadmill at the Crystal Pool, you'll know why he's not in the pleasure category...the man is a machine!
So, what do you do the night before the big race? Well, in most cases you would eat a good dinner, drink lots of water and go to bed early. But not us, we had a birthday barbecue planned. We were only supposed to stop in for a quick hello and a couple of drinks...and doesn't this always happen? We stayed until 1 AM or something...where'd the time go? Oh, I remember, we started to have fun talking to everyone at Ron's celebration that we kept bumping up our cut-off time. Haha...and believe me, we paid for it the next day.
5:30 AM - Wake-up, Ninja!
Up at the butt-crack of dawn after too little sleep...I got into the shower to wake myself up. Threw on my stretchy clothing, and, slapped on some mascara, and put my hair in ponytails. Stéphane did much the same...well, he had a shower...I think. We both ate our respective race breakfasts and waited for the arrival of my folks. The thing is...parking would have been killer downtown as many streets were blocked off, so we decided to meet at the loft and then walk to the starting line from there...a mere 2 kilometres away. What were we thinking?
7AM - Leave the Shimmy Shack.
7:30 AM - Crystal Fools warm-up in Thunderbird Park. Yes, we did a mambo...Number 5, in fact...and there's video to prove it. Everyone was raring to go, but a special few fools congratulated me on being the most improved person to have done the Health Challenge. Thank you, guys. xoxox
7:45 AM - Muster in start area - Stéffi takes off to his place (the competitive hour and a halfers) and I have decided, in my infinite wisdom, that it'll take me and the folks at least 2 hours to complete the course...so mom, dad, and myself are hangin' with the stroller drivers and octogenarians. Perhaps, I should have chosen differently? We'll see. Live and learn.
8AM - The elite runners cross the start line...and the rest of us follow!
8:10ish - We cross the start line...and there stands Shannon (of the TC) ringing her cowbell furiously! I gotta have MORE COWBELL! She cheers us on...and we're on our way towards Johnson. Moving slowly at first, it's hard to navigate in a crowd of 13,000, but we managed to reach our stride.
On Johnson...we encountered THE BEST signs in front of Body Dynamics (encouraging the racers)...these were some of my favourites:
GO, RANDOM STRANGER! GO!
WORST CROWD EVER! (because there were only about 10 people standing there..haha)
WHY DO ALL THE CUTE ONES RUN AWAY?
ARE YOU TIRED...BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN RUNNING THROUGH MY MIND ALL DAY!
WHAT KIND OF A PARADE IS THIS?
On Johnson Street we reached the 1K sign, and I thought...wow, 9 more of these to go. Better get a move on. This is how it works for me, generally I take quite a while to get started...but in this case I knew I wasn't walking as fast as I had when I was with my Crystal Fool buddies. Mom and dad are fast walkers, but I was just caught up in the excitement of it all...there were tones of people around and I was even slowing down to take pictures! Haha...
When we hit Vancouver, a very special thing happened to me...a lovely curvy girl came up to me, and asked me if I was the girl from the Times Colonist Health Challenge. I answered yes, of course, and she proceded to tell me that I had inspired her to get fit and healthy. I'm only on kilometre 2 and I'm crying like a baby...this is not a good sign.
The entire time I was racing, I was also listening to my super workout playlist in one ear...I find it next to impossible to exercise without tunes...but in this case, I found in next to impossible to hear what my parents were saying with music being piped into one ear. Haha...sorry guys! The weather was just perfect as were the cherry blossoms through Fairfield. And then the water station...where I could have downed about 7 times the amount I was handed, that's why I brought some with me in my giant spiky backpack.
Along the route, there were bands set up to entertain us and volunteers a plenty...as a Crystal Fool, I intended to run up and hug a volunteer and thank them, but I completely forgot. Sad face. One thing I did get to do was help a blind woman "see" my backpack. As we pressed on against the heavy and chilly wind on Dallas Road a group from Pearson College were guiding a blind racer. Apparently, the guide had been describing my backpack, and so asked if the blind woman could touch it...of course! My grey, snake-skin, spiky packsack constantly sparks conversation on buses, in rec centres, and in general...so, I wasn't surprised when its spikes acted as descriptive braille. And, wow...walking a 10K without sight, THAT is inspiring.
We walked, walked, walked and walked along the water until we hit the curve around Fisherman's Warf and past the park. Nearly there, nearly there! Random spectators cheering us on and telling us to push harder...so I burst into a jog. What? Yes, I did. My mom and dad were still with me...walking strong...and my backpack was flapping around wildly, so I decided to break back into a walk, but before hitting the straight away to the finish line I told my parents that if they crossed over first, I would kill them. Bad daughter. And, in the excitement of it all I ran the last 10 feet and jumped over the finish line. I even heard the announcer say, "And here comes Suzie Spitfyre!"
Around 1 hour and 59 minutes after the very first person crossed over the starting line in the TC10K - I finished the race, me..the fat chick...I just walked 10K! And in 1 hour and 49 minutes, according to RaceDayTimer.com.
So now what? I'm happy and sweaty and hungry! Stéphane runs up and hugs me shortly after I finish. He speed walked the race in 1 hour and 24 minutes, I'm so proud of him and my parents...and of myself. And, so is he...he tells me so as we embrace. Just after the finish line, there are juice boxes (juice punches...and I don't usually drink my calories, unless the fruit juice is gape, and those grapes are fermented), full fat yogourt (and I prefer fat-free, thank you very much), and several types of cookies (Really? Okay, not everyone is as strict with their food as me). I had the lesser of 3 evils...punch...because Ferris' Oyster Bar & Grill beckoned with après race brunch. And by brunch, I mean oysters, and by oysters I mean raw, and by beckoned I mean I heard a champagne cocktail call my name. Huge thank yous to the movers and shakers behind the scenes at Ferris' because they bent the rules and got me something that wasn't on the menu until 11:30 AM...well done, seasoned professionals, well done! It just go to show that if you go somewhere and habitually order the world's most amazing deep fried oyster burger and fries with a mayo sampler for years and years, they might just make an exception, if you're really nice. The experience was great, not only did we get the extremely intimate and dark booth at the back (which I now fit into quite comfortably), but the food was superb...if I were going to order brunch, may I recommend the Louisiana inspired poached eggs with chorizo on red beans and rice, it smelled deeelish! And I know the 3 other parties at the table thoroughly enjoyed it. Please tip your server generously. The buzz in the restaurant was decidedly 10K. All the diners in our section had run the course, and were excited, loud, and content...like us.
22 Days Later - Here I am writing about this experience, and I'm so sorry not to have done so before...because what an amazing day it was. Now I fear I have forgotten so many details. Argh! Such is life! It gets in the way of true documentation. Please kick my ass, dear reader! Haha...
A few weeks ago, I was asked to write an article for the Times Colonist's Healthy Living Magazine...exciting...and the only parameter was that the magazine was centred on outdoor living. With all the sunshine we'd been having, and the fact that I'm stuck in a gym for workouts around 8 times a week, I thought I'd explore the subject of being active in nature. You don't have to be a ninja-in-training to do it, you don't need specialised shoes or clothing, and you don't even need any money, all you need is a sense of adventure and a fabulous cityscape to get the job done. Here are my thoughts on getting out more.
Exercise
in the morning before your brain figures out what your body is doing
- that has pretty much been my mantra for the last couple of years.
As much as I love Crystal Pool & Fitness Centring, there's
something to be said for playing outdoors. It keeps things
interesting, it's great for mind and body, it's free, it's fun, and
it's nearly impossible to find an excuse as to why you can't fit a
little bit of nature into your day. So, when's the last time you
tried swinging on the monkey bars in Central Park or wandered through
the rose garden at Beacon Hill? When did you last take the scenic
route in something other than a car?
Walking
or running around town gives you an entirely new perspective on where
you live. Go on, really listen to the music being pumped through the
Gates of Harmonious Interest, search out the sculpted bronze Hands of
Time - first a filigree fan, then the last spike, binoculars - can
you find all 12? Take advantage of pedestrian-only pathways, sneak
by Fisherman's Wharf on your way to taste the sea salty air as it
whips around you on the breakwater, wave at cruise ship tourists then
visit Emily Carr and other residents of Ross Bay Cemetery. Who says
exercise has to be a chore - hours of gym time logged under
fluorescent lights? I say, get out, and increase feelings of
well-being, activate your brain, stimulate your senses, raise your
serotonin levels, fill you lungs with oxygen, and get some vitamin D.
Hop
on a bike and take a spin around the Inner Harbour, Dallas Road,
really see where you live, follow the coastline, climb up that hill
by the old observatory, catch your breath and then lose it again at
the viewpoint as you look out over the Strait of Juan de Fuca towards
the Olympic Mountains. Pedal your way through Victoria Golf Course,
keep going until Oak Bay Marina, buy some bait, feed a seal, don't
stop until you've immersed your feet in the frigid waters off of
white, sandy Willows Beach, then take a different route back,
explore. Healthy living is loving what you do in life, don't you
dare get bored.
All
this spring weather and unbelievable sunrises have got me thinking
that I should venture outside with my yoga mat to salute the sun as
it illuminates this amazing city. It may be that I need to lay off
Googling fitspiration pictures of fancy asanas in fabulous places or
it may be that I need a bit more fitness freedom. Time to think
outside the gym, get active, and smell the roses simultaneously.
There are no rules, you don't have to get up super early or even come
home when the street lights turn on, just take your time, enjoy, and
play in gratitude. There's no place like OM.
