Part I: Reuniting With Friends In Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver at night
Chip and I were overcome with joy to be heading to Canada...and for many reasons! First, we've always wanted to explore Canada. We thought it was a little odd to be saying we were from the US but had never actually step foot into Canada (driving across the border when you're 19 to get booze doesn't count. And neither does seeing Niagara Falls from the Canadian side). Second, we wanted to run the half marathon in Vancouver. Third, and most exciting, we were reuniting with our awesome friends that we met a year earlier in New Zealand. There is Nick and Erika, our Canadian roommates that lived with us in Queenstown, and the Kennedy's, our favorite family of 5 who welcomed us while living in their home country. The plan for the trip was to all meet up in Vancouver, run either the half or full marathon (Jeff was the only one who had the guts to run the full), and then take off via mini-van with the Kennedy's for a week-long road trip from Vancouver to Whistler then Kamloops to Banff.
Approaching Vancouver by plane, we were immediately blown away at how beautiful (and very GREEN) the city was. The sun was setting, the sky was shades of pink, orange and yellow, the water glistened around lush islands, the mountains were topped with snow and the city illuminated with lights. What a welcome!
Although we arrived after 9pm, we quickly jumped on the train that dropped us off a few blocks from the Marriott downtown, and called the Kennedy's, who were staying only a few streets down. We briskly walked to their hotel, knocked on their door (then said "housekeeping"), and opened to see the beautiful family of 5 standing on the other side. The coolest part about meeting up with them again was it felt like we were just picking up where we left off a year ago. That's when you know you've made good friends.
We only stayed long enough to briefly catch up, hug, sort out details for the next day, and happily accept some New Zealand presents that I had been craving since leaving a year ago (Continental Soup...to die for, Whitakers Chocolate, and pineapple taffy dipped in chocolate). My mouth is watering just thinking about that soup.
The next morning was dedicated to picking up our race packets and successfully cleaning house on all the free loot at the Expo. In addition, we finally reunited with Nick and Erika, our old roomies! After the Expo, we hightailed it to Lululemon to purchase some sexy athletic gear, then to Erika's friend's house for a BBQ. It was so great to be hanging out with a cold drink in one hand, a veggie and meat-filled skewer in the other, and big ol' grins on all our faces.
After the BBQ, we headed via the Sea Bus (which I thought they meant the C-bus and arriving at the waterfront left me confused for a few seconds...wait, where is the bus??) back to Vancouver at sunset. We carbo-loaded on pasta and bread one last time and hit the sack early.
Rise and shine...5am came way too early. We seem to always say this...but why do we sign up for these races?! Can't the race directors EVER start a race after 10am? Or what about a sunset race...wouldn't that be fun? With weeks (then hours) leading up to the half marathon, Chip and I teeter-tottered on even running it. My longest run had been 6 miles and that was 2 1/2 months ago. I ran once in Vietnam (4 miles) and I was there for 18 days. It seemed like it was going to be a dismal race for the both of us. But the Canadian anthem was being projected from the loudspeakers and there we stood, cramming a cliff bar into our mouths and preparing our Ipod for 2 hours of playtime.
The gun went off and Nick, Chip and I began jogging our way through the streets of Vancouver with 10,000 other half marathon runners. It was slow going at first so Nick and Chip entertained other joggers by speed walking (have you seen a speed walker? Hilarious!). But the first 3 miles were downhill and we felt energized. We all split up around mile 5 and surprisingly, I was feeling pretty good. The community that came out and cheered for us was enough to get me through even the hardest miles. I would literally get tingles because I was so amped up. After cruising through town, mile 7ish sent us running through the lovely Stanley Park for the next 3-4 miles. I felt like I was getting a grand tour of Vancouver. Chip caught up with me somewhere in there (he paused for an impromptu bathroom break) and we stopped briefly at mile 10 to say hello to Rachel and the girls. Then there were only a few more race cameramen to flash peace signs at and Chip and I were rounding the corner to the finish line. Yeah, we were tired and sore but dang, it felt good! No, it felt great! Not long after, Jeff came sprinting (okay, maybe light-jogging) through the marathon finish line. We were so proud of him! He snagged his medal and crashed onto a pile of cardboard. We spent the next 30 minutes fanning him, pouring water in his mouth and feeding him salty chips.
Once we found the strength to get on our feet again, we retreated to our hotel rooms for showers and a nap. Then in the afternoon we continued our city tour by hobbling to and relaxing at Kitsilano Beach. The water was freezing but felt refreshing on our sore legs. We summed up our day at a wonderful one-of-a-kind restaurant in Vancouver called The Naam. Sadly, after our dinner we had to say adios to Nick and Erika. They were heading south to New York for the summer and we were heading north to Whistler. Two days went fast but it was so great to catch up.
Our remaining day in Vancouver was spent sleeping in then visiting Granville Island, a small peninsula off of the downtown area. We checked out the public market and listened to a little live music while taste-testing some sushi and ice cream. The boys picked us up in our sexy mini-van which marked the official start to our road trip around Canada. With Vancouver in our rear view mirrors, we headed north to the cozy ski village of Whistler.
Thanks for checking us out :)
Linds and Chip
