Here comes the Bride....

Can you believe it??? The time is here soon and on this Sunday, July 12th, 2009, I will be hitched!!! Just thinking about it gives me butterflies in my stomach. Ray and I have been planning this Big Day for about 10 months. We got engaged last summer in July and now, we're here getting close to being called husband and wife....aww.

This last month, it has been exhausting especially with work leading up to the last day of work before my one-month holiday started. I was so looking forward to having some time to myself to prepare and plan for the wedding. I can feel the stress or work load off my whole body. Wow...it's an amazing feeling. With my sister and niece visiting from Brunei, I also had the chance to spend some quality time with them. I am truly ecstatic to have them with me on this special day. Love you Sis!!!

These last few days, I had relatives coming in from Edmonton and Oregon, WA to attend my wedding. I tell ya...there were dinners and lunches galore!!!!! We have been going out eating non-stop with them and hmm...I'm not sure at this point if I even want to eat for the next few days...haha. However, it sure makes me happy to see them make the effort to come to see me get married. Thanks guys!!!!

A big Thanks to my family for being there for me and a special thanks to my mom: I love ya for all the mental, spiritual and financial support that you've given me in the last 10 years or so. My dad and my brothers and sisters, what a great relationship bonding and support I have had for all these years!!! Kudos to you all!!!

Last but not least, my warmest thanks to my sweetie, Ray. You've been an awesome partner to me and I really can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you for the days to come....I know, it sounds cheesy :) I definitely mean it from the bottom of my heart. Can't wait to walk down the aisle and see you in that cute tux...haha.

A Quick Getaway

Ray and I had the opportunity to do a small getaway this weekend to see Jim Brickman in concert even though we are in the middle of our wedding plans. It was sure a nice little escape from reality...haha. To top it up, we did some shopping and found some good deals. Great!!!

The concert was at the Kirkland Performance Centre in Kirkland, WA. I have been a longtime fan of Jim Brickman. To see him "live" on stage and to be able to see him play the piano which was only 50 feet away from where we were sitting, it was just an awesome experience. He is such a talented and personal performer. He chatted with the audience with his upbringing of his life from "not so talented" parents that gave him this gift to be an incredible piano player!! He is also a funny guy who joked a lot on stage, making us laugh and giving us a good time. I had an amazing time getting to know him more not just as a performer but also as a person. The only disappointment was that we weren't allowed to take photos and video but we managed to sneak in a few videos of him playing "Peace (where the heart is) and "The Gift". This way, I can keep a memory of this concert that I really enjoyed.

Iron Knee 2009

After a full day of activities the day before, Ray and I with Jeremy were up early this morning at 6am to get ready to head out to the start of the race at Grouse Mountain for Iron Knee 25K. Even though we didn't quite get a lot of sleep the night before, Ray sure seemed pumped up about the race. Of course, let's not forget the sunny and warm weather helped us by giving us a little jolt of energy in the morning.

There were about 230 people that participated in the Iron Knee race. The start is at Grouse and it finishes at Deep Cove. This is Ray's second time doing this race and he set a personal best time of 1:58:31 at 23/222 overall, 20/111 for males and 11/38 in his age group. It is definitely a lot of elite runners that came out and they are indeed very speedy!!!

A "Surprise" Bridal Shower

The "big" day is approaching soon as I only have slightly more than a month left to prepare for this ONE day walking down the aisle. There is sure a lot to do leading up to this day. I don't know why but I thought I was done organizing but not really, things creep up now and then.

So I had a great day celebrating an unexpected and surprising bridal shower on a warm Saturday afternoon. Actually, it wasn't warm, it was more like hot. I was sweating as I was opening up my gifts. I guess I was too excited as I have never seen so many gifts before in my life. I got so many cool and sexy gifts like wine, body wash/lotion, toaster oven, 7-pc comforter and let's not forget the lingerie and a book that talks about"GRRREAT Sex"...haha.

All in all, I was just spoiled with all these amazing gifts from all my close friends and relatives. Thanks everyone for a good surprise and the fun time that we had together!!!

BMO Vancouver Marathon 2009

Another successful race on a gorgeous morning as the forecast for today was 80% light rain 2 days ago. Awesome race organization with a lot of water/aid station and food for the whole course and at the Finish.

Just this morning, I was very anxious about my half marathon as this was only my second one and believe it or not, my hands were shaky putting up my bib number and only had about 5 hours of sleep last night. I caught up on my sleep after the race but that's not the point. I think after doing the half twice, I'm pretty sure I will be fine with overcoming the anxiety, jitters and difficulty sleeping until I do my first Marathon. Hmm....I don't even want to think about that for now. Let's just enjoy my achievement from today's race.

I felt pretty good and strong out there today despite the "scary" hills up to Prospect Point at Stanley Park. For those who know me, I hate hills!!! But I toughed it out and tackled the hills by slowly trotting up them. Now, I am paying for it because my calves are burning as we speak :( Well, some aches and pains will be expected...I shouldn't be whining as I'm probably feeling the least pain compared to the Marathoners like for instance, Ray...
Today, it was the proudest and emotional moment of my life as I see Ray approaching the Finish with a Boston qualifying and personal best time of 3:14:57. I couldn't hold my tears back seeing him fulfilling his dream!!! Way to go and an awesome finish.

Race Results: I came in 1565th/5996 overall, 571st/3722 for Females and 102nd/613 for my age group with a time of 1:56:35 PB. As for Ray, he finished strong with a time (as mentioned above) of 3:14:57 PB, ranking at 138th/2996 overall, 123rd/1700 for Males and 31st/279 in his age group. Great job!!!!

Vancouver Sun Run 2009

A perfect condition this morning for the many 55,000 plus participants at the 10K Sun Run. Even though it wasn't sunny, the cloudy weather gave me the push to get my Personal Best time for the 10K. All the training paid off. Thank you!!!

I had so much fun today because my nephew, Ethan, joined me in the race. It was his first 10K race and first time doing the Sun Run. He did pretty good considering he doesn't run much. His time recorded on Sunrun.com showed 55:52 mins but according to him, he thought his time was around 50mins. I think so too because he was in front of me. Later, I was told that a lot of the people's chips at the start didn't get scanned. Hmm...hopefully, the timing company fixes it. Ray's chip didn't scan either at the start and the same goes for another friend of ours.

Ethan joined others in our group like April, Eric, Sandra and Shirmy as first time participants. I'm really proud of them for coming out to join in the "fun" run. Good for them!!!

A lot of the Lions Gate runners were out too and everyone did great!!! A report of the race is blogged at the LGRR website. Full race results will be published tomorrow in the Vancouver Sun newspaper or at Raceheadquarters website.

Ray's finish time was 38:20mins which was a PB for him. Good job!!! As for me, I did it in a PB time of 51:24mins. So glad this race is over and my next one will be in two weeks which is the Vancouver Half Marathon on May 3rd. Wish me luck on that!!!

Beyonce Concert

Concert on a Tues night...hmm, it will definitely pass my bedtime but I still went anyway. Ray brought his two nieces (13 and 10 years old) to see Beyonce. They sure enjoyed it a lot. Even though the skytrain ride was a little bumpy going there according to them but it was all worth it. Beyonce sure likes to dance a lot and the crowd loves her that way. The crowd got even louder when she sang "All The Single Ladies". Her last song of the night was "Halo" as a goodbye song...

Chuckanut 50K

Ray and I had a very interesting and nice getaway, I think?? Wait till you read on. We stayed overnight in Bellingham for Ray's first ultra marathon called Chuckanut 50K race. It gave him the shivers and nerves just thinking about it with butterflies in his stomach. Torrential downpour and gusty winds on our way down south as we were crossing the border on Fri afternoon didn't really help with the idea of running on the muddy and wet trails of Chuckanut. The rain tapered off as we got into Bellingham and the sun was peeking out. Negative thoughts piling up in our minds suddenly went away. The weather did turn out fine after all.

After we met up with some volunteers for the race that late Fri afternoon, we all drove up in different cars to help to lug up jugs of water to Aid Station #3. It wasn't fun as we were driving up. In my mind, I didn't know what I got myself into. The van that Ray and I were in almost couldn't make it up due to muddy, washed-out road and to the left of us, there was sheer cliff the whole way up. I heard this one passenger asking whether we needed to get out and push the car. I thought to myself that there was NO FRIGGING WAY that I was going to push the van. With prayers in our hearts, we finally made it up and started our 1K hike up with 2 gallons of water in our hands to the aid station. Wow...that was sure something that I wouldn't want to do again unless I know what to expect beforehand. The next morning, my arms and back were sore from carrying the water!!! Of course, I'm not asking for your pitiness. I was just glad that was over and looked forward to a nice pasta and fish dinner with Hozumi and Tara at this restaurant called "The Big Fish Co." in Fairhaven.

Next morning came, we were up early at 6am to get ready for the race. Left the hotel at 7am and got to Fairhaven Park for the race. We met up the others for a briefing. Everyone looked pumped up for the race, at least Ray was since he couldn't really sleep well the night before... "adrenaline rush or race anticipation" like what some racers have. Thinking back, I know I had that the night before my first half marathon back in Sep 2008.
It was interesting just looking at the racers coming through the aid stations and seeing what they do especially after running for more than 20K or so, all feeling delirious and exhausted but amazingly enough, they are trained for distances like that and after drinking gels/nuun drinks and popping in potatoes/pretzels/bananas, the body was able to go on for another 30K. I do feel really proud for Ray finishing his first ultra. A few muscle aches and pains here and there was definitely expected but it sure feels good thinking that he has tackled a 50K trail race. Well...yeah, what's next?? Sun Run will be the next game for us. I am hoping to try to run it under 52mins which will be a PB for me...fingers crossed!!!

Here are the official race result: Ray came in 69th/279 overall with the time of 5hrs 26mins.

Snowshoe Classic 6K

What a snowy and windy night up at Grouse. Ray and I headed up to Grouse tonight to do a 6K snowshoe race. We both signed up last minute. Good thing we did because Merrell was handing out Couples Membership for Grouse, Grind Timer, Annual Parking Pass, Merrell Travel Bag and Merrell Shoes for the first person that finishes overall.

My nephews, Ethan and Samuel came up with us to enjoy skating and helped to snap some photos of us doing the race. This race to me is always a hard one but with a blizzard condition, it sure made the run more challenging. When the snow was pounding on my face, I wished that I was wearing ski goggles. The windy, blizzard and fresh snow condition did slow me down a bit but I'm not complaining at all since I came 2nd in my age group and won two free race entries (for either Seek the Peak, Grouse Grind Mountain Run or Grouse Snowshoe Classic), Merrell Grind timer, Merrell Backpack and a silver metallic corkscrew. Ray was awarded with the above prize package for coming in 1st overall. With the entry fee to this snowshoe race, we also got complimentary burger and beverage and Merrell headlamps. Now, you tell me...what can beat all these amazing prizes that I just mentioned!!! All these were valued at about $800 worth of gifts which are now OURS!!!!!

We sure had a great time last night. My brother and his wife also came up and took a lot of pics and it was their first time to witness us winning. What an awesome experience....thanks to Grouse and Merrell for an awesome time... ^o^

Here's the official race result : Ray finished with an incredible time of 45:02mins (1st/66 overall, 1st/31 for males and 1st/9 in his age group). Even though I didn't get a PB, I still had a good time out there on the course. My time was 1hr 4mins with a position of 28th/66 overall, 9th/35 for females and 2nd/14 for my age group.

Yeti Snowshoe Series at Grouse Mountain

Another gorgeous day in the city and up on the slopes of Grouse!!! I wasn't in all the Yeti races this year so I had the opportunity to snap some photos of the breathtaking view of the city from the top and also the snowshoe race. Coincidentally, Grouse Mountain was opened this weekend 48 straight hours in recognition of the one year countdown to Olympics 2010 and will be opened 17 straight days during the Olympics!!!!

Ray participated and ran more than 6K with the course being challenging and steep hills all the way up to Dam Mountain. This course is the most difficult one compared to the other ones. It was more than 6K and the constant uphill just made it even harder for the racers.

Ray came in 3rd overall and 2nd in the open 20-39 category with an estimated time of 43mins. Race results haven't been posted up on the Yeti website. I will update this as soon as the results are up.

Update (Feb 17th) : Race results are up this morning : The time that Ray finished was 43:15mins with a position of 3rd/71 overall and 2nd/15 for the Open 20-39 category.

Happy "Ox" Year!!!

This year is the year of the "Ox". According to the Chinese horoscopes, it is a good year for a lot of people. To know more about your Chinese horoscope, you can click here. To me, the most important thing is to have good health. Of course, wealth and career are important too but without good health, other things won't come into play then, right?

Anyway, I had a great opportunity to spend Chinese New Year's eve with my family by doing a 'big feast'. That's the one thing that Chinese people are big into. I think my future husband has found that out a long time ago... :) Luckily, he loves eating!!
Ray and I went to Chinatown to enjoy the festivities of the Chinese New Year last Sunday. Even though it was raining and snowing in some parts, it sure didn't stop people from going to see the Lion Dance parade. As I was growing up, I had lots of fond memories of the Chinese New Year back home especially receiving "red pocket money". I am still getting red pocket money but I know this would be my last year receiving it since I'm only single until July. Next year, I will have to be giving them out instead. So I already practised this year by giving out 'red pocket money' ('Angpow' in chinese) to my niece, nephews and my friend's kids. Let's see...in total, it was 6 angpow's. I hope it stays that way because it can get PRETTY expensive...haha. I wish everyone a prosperous, healthy and peaceful year of 2009!!!! Happy New Year!!!!

Yeti Snowshoe Series at Mount Seymour

It was Ray's first snowshoe race for the season. Great race and decent weather for the race. I was there as a spectator taking pictures for Ray. Let me tell you about the race today. It was quite a tight race for Ray because the guy that came 4th was actually in the 3rd place, maybe 400m before the finish line. Lucky for Ray, this guy broke his snowshoe therefore Ray had the opportunity to pass him while he was trying to figure out what happened to his snowshoe. So Ray came third and this guy had to hold his one snowshoe to cross the finish line while running only with one snowshoe. It was pretty funny though. With a PB time of 36mins for the 6K route, he came 3rd overall. Results will be posted shortly.

Update (Feb 3): Results are posted on the Yeti site and here's the time and position that Ray came in; he came in 3rd/91 overall and 3rd in the 20-39 Open category with a time of PB of 35mins.

Chilly Chase 10K

Getting up early this morning was hard enough already but running in a nippy morning of about -2degC was even harder. Luckily, the sun came out early enough to greet all the runners and to wake us up from the early fog conditions.

Ray and I were in Langley to do the Chilly Chase race and both of us were signed up in the 10K. The last two years I did the 5K and I thought I should just switch it up to 10K to see how it goes. I have to admit that the cold did get to me, giving me an asthmatic feeling on my chest as I was breathing in the cold air which wasn't good but nonetheless, the race still went smoothly for me. Obviously, no PB for me this time but I am hoping to get a PB in the Sun Run which will be warmer then. As for Ray, he had a good run and successfully got a PB. Awesome job!!! I wasn't too sure about him just wearing a singlet running in the bone chilling weather....go figure!!

The race results are posted here. Ray came in 6th/163 overall, 6th/63 for males and 1st/13 for his age group with a time of 38:43mins. As for me, I came in 55th/163 overall, 22nd/100 for females and 8th/32 in my age group with a time of 53:50mins.

Happy New Year!!!!

So here we are in the year 2009. Resolution, resolution....?? Nah, like I mentioned before, I'm not into that. With God's blessing, I hope this year brings me the best of health and joy. I also wish everyone "All the best in the new year" as well.

A few friends came over and celebrated the New Year at our place with some food, champagne and games like Singstar karaoke and Rockband. Let me tell you Rockband ROCKS!!! Ray and I have been hooked on it over the holidays, playing a lot and mastering it to the "expert" level for some songs. Playing on the guitar and the drums was quite a workout. I think I have built some muscles on my arms. I am serious, not kidding at all. Give it a try and you'll know what I mean....haha.

Ray and I went snowshoeing today up at Mount Seymour with 8 other people. The snow conditions were just perfect, couldn't ask for a better weather condition. As you can tell from the picture below, the view of the city from the top of Dog Mountain was just speechless and breathtaking. What an amazing feeling to be up there and to experience the wonderful creation of God.

Let it Snow. Let it Snow. Let it Snow!!

The year 2008 is almost coming to an end. It's sure a time to ponder what we've achieved this year and maybe we can improve on some things or even make a new resolution for the New Year. Nah...Making a resolution just never works for me. I just don't think it works. I just go with the flow and do whatever I want. The year 2009 will be an interesting one for me or rather it will be a busy year for me. Wedding plans are on the way for the 'Big Day' in the summer of 2009. I'm kind of freaking out a little bit thinking about it. People always say, 'Don't stress out...have fun with it'. Yeah right, it never turns out that way no matter how hard you try. I guess 'going with the flow' is always the best. Do what you can and try keeping at it. Hey, I just realized it that would be my new 'motto'.

As I'm writing this blog, snow is really coming down hard. I just love it. The snowfall really relaxes me for some reason. For the last 17 years I've been in Canada, the snow this year is A LOT!! Wow...time for some snowshoeing in the city rather than up on the mountains. Ray and I with my nephew, Ethan, did a testdrive on the snow up at Grouse a couple weeks ago when it first opened up. I tell ya, it's amazing!!! Just loving life as I'm snowshoeing. We really should take this opportunity. I'm telling my friends and family back home about this and they think we're in heaven to have snow. My niece really wishes to come to Canada to go skiing. I just can't say enough how lucky I am here enjoying life with the beauty of nature =)
Two things I did this year that I constantly raved about were climbing the tallest mountain in SE Asia and doing my first half marathon. This year in the summer, I was back home visiting my friends and family in Brunei and traveled to other places in SE Asia like Singapore, Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur. Though it was long, it was a fantastic trip. The highlight of this trip was Ray and I hiking the tallest mountain in SE Asia called Mt. Kinabalu (4093m). It sure brought pride out of me for doing something like that and also it was very emotional especially getting proposed at the top of the peak of Mt. Kinabalu. I find it hard to describe my feelings in words only if you can imagine... ^o^

The other thing I am proud of myself was running my first half marathon this fall in Toronto. Loved this course; flat and scenic. For the very first time, I felt like I could run a long distance...well, of course not fast...hehe. The most important thing was I DID IT!!!!! I am hoping to do a full marathon next year sometime towards the end of the year, maybe in Sacramento??? Who knows...will see how much energy is left in me after the wedding. Until then, I wish everyone a Safe and Happy Holiday Season. See you in the New Year!!!!!

Gunner Shaw 10K/Bear Mountain at the Westin Hotel in Victoria

A quick and small getaway is always good. I needed it so bad because it has been very stressful at work these last few weeks. Ray and I went to Victoria for his trail race called Gunner Shaw 10K at Thetis Lake Regional Park. At the same time, we treated it as a mini vacation at the Bear Mountain Westin Hotel Golf Resort. I never knew that this place existed before and apparently it's a new development in this area. The Westin Hotel was built just within the last 3 years. It is fairly new and as usual the room is always nice.
The race, with about 450 participants, was a tough and challenging 10K trail running race. There were about 15 Lions Gate Road Runners (LGRR) that ran this race. Though it was hilly, muddy and wet, they all tackled the course real well and came in with awesome times. Ray finished in 58th/420 overall and 20th/78 for his age group with a time of 45:26mins as recorded here.
Other than the race, we did a little exploration of the city of Victoria. It was about 8 to 10 years ago since I was in Victoria and for Ray, it must have been ages since he was there. We had some high tea at the Empress Hotel and we really enjoyed it a lot. The hotel didn't change a lot since I was there the last time for afternoon tea with my mom and aunt. We also did some hiking at Mount Finlayson (419m) which was just located behind our hotel at Bear Mountain. It was a tough one to hike because of the wetness on the rocks. It reminds me of Mount Kinabalu (4,093m,) where it was slippery and quite dangerous. Obviously, Mt. Finlayson is not as tall and hard as Mt. Kinabalu but it can be treacherous if you are not wearing the proper shoes and outfit in a wet condition. I wished I was told about it before I hiked it...^o^

James Blunt Concert 2008

This was our second time to see James Blunt at GM Place. Going back to Nov 5, 2006 on my blog, I now remember vividly about the concert. It was a slow paced music then but this time, he sure did change it up a bit. It was a more upbeat and a crowd-pleaser concert. Kudos to JB!! I enjoyed it more this time. Ray's aunt was there too and lucky enough to be sitting in the front row where she could just touch him by a stretch of an arm. Wish I was the one...^o^ Everyone got so excited as he started to sing his popular hit song called "You're Beautiful". Other hits were "Goodbye My Lover", "Here We Go Again"and "No Bravery".

New Balance Fall Classic 2008

What a huge turn-out for the last race of the season before the New Year comes. Weather was decent enough to enhance one's performance in today's race, well...at least for me. There were sure a lot of familiar faces out there this morning especially a friend of mine who had been training for this race (her second 10K race). She sure did well and I am proud of her.

My friend, Shirmy and I did the 10K and Ray did the half marathon and as usual, he did it with flying colours which suits the theme of the race i.e. Fall Classic. It was definitely nice running this course by the water. The colour of the leaves sure bring out the Fall season. It was peaceful at some parts of the course and I was sure loving it! The race was well-organized and food was good too. There was chilli, orange juice, coffee and some other regular snacks/fruits to nibble on. One thing that didn't go well was the award ceremony which did not start on time. By the time they announced it, everyone was pretty much gone. Poor time management here. But this won't stop me from doing it again next year.

Here are the official results: Ray came in 25th/928 overall, 6th/113 in his age group and 22nd/420 for Males and his finish time was 1hr 28mins. Another great run! Well done! As for me, I did the 10k and I think I did pretty good considering I haven't been out running that much since my half marathon in Toronto. I finished with a time of 53:17mins and came in 288th/879 overall, 41st/178 in my age group and 100th/545 for females.

Celine Dion Concert at GM Place

I'd waited about a year to go see Celine Dion. Yes, I bought the tickets last year sometime in November. You must think I'm crazy about her. You are right!!! I went with two of my girlfriends to see her perform 'LIVE'. This would be my second time to see her performing on stage. The first time was in Las Vegas and she was just as good. We will miss her dearly since this would probably be her last concert. I hope not because this concert was awesome. I would say the best concert ever other than Josh Groban and Michael Buble. She really has a powerful voice and it just amazes me a lot. What a great entertainer!!!

The opening act was great with Gordie Brown as the comedian/singer/impersonator. He made us laugh until my stomach hurt so much. We were 10mins late for the opening act thinking that most of the time the opening act wouldn't be good. So this would be a lesson learned to not be late unless you really know who is doing the opening act. Gordie Brown performs in Las Vegas at the Venetian Hotel who impersonates generations of celeb's, politicians and singers/pop culture icons. The next time you are in Vegas, you might want to check him. Trust me, he is funny!!!

Oktoberfest Brewski-Daddle 5K Run

This race is the first time ever to be organized and it wasn't too bad of a turnout. They got about 100 participants this year. I'm sure there will be more people registering next year since it turned out to be a beautiful day. As we all know, weather plays a big part in a race. The race was all about a German theme which encouraged people to dress up for the race. I captured a couple of pics with people all dressed up and they were fun to see. After the race, there was a lunch/beer fest for everyone during the awards ceremony.

Ray did this race and he came in 3rd overall with a time of 18:59 secs. It wasn't his best but still able to do sub-19mins. Way to go!! Below are the top 3 males that finished today's race.

Scotiabank Waterfront Toronto Half-Marathon (Sep 25th to 29th)

What a nice getaway from rainy Vancouver to sunny Toronto for a few days. Even though I didn't feel too good after the 4-hour flight to Toronto, I was still able to enjoy my stay. To be honest, I was so nervous as it got closer to my half marathon race. As I wasn't feeling too well, I had to try to keep a positive mind and to stay focused before the race. Thanks to Ray who was there to help me to get through my nerves and also a few other friends who text messaged and facebook messaged me to give me words of encouragement leading up to the race. This was my FIRST half marathon race and it was stressing me out a little bit but I managed to pull it together and did the best I could on the day of the race.
Ray and I also had the opportunity to do some sightseeing in downtown Toronto. I couldn't remember anything except the CN Tower since the last time I was in Toronto about 10 years ago. Geez....where did the time go!!! On the first two days we walked a lot exploring the city and it was really tiring especially on the legs and feet before the race. So we smartened up and took it easy for the next couple days. We also met up at the Expo with friends from Vancouver who we ran with during the training for the Marathon. It was held at the Metro Convention Centre. There wasn't a great deal of merchandise at the Expo but I did buy a couple of new outfits.

Here are the official race results: Ray finished with a PB of 3:23:55 which placed him at 238th/2532 overall, 211th/1577 for males and 43rd/219 in his age group. Even though he was aiming to get a 3:15:59 to be qualified for Boston Marathon, I still think he did fabulous!!! As for me, I was feeling pretty emotional as I was approaching the finish line. It was indeed a sense of accomplishment for me. I finished with a time of 2:04:26 and came in 3387th/6373 overall, 1415th/3534 for females and 263rd/589 in my age group.

Grouse Grind Mountain Run 2008

Another win this year for team Kung Fu Pandas at the Grouse Grind Mountain Run this morning. Also, a successful race for Grouse Mountain, sponsored by BMO (Bank of Montreal). More than 500 racers participated in this year's race, more than last year. Every year, the popularity of this race draws people from different places to come and take on the challenge of this tough climb.

Every year, I say to myself that this would be the last one for me but of course, I've been doing it for the last 4 years and still saying it after today's race. Although I didn't PB my time this year, I will certainly not give up but it gets tougher every year as I get older. I was a little disappointed about my time in which I was 23 secs slower than last year but I was so happy that our team in the Open Co-ed division won. Great job to all my teammates; Ray, Ethan and William. Well done!!!!

Ethan is my 10 year-old nephew and he was interviewed by a reporter asking him how old he was and what he would say to others doing the Grind. He answered, "Prepare to sweat!!!". I thought it was a great answer :) His finish time was 49:14mins, a PB for him, and came in 247th/504 overall, 199th/351 for males and 4th/12 for his age group.

My brother, William, was about 2 mins slower than last year because he hasn't been able to train a lot ever since he had a baby boy. Nonetheless, he finished with a fabulous time of 51:11mins and came in 261th/504 overall, 210th/351 for males and 57th/94 for his age group.

As for the speedy one of the team, Ray stayed with the fast pack pretty much the whole way and did a sub-40mins, as usual :) He finished with a time of 38:01, coming in 62nd/504 overall, 55th/351 for males and 6th/94 for his age group. Amazing time!!!!!

As I mentioned earlier that I didn't PB this year but I was still able to do sub-53mins even though my goal was to do 50mins but it was a tough one for me. I had been training for my half marathon which is coming up next Sunday, Sep 28th in Toronto. It has been a long and tiring process for me this summer to train for both this race and the half. For my race result, I did it in 52:49mins and came in 278th/504 overall, 53rd/152 for females and 18th/45 for my age group.

Tackling Stawamus Chief

I couldn't ask for better weather today to hike up the infamous 'Chief'. About 15 of us got up early today and started our journey to Squamish in the hopes of getting up to Second Peak and Third Peak. Our abilities of hiking skills ranged from beginner to avid level. There were about 3 of us who had not done any hikes and then the rest of us had done two or more hikes at some point in our lives. Regardless of the different abilities, we still had a good time going up the Chief and everyone made it up to the two peaks. That's all that matters. Good job, everyone!!

This was my 3rd time going up the Chief. Life's more complete now that I've done all the Peaks (1st, 2nd & 3rd). It sure took me 3 summers to do all of them and finally, I did it!!!

The next hiking spot to tackle is Black Tusk at Garibaldi Park. I remember I did it more than 15 years ago but I think I am better conditioned now so it shouldn't be a problem...maybe next summer.

5 Peaks Trail Running Series at Buntzen Lake

The last series of the 5 Peaks concluded today at Buntzen Lake with gorgeous and warm weather. I didn't run this one due to a minor injury on my left calf muscle from my Grouse Grind training last Thursday. I didn't want to aggravate it more because I will be doing my first half marathon which is coming up in 2 weeks in Toronto on Sep 28th. Anyway, today's race was successful with over 400 racers doing either the Sport course at 10k, Enduro course at 15k or half marathon at 26k. With this being the last race of the series, I had the opportunity to take some photos of some of the people I had been running with in the past and also people that I had made friends with from this 5 Peaks. Kathryn (the picture on the right), the owner of 5 Peaks, was nice enough to drop what she was doing and posed for a photo with me.

Here are the race results: Ray finished with a time of 51:34mins at 5th/215 overall, 5th/87 for males and 2nd/22 in his age group. For the points series for the whole of 5 Peaks, Ray came in 1st for his age group and 2nd overall for doing all the series. Amazing job!! What an accomplishment...I am proud of you!!!

5 Peaks Race in Whistler

Now, I think this is my third year and Ray's fourth year doing this race up in Whistler. It's the 2nd to last race in the 5 Peaks trail running series. I had a good run this year; shaved off my time by about 2 mins from last year. The weather was not too bad, a bit of drizzle in the beginning but then it cleared up. Every time I do this race, I always think to myself, "What was I thinking?". Yes, I know, this is the toughest of them all but I prefer to do this one over the others because this is the shortest course, about 5km. I think all the long runs (half marathon training) and the many times on the Grouse Grind really helped in improving my time for this year's 5 Peaks race in Whistler. Here are the official results : Ray came in 1st/179 overall in a speedy time of 28:13 mins. This is his first time ever to beat out everyone and came first in all the years that he had done the 5 Peaks. Way to go!!! As for me, I am proud of myself in coming 74th/179 overall, 33rd/113 for Females and 9th/38 in my age group with a time of 41:26 mins. Not bad, eh?? :)

One month Vacation in Asia

Yes....I am back!!! It's been a while since I have blogged anything since my last entry which was almost 2 months now. The reason was I had been away for a month, vacationing in Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore. I was originally from Brunei and I went back to visit my friends and family and at the same time, I also have been busy visiting other countries in Asia. Ray came with me and it was his first time going overseas to Asia. The last time I was back was about 6 years ago. It was definitely a lot of fun seeing family and old friends whom I haven't seen for ages. Thanks for all the good food and company that everyone had given me while I was there.
In Singapore, we did about 8K run around the city by the water. It was a pretty interesting experience running in the heat/rain. I think it was the best way to explore the city. We did quite a bit of sightseeing for example, going on the Singapore Flyer (similar to the London Eye Wheel), a visit to Sentosa Island and the weirdest thing we have ever done was the "Fish Spa". I'm sure some of you have heard about it where it helps to removes dead areas of the skin. It was really ticklish with the fish pecking on your skin but then you get used to it after a while. The whole process took about 30mins and I think if "Fish Spa" comes to Vancouver, you should try it.
The highlight of this trip was hiking Mt. Kinabalu, the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia about 4,093m (about 13,000ft). The mountain is situated in the Kinabalu National Park, the world's most heritage site, in the east Malaysian state of Sabah. It was a very emotional experience for me hiking to the top of this mountain. I really felt like I have accomplished everything in life. The view was spectacular and breathtaking as you can see from the pictures posted here. Most importantly, I got engaged on top of this mountain to a wonderful man in my life, Ray.
The last part of the trip was a quick little visit to Kuala Lumpur with my family. The one thing I always wanted to see was the infamous, Petronas Twin Towers (452m) and to visit Genting Highlands and of course, I got to see them. As a lot of us know that in Kuala Lumpur, it is a shopping paradise. I swear that I would never shop again when I get back to Vancouver because I really bought a lot of clothes, shoes, purse, etc. I couldn't even fit all these in my luggage but it's all worth it though :)

Seek The Peak 2008

This year, Ray decided to do this race 'Solo' instead of 'Relay'. We both did the relay the last two years with friends and family. I didn't do it this year because for one, I couldn't find anyone to do the relay with me and secondly, I will be flying tomorrow night to Southeast Asia (Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia) for a long one-month vacation. So I just wanted to take it easy.

This morning at the start, I met up with Diane and John whom I snowshoe with up at Grouse in the winter. It was sure nice to catch-up with them again. They were doing it solo too. Good for them!!!

This race is a very challenging 16km course that starts from Ambleside Park to the Peak of Grouse Mountain which includes the infamous Grouse Grind. Ray and I have been going up the Grind every Thursday with a group of people from Rackets and Runners. It sure is a good work-out! Anyway, Ray had a good race and I am proud of him for finishing the race strong at a very incredible time of 1:46:28. He is placed at 22nd/338 overall and 7th/60 in his age group. Awesome job!!!

Canada Day 7.5K Run at Pitt Meadows

Here I go again registering a couple days before the online registration closed. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to do it again for the 2nd year because last year it was hot. Well, guess what...it was hot again today. Boy oh boy!!!! I needed water the whole way but I still managed to finish the race at a pretty good time although I was hoping to do it in sub-40mins. It was fine though. I should be happy because I am improving and shouldn't beat myself up about it like some runners do. The whole point of me doing races is to have fun, don't you agree? Of course, it'll be different for the elite runners i.e. they run competitively. Along the course, there were music bands and firemen sprinkling water at the runners which felt good. It cooled me down for like 2mins and then back to feeling hot again :)

Other than doing the race, I had a really good time celebrating Canada Day. Happy 141st birthday to Canada!! Lots of festivities and activities for such a small city like Pitt Meadows. Activities included pancake breakfast, kids' zone display, face painting, animal petting, music, First Nations blessing, entertainment , parachute dropping, etc!!! We had Ray's parents out to celebrate it with us and also to cheer us on for the race. Ray's niece, Ashley, who is only 8 years old ran the race and scooped third place for her age group (1-12). Way to go!!!

Back to the race, the course was actually more than 7.5K. It felt really long for each km marker. I think I ran faster than last year but comparing the times between today and last year, I was only faster by 3 secs. I just think they need to measure the course accurately. Ray decided to do the race when he got up this morning and he signed up today at the race. He is still recovering from the 5 peaks race at Golden Ears a few days ago on Saturday which he came in 3rd overall for a tough 8.4K course. Today, he came in at an awesome time of 30:12mins which placed him 4th/271 overall, 2nd/16 for his age group and 4th/103 for males. Great job though!!! As for me, I almost came third for my age group but just not good enough. Oh well...here's how I placed: 58th/271 overall, 4th/41 for my age group and 16th/168 for females with a time of 40:09mins. Next year, I might do the HBC 10K run here in Vancouver. What attracts me to do it next year are the personalized bib and a finisher medal. I think it's cool to be part of the Canada Day run.

Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon

After spending a few days in sunny Edmonton, I was kind of reluctant to come back to cold Vancouver. While I was working at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, I had the opportunity to squeeze in about 7K run around Kinsmen Park and the trails around University. It was sure a hot day with about 27degC during noon time. After the run, I was sweating profusely for about 30mins and finally, I cooled down. It took a while to cool down but I felt so good from the run.

After back from Edmonton where it was 29degC on Saturday, I didn't quite adapt to the cool weather in Vancouver today. Luckily, it turned out pretty decent for Ray's half marathon. A little bit of sunny and cloudy condition made the run a pleasant one. There were about 3500 participants in this race. There were people needing medical attention at the finish line including the overall 2nd finisher who sat down on the side right after he finished. Another runner who was the 2nd female finisher in the Masters who threw up just before she crossed the line. I wonder if this motivates me to do my first half marathon in Toronto. Ray told me a few times how sore he was and that he wasn't feeling too well after the race. I'm sure everyone is feeling that aftermath feeling. This is Ray's third time doing the Scotiabank Half Marathon with a time of 1:29:47 and he almost got his personal best but missed it by 10 seconds. The course is sure a tough one with a few hills and personally, I wouldn't want to attempt it. I would do a flat course for my first one which will be at the end of the September in Toronto. Wish me luck in my training!!

The Longest Day 5K Race

This was the second race that I raced at night. The first night race was the Snowshoe Classic at Grouse in February this year and the second one was last night at UBC. It was a pretty nice and clear night but cold at times especially later in the night where we were eating and waiting for the awards ceremony. Of course, none of us were wearing enough to keep warm but overall, it was a great race! Ray and I volunteered to give out chips to participants and in return, we got free entries into the race. My nephew, Ethan was also there to help out and run the race. I am glad to be part of the race because for one, it was a well-organized race, secondly, there were door prizes (we didn't win anything but that's fine) and thirdly, awesome BBQ food (burgers, hot dogs, salad, cookies, yogurt, etc). I will definitely do this race next year. The course was pretty scenic with rolling hills and flat at most parts. I didn't think it was that hilly compared to my last race at Shaughnessy last month. The Longest Day Race had two distances; 10K and 5K. The 5K race was part of the Timex BC Road Running Series. The previous race I did at the Shaughnessy 8K race was also part of the Timex series.

Here are the official results of how Ray, Ethan and I did: Ray finished with a incredible time of 18:49mins which was his personal best and ranked 47th/317 overall, 24th/64 for Males 17-39 (Male OPEN). Ethan also did great with a time of 24:05mins which placed him at 129th/317 overall, 11th/16 for Males under 16 in his category. As for me, I was happy with a personal best time of 25:14mins, ranking at 147th/317 overall and 31st/79 in my category of Females 17-39 (Female Open).

Grouse Grind opened for the season!!!

Alas!!! The Grind is opened! A lot of people have been patiently waiting for it after a long winter season. It was opened to the public on June 12th. Well, not everyone waited till it's opened. Some people have already been sneaking up from the side of the fence to bypass the gate. Ray and I did it a week back and of course, there was no snow on the trail just like what everyone had been saying. I guess when it's not opened, you will be hiking at your own risk. It sure was nice to be doing it again with a few friends a couple days ago. My second time up this season sure felt harder because I went a bit faster than the first time. It's a lot harder at the 3/4 mark because the snow is still melting at the top making the trail wet and slippery. The Grind is always brutal as usual no matter how many times I've done it. Ray and I have a summit seeker card which allows us to monitor our performances over the season on the Summit Seeker program online. I really like this concept and it gives me an idea of how much I have improved over the last 3 years! A few friends and I will be meeting up every Thursdays to train ourselves for the preparation of the Grouse Grind Mountain Run Race on Sep 23, 2008.

6th Annual Iron Knee 25K Trail Race

Getting up early on Sat for Ray's race was worth it even though I was not keen in doing so in the beginning. Vancouver was truly a beauty especially with a gorgeous sunny day by the water and the mountains in Deep Cove. Although the morning was a bit chilly, I was having a time of my life in the sun. I really needed some Vitamin E because I felt like I'm lacking it :) Let's just say, I am so blessed by God to be able to experience this wonderful life in Canada.

Anyway, let's get back to the race. Ray did the Canada's largest long distance 25K trail run called Iron Knee all the way from the base of Grouse Mountain to the shores of Deep Cove. Of course, there are hills involved in this race with the popular 2K hike called Powerline trail which is similar to Grouse Grind. Well, no thanks. I will just stick to Grouse Grind and that would be it for me. All the runners are to tackle the up and downhills with very technical trails. All I can say is "Good Luck" and "Watch where you're going". This was Ray's first time doing this race and it sure was a challenge for him especially he never ran anything that is more than 8K in the trail. I think he had a good time even though he's hurting now but all runners have that adrenaline in them to want to keep going...hmm, I'm just not like them at all. This is how he did in the race : 39th/281 overall, 36th/147 for males and 29th/59 in his age group with a finish time of 2:01:53. Great job!!!

Shaughnessy 8K (Timex Road Running Series #8)

It started out to be a nice morning at 6am and then it turned out to be very warm towards the mid-morning at around 9am during the race. Oh boy!! It was sure hot when running in a sunny condition. The race was a tough one because of the many hills. I am just not good in tackling hills and I was definitely very tired after the 5K mark. Since it was a very warm day, I was thirsty pretty much the whole time and was on a lookout for a water station. I also had a stitch around my diaphragm area and it slowed me down quite a bit between the 5 and 7K mark. I still haven't figured out what caused it. Despite the problems, it was sure a well-organized race by the Lions Gate Road Runners (LGRR). Ray was volunteering for them as he has been a member of the LGRR since Dec 2007. This was the first time that I ran and he stood on the side cheering me even though I didn't see him when I finished. I guess he was working hard on the side helping out Raceheadquarters with the timing. Speaking of timing, I finished the race in 43:03 mins and placed 166th/317 overall, 53rd/146 for females and 7th/19 in my age group.

Camping at Othello in Hope

What a terrific way to spend the long weekend with camping!! I decided to go camping a few days before the long weekend after I checked the weather forecast. It was a gorgeous weekend except it got rainy on Monday late in the afternoon. By then, we were all packed and ready to go home. So that was all good. Anyway, the spot that we were at was not too bad but I wished there was a creek or a river that was not too raging to go in and play. But there was still a nice creek that was nearby for me to at least wash my hair even though the water was icy cold. There were about 16 of us at this campsite and it was sure a lot of fun to be able to do stuff together. We went hiking, took a few spins on the ATV and played horseshoe pitching. Even though I wasn't that good at the horseshoe game, I still had an awesome time. One of my favourite things about camping was 'cooking'. I just love cooking in the wild. For some reason, the food taste so much better :0 You should enjoy that the next time you're camping. Not sure when I will be camping again. Until then, Happy Camping!!!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there! It was sure a wonderful evening to treat all the mothers in my family (my mom, my sister and my sister-in-laws) to a lovely dinner at Chili Pepper House in Vancouver. After a long day at work and church, I thought I better wind down to a relaxing evening to sit down and enjoy the night with my family. Ray did a race this morning at Golden Ears which was the first series of 5 Peaks. He came first in his age group and third overall. Nice job! I'm sure he would like to just relax for the rest of his day by celebrating Mother's Day :) What a great opportunity to bring my mom out for a dinner before my parents leave for Vancouver to go back home in Brunei for 3 months. I will be joining them in July when it will be my turn to go back home to Brunei for a month. Ray will be coming with me to visit Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia. It will be such an exciting and adventurous trip. I am so looking forward to it!!

37th BMO Vancouver Marathon/XLR 8K

I couldn't ask for a better day to do a race especially for the Marathoners. A nice bright sunny morning followed by a little overcast in the mid morning but that was just perfect condition for the runners. I couldn't believe the number of participants in the races this morning; 3099 runners in the Full Marathon, 5599 in the Half Marathon, 446 in the 8K and even in the Marafun Kids' run, there were about 1300 kids!!! Wow...what a great turnout. Ray did the Full Marathon and I did the 8K which was a new event this year. I did the 8K just to kill time while waiting for Ray but it was a pretty tiring run for me. I guess I went out too fast in the beginning like any other races I've done. It is so typical of me to go out too fast in the beginning. After I finished my race, I had the privilege to be in a great spot about 100m from the finish to see the runners as they crossed and also to take pictures. I guess it is great to know people from the timing company :) In fact, it is Ray's sister that works for Race Headquarters. Anyway, here are the official results: Ray finished in the personal best time of at 3:25:29 with a position of 284th/3099 overall 241st/1808 for males and 51st/266 in his age group. Way to go, Ray! As for my 8K, I came in 67th/446 overall, 24th/297 for females and 6th/97 in my age group with a PB time of 42:20mins. My next race will be the Shaughnessy 8K on May 25th. Hopefully, I can improve a little bit on that one or maybe not because of hills. Will see about it.

A Get-together with Soay

I can't believe that it's been more than 4 years since I last seen Soay (the one in yellow shirt). Soay has been residing in Shanghai ever since he left Vancouver to work there. Time really goes by so fast and here we are again with the rest of the crew who I used to hang out with a lot. We went to Azia Restaurant downtown for a nice get-together dinner for Soay. As far as I can remember, the food was great and the service was good too. I sure had fun with everyone and let's just hope that it won't be another 4 years till the next time we see each other again ^o^. Now, I have to hit the sack early for Ray's Marathon and my 8K race tomorrow. Wish us luck!!

Baby Kesler One-month Celebration

This is my good friend's cute little one. His name is Kesler and he just had his one-month birthday on April 29th. Carol, my good friend, got everyone together for a really luxurious ten-course dinner at Top Chinese Cuisine in Vancouver. It was sure very delicious. What a great night of laughing, seeing old friends, bringing back old memories from more than 10 years ago and last but not least playing with baby Kesler. My own little nephew, Matthias, who is about 6 months old now is sure getting cuter everyday. The time has really gone by so fast and the next thing you know, they are already in their teens . Let's just say that I am getting older and all my nephews and nieces are growing up too fast. One of these days, I should get a picture of all of them :)

Geocaching on the Baden Powell

Well...what a rainy day to be out and about hiking and also doing geocaching this afternoon. Geocaching is an activity or a sport that Ray and I have picked up over the last couple years. It requires a GPS unit to direct you to the cache or "treasure hunt". First you have to sign up as a member at the official site of Geocaching to play this activity in all of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. After you sign-up, you have to own a GPS unit to enter the coordinates of the caches that are hidden so your GPS can bring you to the caches.

This afternoon, we were at the Baden Powell trail of Deep Cove in North Vancouver. As we were hiking, we saw some markers along the trails that were left from the race this morning called "Summit 2 Shore". Although it was raining, we sure had fun hiking and finding caches at the same time. We did three caches today and the first two were definitely a difficulty of about 3 out of 5 for the terrain. Terrain is one thing but finding the caches could be hard too. We did have a couple of challenges finding one of them but listening to the 'hints' from the owner of the caches is definitely a must! Below is a picture that I took during treasure hunting today. If you are curious about how the treasure looks like, see my picture below. As you can see from the picture, I'm writing in the log book that we found the cache and also whether we are trading any items.

Vancouver Sun Run 10K

Another year has whizzed by just like that since the last time we did the Sun Run. This year, there were about 58,000 registered runners breaking last year's records. I think the weather plays a big part in making it successful. Couple days before the race, I was hoping and praying for a nice weather because of the surprising snowfall on Friday night. Well, it turned out sunny after all! Even though it was chilly this morning for the race, this is the ideal condition that you want to be running in. I enjoy doing this race because of the music and water stations that get me going throughout the whole course of the race. This year, Ray, Alexis (Ray's niece) and I did the race. My brother did the last two years and couldn't make it out this year due to a new addition to the family. Anyway, the results will be posted on the Vancouver Sun paper tomorrow and later on the Raceheadquarters website. Please check back here later. Below is a picture of the "Elites" on stage during the awards ceremony. The top male and female were from Kenya and Ethiopia respectively. The top male finished in a superfast time of 29:26mins!!
Update (Apr 21/2008): Here are the official results. Ray finished with a time of 38:53 mins and ranked at 275th/44160 overall, 245th/19294 for males and 40th/3017 in his age group. Great job Ray!! As for me, I am proud to tell you that I have shaved off more than 3 mins from my last Sun Run (56:08 mins). This year, I finished with a time of 52:56 mins!!! So proud of myself :) I came in 6064th/44160 overall, 1279th/24866 for females and 210th/3753 for my age group.