Betty's Blog

Sunday, June 22, 2008

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!!

Friday, June 13, 2008

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).

Thursday, June 12, 2008

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.

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