Cute-iful

This past weekend was pretty much the opposite of running, as Andrea, Evelyn and I ventured out of town for the Live at Squamish music fest. Important scientific experiments were conducted (for the record, taste tests revealed we all like different Granville Island Beers, and can thus continue to purchase the ‘Mingler’ pack, and also that we have mediocre ability to identify specific brews with our eyes closed).

…….

My favourite performers were people I didn’t really know before, like The Dudes (amazing!) and Michael Bernard Fitzgerald. It was such a weird feeling to roll out of bed on Sunday and not head out running! It made the whole day feel bizarre and off (continuing ‘taste tests’ may have contributed to this feeling). We still had the obligatory Sunday Brunch, where we discussed what non-runners do on Sundays, and thought of everyone at Broadway who had run several kilometers while we were still asleep. Thanks, girls, for such a fun weekend! You are both so “cute-iful” (as one classy guy at the fest described Evelyn).

………Like the H.C. marathoners we are, we dragged our butts out in the pouring rain on Monday for the long run we missed. After a weekend of sitting around drinking, I was feeling sluggish to say the least. I seriously felt like I had lost all my fitness in a matter of days! Thank goodness for running buddies, as I don’t know if I would have had the motivation to leave my house pound out this run if I didn’t know people were waiting for me! Although it was a drop back week, this route (a figure 8 up QE hill and then over to UBC) was really tough, as there were some really tough climbs in there. In the end our mobile wet t-shirt contest got 23km done in 2:09. Sorry I was so cranky/worst running company ever?

I was feeling much better for our run club run last night. I felt like the group was huge, and it was fun to be reunited after missing the weekend! We ran the Blenheim-Highbury-Point Grey 10km route in 51 min. I’ve been trying to think about technique a lot lately, as I’ve been battling a little knee pain (nothing serious) and am hoping there’s a biomechanical fix. I also bought ‘the stick’ I’ve been coveting at RR (essentially a glorified rolling pin for rolling out muscles) and am hoping to sort out some of my tightness in my legs. We had a talk on massage therapy last thursday, which totally reminded me I have been slacking in the self-care department- contrast showers, icing, core work and stretching have sort have fallen to the wayside, but with a month out until Victoria I need to make a commitment to these non-running elements of training.

Tonight we’re back at the track (efff).

A bunch of new stuff

The past few days have brought a whole bunch of new stuff.

New recipes

vegan blueberry crisp

I kind of made this up as I went along and didn’t measure anything- I’m not going to culinary school any time soon! The filling is just bluebs, a squirt of lemon juice, and a couple tablespoons of raw cane sugar, and the topping is oats, a bit of whole wheat flour, some apple sauce, maple syrup and cinnamon. It’s pretty good, but I think I always compare blueberry desserts to my Grandma’s, and her’s are just WAY better tasting, and way less vegan.

New houseguests

oh hey, Alan!

- New personal victories- on Tuesday I ran to the top of QE park by myself! 10 km in 52 min.

- Hopefully a new tradition of running early on Wednesday and then hitting social night at Grouse Mountain. Andrea and Ev and I had an epic gossip sesh while we did the science world 10k route, and then headed up to the BCMC trail where our venting, ranting, and laughing continued. This was such a great day! It was the perfect time to hit the trail, with the sun just starting to go down, and doing the BCMC rather than the grind meant the trail wasn’t so busy. I also need to point out that this was Ev’s SECOND time climbing Grouse in the same day. – H…..C.

Once we got to the top, we literally got a whole bunch of new stuff in the social night draw prizes. The bounty included a new shirt for me, new oakley sunnies for Andrea, a new H20 bottle for Ev, and after an impromptu and embarrassing arm wrestling match (new sport, maybe?) with another girl in the bar, new weekend plans for everyone! Bye, fat ass trail run, hello Live at Squamish music festival (priorities, people)! I am SO excited! Thanks so much, babes, for a hilarious and awesome night!

- My first solo shift at my new volunteer position with Vancouver Coastal Health at the Pender Needle Exchange. I basically sit behind a takeout window on Pender and give out sterile syringes and accept used ones. This is something that is admitedly a bit out of my comfort zone, for obvious reasons, but harm reduction is something I feel really strongly about, and I apprecuate the “no judgement” and “no strings attached” attitude the program takes- it just provides a means for people to do safer what they will find a way to do one way or another. And it’s actually a pretty sweet gig for someone who is passionate about public health but decidedly lazy. I gave out 2 needles in approximately 2 hours, and read 2 chapters of my book. And also some new literature…

- new storm warnings- careful everyone at home, and my second home in North Carolina!

hello, Earl

- and finally, the new phase of the marathon training, aka THE TRACK. Going by our 5km times from last week, we hit the ghetto Hamber track for 4 x 1000m. I’ve previously described my relationship with the track as “hate”, but it’s more complicated than that. There is definitely some comfort in repetition for some reason (hello, swimming). I find track workouts to be a bit of an inner struggle, in that I want to be smart and stick to my pace goal (4:20/km), but also want to push myself and keep up with the pack! In the end, my splits were

1. 4:07

2. 4:10

3. 4:06

4. 4:02

Obviously a bit faster than 4:20, but I figured as long as I could be consistent it was fine (Dave? Is this fine?). I REALLY tried to think about technique during these, and kept repeating in my head, “easy, light, smooth, fast” (thanks, Aly, for returning Born to Run!), but at one point got a glimpse of my shadow and realized by body was conveying none of these things! Great job last night, everyone!

Continuing with the ‘new stuff’ theme, tonight we venture to a new dance floor. Hope Honey can handle us!

And then there were three

First, we said “au revoir” to Andy, then we said 再見 to Amelia (thank you google translate), and today, Alyson becomes the third broadway runner to ship out. Girl, it is so sad to say goodbye! Thanks so much for all the kilometers that breezed by because we were chatting, for indulging my love of healthy and delicious food, for all the “i have an idea”s,  adventures, tasty treats, and laughs. I so admire your motivation and your drive, and I know whatever comes next for you, you will go after it with all your turbo positive energy and be successful. It’s been such a pleasure getting to know you this year, and live it up in your last year at uni! We will miss you here, but I know it’s only bye-for-now! (ps come to Thailand?)

you trying to remove his shirt= best night of this 18 year old's life

Babes, patrolling

we miss you already girls!

We are holding down the fort until you get back!

Pier Pressure

Nags Head Pier, NC

Wishing I was here

or at home at Martinique or L-town for a body bash in this…

hello, Danielle

Although I haven’t been getting rocked by waves in the north Atlantic from a weakening hurricane, my body feels sufficiently bashed after today’s 32 km to New West. Andrea recently wrote about peer pressure from friends and how she feels better running the morning after a few jaggerbombs.  I think this technique only works for me if I manage to still be drunk by the time the morning run rolls around. I have been one boozey floozey lately, and this morning’s run following a friend’s birthday at the Alibi Room was a painful reminder that I might need to instate a sober saturday rule of my own. There is no way I could have gotten through this run solo, and was thankful for our extended pit stops at Science World and along the way.  In the end we found our way to the Paddlewheeler Pub for about 31.7 km in about 3 hours (forgot to trun the garm back on after one of our breaks). Love the destination run!

Backing up to earlier in the week- Wednesday brought a regular run club 10k, while Thursday brought the dreaded “fun” run 5k to mark the beginning of speed work. I really empathized with Evie‘s post about racing- I definitely struggle with nerves and negative self talk when it comes to competing. I can’t even identify what it is I feel anxious about, but racing brings me so much anxiety sometimes that my goals shift  from a certain time standard, to survival mode where all I care about is getting through it and finishing. What can’t I get over this? What do I think is going to happen to me? Haven’t I been in enough races that it should be no big deal by now? I ended up finishing the 5k in 21:57 a 4:23/km pace (although my Garmin measured just short of 5k- just smart racing, right?). When I got home I checked my time during the last clinic, which was a 23:20. I’m happy with the unofficial PB, relieved it’s over, and feel reasurred that McMillan still has faith in me…

Friday (before a snack feast with Aly and Evie and a sweaty dance floor sesh- LOVE 90s night), I had a very leisurely 13.18 k to “stonehenge” and back. Time: 1:11.34; Av pace: 5.26/km.

Some exciting things coming up this week, like hitting the Grind on Wednesday, our first track sesh on Thursday, and some potential baking adventures!

Scenic hike recap, 32 km, and a goodbye (for now)

This past weekend I patrolled through Whistler with a few babes for the fourth race in the 5 Peaks trail racing series. Most of us were feeling a little apprehensive, having little or no trail experience (see here for a recap of my first trail race ever) and we debated dropping down to the “sport” division, which would have been about 5k. We all decided the race was more of an opportunity for a “scenic hike”, and in the end, our desire to be HC (hard core) prevailed, and we all decided to stick it out in the Enduro category. Go big or go home, right? And since the race didn’t start until 11am, we could go big the night before!

The race itself was icing on the cake for such a lovely girly weekend. Andrea, Aly, Evie, Keri and Memes, it was so fun to hit the town in Whistler with you all! And we actually clean up pretty good! (Who knew?)

getting ready for prom

Even Andrea couldn't resist the fist pump

The next morning, after hitting the breakfast buffet at our hotel, we headed up the gondola for the race. This was only my 3rd time up in Whistler, and my first time in the summer- it was so beautiful! I have to say, I really love the 5 Peaks races- it’s just such a positive and friendly atmosphere, and a lot more laid back than road races. I love the relaxed feeling at the start and how we start in waves so there’s no frenzied push to get ahead.

ps. thanks to amelia for every single one of these photos

This was probably one of the hardest courses I have ever run! It was just so varied, we covered dusty single file paths, steep rocky slopes, and stretches of slippery snow. Alyson described the race as a “march” rather than a run, and I think I would call it a scramble. There were huge sections where you would be absolutely foolish to run due to the steepness, and every single person was walking. At one point a guy next to me joked that he would pay $100 to anyone he saw running. And I continued to hike, totally bent over, hands on my knees. That’s proper technique, right? While the uphills had my legs crying for mercy, the downhills were so fun, albeit terrifying at times. I’m not too proud to admit that at one point I was grasping for branches to slow myself down and gain some control. I totally felt like a kid again though, scampering down hill and getting dirty. I didn’t wear my garmin, and at one point I passed a hiker coming in the opposite direction who said, “Good job, almost halfway!” and I thought, “Wow that woman is so rude, why would she try to trick us into thinking we’re not halfway yet??”, but sure enough, I rounded a corner to a water station where the volunteers were yelling, “halfway! halfway!” In the end it took me 1:30:27.6 to finish 10.6 km, for 9th out 23 in our age group and 22/99 among the ladies. The fastest woman finished in 1:08- how did you do that??

Lessons Learned:

I feel like every trail race I do will be a huge learning experience in terms of technique (little steps!) since I’m so new to it, but the one big message that sticks out from this one is to trust myself and have some confidence- why did we all doubt we could get through the enduro?? In the end we all did great, and it was so fun. I’m so glad we didn’t cop out, and I’m so proud of all of us ‘road runners’ for getting down and dirty. You definitely need some trust and confidence as well to burn down those downhills like some of these crazy trail runners do, but it looks so liberating.

Major shout out to 5 Peaks (once again!) for the awesome post race snack selection. Chocolate chip cookies spread with PB? Yes, please. Post race we headed back down the gondola for celebratory ceasars, and then more ceasars, and then lunch at the Longhorn, where we basked in the sun and our post-race glory.

We headed back to Van in time to run 32km to Burnaby and back. This post is already outrageously long (much like this run?) so suffice to say that my legs felt like someone had encased them in cement in my sleep, but we all got through it! Thank the lord for walk breaks! Great job, runners. We were actually pretty speedy, holding 5:30 pace including walks.

Post run, we hit Cactus Club for brunch and caesars (Broadway Marathon Clinic: keeping Motts Tomato Clamato in business since 2010?) and to send off my running roomie, Amelia, to China. I am so sad! It’s been so fun to live with you again, twinny! And to run with you, too! We’ve come a long way…

Sackville 2004?

Cuba 2007

Myrtle Beach, 2007

London, 2009

Or have we…

Whistler, 2010

Have so much fun, friend! And see you WHEN I come visit! xoxoxo. Babe Patrol- any trail races in China you guys are keen on doing?

Sympathy Pains

Holy heck it’s been ages since I last posted! While I haven’t been blogging, I have been running!

Tuesday Aug 10- Lovely 12 km with Alyson in the middle of the day. We discussed important world issues, like Proposition 8 and crepes vs. pancakes.

Wednesday Aug 11- 10.83 with run club to alma and back. I actually have no recollection of doing this, but Daily Mile tells me it happened.

Thursday Aug 12- BOOT CAMP. Definitely recall this. I was seriously nervous for this run for days! As I’ve complained reflected many times before, hills are my nemesis weakness. I actually missed this run the first time through the marathon training, and had sort of built it up to mythical proportions. In the end it wasn’t so bad! It was a hot evening but it was such a great feeling at the top of QE Hill to see everyone reach the top. I think I need to continue doing marathon clinics because no where else in my life do I receive so many high fives! They make you feel so good about yourself!

Friday Aug 13- Daily mile tells me I didn’t run this day, but I did go for a really long bike ride (for me!) to get a criminal records check at the Vancouver Police Station and back. I think I also went to the gym this day and the next. Why is my memory so bad??

Sunday Aug 15- DUNDARAVIN’ MAD? Along with the marathon crew, I ventured for farther into West Van than Park Royal for the first time. This was such a great run, the West Van sea wall is so pretty! We kept a really great relaxed pace (I think around 5:30 pace while running) and took walk breaks every 10 minutes. I loved that the run was broken up into quarters, with breaks at Prospect Point and Dundarave Park. This was also Andy’s last run with the crew, which is so sad. We had a group brunch at the Regal Beagle, aka the worst service in all of Vancouver. Sorry it was kind of my idea to go there? Andy, you will be missed, and best of luck in Montreal!

Why are Christine and I snuggling in this photo?

I didn’t make it out running again until Wednesday, but I did have time to make these delicious buckwheat pancakes with a mix I bought at home from Speerville Mill, an organic grain producer in NB. I ignored the package instructions to add milk, an egg, and some oil, and instead used. a ripe banana, some chocolate almond milk and vanilla. Topped with chia and hemp seeds, almond butter, cinnamon, coconut, and maple syrup, these were so delish.

Wednesday Aug 18- 10k around the Science World loop with Evie and Aly, then the GRIND for my first time! The girls took it easy on me as I was a grind newbie, and it was still pretty hard. I’m in awe of all the fit grandmas and grandpas scurrying up the mountain! And also the crazies in flip flops, what are you thinking?? Well worth it for the drinks and nachos at the top! Thanks for a great day, girls!

Thursday Aug 19- HILLS AND THRILLS. Our last hill workout with the crew! Can’t say I’m shedding any tears over this one! We returned to the site of our very first hill work out, West 29th Ave for 10 reps. This was a toughy, but so satisfying! I was a little nervous as I had missed the workouts where we did 7 and 8 reps, but it was so satisfying to pound these out and not feel like I was dying! My legs were a bit tired from “grinding”, but I didn’t get the wading-in-quicksand feeling until pretty close to the end. High fives all around!

Phew, feels good to be caught up. I’m about to head to Whislter with the “Babe Patrol” for a 5 Peaks trail race tomorrow, but I’m not totally sure if I’m going to do it… this is completely embarrassing, but yesterday on the way to Running Room, Amelia and I witnessed a car accident (everyone involved was fine, thank goodness) right in front of us (the cars came up on the sidewalk), and I was so startled I jumped and hurt my back! I am being serious. I wasn’t involved in this accident in any way, just a bystander, and somehow have whip lash? Sympathy pains, maybe? And yes, I realize this sounds incredibly ridiculous and narcisistic. Turning my head or standing/sitting in normal positions are not happening right now, so I’m going to evaluate tomorrow. I think running last night might not have been so smart, and I want to be able to pound out 32km on Sunday! I’m keeping my fingers crossed I’ll be better by tonight to hit a dancefloor in Whistler! Priorities, people. Hopefully wine is that magic cure?

Babe Patrol

Into the wild...

On Sunday we skipped the long run with the marathon crew to head up to Squamish and watch the Stormy Ultra trail race, in which Dave was competing in the 50 mile division. 50 miles is something I could not quite get my head around before witnessing it- TWO consecutive marathons?? We took our time getting out of Van, meeting at Starbucks and chatting over coffee, all the while the crazy ultra marathoners had been running since we were fast asleep in our comfy beds!

Our first stop on the cheering squad tour was a gravel forestry road just before Squamish, where Alan put us lazy ladies to shame by taking off on a run to meet up with Dave. This was a pretty humbling race to watch, as there were clearly long stretches where the runners were pretty much going solo. I think one thing about races that really keeps me going is the forward momentum of everyone else around you, but we were seeing one or two runners go by every few minutes, most of whom were competing in the relay division of the race.

We cheered our little hearts out when we saw Dave and Alan approaching, and I couldn’t believe he was only just past halfway! I will never be this hard core! Once Dave was on his way, Alan further rubbed it in our faces that we’re extremely lazy, setting out on a 23km portion of the race while we hit the local timmy hos. Knowing that watching other people run an extreme distance would be strenuous, and because I have a fear of going place without snacks, I brought along some homemade larabars (caro-bars?) and carrot cake cookies.

Cookie dough caro-bars

I’m a huge fan of larabars‘ short ingredient list (most of them consist of only dates and nuts) so I figured they would be pretty easy to make. I followed this recipe from peas and thank you, and they came out really soft and chewy, I think due to the high date-to-almond ratio.

I based the cookie recipe on this adaptation from Fitnessista, using apple sauce and a couple pureed dates instead of butter, and a combo of raw cane sugar and maple syrup for the sugar.

Back to the race. After refueling, we waited at a relay take-over and aid station for our next Dave sighting. This was positioned at the crest of a steep hill, and looked so so HARD. I have so much respect for these runners, as the sun was blazing and we were working up a sweat literally standing still. It was pretty easy at this point to pick the relay runners out from those going the full distance, as most ultra racers were understandably looking pretty rough by now. But it was so inspiring to see them continue to somehow put one foot in front of the other (quickly!) and carry on. Relentless forward motion indeed.

After this aid station Dave only had 12 km to go, so we hiked back to the cars and made our way to the finish. This was so exciting! We flocked the first person to finish that we sort of knew, Dario who runs out of Broadway, and overheard someone say, “Check out Dario with the ‘babe patrol.’ He meant you, too, Alan. Great job Dario! It was awesome to see Dave come around the corner and cross the finish line, and so inspiring as we knew his hip was protesting his decision to run. GREAT JOB Dave and CONGRATULATIONS on such a courageous run!

While I can’t say watching this race has put any desire to run an ultra in my heart, I would be keen to do a relay! Watching these teams finish was so fun! The one thing that does appeal to me about the ultra distances is that the race seems like a mission where making it to the end is the most important goal. I think in (relatively) shorter distances there is this frenzied feeling of needing to go faster faster faster but in ultras it seems to be more about strategy and being smart about how to use and conserve your energy. Obviously I could be way off since I’ve never run an ultra, and after this weekend, the total I have watched is 1!

Some ‘Lessons Learned’… even though I was only watching

1. As per our discussions throughout the day, we need a team name and uniforms. I am partial to Babe Patrol, and after seeing one of the relay runners finish in what appeared to be an awesome summer sun dress, I suggest we look for something along those lines? This is advantageous as we can also wear them at Library Square . I am being serious.
2. Trail runners are a really cool community of people- everyone I saw either participating in the race, helping out, or cheering created such a positive, supportive atmosphere.
3. Ultramarathons are totally humbling. As much as I bitch and moan about how hard our runs are, watching this race really showed me you CAN keep going throughout adversity. These runners are so physically and mentally tough, and they are regular people! Once again I am amazed at what you can train your body and mind to do!

Phew long post. One more thing, check this out-

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1196223.html

Dave makes the national Globe and Mail for teaching people how to run, my picture makes the Halifax Chronicle Herald for foolishly hiking where coyotes are known to attack. Same same?

MCAT Mac ‘n ‘Cheeze’

On Thursday I finally wrote the TEST OF DOOM that has been consuming my life for the past few months. I couldn’t help but draw some parallels between preparing for the mcat and the lead up to an endurance race. I “trained” for months, through repitition and working on my weaknesses (aka everything a geography degree doesn’t teach you, what up physics), I tried to anticipate the unknown (aka practice writing for long periods of time without pee breaks), and worked on my endurance (5+ hours of testing isn’t pocket change). The week before I enjoyed a relaxing taper (aka Weddingpolooza 2010), and despite all the blood, sweat and tears (not joking), race day, er, test day seemed to come too soon. Big thanks to my running roomie for the spicy chocolate and non-mcat-related reading material to motivate me!

Thanks for all the support, Britney

I made my way down to Mountlake Terrace on Wednesday, just outside Seattle, for the big day (thank the lord for Enterprise’s GPS rental option) and stayed overnight at the Courtyard Marriott in Lynnwood.

Considered hitting the casino rather than writing the test

I arrived at the Prometric Testing Center pretty early on Thursday, and spotted a few people doing some last minute cramming in their cars! I firmly believe the ‘hay is in the barn’ on the day of any exam (or race, for that matter), meaning there’s not a lot you can do either way at this point. I chose rather to nervously carb-load with some bread, pb, and honey that I snagged at the continental b-fast at the hotel that morning. The brain runs on glycogen stores, right?

To be totally honest, the test was a bit of a nightmare. It was really, really difficult, and I have no idea how I did. Hopefully better than my practice sessions (much like how races are somehow always a little better than training?) but i really don’t know. I’ll find out in about a month, so I need to figure out how to keep myself busy until then to keep from going crazy. I will likely accomplish this by running obscene distances, cooking lots of vegetarian delights, taking photos of them, and eating them.

I began on Friday, by attempting to make up some of the hills I had missed the past couple weeks. I hit the Nanton St. hill and only made it to 4 reps before staggering back home. Better than nothing type of day? Saturday I tried to redeem myself by pounding out 19km in the rain to the anchor at Spanish Banks and back with Evelyn. After dominating the dance floor with Alyson, Evelyn, Andrea, and the guy that rented me the car at Enterprise (sorry about those chocolate crumbs?) at Library Square the previous night, I was feeling a little less than stellar, but it was a really great, relaxing run. We kept the pace nice and slow, around 5:48 or so, and took much needed walk breaks every 10 minutes. We also came across an awesome race, the Jericho Ocean Man, which is a swim-kayak-run- these people were FAST as all get out. Ev- thanks so much for the run!

When I arrived back home I was soaked to the bone and craving comfort food, so I whipped up some vegan, gluten-free mac and cheeze (hate the ‘z’ in vegan cheese, there has to be a better way to express this!) adapted from this recipe, from the authors of the blog, Pure2raw, which uses nutritional yeast instead of cheese, and quinoa instead of pasta. From veggie.ca:
“Although Nutritional Yeast is very high in protein (It is a complete protein and contains more protein than meat), is valued mainly for being the richest known natural source of the B-complex vitamins, including B12 and it helps in the regulation of blood sugar… Being rich in the B-complex vitamins, it is vital in many ways and particularly good for stress reduction. The B-complex vitamins are what make nutritional yeast know as a valuable supplement to vegetarians (and meat eaters), because it is one of the few vegetarian sources of B12.”

garnished with avo, sea salt and pep, and onion crackers

Stress reduction, eh? I’ll keep that in mind if I have to write the mcat again. Anyway back to the recipe, I subbed in hummus for the tahini, used almond milk instead of coconut milk, and skipped the arrowroot. I also threw in some chopped tomato and red pepper, as well as some chickpeas for some protein. It came out more like a risotto than a macaroni and cheese but it was really really creamy and hearty with the added veggies. Delish!

Sunday I hit the road (in cars, not on foot) with the blogging breakfast club to see Dave take down 50 miles in style in Squamish. This deserves its own post, so more to come! Have a lovely day!

Catching up…

on running, blogging, life…

My running has been admittedly slack the past couple weeks due to my nearly-cross-Canada trip for the best wedding ever (seriously), my last minute cramming for the MCAT, and finding my way to Mountlake Terrace, WA to write the test. With these events behind me, I’m so thankful to be catching up with training and training buddies.

First things first. The wedding. If I was training for an endurance binge-drinking event, my sister’s wedding weekend in Ottawa would put me in good standing. Actually, I might have over-trained a bit. Speaking of ‘catching up,’ it was so so so great to see everyone. I can’t remember the last time all my cousins were in the same place, and nearly everyone from both sides of my family was there.
Highlights included:

- Thursday: A quick 10km along the Rideau Canal. Ottawa is actually a pretty great city for running, it has a really nice multi-use path along the canal, so I did 5km out and turned around and came back in 51 min. Followed by dinner out with my siblings Heather and Kevin, my mum, dad, and Jason (my sister’s new husband!). We went to a Portugese restaurant, where wine flowed, and then hit an Irish pub, where we coincidentally ran into my Newfoundland cousins for more drinks.

sibs

So thankful for these two!

Dad explaining that it's too early to go home, and the night must continue

Friday: I woke up feeling a bit hungover but tried to force a quick run anyway. Major fail. I made it exactly 5 km, which included a bathroom break and a walk break with 300m to go. Better than nothing? Debatable. I also had a ‘bachelorette’ afternoon at a Nordic Spa with my sister and her lovely friends Maia and Katy. This place is amazing- it’s a whole bunch of outdoor pools of different temperatures in a beautiful setting. So relaxing!

Maid of Honour and Bride!

Friday also included a cocktail party that turned into a pub crawl/dance floor session that lasted until 3am. Sidenote: Dear Heather and Jason; I apologize for making you take me to get falafels at 3am the night before your wedding. Love, Care. Actually, while I’m at it… Dear feet; I apologize for attempting to wear 4 inch heels, dancing barefoot for 3 hours plus, and proceeding to enter the dirty falafel shop with no shoes on. Love, Care.

German cousins Ben and Laura

Moffatt ladies + Jason

My former roomie Kathleen and me. No idea who that guy is.

Saturday- THE BIG DAY. I woke up with black feet, burping up falafel and hummus (too much info for the blog?) and feeling like vomiting. After the previous day’s running fail, I decided to do a quick strength workout at the hotel gym and cut my losses before heading out to buy a more suitable pair of shoes to ensure making down the isle.

The wedding was so beautiful. Neither of our families are religious, so the ceremony was quite short but very personal. Confession: I cried throughout the entire thing. WHO AM I? but my sis looked so grown up, and everything about the ceremony was so heartfelt and touching. Heather- Congrats! You looked beautiful!

As much as I can say about the ceremony, the party that followed was a TIME. My family was wild! So so much fun.

16 year olds are allowed to get drunk at weddings

They call this move 'the superman.' No word of a lie.

My mum's best friend Cathy is saying, "Do you think we can make it to the table?"

I woke up in my bridesmaid’s dress the next day, which had a huge hole in the bottom because apparently it got caught in the escalator at the venue. Such a bummer, but totally worth it. Made it to the airport just as my flight was boarding to head back to Van on Sunday evening.

So in conclusion, I ran 15 km (barely) in about 7 days, but prepared my liver for any toxins it may encounter during the marathon. Week in review and MCAT recap coming up!

Blogging is hard when you’re really busy

I’ve been a huge running blog (and life) slacker lately. I feel like I can only focus on one hard thing at a time, and the mental marathon takes precedence. Just so I don’t fall too too far behind, here are last week’s miles-

Wednesday- Without Dave, the marathon ladies and I acted like a bunch of rebellious teens with parents out of town and only ran 7 km ish instead of 10… we are so bad! It was a lovely, relaxed run on the seawall to Cambie bridge and back. Great to have Andrea back in action!

Thursday: HILLS HILLS HILLS (sung to the Destiny’s Child hit Bills Bills Bills circa grade 10… sidenote: did anyone else find that song completely offensive? Why would I expect my boyfriend to pay my bills?) Anyway… we hit the King Ed hill between Arbutus and Angus for 6 repeats. This was killer! I think my feet are getting “scarier,” but who knows. I also ate a huge meal right before- see Aly’s and Evy’s blogs for common themes- which was absolutely not ideal. I ran the entire way with ironwoman Carissa and her awesome toesocks (need a pair)- thanks for the push girl!

I didn’t make it out again until Sunday, but this was the best run i’ve had in awhile. We hit the UBC trails for 23km of urban adventure dedicated to none other than Alan ‘SAS’ Yu, and it was so great to be out of the heat in the shade! Brunch was at Ousi on Granville, where I am most def ordering a basket of cornbread next time.

Another fun thing I did this week was volunteer at a ‘yogathon’ fundraiser for a camp for kids with HIV/AIDS called Camp Moomba. It was hundreds of people, all doing yoga, in a field at UBC. So fun, eh? Definitely inspired me to (think about) get(ting) back into yoga after a 1.5 year hiatus.

I also made a bunch of vegetarian food, took photos of it, and ate it. And it was good.

carroty sprouty spinach on sprouted wheat bagel with hummus.

tomatoey chickpea sprouty mix

vegan pizza with homegrown basil! visible smudge on camera lens from dropping in a bowl of hummus...

i can't really remember what was in here. spinach banana almond milk smoothie with a bunch of stuff on top

Oh! And I found out one of my very best friends from uni has a food blog!

Jenn your pics are beautiful! Speaking of beautiful pics, here’s a gem from Sackville Summer 2006…

So glad we didn't know about blogs in the GIS lab. I miss you!

Ok that’s all for now. I’ll be missing the next few group runs, but am hoping to get in a couple good ones with some old running buddies from Halifax when I get to Ottawa for my big sis’s wedding! Yay reunions!