14 posts tagged “coal harbour”
On October 21st @ 9:00 AM the Vancouver Nike Runner’s Lounge will be holding a 21KM run in support of the 15,000 women that will be simultaneously running in the San Francisco Nike Women’s Marathon, an event that will be raising funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
And if the half marathon is not your thing, we will also be holding 5K and 10K runs to add to the celebration.
The Experience will Include:
• 5k, 10k, 21k runs with Nike Run Leaders
• Run shirts for all participants
• Water station on route
• Bowerman Brunch
• Post-run massage
• Pedi-care stations to reward you feet
If interested in participating in this event please RSVP here, on Facebook, by phone at (778) 786-7463, or in person at the Vancouver Nike Runner’s Lounge located at 510 Nicola Street.
It would be great if you are interested to encourage as many friends to be part of the day as possible.
Thanks
Paul
Assistant Manager Nike Runner's Lounge
Today was gloomy, windy, and rainy; fall weather is starting to settle into Vancouver. It's ok though because I enjoy running in the rain...and my whole run tonight was...an experience to say the least. One that I will remember.
I went down to the Nike Runner's Lounge and ran along the seawall, around part of Pipeline, past the Rose Gardens, looped back around Lost Lagoon, ran up to Second Beach and continued running by the Inukshuk through English Bay to the Burrard Street Bridge and back.
It was already fairly dark when I set out and the yacht's lights at Coal Harbour glistened against the calm water. Stanley Park smelled more earthy than usual due to the rain and it was great to run through the trees a bit. The beach was gorgeous, the sun was setting and a brilliant orangy-pink colour was peaking through the rain clouds and reflected against the water and buildings. The sand was wet as the tide was just on it's way out. On the way back I saw an injured raccoon, it's back leg was hurt and it was hoping around and looked so scared. So I ran by the park station but it was closed...hopefully the poor thing will be ok.
As far as people go, there was hardly anyone else out there. Most of the time I was alone, except for a few fellow runner's passing by. It's like Vancouver runner's rainy day secret.
That's a whooooole lot of running. Seriously. I am in shock I ran that much and didn't collapse or anything, haha. Wow. It took a long time; it got to the point where the legs were feeling like lead. Took a few extended stops (washroom, stretching, water/Gatorade refills.) Still, I did it!!!! I'm surprisingly not super sore, either (we'll see if that still holds tomorrow!) At the advice of one of my teammates I took an ice cold bath when I got home in order to reduce inflammation. Then I took a two hour nap because I was pretty beat. When I woke up I iced my legs on and off for an hour or so. I just took an Epsom salt bath and am icing my legs again. I'm hoping all this will ward off the stiffness for tomorrow.
The morning was looking pretty dreary: rainy, overcast, a bit chilly. I decided to not take my jacket figuring the running would warm me up enough. I'm glad I made that decision because it stopped raining and the sun came out and it was great weather for most of the run.
We went around Science World, through Gastown (where homeless people and the motorcycle show people cheered us on, lol.) Stopped at a Starbucks for a washroom break where the manager was really nice, cleaning up one of the washroom's for us. As we were waiting to use them he asked me, "so how far are you running today?" to which I replied "oh, just 30 kilometres." (It came out sounding a lot more casual than I intended.) I went into the washroom at that point and one of my teammate's said the guy looked at him like "holy crap?! 'just 30km?!' like it's a walk around the block...I'm going to go back to my espresso." lol.
We then ran through Coal Harbour, stopped at the Nike Runner's Lounge for some Gatorade, which was great. The employee's were all excited to see us so I think that gave us a boost of energy. They had a couple of massage therapists in there and I think everyone on the team was looking at them thinking "JEALOUS! I want a massage now!" We were about half way into the run at this point.
We continued along the seawall and up Prospect Point, which is where some pain started in my left knee. Finally made it up that steep (and seemingly endless) hill and stopped a bit at the top for a stretch to try to see if the pain would dissipate. We continued on to Third Beach...Second Beach (stopped a couple of times for stretching/speed walk break lol)...to the Burrard Street Bridge. (Yes, that's right we went around the entirety of Stanley Park!!) May I reiterate once again how spoiled I am for getting to run along the gorgeous beaches, forest, and with the Rockies in clear view as a bonus? Sooo incredible, as always.
I think the hardest part was after the Burrard Bridge because we knew we were sooo close to Granville Island but we had to take a round about way to get the distance in. Followed Cornwall to Cypress, went down to Macdonald (which is quite a ways.) Looped around up to another stupid (albiet shorter) steep hill which REALLY hurt going up so we decided to walk at a fast pace up it because at that point the legs weren't going to pick up enough to run at a decent pace anyway.
Fortunately, it leveled out and we came back around to Macdonald and made a wrong turn, having to backtrack two blocks and then ran back to Burrard Street and over the homestretch to Granville Island. It's amazing how as soon as you realize how little left there is left that you get a burst of energy.
It was definitely a tough run in the mental sense. When we got to three hours of running we started laughing because it just seemed so ridiculous that we had been running THAT long, like "this is insane; we are insane" haha. I think we knew we were crazy when we had been running for two hours and it seemed like no big deal.
Endurance running is a funny thing because you get to the point where you're lungs and heart are fine running for 2.5-3 hrs but your body is just screaming at you while your brain is telling you to go faster. I had some doubts at points and every time a tourist trolley went past it was tempting to get on. After walking for about two minutes I had to give myself a pep talk. I've come extremely far and the end was in site...I knew I could do it but it was certainly hard to muster some extra inner strength when my legs didn't seem to want to do what my brain was telling them to. At another point it was kind of like running fartlek's in the sense of "make it to that tree ok now to the saltwater pool" etc. (though I assure you no sprinting was being done at that point!) Also, I think going from 24k one week to 30k is a pretty big leap and quite the accomplishment no matter how long it takes.
In terms of on-the-run nutrition and hydration I didn't managing that well today. I brought along with me one gel and a pack of Sharkies. I forgot to take the gel until over an hour into it and hated the flavour. So I couldn't force myself to finish it even and didn't remember I had the Sharkies. I had probably the equivalent of maybe 350mL of Gatorade and 500mL of water through the entire run. At one stop I was able to get another gel and ate about half of that. I did run out of liquid for maybe the last 8k or so which was a bit tough to deal with.
After the run I forced myself to eat a Clif protein bar and drink a bottle of water. I wasn't hungry but I knew that I needed to replenish nutrients to help aide in muscle recovery. I think I consumed around 500 cals with the gel, Gatorade, and energy bar. I still only ate about 500 more cals today but I just don't feel hungry and had to force that still. Which is not good considering I burned probably around 1,300 from the run anyway. Does anyone have suggestions for this? (I know, lame that I am asking a nutrition question, haha.)
This post is really long as is so I think I will just end it here! All in all it was an amazing run!!!
Wednesday I went to the Nike Runner's Lounge (NRL) for the first time in a few weeks. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, sunny, not humid, and hot out at 32 degrees! Three of us did hill repeats; it was a good yet hard workout. We did a light run from Coal Harbour up pipeline to the long hill in Stanley Park. There's a definite incline but it's pretty steady.
There was another huge running group (I'm thinking from the Running Room) of about twenty people also doing hill repeats. I like how only other runners can understand things like hill repeats, haha. The few tourists that passed by were looking at us all as if we were crazy. For the first time in a while my lungs hurt and though that's not a pleasant feeling it was welcomed if that makes any sense.
After "we ate that hill for breakfast" (as one of the team members says) we did a light run around Beaver Lake and then headed back toward Coal Harbour and stopped at one of the bridges (kind of near the rowing club) and did a few more hill repeats there. That seemed easier because even though it was much steeper the length was a lot shorter. Then we took it easy when running back to the NRL. I walked past it for a cool down and stretched some. It was a great day!
Thursday I did some weight training so that was good...not much else to report on that.
Yesterday I went to the NRL again...and I had forgotten that they are closed on Fridays. RAWR!!! Which I was really disappointed in because I was looking forward to my run. The funny thing is that I was thinking about doing 1200's at the gym's track but decided I'd go for a trail run instead. So I figured I'd throw my gym bag in a bush and go for a run anyway but I was too worried someone would take it so I just ended up taking a long walk around Lost Lagoon, Second Beach and then all the way up to downtown. Because of a bad car crash on the Lion's Gate Bridge transit and traffic was at a stand still for over two hours so walking was probably faster anyway. When I got home I did some pilates.
I think my brain went on holidays today! So I wasn't feeling any pain in my shins while walking and when putting pressure on them they still didn't hurt. So I thought I would try out an easy run being that it was an incredibly beautiful day. So I went to the Nike Runner's Lounge (to which I will now abbreviate as the NRL) and headed off.
I warmed up really well by walking for ten minutes and then once I got to Lost Lagoon I started to run (figured it would be best to avoid pavement right now.) I was going at a pretty decent pace; kicked it up because my Dr. said the faster you go the better it is on the shins. Then around ten minutes after running I could feel a dull ache in my left shin, right where the worst one was. So I walked and then stopped at a bench to stretch my calves and shins. Then I walked some more.
At this point I was on a trail in Stanley Park that not many tourists venture into. It was very quiet and thanks to all that rain last week the smell of the leaves and soil were more apparent than usual. I love how the massive trees create a canopy overhead and the sunlight trickles through in spots. My leg was feeling better and I thought maybe the walking and stretching had helped. So I went full speed but only for about two minutes because the dull ache returned. It is not bad and normally something I would have run through; I just wanted to stop at any sign of discomfort because I believe that means it isn't fully healed yet and I'd rather not risk further complications.
So instead of turning around I walked a bit farther into the forest and laid down on one of the massive tree stumps. It was very meditative and relaxing to let my thoughts go and just be. I usually get into that state while running and was happy that despite the run wasn't as much of one as I hoped that I could still release my stressful thoughts.
Then on the way back I sprinted once I was at the seawall through the throngs of tourists back to the NRL.
These are the reasons I was scatterbrained today:
- It was 27C out, even with the shade I should have still brought some water or Gatorade with me. IDIOT. Don't do that again!
- I've been stressed the past couple of days. My caloric intake for the day has been a meager 617 calories (including a post run gatorade) It seems that I have turned into one of those people who don't eat when stressed (I used to be opposite.) This is NO good. Both are bad habits and I need to pay attention more to this. Passing out = not good.
- I brought my camera with me to the NRL so that I'd be able to take some pictures along the trails. I forgot to use it.
Random:
- The Propel water grape flavour reminds me of the grape medicine you used to get as a kid. Gross. It was free though so I drank it haha.
I finally made it to the Sunday GTS!!! Yay! This morning we ran a lot...more than I ever have before and my legs don't want to move now! Though I'm not feeling tired; so I guess it's a trade-off :) Let's see, we went all over Granville Island, English Bay, Stanley Park, the seawall, etc. Weather-wise it was good: overcast and not hot like it's been the past week so that was a welcomed change.
My calves kept seizing up (so I guess it wasn't all in my head on the speed workout) it took me forever to complete (at least it seemed that way.) Sidenote: if anyone wants to give me a free massage you might be able to convince me to oblige, haha.
I tried another sports gel today, the Power Bar brand, strawberry-banana flavour. It didn't give me any issues either
Overall, the run went well. I didn't get super frustrated and all negative with the calves this run and tried to focus on the fact that if my legs were capable of moving faster that I would've been fine because my endurance has definitely increased. Thankfully, another woman from the group ran along with me so it was nice to not be running alone! I just enjoyed going along the ocean and looking at the mountains while running at the slower pace today. Sometimes I take for granted what Vancouver has to offer...it's always so breathtaking and yet there are times when I forget how wonderful this city is. When I got home I noticed I had sand all over me, haha. That kind of surprised me because the ocean was very calm today...it was windy so that's probably the culprit.
All in all a fabulous day!
P.S. The hand was ok, it's just irritating to run with it all bandaged and above my heart but there was less pain after the run in it than previously, yay!
Another visit at the Nike Runner's Lounge for me today. Since I talk so much about the lounge I decided to take some pictures of it and Coal Harbour.
I did 10k in 52 mins at a 5:28/km (8:47/m) pace according to the Nike+ system. It was super hot out and granted I ran at a pretty bad time of day (16:15) but it was the only time I could fit in a run. I drank two bottles of Gatorade and had 500mL of water after, haha. I think considering my hand and the heat that the run was great! I thought I might find it hard to run 10k because of my mini hiatus but it wasn't at all...besides my hand I enjoyed it and didn't have any issues :) Perhaps the time off helped a bit with the knees and shins.
I kind of ran all over the place today, haha. I started off around Lost Lagoon and then took a trail I had never tried out before...which connected to one I have done and then ended up back along the seawall a bit past the lighthouse and then just decided to follow the seawall back to the lounge again. Though I think if it's that hot out again I should loop back through the park.
Later in the evening there was a meeting at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to help with tips for fundraising, I'm glad I was able to make it out. I definitely got some good ideas! I have some different events I'm in the midst of planning - I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that it'll all work out.
Today I was mega-stressed out, boooo to that. So I REALLY was looking forward to my run at the lounge. I borrowed the shoes and iPod again today and just ran! I was supposed to only go for 40 mins but ended up doing over an hour...um, whoops...but I needed it in order to melt away my worries. I went around a portion of Lost Lagoon and then back through some trails and then along the seawall a bit to finish up. The trail was gorgeous and no one else was around which I relished! Once again it was around 22 degrees but there was a great breeze along the wall and through the trails the shade from the trees made it cooler, too.
Technology-wise the run was a success; I am finally getting used to the iPod and Nike+ system. I had the songs on "90's playlist" which was a bit more my taste than Tuesday's tunes. Though I still think I prefer to run without music..I did turn the volume down so I couldn't hear it for a good 20 minutes because I wanted to listen to the water :) I think the next time I use it I will just use the no music option.
Oh, and when I uploaded my info to the Nike+ website I wasn't paying too much attention to it, just noticed it said 12.5k for the day...well when I got home and looked I guess it had transferred a bunch of runs onto my account, oops. So I THINK I found my actual run, which was logged as 9.04k in 52mins (though for 10 minutes I had not started the iPod) My estimate is 11k. (I think the 12.5 wasn't mine along with some others.)
The PHYSICAL running itself wasn't as stellar as usual because I had more fluctuations in pace and my knee was acting up again, that little bugger! Then my calves started to go spastic on me :P I think that's because I hadn't eaten or hydrated enough prior to the run. You'd think I would have the nutrition down but apparently not...::smacks self::
Part of the reason I love running so much is because of the freedom it holds. It's also empowering for me. I felt pretty agitated beforehand but while I was running I could sort through my thoughts and then just enjoy running for the sake of running. I thought about cancer a lot and those I know affected by it and it helped put my woes into perspective.
Later in the evening there was a social for the team which I enjoyed! Because I ran earlier in the day I missed the GTS. It was good to see everyone again! We mainly talked about random things and also a lot about fundraiser's so that was nice! I'm in the midst of trying to plan some so hopefully they'll go over well! That reminds me that you should donate to help cure cancer!!!
*Kirsten is aware that she's sometimes a dork.
I went to the lounge today and borrowed a pair of runners, ipod, sport kit, armband, locker, and a shirt! (Lol they are probably all sick of me by now, haha.) I went on a 30 minute run and got farther than I thought I would. I just followed the seawall...went to the gun and back. It was a hot day (23)...well, compared to the past little while. I really need to purchase a hydration belt soon. This run was fine because it wasn't for long.
I had a great run! The shoes felt a million times better than the other pair I had tried last week. I actually logged the workout with minimal issues (I didn't know how to manipulate the volume). I listened to the "1/2 Marathon playlist" which was...not exactly my music taste haha. It was upbeat though...which I guess is the point :P
Once I returned from my run I got a free shirt for going there so many times, woot woot!
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