I just ran my 8th SeaWheeze! This is my absolute favorite race. Lululemon really goes all out and makes each and every runner feel special. This year we stayed at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. It was so amazing. I feel like now I have to stay there every year. Great room, great location, and lots of perks like free bike rental and juices for the race. The pool was just okay... I much prefer the pool at Westin Bayshore or the Four Seasons. But everything else was top notch!
We arrived on Wednesday around midday and went straight to Cactus Club Cafe, my fav! I might have got a bit too drunk... I all of a sudden really wanted to go on a sea plane. We went to our hotel concierge to book a tour, but they were full for the rest of the evening, but we were able to book a tour first thing the next day. We got some bikes from the hotel and biked around Stanley Park. Another one of my favorite things to do in Vancouver!
Thursday morning we went on our sea plane tour. I was now sober and a bit scared to fly, but it was so much fun and not as scary as I thought. It was comforting for me to be able to see the pilot. We got to see a lot of Vancouver!
After the sea plane tour, we grabbed the hotel bikes and biked False Creek. We run a bit of this bike route during the race... but I haven't been on several segments. It was really nice! Also, it was way less busy than Stanley Park, which can be overwhelming busy at times.
Thursday afternoon I went to Boob Truth. I thought I was going to get measured for a sports bra, but instead they put a sensor on my chest and then I had to run for 1 minute. They showed me the movement of my boobs and then recommended a few sports bras. It was okay. We then grabbed our race packets and that was super easy. We got the usual - a bag, water bottle, some nuun, and new this year... a race bib. We also got some freebies - the Sage peppermint halo and a couple of new lulu products: dry shampoo (for me) and deodorant (for Josh, but really for me). I also got to see the LegaSea wall with all of our names on it. I love being a part of this group!!
Friday is my favorite part of SeaWheeze (this is basically my Christmas - - in terms of being a kid and being super excited for Santa to come). I got the first wave to get in line - 6 am. I was originally in the first wave, which was 6:15 am, but they moved several people into a new 6 am wave because I guess too many people were in the 6:15 am wave. I got in line around 5:15 am and of course there was already a line forming. They let us into the building around 5:45 am and we waited there until 6:45 am. I have never been this far up in the line before... it was great! I was in the first wave into the store. As we were entering the store, we were greeted by the race pacers and it was so so awesome. I gave so many high-fives! I grabbed everything that I thought I wanted and then waited for them to call my group for the reflective gear (which was also new this year, they gave us a card with a group name. We had to wait for our group to be called to get in line for reflective. I think I was group 3 or 4). I got the reflective clothes that I wanted and then had to go figure out what to put back.
Josh ended up getting some reflective too!
After shopping, we went to the same place we go every year after shopping... Cafe Crepe. It's our tradition. Then back to PreWheeze to get my hair braided and my nails painted. This year we had to register for a time to do this, and it was such a breeze! I usually don't do it because the lines are way too long. After that it was yoga with Ryan Leir. Ryan Leir made me fall in love with yoga. This year has been rough for me because of my neck injury and I have literally done ZERO yoga this year. I can't believe this when I say it out loud. I used to be so devoted to my practice. So anyways, this yoga session with Ryan Leir was really special to me.
We had dinner at our favorite restaurant (CCC) and then it hit me that I had to run 13.1 miles the next day... ugggg. I was not in the running mood at all. I tried to go to bed early, but it wasn't easy.
Race morning breakfast was 5 timbits from Tim Hortons. Not a lot of food. I should have planned this out a bit better. Race weather was okay. It was cloudy and not too hot or cold. I really wanted a sub 2 hour race. I started off okay and thought I was running fast, but every time I looked at my watch I wasn't really moving fast. I guess my legs were tired from all the pre-race biking.
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| Obligatory Race Photo |
I'm not exactly sure when I fell apart... but I experienced random bouts of pain during the majority of the race. Really sore left shoulder, painful right knee, stomach pinch, felt kind of puke-ish at times. I just wanted to give up basically the whole race. But I was strong mentally, so I have to give myself credit there. My motivation - - I did NOT want Josh to beat me. We started at the same time and I knew he wasn't too far behind me (when I saw him at mile 5.5 at the turn around point). I was going to be pissed if he passed me. Finally around mile 11.5 I allowed myself to walk up this bitch hill. I just didn't have much energy left. I'm not exactly sure how I got to the finish... if I walked a bit, but I'm certain I ran most of it. I finished with a time of 02:05:47, which is not a course PR, but it's my second best.
For whatever reason, this course is super hard for me. I think it's because of how congested it is so you are constantly weaving to pass people. It makes it tough. Also, I wasn't very well nourished. Oops. It's always hard for me to get enough food morning of a race during race vacations. I need to be better at that.
After the race, it was more biking and a lot more eating! Sunday morning we had planned to do Grouse Grind, but we both woke up with very sore legs. So that was a big fat nope! Instead we got the hotel bikes out and biked Stanley Park again. It was early enough so it wasn't too busy. Weather was beautiful too.
I love SeaWheeze. See you next year for #9!
Race recaps from previous SeaWheezes:
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
