BMO Vancouver Half Marathon

Today I ran BMO Vancouver Half Marathon in 2 hours and 11 minutes. It was such a beautiful day. It was warm and sunny and just perfect. Every time I run a race in Vancouver I can’t believe my eyes how beautiful this city is. Just before crossing Cambie Bridge we had a spectacular view of the down town core with all the North Shore Mountains in the back, shining with white snow in a 20 degree, sunny day! It is just stunning! I ran the race with my 3 running buddies: Melanie, Laura and Andy. We all started together and Melanie and I took off around kilometer 14. Melanie and I kept running together for a while and when we hit the 19th kilometer I decided to pick up the pace a little bit more. I was feeling really good today, with lots of energy and willing to push harder.
The race started at 7:00 am. As you all know, I have to have my breakfast smoothie before I run. These kinds of activities are too demanding to go without any fuel in your body. So, to plan for the bathroom times, I woke up at 4am, had my smoothie, got ready and left home at 5am. When we got to Laura’s house I went to the bathroom there, then, when we were getting closer to the start line, we stopped in a gas station and went to the bathroom again. Finally, when we got to the start line we used the bathroom one more time! I know, it seems a little but obsessive, but you want to avoid going to the bathroom while in the middle of the race because, even though there are some, the lines are always long and you don’t want to waist 5 precious minutes in a bathroom line!
Every time you run a big race, like BMO, you see really crazy people running it. This makes the curse entertaining and gets you distracted, which is always good. Today I saw some guys running the race wearing a purple tutu and one wearing a ginger bread man outfit (I really don’t know how they can run with that). The other thing that I love while running is reading the signs that bystanders have to cheer us up. Today’s favourite ones were: “I don’t know why all the cute guys are running away” and “If running would be easy, I would be doing it too.”
Today was a very special race for me because I got to run, for the first time, wearing my PETA PACK t-shirt. I felt so proud of it and loved it when people commented on it or when I saw them reading it! Everything helps to spread the message of animal protection.
After we all finished the race we went for brunch to The Naam, a vegetarian/vegan restaurant located in Kitsilano. As always, the food there is amazing. I got the vegan Shatki cake, scrambled tofu and tea. My friends, although they are not vegetarian/vegan, enjoyed the food as well. And of course, in the afternoon I took a well-deserved nap.



My Animal Lover Note: Yesterday we went to a potluck organized by the Langley Herbivores. We ate delicious vegan food and met amazing people. It is always nice to see that there are others out there that care about animals the same way my husband and I do. It is always nice to have an amazing, healthy meal knowing that no animal was killed or suffered in the process. We are just what we eat!