Vancouver Sun Run 2014

We did it! We did the Vancouver Sun Run on the weekend. I was definitely not the fastest out there, but I can cross off the Sun Run from my bucket list and be happy in the fact that I finished it. I finished it. For me that is huge. I am not a runner by any means. I loved playing on the school teams for volleyball and basketball, and I enjoyed the odd round of rugby in gym class. I do not have the body of a runner, but I for some crazy reason decided to put the Sun Run on my bucket list of things I wanted to try at some point.

It took me a little over 2 hours to do the run at my own pace, which is more of a walk and jogging combo that I am comfortable with. (My next goal may be to work towards being able to run 5 k straight? Hmm… that gives me something to think about) My husband stayed with me the whole time to be of encouragement and support, and Evie was my cheering team in the jogger. I started tearing up as we reached the finish line because I had done it. I set a goal, and I did it. I was also overwhelmed that I was at the 2 hour mark because I was certain it would take me well over that, I was expecting 2 and a half hours or so. I am now tending to a painful ankle as I did misstep at one point and rolled my ankle (very thankful for my sister who has everything needed when it comes to sports injuries – she came to my aid last night at 9:30 pm when I was crying in pain. I now have lotions, exercise bands, tensors, and lots of direct orders for what to do. I haven’t had a ankle injury this bad since grade 1)

My big goal now is to continue working on being healthier and to get myself to a healthier and happier place. It sure is hard at times, but yesterday was a huge step in the right direction. Maybe my next big run will be the Tinkerbell 10K , I am definitely not ready for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon, but a run at the happiest place on earth sounds good to me.

My husband has done the Sun Run before, and he actually said he would never do it again. Thankfully he agreed to do it with me. He warned me that it is incredibly crowded. I was surprised at the number of people of all ages taking part. It was incredible to see but made moving interesting while running. Apparently when Jason last did the run it was a lot of dogging people, and running up onto the side walk to get around people.

During the run I got encouragement texts from my sister, and from Tairalyn of Little Miss Mama. I laughed when I got one text from my sister that said “Nice!! Good job!! I’d be dead already.” when I let her know I was at the 7 k mark.

We might have made it in under the 2 hour mark, but we had to make a pit stop around the 8km mark after my ankle moment, and Evie needed a diaper change. My husband is super dad according to one of our friends (who also did the run and got his own personal best time!) for running 10 k and changing diapers.

My husband also found an app to use on his phone while we did the run. It kept track of all sorts of things while we went. From our pace, to the temperature, and how long each km took us. It was very cool to see everything at the end of the run.