I woke up this morning to the sound of rain pouring from the open bedroom window. I laid for a few minutes with my eyes closed hoping that it is still a dream, but the sound never went away. Rain or shine, but the race will go on. Pre-race breakfast was oatmeal with berries, shredded coconut and chia seeds and an apple to go.
The sky over downtown Vancouver was clearing up, but it was quite chilly. Once we got to the start line, you forget about the cold. The crowd was beaming with excitement. You feel this energy, you almost become this energy and you can’t wait till the race starts. While we were stretching, MC gave a shutout to  a few very special Sun Runners. There was two 78 year old ladies in this year’s race. 78 and doing Sun Run!!! Talk about life goals. I want to be 78 and be able to run in a race. We have been training for this race for the last 3 months. Running in rain and snow, getting out of bed at 5.30 a.m. to run under pouring rain, coming to Sunday practices not believing we could complete scheduled course and pushing ourselves to do our personal best. It was a journey that led us to this place. Now just one more selfie before the start whistle…
Keeping my pace was a bit challenging at first, especially when most runners sprint downhill from the start line and you are holding back a little. Budgeting my energy really paid off , especially at the hilly sections. I did not stop to take photos. I tried to make “mental pictures”, the best one of which would be sea of blue runners under the falling sakura petals along the Lagoon Drive bottleneck.

There was a lot of conversations going on in the beginning of the race. I’m not a quiet runner myself and I loved the buzz. Interesting how the crowd gets quieter as you progress. We crossed Burrard Bridge in silence, you can only hear shoes hitting the pavement and heavy breath. I was struggling a bit right after crossing the bridge and got myself distracted by reading corporate team names on the backs of fellow  runners shirts. I was struggling a bit at one point. This was when I heard one of the music bands along the way play Mariah Carey’s “Hero”. It brought tears to my eyes and gave me a much needed boost before the biggest incline section of the course.

So many people came to cheer the runners this Sunday morning. Today for the first time I felt how much crowd support means for an athlete. Little kids screaming “You can do it”, hi-5 stations, people holding posters, your support was much appreciated. Along the way a lady was holding a poster that best describes the atmosphere “I’m proud of you, perfect stranger”.I remember seeing someone break down the race into stages. By the time I was on the Cambie Bridge I was already past “Control – Relax – Rhythm – Suffer – Drive” stages and into the Sprint one. BC Place never felt so close, yet so far. My finish time was 1:06:01. This was not my goal time, but it was MY Personal BEST for today. I did not stop once, kept my pace, pushed and gave it all I had, but most importantly I loved it! This is probably one of the most important milestones throughout the last 3 months of training – I love running.

We wrapped up the day with what was planned as a “Wine and Whine” party, but ended up being a celebration of  Personal Bests and the group journey. Well done, guys! We did it and we all enjoyed it! Thank you for being such an awesome group!They say one run can change your day, many runs can change your life. The race is done, but my running story continues…