Somehow I get sucked back into the organized chaos that is the Sun Run each and every year that I’ve lived in Vancouver. Each year, I get what I want out of it so I keep going back. :)

The very special part of this year’s run came about because the sister, MY, arrived in town the day before the race and was amenable to running 10K out of the blue with her big sister. :)

As per usual, sleep the night before was broken and dream-ridden. I was wired from her arrival, our chatter, and excitement over the gifts she bore. I woked up at 6:33a.m. and wondered why I felt refreshed – it was an illusion – and wanted to tiptoe to the window to see if weather forecasts would be fulfilled and it would snow.

With my sister along, I had downgraded the race to a Fun Run, I felt some pre-race jitters. Would my body cooperate with me? Would we finish before the clock rolled over to an hour? (I did not relay any expectations to MY.) Although it was not imperative, would we make it downtown before the gun went off at 9a.m.? Several not-quite-full buses did not stop where we were waiting but we made it with a few minutes before the gun went off and twenty minutes before our wave started to run.

I think my camera is dying so my own successful picture is of our shoes. :S

We’ve had some unseasonable weather recently that included freezing rain and lightening on Friday and a dump of snow early Saturday morning. I was out for a 12K run Saturday morning and there was barely a hint of the snowfall. Race day was chilly (1^oC) but it was warm within the crowds. Our quintet (of shoes) split up quickly after we started running except for MY and me sticking together.

So. What does one do during a fun run? Take water at nearly every water station. Walk part of the uphill portion of the bridges. (We did run up nasty Hornby hill.) Observe and appreciate the scenery with more time alongside it.

Otherwise, the kilometer markers seemed to fly by – that’s how fun it was. I checked my watch every time we passed a marker and did a rough calculation. Usually I would be preoccupied with my instantaneous pace but we were getting along just as well as we could. I felt healthy throughout the race knowing that our pace was modestly good and we were getting a workout.

The best part was crossing the finish line – at 64 minutes – holding hands raised victoriously above our heads. I’m rubbing my hands together in anticipation for the race photos! :D

Race statistics and breakdown —–
Chip time 1:04:32
17,306 of 44,160 finishers
6,643 of 24,866 women
986 of 2,843 women 30-34

First KM: 5:41 Fast!
1 mile: 9:46
Second KM: 12:04? Made up for fast start.
4 KM: 25-something
5 KM: 31:55
8 KM: 52:00 There was absolutely no way I could make under 1 hour at this point.

On this day..

• Resolutions 2012 Update - 2012
• Best Part of the "Best Place on Earth" - 2009
• Friday Randomness - 2006
• Sun Run 2006 - 2006