#RnRVAN: Vancouver Rules!

#RnRVAN

I spent most of last year being excited about being a RocknBlog ambassador for Vancouver Rock n' Roll Half ! Heck so much so I blogged for them..but not on my own blog.

So YEH! I ran #RnRVAN - the inaugural race. And it was my FIRST Rock n Roll race. And, my 33rd halfmarathon. Did it lead up to the hype? Yes! I loved it.

But I also LOVE the city. It is one of my favourite places to visit! There are great sights, it is so lush and green,and it is never cold like Calgary. So I knew running a late October race would be awesome.

I have been lucky enough to have run twice this year there. 

In May I ran the BMO Half Marathon (for my birthday). It poured rain the entire time. Ugh. I had a tough race and while I enjoyed it I was determined to do better. I prayed to the weather gods. And I also concentrated my training. As I was going to be training for my Vegas Ragnar Ultra, running the #RnRVAN fit in perfectly with training. I had been doing a crapload of back-to-back runs to prep for Vegas. And, this would be the start of the "the taper"!

The lead up to the Race was fun... I got to offer a discount to my friends/family/followers.

Plus I wrote a few posts about me and my love of racing for the RocknBlog.My fav was the Top 10 Tips for Dressing Up your Race Gear! 

So...I had an amazing costume. I had been training hard. And I promised myself as I have been a bit hard on myself (and my half mara race times lately - thanks shingle I still hate you) I was going to HAVE FUN.

Part of the fun was attending the Run Expo. I had hear all about the RnR Vegas expo...I was certain this would be small in comparison, but it was bigger than most I had ever been to...with lots of fun stuff. I worked at it (for CEP - as I am a CEP Team Ambassador). But i had some time both days to snoop around and meet up with friends and HAVE fun with Cori and finally met Nikki and Brandi. And, I knew at least 40+ people from Calgary and Vancouver who stopped by the CEP booth to say hi! SO much fun. 

Race Day was amazing start to finish. I got up uber early...but the great thing is my cousin lives less than 5 minutes from the train. And I only had to get on for a few stops! ACE. As I made my way to the VIP reception (heloooo some breakie and bag drop off - SO AWESOME) people were stopping and saying hi, and saying how much they loved my costume. 

And no...those horns are NOT heavy. Made of fun foam, hollow horns and a little gold lame paint...attached to a snug fitting terry headband. I was praying it was going to not make me crazy for the race. But I got a real lift out of people cheering on the superhero look. Most people didn't guess Loki (Thor's little brother), but a lot of peeps did know. I would say I had at least 50 shout-outs an high-5s on race day. And 6 people asked to take a picture. I was so suprized. It made feel great, forget about running, an laugh and have fun.

It was cool, but not cold. Perfect run conditions. I was in coral 17 - it only took 30 minutes from the gun til when I started. This is good (Now, this is also the biggest race I have ever done...so I thought it was super smooth) I felt super comfortable the whole way. I slowed down after the first 5k, as I thought maybe I am going too fast. Overly cautious move. But i remained steady in pace. For severla kilometres I ran with Angela  - a Calgary blogger and my Ragnar teammate - she kept us steady til about kilometre 16 when I had tumy issues. Seriously I have 7km left and NOW i gotta go? GRRRR.

I had two pit stops in the span of 3km. And then I pushed. HARD. I felt amazing (oh helloooo to the big elevation drop which helped) and my tummy seemed to have shut up. I felt super strong the last two km and brought her home 11 minutes faster than the last Vancouver race only 5 months earlier. HURRAH! Even the race pics were great

The other thing that was new for me was all the bands. It brok up the race into little bits for me. Maybe a mindgame, but it works! It was a whole lot of fun. After the race, I was SO HAPPY to see Cori - in her FAB tardis costume. She rocked her first 10m race back from injury! THAT is my favourite photo from the race and I was so glad #RnR used it in social media. It makes me happy. 

After the race I just was heading back to my cousin's so I whipped over to the VIP area for a bit of lunch first. A smoothie, lots of fruit, and some eggs an salad were on the menu. oh yeh. And a beer. So delish. I was still irritated about my tummy issue. But I had my year's best half mara time...and am getting stronger. So hurrah all around! 

So will I run in a costume again? Hell yes! Will I run the Vancouver Rock n' Roll Half again? Without a doubt! Hope to see you there. Oh and would I purchase the VIP pass they offer? Yup. Totally need one for Vegas this November.

My next Rock n Roll event is #RnRAZ in less than a week! I cant wait. I have the #remixchallenge - 5k sat halfmara Sunday. Bring on Hallfmara #34!