SeeRally: How did you do?

Is the question that I am getting these days... and the answer, "Better than predicted".

Our travels ended late Saturday evening, and this week contains getting back into the swing of things.

Last Saturday, we flew into Seattle and after a delay at the rental car company, finally got on the road heading towards Vancouver, BC. We got to the here and enjoyed an hour and 1/2 wait to cross over into Canada.

We had to pick up our packets at the expo by 5pm in able to run the race, and with our delays at the car company and the border, we were cutting it really close! In addition to our previous delays, our directions to the hotel were very confusing... meaning more delay, turning around, stopping for clarification, etc... we finally drove into the driveway of the sponsoring hotel at 5:15, threw our car keys to the valet, and took off with a pre-marathon warm-up to the expo. They were tearing down the event, and someone had mercy on us and gave us our packet and shirt :-). WE WERE GOING TO RUN!!!!!

Reflecting on this stressful time of being so close to running the race but having a BIG possibility of being disqualified, made me realize how badly I wanted to run this race. It was very encouraging to see my hearts desire to run (spiritual implementation I will touch on later).

So Sunday morning came...

Isn't this hysterical! I definitely hadn't had my coffee yet ;).

During the race, I had a blast... mentally. Physically, my lungs were great (benefit of training at 6000 ft and running at sea level), but my legs were hurting a little. During training we ran a lot on trails instead of pavement... my muscles suffered a bit.

There was so much to look at and embrace in the moment. Several times I found myself skipping, singing, praying, praising, and a smile on my face. The course took you from University of British Columbia to Stanley Park. When you left the residential area of the race, it opened up overlooking the ocean and skyline of downtown Vancouver... beautiful!

Here are some pictures driving backwards on the course.