My Long Run

Last weekend was Labour Day weekend, when everyone celebrates the last extra day off in the summer.  For Carmella and I, it was a chance to do things we talked about all summer, but hadn't done yet.

Carmella went for a swim in Kits Pool, which is a large outdoor, heated saltwater pool right by the ocean.  It's 137m lengthwise, so each length is a long one.

It was also a chance for me to go for a run I'd been thinking about for many months.

Whenever I'm driving across the Lions Gate Bridge connecting downtown Vancouver to the Northshore, there are always walkers, bikers, and runners on it.  I wanted to run it too, and I wanted to run there from home.

The route would about 20K if I went the most direct route, more if I wandered a bit.  It seemed like a good thing to do.  Since I wasn't really training or racing, I brought my camera along and took pictures along the way.


The run ended up being about 25K, and took me just over three hours.  I spent time resting, eating, taking pictures, and walking. The last 40% of the run was painful, but I slogged through.

I'm very happy with my run.  I hadn't run in about 4 months, so was proud of myself for running 25K off the couch.  It hurt though!  Here are some pictures of my route.

This is Kits Beach, about 3K in.  I decided to run along the water.  You can see Downtown and the North Shore.

Lots of rocks.  I heard they trucked in the sand to Kits Beach.  It's usually nice to run on, but after about 10 minutes my knee began to hurt, so I had to walk for awhile.

I walked until I got to the Burrard Bridge, then ran again.  This is taken from the highest point. My route would follow the water, where you can see all the ant-sized people.

This is the Sea Wall.  It was packed!  There were hundreds of rocks carefully balanced along the way, and little stations where you could donate money.  Kind of like busking, but using nature.

I came across the artist.  He has gloves and a very still hand.  He's balanced hundreds of rocks today I think.

Here's more Sea Wall.  I'm getting closer to the North Shore, and the Lions Gate Bridge that will get me there.

My goal!  I'll have to get to it though, which means running under it first.

I've made it to the bridge!  It's quite a bit noisier than the Sea Wall.

Always look where you're going on the bridge!  This guy didn't.  He was probably tempted by the mountain scenery.

I am mid-span! 

I was really nervous taking this shot.  I don't like heights, so I shot this quickly and kept on running.

Another shot, mid span on the Lions Gate.  I can ride any chair lift in Whistler with the bar up, but get nervous looking over the railing on the bridge!  You can see on the left the Sea Wall, where I had recently been.

I complete my mission, and am on the other side of the bridge.  Motorists wait as four lanes merge into one. 

On my way back, I found some low hanging fruit.  Blackberry vines are invasive, but deliver wonderful fruit.  The ones that come off the vine easily are sweet, but if you have to yank and pull, it'll be disappointingly tart.