I am so grateful I was able to run lululemon’s inaugural half marathon, the SeaWheeze! There are a few glitches to work out but overall this race was fun-packed, on a beautiful course and fully of really, really fit, awesome people people!
The Expo
My friends and I headed to the expo early Friday morning to find a long line already building before the doors opened. I guess news of free sandals and an exclusive SeaWheeze limited edition lululemon travels fast?
Packet pick-up was a wheeze (haha.. see what I did there?) and dumped us into the lululemon store. aka FOMO madness.
Everything was in limited edition prints and colors and it went fast. In the first 30 minutes I couldn’t find anything in my size. People were gathered with their piles trying things on in the middle of the open area. Madness!
I left with a few run hats, a bra and a tank and was happy to leave the madness.
Outside the store and packet pick-up with a live DJ, table massages, little treats and these cool chairs and hammocks made out of repurposed yoga supplies.
On the way out we were invited to jot down our goals for the race. Mine? Be part of the par-tay!
The Race
Ryan, Jess and me getting excited!
Have you ever seen so much neon?!
Loved the little touches like the face of Chip Wilson, the founder of lululemon, on the chips. Heh. ps- totally wore my Reebok Real Flex Transitions on the course! They aren’t made for distance running but still did a pretty good job!
The energy at the start and throughout the race was contagious! I’ve never seen a happier crowd.
My training is set on my 140.6 in October so I didn’t do any specific training (ie speed) for this race. I simply set out to have a great time and run the whole course. Mission accomplished!
The course had some hills and bridges and the last chunk of it was on the beautiful seawall overlooking the water. There were a ton of cheer stations int he first half but the second half was quieter along the seawall. The water stations were a hot mess. I can’t think of another way to describe them but the volunteers did try their best.
As I was getting near the finish line I realized I was scheduled to come in under 2 hours 20 minutes and started to get excited. I pushed just hard enough to make that happen… but then my Garmin read 13.1 miles at 2:18 but the course kept going. And going. The course ended up being about .35 miles over, which is quite a bit and accounts for more than just not running the most efficient way.
I crossed the finish line at 2:20:55 which, from my botched race recaps, I think is a PR from 2:26:52 from the Rock’n'Roll Philly half marathon. 2:21 was the average time, which I think is pretty impressive.
I loved the post-race brunch of waffles with berry compote, fruit and bars. So tasty!!
After the race we headed inside to stretch out on yoga mats while waiting for our second table massage. OOoooooohhh ahhhhh…
Post-Race
My group caught lunch, showered, rested and heading back out for the Fun. concert that was included with the concert. Our race weekend wristband got us front and center; the public organized around the fence. We felt super VIP 
Hey Ocean opened and Fun. headlined. Both were amazing and the concert was the best way to end an awesome day.
Would you travel to Vancouver for a half marathon? What’s the farthest you’ve traveled for a race?
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Random question – how did you tie your scarf like that? It’s super cute!
Love it! It’s actually just two corners knotted together and I doubled the scarf around my neck. Play with it from there.
SeaWheeze is already penciled in for next August, so I certainly hope it’s a “go” next year! Van is one of my most favourite cities, so it’s an easy sell
So far I’ve travelled to both Kelowna (BC’s version of Napa) and Victoria for races. Loved ‘em both!
Ange @ The Urban Cowgirl recently posted..Energizer Night Race
This half looks so much fun – I hope they do more cause I wanna get in on the action!
My first half was in disneyworld florida this year the disney princess and as I live in london , england – it was quite a big travel – got a whole weeks holiday out of it and loved every second – an expensive race experience though.
Looks like you had a great time. Fun to see Ryan, too. Miss her blog!
Nicole of Raspberry Stethoscope recently posted.."Angie" and 6 months CrossFit
Yeah, what happened to Ryans blog?
She decided her heart wasn’t in blogging anymore but she is doing well!
This looks like such a fun race! I would love to do it next year but I’d want to do it with a friend. Doing a destination race alone intimidates me!
Juliette @ Finish Your Broccoli recently posted..No-Bake Chocolate Protein Balls {Recipe}
What a great race!!
Angela recently posted..Day 22
SeaWheeze looked awesome! I heard about the horror stories of the expo and lack of stock.. few runners couldn’t get anything in their size cuz everyone was buying up everything! the prices on ebay are crazy. I love that plaid bag… but not for $400! Glad you had fun and hopefully I’ll do this race next year!