To find a great adventure all you have to do is step out your front door, walk a few steps and immerse yourself in the landscape around you. You do not have to leave the city you live in to find adventure. Particularly if that city happens to be North or West Vancouver.
After 23 consecutive days of rain in January it turned sunny and warm here in Vancouver this past weekend. For me, that meant it would be a weekend of running in the sun, instead of the rain. Yippee.
 |
| The West Vancouver Seawall. My destination is in the left of the photo. Lighthouse Park. |
It started Friday with a temp run through the streets of Caulfield, an area in West Vancouver. I was volunteering at an overnight fundraiser and only had an hour to get in a run before lending my services to help raise money to combat famine around the world. Three of us did a quick 5k hill run around the school. It was a warm day and the my legs felt great. (despite my hill repeats two days earlier) We managed to put away the 5k in about 24 minutes, despite three massive hills. I felt in control of the long hills and was able to pull ahead of the others on these beasts. It was a perfect way to end a busy week at school.
On Saturday, after staying awake most the night trying to prevent students from stuffing each other in recycling bins and racing each other down the halls, I grabbed a nap and then set out on a 15k run along the seawall.
The weather was superb and featured sunny skies, warm breezes and just a general feeling of happiness. Everybody was out on Saturday enjoying the break in the rain. The seawall was crowded and I enjoyed that. It is positive seeing Vancouverites outside and happy. We were all feeling a little depressed after so much rain. I also enjoy dodging around people as I make my way along the waterfront, makes running a thinking sport as you decide on your strategy for getting around everybody.
Sunday saw a very early run along the same seawall route and this time it was sunny, but cold. The kind of cold that can only come with starting you run at 8 a.m. This cold hits you like a truck and takes your breathe away. It is only when you get a couple km's into the run that you start to feel warm. Of course, being the idiot that I am I wore shorts. We ran past a couple of older gentlemen and they yelled back, "you young fellows are crazy, where are your pants?" Made me feel good.
So sometimes you do not have to leave the city to find adventure. I am fortunate that I live in an area where there are opportunities to immerse myself and actually enjoy the city that I live in. I encourage you to step out your door and spend some time searching for adventures within walking distance of your home.
