Betty's Blog

Haney 2 Harrison Relay Race

2009-11-08T19:51:00.000-08:00

A couple years have gone by and here we are again doing the H2H race. It's definitely one of those races that is always wet and yucky!!! A friend of mine mentioned to me that H2H should be called H2O instead. You know...it's true!!

Our team was called Team Trailer Trashed Resurrected with Terry, Anne-Marie, Sean, Heather, Mary, me, Ray and Mark doing legs 1 to 8 respectively. We reunited our team from 2 years ago which was called Team Trailer Trashed. With trashy clothes and mullets, we sure stood out from all the other teams. It was so much fun to be in this team because we played hard and raced hard too!!!

Ray had an awesome finish time of PB 57:05mins (13.47km) for Leg 7. Great effort even though it was a torrential downpour for this leg. Other legs weren't too bad with the rain. I was lucky enough that it stopped raining for my leg (Stage 6). It made me a happy camper in that respect but unfortunately, I didn't get to my exchange quick enough to tag Mary for my stage. Because the timer at the Exchange suspected that I didn't swipe my chip to start my leg, I had to run back to the mat to start my time. It cost me 2 mins which the result showed a finish time of 1:18:42 with an average pace of 6:01mins/km. According to my Garmin, my finish time was in fact 1:16:02 at an average pace of 5:41mins/km for 13.34km.

Despite of the finish time, I felt good out there especially the last 7km. The first 6k, I did feel some pain on the side of my right knee from my IT Band which I injured 4 weeks ago from my marathon training. I am currently training for my first marathon coming up on Dec 6 in Sacramento, CA. It is nerve-wrecking everytime I think about it. With the injury I am taking it real slow. I understand that time isn't what I'm going for but it's the feeling of accomplishment that I'm aiming for after I finish the marathon. Wish me luck!!!

Grouse Grind Mountain Run 2009

2009-09-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

This would be the fourth year for me, Ray and William and third time for Ethan as a team doing this race. Our team this year was the same name as last year which was "Kung Fu Pandas". Again, we all did great especially Ethan and Ray with speedy times of 47:28 mins and 37:47 mins respectively. WTG team for coming in first again in the team Co-ed category!! We won 4 pairs of Merrell socks, 4 Running Room gift cards and complimentary event entries to either Snowshoe Classic, Seek the Peak or Grouse Grind races. The record time was broken this year by Sebastian Salas who finished it in 25:25mins.

More than 500 participants braved through the infamous trail of about 3km and a lot of the elderly people in the age groups of 70 - 74 and 75-99 were surprisingly very FIT!!! A few of them did better than me...now, that is just unreal. They really inspire me. I thought I gave it my all but just not good enough. My uncle and aunt just started to do the Grind a few weeks ago and I told them, "Good for you". What I usually say to Grouse Grind first-timers is time isn't what we're really looking for here, it's all about endurance and finishing it!!

Wayne Brady Show

2009-09-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

Ray and I with 4 other friends headed to Red Robinson Theatre in Coquitlam for a night of laughter and FUN!!! This was my third time seeing Wayne Brady and my second time on stage with him!! I was so happy that he picked me again and this time, there were four people from the audience to be as PROPS in the skit that they were doing. Each of us had a quick practice on what to do so I was told to impersonate a 'Tornado' and I did a 'Rocket' instead....hahahaha. I knew what a tornado is, just did it too fast without thinking it through. Nevertheless, it was still funny. Ray recorded a video of it. Looking back at it, I feel like I made a fool of myself :)

Exploring the Lions

2009-09-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

Ray, Ethan, Shirmy and I were out on a beautiful Sunday to check out the Lions. The Lions which is also called the Twin Sisters is a very popular hike in the North Shore area. It sure was busy when we got there, perhaps it wasn't early enough therefore, we had to park about 1km away from the trail head.
The hike started off fine with a gradual incline until we got to the top of the ridge where we had our lunch. The view of Howe Sound and Garibaldi Lake was just spectacular. After the break, we decided to head up to the top of the Lions and it wasn't easy at all. Shirmy and I just didn't continue on but Ray and Ethan went on and hiked to the very top. The downhill felt really long as our legs were so tired after 6 hours of hiking. The last part of the hike made it even harder for me as I was experiencing some blisters on the base of my feet. We just couldn't wait to get to the car and to the store for a drink of WATER!!!!! As we almost got to the car, we saw a nearby resident working on his lawn, we asked him what time the store was opened till and he offered some water bottles for us. What a nice guy :0 Will I do it again? Well, if I do, then I will be better prepared next time with MORE WATER!!!!

Ray's first Triathlon in Stanley Park

2009-09-07T12:38:00.000-07:00

Weather had been really nice for the month of August but this long weekend it decided to take its turn to cold, miserable and rainy. Today, Ray and I headed down to second beach in Stanley Park in the wee early morning at about 6am. When we got there, it started raining but then it stopped when the race started at 7am. Thank God that the day turned out good for the whole race.

Ray had his taste for his first triathlon. I wasn't sure if he was really up for the race especially the 750m open water swim. As usual, he did just well in 17mins. As for the biking and run, he did exceptionally good. His 5K run time (19:31mins) was the best in his age group category.

So proud of you, Ray!! Way to go!! Congrats again for a good effort in your first Triathlon.

Wedding Bells / Honeymoon Trip

2009-08-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!! It's been a while since I last put a blog entry. It's been a really hectic summer...well, in a good way :) Ray and I tied the knot on July 12, 2009 at Brock House Restaurant near Jericho Beach. We celebrated this wonderful and lovely day with 180 friends and family.

A week after the wedding, we jetted off on our honeymoon to London first for about a week and then to Paris for the next 8 days. It was my first time to both cities and Ray's second time to London and first to Paris. The weather in London was a bit cold and rainy but overall, it wasn't that bad. In Paris, it was sunny pretty much the whole time we were there but definitely not as hot as the two weeks that people in Vancouver were experiencing. I guess I could say that I was lucky in a way but I just haven't experienced the heat wave yet this summer. Not that I'm complaining. I just love the summer in Vancouver!! The highlight of the trip was indeed the attractions like the museums, the art galleries, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Tower of London, the cruise on Thames and Seine Rivers, du Louvre, etc. Just love the history of the Kings and Queens that ruled the countries. Please feel free to view our honeymoon trip photos.

Here comes the Bride....

2009-07-10T08:35:00.001-07:00

Can you believe it??? The time is here soon and on this Sunday, July 12th, 2009, I will be hitched!!! Just thinking about it gives me butterflies in my stomach. Ray and I have been planning this Big Day for about 10 months. We got engaged last summer in July and now, we're here getting close to being called husband and wife....aww.

This last month, it has been exhausting especially with work leading up to the last day of work before my one-month holiday started. I was so looking forward to having some time to myself to prepare and plan for the wedding. I can feel the stress or work load off my whole body. Wow...it's an amazing feeling. With my sister and niece visiting from Brunei, I also had the chance to spend some quality time with them. I am truly ecstatic to have them with me on this special day. Love you Sis!!!

These last few days, I had relatives coming in from Edmonton and Oregon, WA to attend my wedding. I tell ya...there were dinners and lunches galore!!!!! We have been going out eating non-stop with them and hmm...I'm not sure at this point if I even want to eat for the next few days...haha. However, it sure makes me happy to see them make the effort to come to see me get married. Thanks guys!!!!

A big Thanks to my family for being there for me and a special thanks to my mom: I love ya for all the mental, spiritual and financial support that you've given me in the last 10 years or so. My dad and my brothers and sisters, what a great relationship bonding and support I have had for all these years!!! Kudos to you all!!!

Last but not least, my warmest thanks to my sweetie, Ray. You've been an awesome partner to me and I really can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you for the days to come....I know, it sounds cheesy :) I definitely mean it from the bottom of my heart. Can't wait to walk down the aisle and see you in that cute tux...haha.

A Quick Getaway

2009-06-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

Ray and I had the opportunity to do a small getaway this weekend to see Jim Brickman in concert even though we are in the middle of our wedding plans. It was sure a nice little escape from reality...haha. To top it up, we did some shopping and found some good deals. Great!!!

The concert was at the Kirkland Performance Centre in Kirkland, WA. I have been a longtime fan of Jim Brickman. To see him "live" on stage and to be able to see him play the piano which was only 50 feet away from where we were sitting, it was just an awesome experience. He is such a talented and personal performer. He chatted with the audience with his upbringing of his life from "not so talented" parents that gave him this gift to be an incredible piano player!! He is also a funny guy who joked a lot on stage, making us laugh and giving us a good time. I had an amazing time getting to know him more not just as a performer but also as a person. The only disappointment was that we weren't allowed to take photos and video but we managed to sneak in a few videos of him playing "Peace (where the heart is) and "The Gift". This way, I can keep a memory of this concert that I really enjoyed.

Iron Knee 2009

2009-05-31T22:01:00.000-07:00

After a full day of activities the day before, Ray and I with Jeremy were up early this morning at 6am to get ready to head out to the start of the race at Grouse Mountain for Iron Knee 25K. Even though we didn't quite get a lot of sleep the night before, Ray sure seemed pumped up about the race. Of course, let's not forget the sunny and warm weather helped us by giving us a little jolt of energy in the morning.

There were about 230 people that participated in the Iron Knee race. The start is at Grouse and it finishes at Deep Cove. This is Ray's second time doing this race and he set a personal best time of 1:58:31 at 23/222 overall, 20/111 for males and 11/38 in his age group. It is definitely a lot of elite runners that came out and they are indeed very speedy!!!

A "Surprise" Bridal Shower

2009-05-30T21:47:00.000-07:00

The "big" day is approaching soon as I only have slightly more than a month left to prepare for this ONE day walking down the aisle. There is sure a lot to do leading up to this day. I don't know why but I thought I was done organizing but not really, things creep up now and then.

So I had a great day celebrating an unexpected and surprising bridal shower on a warm Saturday afternoon. Actually, it wasn't warm, it was more like hot. I was sweating as I was opening up my gifts. I guess I was too excited as I have never seen so many gifts before in my life. I got so many cool and sexy gifts like wine, body wash/lotion, toaster oven, 7-pc comforter and let's not forget the lingerie and a book that talks about"GRRREAT Sex"...haha.

All in all, I was just spoiled with all these amazing gifts from all my close friends and relatives. Thanks everyone for a good surprise and the fun time that we had together!!!

BMO Vancouver Marathon 2009

2009-05-03T17:42:00.001-07:00

Another successful race on a gorgeous morning as the forecast for today was 80% light rain 2 days ago. Awesome race organization with a lot of water/aid station and food for the whole course and at the Finish.

Just this morning, I was very anxious about my half marathon as this was only my second one and believe it or not, my hands were shaky putting up my bib number and only had about 5 hours of sleep last night. I caught up on my sleep after the race but that's not the point. I think after doing the half twice, I'm pretty sure I will be fine with overcoming the anxiety, jitters and difficulty sleeping until I do my first Marathon. Hmm....I don't even want to think about that for now. Let's just enjoy my achievement from today's race.

I felt pretty good and strong out there today despite the "scary" hills up to Prospect Point at Stanley Park. For those who know me, I hate hills!!! But I toughed it out and tackled the hills by slowly trotting up them. Now, I am paying for it because my calves are burning as we speak :( Well, some aches and pains will be expected...I shouldn't be whining as I'm probably feeling the least pain compared to the Marathoners like for instance, Ray...
Today, it was the proudest and emotional moment of my life as I see Ray approaching the Finish with a Boston qualifying and personal best time of 3:14:57. I couldn't hold my tears back seeing him fulfilling his dream!!! Way to go and an awesome finish.

Race Results: I came in 1565th/5996 overall, 571st/3722 for Females and 102nd/613 for my age group with a time of 1:56:35 PB. As for Ray, he finished strong with a time (as mentioned above) of 3:14:57 PB, ranking at 138th/2996 overall, 123rd/1700 for Males and 31st/279 in his age group. Great job!!!!

Vancouver Sun Run 2009

2009-04-19T16:16:00.001-07:00

A perfect condition this morning for the many 55,000 plus participants at the 10K Sun Run. Even though it wasn't sunny, the cloudy weather gave me the push to get my Personal Best time for the 10K. All the training paid off. Thank you!!!

I had so much fun today because my nephew, Ethan, joined me in the race. It was his first 10K race and first time doing the Sun Run. He did pretty good considering he doesn't run much. His time recorded on Sunrun.com showed 55:52 mins but according to him, he thought his time was around 50mins. I think so too because he was in front of me. Later, I was told that a lot of the people's chips at the start didn't get scanned. Hmm...hopefully, the timing company fixes it. Ray's chip didn't scan either at the start and the same goes for another friend of ours.

Ethan joined others in our group like April, Eric, Sandra and Shirmy as first time participants. I'm really proud of them for coming out to join in the "fun" run. Good for them!!!

A lot of the Lions Gate runners were out too and everyone did great!!! A report of the race is blogged at the LGRR website. Full race results will be published tomorrow in the Vancouver Sun newspaper or at Raceheadquarters website.

Ray's finish time was 38:20mins which was a PB for him. Good job!!! As for me, I did it in a PB time of 51:24mins. So glad this race is over and my next one will be in two weeks which is the Vancouver Half Marathon on May 3rd. Wish me luck on that!!!

Beyonce Concert

2009-03-31T17:54:00.000-07:00

Concert on a Tues night...hmm, it will definitely pass my bedtime but I still went anyway. Ray brought his two nieces (13 and 10 years old) to see Beyonce. They sure enjoyed it a lot. Even though the skytrain ride was a little bumpy going there according to them but it was all worth it. Beyonce sure likes to dance a lot and the crowd loves her that way. The crowd got even louder when she sang "All The Single Ladies". Her last song of the night was "Halo" as a goodbye song...

Chuckanut 50K

2009-03-22T12:38:00.000-07:00

Ray and I had a very interesting and nice getaway, I think?? Wait till you read on. We stayed overnight in Bellingham for Ray's first ultra marathon called Chuckanut 50K race. It gave him the shivers and nerves just thinking about it with butterflies in his stomach. Torrential downpour and gusty winds on our way down south as we were crossing the border on Fri afternoon didn't really help with the idea of running on the muddy and wet trails of Chuckanut. The rain tapered off as we got into Bellingham and the sun was peeking out. Negative thoughts piling up in our minds suddenly went away. The weather did turn out fine after all.

After we met up with some volunteers for the race that late Fri afternoon, we all drove up in different cars to help to lug up jugs of water to Aid Station #3. It wasn't fun as we were driving up. In my mind, I didn't know what I got myself into. The van that Ray and I were in almost couldn't make it up due to muddy, washed-out road and to the left of us, there was sheer cliff the whole way up. I heard this one passenger asking whether we needed to get out and push the car. I thought to myself that there was NO FRIGGING WAY that I was going to push the van. With prayers in our hearts, we finally made it up and started our 1K hike up with 2 gallons of water in our hands to the aid station. Wow...that was sure something that I wouldn't want to do again unless I know what to expect beforehand. The next morning, my arms and back were sore from carrying the water!!! Of course, I'm not asking for your pitiness. I was just glad that was over and looked forward to a nice pasta and fish dinner with Hozumi and Tara at this restaurant called "The Big Fish Co." in Fairhaven.

Next morning came, we were up early at 6am to get ready for the race. Left the hotel at 7am and got to Fairhaven Park for the race. We met up the others for a briefing. Everyone looked pumped up for the race, at least Ray was since he couldn't really sleep well the night before... "adrenaline rush or race anticipation" like what some racers have. Thinking back, I know I had that the night before my first half marathon back in Sep 2008.
It was interesting just looking at the racers coming through the aid stations and seeing what they do especially after running for more than 20K or so, all feeling delirious and exhausted but amazingly enough, they are trained for distances like that and after drinking gels/nuun drinks and popping in potatoes/pretzels/bananas, the body was able to go on for another 30K. I do feel really proud for Ray finishing his first ultra. A few muscle aches and pains here and there was definitely expected but it sure feels good thinking that he has tackled a 50K trail race. Well...yeah, what's next?? Sun Run will be the next game for us. I am hoping to try to run it under 52mins which will be a PB for me...fingers crossed!!!

Here are the official race result: Ray came in 69th/279 overall with the time of 5hrs 26mins.

Snowshoe Classic 6K

2009-03-15T00:32:00.000-07:00

What a snowy and windy night up at Grouse. Ray and I headed up to Grouse tonight to do a 6K snowshoe race. We both signed up last minute. Good thing we did because Merrell was handing out Couples Membership for Grouse, Grind Timer, Annual Parking Pass, Merrell Travel Bag and Merrell Shoes for the first person that finishes overall.

My nephews, Ethan and Samuel came up with us to enjoy skating and helped to snap some photos of us doing the race. This race to me is always a hard one but with a blizzard condition, it sure made the run more challenging. When the snow was pounding on my face, I wished that I was wearing ski goggles. The windy, blizzard and fresh snow condition did slow me down a bit but I'm not complaining at all since I came 2nd in my age group and won two free race entries (for either Seek the Peak, Grouse Grind Mountain Run or Grouse Snowshoe Classic), Merrell Grind timer, Merrell Backpack and a silver metallic corkscrew. Ray was awarded with the above prize package for coming in 1st overall. With the entry fee to this snowshoe race, we also got complimentary burger and beverage and Merrell headlamps. Now, you tell me...what can beat all these amazing prizes that I just mentioned!!! All these were valued at about $800 worth of gifts which are now OURS!!!!!

We sure had a great time last night. My brother and his wife also came up and took a lot of pics and it was their first time to witness us winning. What an awesome experience....thanks to Grouse and Merrell for an awesome time... ^o^

Here's the official race result : Ray finished with an incredible time of 45:02mins (1st/66 overall, 1st/31 for males and 1st/9 in his age group). Even though I didn't get a PB, I still had a good time out there on the course. My time was 1hr 4mins with a position of 28th/66 overall, 9th/35 for females and 2nd/14 for my age group.

Yeti Snowshoe Series at Grouse Mountain

2009-02-14T09:49:00.000-08:00

Another gorgeous day in the city and up on the slopes of Grouse!!! I wasn't in all the Yeti races this year so I had the opportunity to snap some photos of the breathtaking view of the city from the top and also the snowshoe race. Coincidentally, Grouse Mountain was opened this weekend 48 straight hours in recognition of the one year countdown to Olympics 2010 and will be opened 17 straight days during the Olympics!!!!

Ray participated and ran more than 6K with the course being challenging and steep hills all the way up to Dam Mountain. This course is the most difficult one compared to the other ones. It was more than 6K and the constant uphill just made it even harder for the racers.

Ray came in 3rd overall and 2nd in the open 20-39 category with an estimated time of 43mins. Race results haven't been posted up on the Yeti website. I will update this as soon as the results are up.

Update (Feb 17th) : Race results are up this morning : The time that Ray finished was 43:15mins with a position of 3rd/71 overall and 2nd/15 for the Open 20-39 category.

Happy "Ox" Year!!!

2009-02-04T17:48:00.001-08:00

This year is the year of the "Ox". According to the Chinese horoscopes, it is a good year for a lot of people. To know more about your Chinese horoscope, you can click here. To me, the most important thing is to have good health. Of course, wealth and career are important too but without good health, other things won't come into play then, right?

Anyway, I had a great opportunity to spend Chinese New Year's eve with my family by doing a 'big feast'. That's the one thing that Chinese people are big into. I think my future husband has found that out a long time ago... :) Luckily, he loves eating!!
Ray and I went to Chinatown to enjoy the festivities of the Chinese New Year last Sunday. Even though it was raining and snowing in some parts, it sure didn't stop people from going to see the Lion Dance parade. As I was growing up, I had lots of fond memories of the Chinese New Year back home especially receiving "red pocket money". I am still getting red pocket money but I know this would be my last year receiving it since I'm only single until July. Next year, I will have to be giving them out instead. So I already practised this year by giving out 'red pocket money' ('Angpow' in chinese) to my niece, nephews and my friend's kids. Let's see...in total, it was 6 angpow's. I hope it stays that way because it can get PRETTY expensive...haha. I wish everyone a prosperous, healthy and peaceful year of 2009!!!! Happy New Year!!!!

Yeti Snowshoe Series at Mount Seymour

2009-01-31T21:04:00.000-08:00

It was Ray's first snowshoe race for the season. Great race and decent weather for the race. I was there as a spectator taking pictures for Ray. Let me tell you about the race today. It was quite a tight race for Ray because the guy that came 4th was actually in the 3rd place, maybe 400m before the finish line. Lucky for Ray, this guy broke his snowshoe therefore Ray had the opportunity to pass him while he was trying to figure out what happened to his snowshoe. So Ray came third and this guy had to hold his one snowshoe to cross the finish line while running only with one snowshoe. It was pretty funny though. With a PB time of 36mins for the 6K route, he came 3rd overall. Results will be posted shortly.

Update (Feb 3): Results are posted on the Yeti site and here's the time and position that Ray came in; he came in 3rd/91 overall and 3rd in the 20-39 Open category with a time of PB of 35mins.

Chilly Chase 10K

2009-01-18T20:47:00.001-08:00

Getting up early this morning was hard enough already but running in a nippy morning of about -2degC was even harder. Luckily, the sun came out early enough to greet all the runners and to wake us up from the early fog conditions.

Ray and I were in Langley to do the Chilly Chase race and both of us were signed up in the 10K. The last two years I did the 5K and I thought I should just switch it up to 10K to see how it goes. I have to admit that the cold did get to me, giving me an asthmatic feeling on my chest as I was breathing in the cold air which wasn't good but nonetheless, the race still went smoothly for me. Obviously, no PB for me this time but I am hoping to get a PB in the Sun Run which will be warmer then. As for Ray, he had a good run and successfully got a PB. Awesome job!!! I wasn't too sure about him just wearing a singlet running in the bone chilling weather....go figure!!

The race results are posted here. Ray came in 6th/163 overall, 6th/63 for males and 1st/13 for his age group with a time of 38:43mins. As for me, I came in 55th/163 overall, 22nd/100 for females and 8th/32 in my age group with a time of 53:50mins.

Happy New Year!!!!

2009-01-04T20:17:00.000-08:00

So here we are in the year 2009. Resolution, resolution....?? Nah, like I mentioned before, I'm not into that. With God's blessing, I hope this year brings me the best of health and joy. I also wish everyone "All the best in the new year" as well.

A few friends came over and celebrated the New Year at our place with some food, champagne and games like Singstar karaoke and Rockband. Let me tell you Rockband ROCKS!!! Ray and I have been hooked on it over the holidays, playing a lot and mastering it to the "expert" level for some songs. Playing on the guitar and the drums was quite a workout. I think I have built some muscles on my arms. I am serious, not kidding at all. Give it a try and you'll know what I mean....haha.

Ray and I went snowshoeing today up at Mount Seymour with 8 other people. The snow conditions were just perfect, couldn't ask for a better weather condition. As you can tell from the picture below, the view of the city from the top of Dog Mountain was just speechless and breathtaking. What an amazing feeling to be up there and to experience the wonderful creation of God.

Let it Snow. Let it Snow. Let it Snow!!

2008-12-24T08:56:00.000-08:00

The year 2008 is almost coming to an end. It's sure a time to ponder what we've achieved this year and maybe we can improve on some things or even make a new resolution for the New Year. Nah...Making a resolution just never works for me. I just don't think it works. I just go with the flow and do whatever I want. The year 2009 will be an interesting one for me or rather it will be a busy year for me. Wedding plans are on the way for the 'Big Day' in the summer of 2009. I'm kind of freaking out a little bit thinking about it. People always say, 'Don't stress out...have fun with it'. Yeah right, it never turns out that way no matter how hard you try. I guess 'going with the flow' is always the best. Do what you can and try keeping at it. Hey, I just realized it that would be my new 'motto'.

As I'm writing this blog, snow is really coming down hard. I just love it. The snowfall really relaxes me for some reason. For the last 17 years I've been in Canada, the snow this year is A LOT!! Wow...time for some snowshoeing in the city rather than up on the mountains. Ray and I with my nephew, Ethan, did a testdrive on the snow up at Grouse a couple weeks ago when it first opened up. I tell ya, it's amazing!!! Just loving life as I'm snowshoeing. We really should take this opportunity. I'm telling my friends and family back home about this and they think we're in heaven to have snow. My niece really wishes to come to Canada to go skiing. I just can't say enough how lucky I am here enjoying life with the beauty of nature =)
Two things I did this year that I constantly raved about were climbing the tallest mountain in SE Asia and doing my first half marathon. This year in the summer, I was back home visiting my friends and family in Brunei and traveled to other places in SE Asia like Singapore, Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur. Though it was long, it was a fantastic trip. The highlight of this trip was Ray and I hiking the tallest mountain in SE Asia called Mt. Kinabalu (4093m). It sure brought pride out of me for doing something like that and also it was very emotional especially getting proposed at the top of the peak of Mt. Kinabalu. I find it hard to describe my feelings in words only if you can imagine... ^o^

The other thing I am proud of myself was running my first half marathon this fall in Toronto. Loved this course; flat and scenic. For the very first time, I felt like I could run a long distance...well, of course not fast...hehe. The most important thing was I DID IT!!!!! I am hoping to do a full marathon next year sometime towards the end of the year, maybe in Sacramento??? Who knows...will see how much energy is left in me after the wedding. Until then, I wish everyone a Safe and Happy Holiday Season. See you in the New Year!!!!!

Gunner Shaw 10K/Bear Mountain at the Westin Hotel in Victoria

2008-12-01T17:42:00.000-08:00

A quick and small getaway is always good. I needed it so bad because it has been very stressful at work these last few weeks. Ray and I went to Victoria for his trail race called Gunner Shaw 10K at Thetis Lake Regional Park. At the same time, we treated it as a mini vacation at the Bear Mountain Westin Hotel Golf Resort. I never knew that this place existed before and apparently it's a new development in this area. The Westin Hotel was built just within the last 3 years. It is fairly new and as usual the room is always nice.
The race, with about 450 participants, was a tough and challenging 10K trail running race. There were about 15 Lions Gate Road Runners (LGRR) that ran this race. Though it was hilly, muddy and wet, they all tackled the course real well and came in with awesome times. Ray finished in 58th/420 overall and 20th/78 for his age group with a time of 45:26mins as recorded here.
Other than the race, we did a little exploration of the city of Victoria. It was about 8 to 10 years ago since I was in Victoria and for Ray, it must have been ages since he was there. We had some high tea at the Empress Hotel and we really enjoyed it a lot. The hotel didn't change a lot since I was there the last time for afternoon tea with my mom and aunt. We also did some hiking at Mount Finlayson (419m) which was just located behind our hotel at Bear Mountain. It was a tough one to hike because of the wetness on the rocks. It reminds me of Mount Kinabalu (4,093m,) where it was slippery and quite dangerous. Obviously, Mt. Finlayson is not as tall and hard as Mt. Kinabalu but it can be treacherous if you are not wearing the proper shoes and outfit in a wet condition. I wished I was told about it before I hiked it...^o^

James Blunt Concert 2008

2008-11-17T21:58:00.000-08:00

This was our second time to see James Blunt at GM Place. Going back to Nov 5, 2006 on my blog, I now remember vividly about the concert. It was a slow paced music then but this time, he sure did change it up a bit. It was a more upbeat and a crowd-pleaser concert. Kudos to JB!! I enjoyed it more this time. Ray's aunt was there too and lucky enough to be sitting in the front row where she could just touch him by a stretch of an arm. Wish I was the one...^o^ Everyone got so excited as he started to sing his popular hit song called "You're Beautiful". Other hits were "Goodbye My Lover", "Here We Go Again"and "No Bravery".

New Balance Fall Classic 2008

2008-11-16T17:34:00.000-08:00

What a huge turn-out for the last race of the season before the New Year comes. Weather was decent enough to enhance one's performance in today's race, well...at least for me. There were sure a lot of familiar faces out there this morning especially a friend of mine who had been training for this race (her second 10K race). She sure did well and I am proud of her.

My friend, Shirmy and I did the 10K and Ray did the half marathon and as usual, he did it with flying colours which suits the theme of the race i.e. Fall Classic. It was definitely nice running this course by the water. The colour of the leaves sure bring out the Fall season. It was peaceful at some parts of the course and I was sure loving it! The race was well-organized and food was good too. There was chilli, orange juice, coffee and some other regular snacks/fruits to nibble on. One thing that didn't go well was the award ceremony which did not start on time. By the time they announced it, everyone was pretty much gone. Poor time management here. But this won't stop me from doing it again next year.

Here are the official results: Ray came in 25th/928 overall, 6th/113 in his age group and 22nd/420 for Males and his finish time was 1hr 28mins. Another great run! Well done! As for me, I did the 10k and I think I did pretty good considering I haven't been out running that much since my half marathon in Toronto. I finished with a time of 53:17mins and came in 288th/879 overall, 41st/178 in my age group and 100th/545 for females.

Celine Dion Concert at GM Place

2008-10-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

I'd waited about a year to go see Celine Dion. Yes, I bought the tickets last year sometime in November. You must think I'm crazy about her. You are right!!! I went with two of my girlfriends to see her perform 'LIVE'. This would be my second time to see her performing on stage. The first time was in Las Vegas and she was just as good. We will miss her dearly since this would probably be her last concert. I hope not because this concert was awesome. I would say the best concert ever other than Josh Groban and Michael Buble. She really has a powerful voice and it just amazes me a lot. What a great entertainer!!!

The opening act was great with Gordie Brown as the comedian/singer/impersonator. He made us laugh until my stomach hurt so much. We were 10mins late for the opening act thinking that most of the time the opening act wouldn't be good. So this would be a lesson learned to not be late unless you really know who is doing the opening act. Gordie Brown performs in Las Vegas at the Venetian Hotel who impersonates generations of celeb's, politicians and singers/pop culture icons. The next time you are in Vegas, you might want to check him. Trust me, he is funny!!!