Today, 7-11 had a Slurpee Bring-Your-Own-Cup day. (Restrictions apply.) I was curious enough that I decided I would take part in this event. I chose as my “cup” a large plastic container that formerly held profiteroles from Costco. I had no intention of being able to drink it all, but it was more to experience the attempt.
I did my run this morning and went to work. At about 11:30 I decided that I had waited long enough and walked over to a nearby 7-11. I’m downtown so there are lots of locations to choose from. It would feel wrong to just have one flavour with the amount of slush I was going to get, so I varied it.
I should preface my experience by noting that I have not had much pop for several years now.
I brought the Slurpee back to work and proceeded to drink it slowly. It initially tasted good. I mostly just tasted the Coke layer, but occasionally the Mountain Dew layer intruded. The Orange Crush just tasted of sweet. It was all very nice.
About three hours later though, I was not as happy. My brain felt off. Slow? Lethargic? I could still think at a regular rate (I believe.) My digestive system was also cranky; I burped a lot and felt a bit queasy.
It eventually went away, but it was an interesting experience. I am no longer a teenager; I can’t imbibe massive amounts of sugar without consequences. I have no intention to do this again, even though the event is for two days.
I will definitely have to do a good run tomorrow to burn off this excess sugar.

Yesterday was a lovely evening.
I had gone out to pick up something from a store about twenty minutes away. It was close to one of my favourite restaurants, so I decided to go there too. I finally tried their onion rings; best ones I’ve ever had.
Then, on the walk home I heard a distant sound. It took me a few seconds to realize what it was; a ship horn. A ship wan maneuvering around the harbour. And didn’t I find out last year that a cruise ship leaves at around this time?
I changed direction and got to Canada Place. As predicted, there was a large cruise ship leaving port. I had missed the initial cast off, but I got to see it attempt a two point turn. It was a beautiful time, with the sun low in the sky giving a good view of the mountains, the ship, and the sea.
After I had seen enough, I took a different route home than usual and saw a few things I hadn’t before: A status from Salvador Dali; a chocolate cafe; fountains. It was a nice way to end the day.

I should mention the Sun Run I did two weeks ago.
It’s a 10km race in Vancouver, apparently the biggest in Canada. There were 40,110 participants.
I signed up awhile ago because the people I run with at the Running Room were looking for more people on their team. It seemed like a good idea. I had had the opportunity to join as part of my corporate team, but at the time it seemed too short. Then I got injured and 10km was about what I was doing anyway.
My physical therapist was not entirely on board. But he relented as long as I didn’t push myself. No sprinting.
When he had let me start running outside again, he had told me for only twenty minutes. And then I figured out that he hadn’t given me a distance limit, so I could do the distance I wanted as long as I did it in twenty minutes. I knew at the time that that was not in the spirit of the rule, but I did it anyway. And it felt great. So he rightfully doesn’t trust me. At the minimum I listened to him and didn’t sign up for the marathon that is going on today.
The Sun Run conveniently starts close to where I live. I did run there a bit to warm up, but otherwise I was in the starting pits for about half an hour. The sun was peeking between the buildings which made it a pleasant wait.
I had signed up with an expectation of finishing in 45 – 50 minutes. That seemed reasonable. I was even concerned that I would be too slow. And when the race started, I didn’t push too hard. But then you are surrounded by people, all running. It is very easy to just try and pass that person who is just ahead of you. And there is always someone just ahead of you.
Everyone’s race shirt who was part of a team, had that team’s logo on it. So when I saw someone from a competitor company, I knew I had to beat them. I switched to a higher gear and was able to overtake them. But then I got used to that new gear. I could increase the pace, get used to it, and then repeat.
I finished in under 42 minutes, placing 622. I ran the fastest 10km I’ve ever done, and feeling good the entire time. I watched someone else at the finish line who needed to be carried away, while I don’t think I was even breathing heavy.
Catalina and I walked to the restaurant to join the after-run brunch with the others on my team. It was an hour and a half after I had finished, and the streets were still filled with people running. With the staggered start, I had technically finished before a lot of people had even started running.
When we got to the brunch, all the people I knew had finished in under 37 minutes. So I guess I know what I’m doing next year.