Lululemon Seawheeze Half Marathon.. best 13.1 miles I’ve ever run.. race day weekend recap.. Vancouver, Canada

This post might not be my target audience for my blog, but it is so necessary because running is a part of my life and so is being healthy (I try, but I also can’t deny Flaming Hot Cheetos.. soooo).  I like to share my experiences from interesting races I run, or ones that absolutely need the highlight.  You’ve probably heard of Lululemon’s SeaWheeze half marathon as it usually comes up as one of the bucketlist runs to do if searching around the interwebs.

 

 

 

{how to enter the Lululemon SeaWheeze Half Marathon}

 

It’s not an easy race to get into, however, not impossible.  First you have to find out when the sign-up period is and from there it’s a lottery system to even get the official go-ahead to officially sign up and become one of the lucky 10,000 runners come race day.  You basically have to stalk Lululemon’s website and stay on top of facebook groups to know the dates for everything and make sure you set an alarm so you don’t miss out!  Since this was my first time trying to enter and running the race, I’ve heard a few things changed from past races.  This might happen again next year for 2020, but for the Lululemon SeaWheeze Half Marathon 2019 race, this was my experience and how you can try to enter in the coming years.

• Sign up during the time period.. I think it lasted a few days or a week. I heard you had to do it right when it opened, so being in Asia, I woke up at like 3AM to sign up on the site.  Turns out there wasn’t a first come, first serve this year so I didn’t have to be so dramatic and sleep with my laptop and wake up at the witching hour.  Signing up occurred end of February.
• Patiently wait until you either get the email or if you don’t get in on the first wave, see if you make it into the second round. Basically, this means they sent the email out and not everyone that initially signed up, decided to move to the next step of entering.  I personally got in during the second phase.  Talk about nerve racking because it was spread out over weeks for this process.
• Once you formally signed up for the race and paid your $175 (CAD), you’re in!
• The race at this point is 5 months away and I am always usually in training mode in case there is a race I want to sign up for last minute. You’ll start to get emails from Lululemon regarding what to expect, race dates, etc.  Nothing crazy, just a little confirmation you are a SeaWheezer!

 

{What you get with your entry fee}

 

• Lululemon shorts (I wasn’t lucky enough to get the exact size/pair that I wanted and I should have brought them to the shorts exchange, but I honestly thought since I was going in the very last hour it was going to be open, all hope would have been lost – from the looks, I could have exchanged them out. Oh well.)  The shorts are mailed well in advance of the race so you can practice your runs in them.. reason being you don’t want your shorts to be worn for the first time on race day in case you are susceptible to chafing.
• Access to pre-wheeze gear – technically this didn’t happen for me or anyone really.  We were supposed to get a dedicated link to get access to Lululemon’s site, but the time came and went and there was no link.  Instead, if you searched for the gear online, it was already up and a free for all for anyone wanting the gear.  Since that happened, I didn’t get to order anything online..
• Race entry for all glorious 13.1 miles (21.1 for those on the metric system).
• Access to all the race events. Sadly, I didn’t get to partake in any of the Thursday and most of Friday festivities because I couldn’t get in early.  I did get to grab my race packet and all the goodies to include a Saje (LOVE) peppermint halo essential oil (and now I’m officially obsessed with Saje – like take my money), Lululemon dry shampoo, some other events that happened I sadly didn’t get to do because it was either too busy or filled up by other runners was a free fitting for insoles you got to take home, hair braiding, nail painting, pre-race yoga sessions, and access to the store with all the Lululemon limited edition SeaWheeze gear.  I did get to roam around for an hour or so and take it all in and had a quiet moment when everyone was finishing up yoga at the Jack Pool Plaza which is basically just outside the Vancouver Convention Center.  A really pretty back drop I might add.
• Drawstring bag and water bottle – which you use for gear check the morning of the race emblazed with the Lululemon SeaWheeze logo. I didn’t opt to do this because I wanted to keep it crisp and clean – plus I never gear check.
• You also get a ton of swag after running the race, and there’s a music festival, but let me get to that a little later.

 

 

Let’s talk about the training program Lululemon sent out.  I. DID. NOT. FOLLOW. THIS. It was a pretty harsh training schedule.  I think they had you running a half marathon about 3 times leading up to race day.  No thank you. My body can’t handle that kind of running.  Even though I run, I still consider myself pretty novice.  If you’ve read my previous race posts, here and here, you’ll know I follow the Hal Higdon novice training guide.  This is what has best suited me and my daily schedule in life.

What you may not realize, is the race is scheduled for August.. that’s awesome weather for Vancouver. You know what’s NOT awesome? Training for a half marathon while living in Asia.. or many other parts of the world.  It’s summer.. it’s hot, humid, bugs take over the night and eat at your flesh, like it’s the absolute worst to train hard during July/August for this race.  But, the weather in Vancouver is amazing for running those 13.1 miles.

Towards the end of my training, I had to run on an indoor flat track at the gym.  This wasn’t ideal and it wasn’t going to help my time, but it was allowing me to maintain my cardio and conditioning.  I felt like a gerbil but running an ungodly amount of miles on the treadmill wasn’t going to work for me either.

 

{packet pick-up and pre-race events}

 

I made it to Vancouver and it was pretty easy to get from the airport to downtown using the Canada Line. Everything was based around the Vancouver Convention Center.. with the help of a friend who is a legacy SeaWheezer and random individuals along the way, I was able to figure out the logistics of getting from the airport, to the Airbnb to drop everything off (DON’T FORGET YOUR WRISTBAND), and make my way to the convention center which was about a 10 minute ride away from Yaletown where I was staying.  Hotels were insanely overpriced during that weekend and I was doing it solo, so I airbnb’ed it and I was perfectly fine getting around even though I wasn’t staying within a reasonable walking distance from the convention center.

 

 

Upon arrival, I asked some nice SeaWheezers (really easy to tell btw – the wristbands give it away and/or the decked out Lululemon gear everyone is donning for the weekend) where to enter since the convention is pretty large and it was my first time and I had absolutely no idea where to go.  I waltzed in super happy all the logistics of my on time airport arrival led me to making it to the LAST HOUR the packet pick-up was scheduled for.  Phew.. talk about stressing leading up until that moment.  I checked in with my wristband which gives you access for the entire weekend, and by the time I was walked to my designated counter, they already had my race bib and swag ready to go.  Ok, that was easy.

 

 

 

I roamed the hall where they had the insoles set up, Saje as mentioned.. like just sponsor me so I don’t go broke buying all your stuff, and a Boob Talk center to make sure the twins are well supported.  They had the store here as well, but by the time I made it over, it had JUST CLOSED – FML. JUST FML.

 

 

 

I checked out the outdoor area where yoga had just started for the evening, snapped some pictures of the starting line set up for the ‘gram, hygiene section to use the dry shampoo and deodorant.. big fan of the dry shampoo by the way, it doesn’t leave a white residue and for those that know me, I don’t wash my hair for a week at a time.. even if I workout.. YES. You read right. Dry shampoo is a part of my hair repertoire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the night ended, because I wanted to soak up as much as I could since I didn’t get it prior, I headed to find a place to carb up.  I headed back to Yaletown where it was lively with restaurants and bars, and wouldn’t you know.. Friday night and I couldn’t get in anywhere.. even solo at the bar.  I found an organic supermarket and bought one of those pre-made meals from the deli with ravioli and posted up in their eating area with my kombucha and had my pre-race dinner meal.  Headed back to my Airbnb and tried to call it an early night (I was in serious lack of sleep mode and jet lag acted like my best friend).

 

{race day morning and how it all went down}

 

Like oh my gawd it’s finally here.. Five months of anticipating this day and I was so proud of myself for making it happen.  Living 5,000+ miles away, training in the summer months, the overall logistics of working out and it was FINALLY happening!  I have very specific race day quirks.

• Flat lay – this makes everything accountable for what you need and ensures you don’t leave something important behind.
• Breakfast – Usually a hearty protein bar – this race called for the Rx Maple Sea Salt bar (duh, I’m in Canada, had to go with maple).
• Pre-workout drinks of sorts along with sipping some water to get everything started if you know what I mean.

 

 

I got to the convention center with about 45 minutes before gun time.  This gave me plenty of time to use the facilities, peruse the area of everything that was going on, bag drop if you needed, and head to the starting line.

I felt sluggish that morning.  Sleep and the weird training had me knowing I probably wasn’t going to PR, but I was honestly just happy to be there.  It was all very hyped up and I just wanted to get the run started.  They sang the Canadian national anthem which was really awesome and made me remember I was doing this international race in Canada! Gun goes off and here we go!

 

 

I felt ok during the race, not awesome, but ok.. there’s a difference when you know you have it handled.. I knew I wasn’t going to be handling this race…  There was PLENTY of amazing things to see during the run.  I really appreciated the boosts that were so necessary.  Music, DJ’s, teams of people cheering the runners, plenty of high-fives and smiles galore.  There were mermaid sightings, drag queens, and tons of water stations. We got to run along the Seawall (hence the name SeaWheeze) for most of the race and passed by the Lululemon Headquarters..  It was beautiful.  I never really got to visit Vancouver, so it was an awesome way to really see so much of the city.  Tons of photo ops along the way.  It really was one of the most beautiful races I’ve ever run and I really think my favorite. I had a feeling it would be.  I get happy just thinking about the sights, running those miles, and being apart of something I wasn’t sure I would be able to make happen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For those that aren’t runners reading this, I know it might sound weird, but it’s just that runners high of taking part on race day and letting yourself literally run wild and taking in everything and running for whatever makes you happy and exerting the energy into something so positive… all while looking at the Lululemon fashion show on the course because most everyone is decked out in Lulu gear that it makes for a fun event!  My official race time was 2:16:48.  Not the best, but I was happy I was able to finish and keep the jetlag down as much as possible.  Doing a race that isn’t in your normal time zone is rough.. so I was happy with the results!

 

 

 

 

 

{reaching the finish line and all the feels}

 

After crossing the finish line you got the medal, trucker hat, healthy little brunch consisting of an oatmeal yogurt parfait, banana bread, and fruit.  I ate everything except the banana bread.. that much food immediately after the race surprisingly isn’t what I want.  My friend and I were able to locate each other and snap some pictures with our medals, hung around for about an hour before heading back to get a little rest and shower before the Sunset Festival!

 

 

 

 

 

{sunset festival.. run, yoga, party}

 

So ANOTHER bonus to end the race weekend was the sunset festival.  Seriously, this event on its own is fabulous.  We caught one of the first buses reserved for runners/concert goers that brought us over to the park area where it overlooks downtown Vancouver.

 

 

Incredibly pretty!  Plenty of vendors selling jewelry, food, beer with cool SeaWheeze logos, and cute things you would find at a farmers market.  The Sunset Festival store had one of a kind Lululemon gear – I didn’t end up going in.. saw some of the gear from afar and others showed me their haul and I wasn’t too impressed, so I steered clear of the lines.

 

 

We set up our place in the grass to do some yoga and claim our area.  I brought a heavy duty yoga towel that did the trick vs. a mat that would take up too much space in my luggage. For my exact one, click here.

 

 

We downed our beers and waited for Baron Baptiste, yoga extraordinaire, to lead the hour-long session.  It was just what I needed to help my achy muscles loosen up a bit after the long run. We finished up, grabbed some burgers at the food tents and hung out around the festival dancing with disco balls and Big Wild who opened for Kaskade.  There was a ton to do around like play old school video games, roller skate, and hang around the light fixtures for the ‘gram (don’t even get me started on Instagram right now.. seriously disliking that app at the moment – like can we please have an alternative to this photo sharing app and asap?!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kaskade came on and the crowd including myself, danced the entire time.  I had SUCH a good time… really such a fun race and all that was included in your race entry.  Like WHAT?!  I was glad I got to experience the whole back end of the race considering I missed out on the first parts.  Really makes me excited to try (fingers crossed) to get in next year and be able to partake in the whole event!!

 

 

 

 

 

I want to add that a race this large takes major coordination and glitches happen.  Lululemon was really good about addressing comments on facebook.  While not all were fixed, they made you feel like they actually cared about any issues you were encountering.  They must have had tons of people aiding their social media to answer all questions promptly.

Are there any other SeaWheezers?  Did you try to enter and didn’t get in.. perhaps ran their first virtual race this year? Let me know in the comments.. let’s talk running!