Fake it ’til you take it: Port Alberni 15K Paper Chase Race Recap!

In the midst of this madness…We actually had a fun Sunday! We hoofed it up (of course on Daylight Savings minus 1 hour of desperately needed sleep) to race in Port Alberni. This is the fourth race in the VIRA race series, and it is relatively new- only a few years in existence. You should have seen the sweet-ass medals we had at the first one, niiice!

Trotting through the Mill site. Photo courtesy of the Port Alberni Chamber of Commerce.

It is a challenging course, and each year I remember getting a 15k ass-kicking. Was this year any different? Ha, not really! I felt horrible all week (thanks, severe asthma and allergies), and was just generally feeling miserable. I did not have high expectations for this race. It was really chilly when we got up at the crack of dawn to drive out there, and the beginning of the race was super cold too, but it cleared up and was pretty darn nice after!

The race is a smaller one- the drive is pretty long for folks- but it has a very generous start line, not congested at all. The vibe was pretty cheerful! 😉 Love the run community.

Trying to get more air by like, craning my neck?? UGH! Photo courtesy of Lyndon Cassels.

It also starts going up hill, and boy…By KM 3 I was like, is this some sort of sick joke? Jesus. I was gasping, coughing up tons of phlegm and just…Kind of struggling. Like I have been every day, ha. It’s a race that has quite a few rolling hills, and then the turnaround is good, and then into the McLean Mill! You run for just over 1 KM I believe, and it’s through the woods, mud puddles (wasn’t too slippy though), and then back to the road.

I call this one- faces of pain. Photo is courtesy of Lois D’Ell.

I struggle-ran the entire way out, and through the Mill, and then was like, hey you know what? I CAN turn it on! I am running this race, it isn’t running me! And I could pick it up. I was still gasping for breath, and in the photos you can see my neck straining mightily to breathe. That’s just my life right now, breathless, constantly. It sucks.

I felt ok though, and picked it up until the last oh, 2km? We then hit more hills that slowly dragged out my will to live… I needed some go-button help here. My husband helped me finish pretty strong though. I was happy with that! (we still got passed at the finish like we were standing still, ha.). My time was fine, good even for how shitty the week was/breathing/sickness- a 1:07:31.

I, of course, grouched that my time last year was over a minute better, but I checked again and I was wrong- my time last year was like 30 seconds better. So, fine  with all things considering. I need to be friendlier to myself and my efforts, sheesh. I finished second in my AG and 9th woman.

We had excellent chili for post-race refreshments, and everyone was in a good mood~ The sun was out, so we decided to also cruise to the Quay and check things out in good ol’ Port Alberni. We got doughnuts – they were GREAT! So fresh, great flavours and selections, and the price was right- $6 for 6, even. Steal, right??

Maybe a silver, but I got excellent doughnuts, so who’s the real winner here??

We wrapped up the lovely day by going to a new brewery, and they had patio seating open. Sunshine, a few beers, a 15k race. What more could a girl ask for?

(ok, well a sound horse, no allergies, no injuries, a non-pandemic…but this isn’t reality).

 

Wordless Wednesday: Empire doughnuts

Feast your eyes….

My review: Tim Horton’s Love Reese’s to Pieces doughnut & brownies

My lovely friend Lindsay bought me both the Love Reese’s doughnut and the brownies last month from Tim Horton’s, and they were both great! And now I am sharing the favour with reviews of both. Starting with the doughnut…

Now, doughnuts from Tim Hortons automatically get marked down by me, because they are like the lowest-common denominator in sweet snack foods. They barely try at all, and it’s like well, better than nothing I guess but also pretty much EVERY doughnut out there is better than theirs. So… yeah. I ate the Reese’s doughnut gratefully (who am I to turn my nose up at doughnuts) and I remembered the last time I bought a Reese’s doughnut, I was bitter and appalled because it was a SHAM – it was a paltry Boston Crème doughnut with like, a few mini Reese’s peanut-butter cups on top. Pfft!

Happy to say that this one is no sham doughnut masquerading as a delicious doughnut- it has really good peanut butter filling it! And the toppings are tasty as well, chocolate glaze with Reese’s Pieces. My only quibble that takes it from being an amazing must-buy: There is not nearly enough peanut butter filling in it, and it’s in the end still a Tim Horton’s doughnut- too flimsy, makes you think you’re eating mega-calorie air and not at all satisfying. Plus I have a history with their old Reese’s doughnut, so I do hold that against them.

Now, the brownies…

So good. Must buy. The portion sizing is generous, you get two squares which was perfect for eating one before my riding lesson and one after. Genius! The texture is fantastic, it doesn’t taste like slightly stale air like all Tim Horton’s doughnuts seem to, and best of all it is soooo peanut-buttery! The icing is amazing, smooth mix of chocolate-peanut butter and really makes the brownie. Top notch! It is worth the calories–have no idea what the count is, but if it’s like all fast food (fat food) it’s probably heinous– and I loved it. Rich, so the two squares are a great idea, and offers some semblance of portion control.

My advice? Ditch the doughnut and go all in for brownie. Actually consider that my advice for life.

An Easter getaway in Cumberland

Ran out of time apparently last week to do a recap, but this past Easter we rented a small cottage ‘the Crooked Cottage’ in the mining town of Cumberland for a brief getaway. The timing couldn’t have been better- I was fried from the demands of the everyday, my legs were trashed from the half marathon, and needed some time to chillax.

The crooked cottage.

Unfortunately it was FREEZING in Cumberland- like 5 deg and cold the whole time, but we enjoyed our stay anyways. We got there later in the afternoon and hiked around the mountain for a bit, finding some mountain bike trails that were pretty intense if you had to take a bike on them!

Retro

My allergies also went into insane hyperdrive and I felt lousy the whole weekend…Blah! They also made me feel sick last week as well, with hot/cold chills, a sore and swollen throat and body aches. Lovely.

Regardless, I went for a jog in the Cumberland trails on Saturday morning, while my husband picked up doughnuts from the BEST bakery. We got cronuts, and jam-filled, lemon-filled, oh, everything. So hot and fresh. YUMMMM. The trails were great to jog on, the only bummer part was when I got turned around and my run went from an 8k ok run to a 10k slog! Oh well. We were also super close to the brewery (Cumberland Brewery) so we went there a lot too, haha.

The town shuts down early and doesn’t seem to open much at all- most stores were closed on Saturday and Sunday, unfortunately, so that left the bakery on Saturday and the brewery haha.

The bakery, to my ultimate sadness, was closed on Sunday (Easter Sunday). I had to console myself by sneaking onto the Easter egg hunt course by Mine site #5 and stealing an Easter egg. It had bubblegum in it though, grossssssss.

It was a nice weekend, too bad about the lousy weather and terrible allergies, but it felt good to get away, regardless.