June 5, 2011
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Yesterday I was really keen on getting outside and so I did. Nate and I headed downtown and met up with some friends to watch the hockey game. They set up an outdoor TV and soundsystem to watch the game on Granville Street. They had this large section of the street fenced off and only so many people could come and go for safety reasons. It all went to hell in a handbasket by the time the second period was beginning. All of a sudden drunk douchebags rushed the back gate and flooded into the fenced area. Everyone was pushing and shoving and just generally being inconsiderate and rude. When the second period ended Nate and I decided to leave. It was no longer fun. It was claustrophobic and I couldn't see the screen anyway from so many heads in the way. It defeated the purpose of being there. So we took off and went for a walk towards the beach. We ended up on the seawall along False Creek and came across some small restaurants that had the game playing on TVs. They were practically empty so we decided to grab a table and beer to watch the rest of the game. When the game went into overtime (albeit 11 seconds of OT) I was really glad to be out of that Granville area and chaos. When the game ended we went home, stopping to say hi to our friends at a Thai restaurant before leaving. All of downtown was like I had never seen it before. There were honking horns everywhere, people cheering and screaming and waving flags. Everyone was just so excited and happy. The atmosphere on the skytrain was buzzing too.
Today I went on a 3 hour hike up a mountain and back down around Deep Cove. It was lovely and beautiful and it murdered my legs. I wore shoes that are not at all for hiking, but they were the best thing I had. So my feet, to say the least, took a beating. There lots of rock that kept making my feet roll the wrong way and by the time we were done my feet were sore in general. I was tired of walking on uneven ground. My knees took a lot of punishment also, mostly coming down. I was stepping down one at a time like an old lady, lol, by the time we were were nearly done. It was fun though. I had a good time and it made up for not going to the gym in the past several days. I'd do it again, but only if I had proper hiking boots with decent ankle support so that I don't roll my ankles on a stupid rock. All in all I'm proud of myself for doing it with little to no complaining. I was definitely slower than the other guys that I went with, but Nate hung back to walk to with me, which I think helped keep my frustration at bay. I didn't want to the be the whiny girl that tagged along to ruin everyone's fun. I am, however, going to revoke my own personal statement of wanting to do the Grouse Grind this summer. If this hike nearly killed me, the Grind will be so much more worse than that. I think I should work on strengthening my legs before tackling that one.
All in all it's been a weekend well spent. Now I just want to curl up with some tea and a book. I have to go to bed early tonight anyway for a 4 am start tomorrow morning.