Wrapping up the Week in Banff

Buckle up, pour yourself a drink, get a snack, because I'm recapping not only my experience spectating the Chicago Marathon, but also the first part of my weekend in Banff. My sister and I traveled to Canada for our 11th annual sister trip. It's hard to keep topping our previous trips, but our long weekend in Banff may have been our best trip yet. I have so many photos and it was hard to pick just a few to share here. Oh, and I had a big run on the Ice Age Trail in there too! And did I mention I met Des Linden?

What a week!

Weekly Rundown 

Sunday: spectate the Chicago Marathon

Monday: run 4 miles, Meet and Greet with Des Linden

Tuesday: Ice Age Trail run 14.7 miles, 1800 ft climbing

Wednesday: rest/yoga

Thursday: travel to Canmore, Alberta/easy hiking

Friday; Tunnel Mountain hike 3 miles/600 ft climbing, sightseeing in Banff

Saturday: Lake Louise hike 6 miles/1766 ft climbing

The weekend fun continued (see my last post) and on Sunday, Kristin and I boarded the Blue Line and headed downtown to spectate the Chicago Marathon with plans to get there right before the runners finished. We had to change trains to get us to Roosevelt and the Green Line dropped us off right at the final 400m--local runners know it as 'Mount Roosevelt', a small incline that takes runners to the finish line. We snagged a space right along the course behind the barriers and waited for the runners to approach. It was really exciting to be so close to the action! 

First, the wheelchair athletes came through and they were flying! Not long after, the truck with the timer on the roof came rolling down the street, followed by the first runner! We watched him speed by and around the corner, up Mt Roosevelt. There's a jumbotron at the corner and we were able to see him cross the finish line, right into RD Carey Pinkowski's arms! We quickly learned that he broke the marathon WR with a finish time of 2:00:35, definitively breaking Eliud Kipchoge's record. 

More runners came in, along with more wheelchair athletes. The first woman approached, with the same type of truck heralding her approach. Sifan Hassan, who won the London marathon earlier this year, broke the women's course record at this race with a finish time of 2:13:44. This was also the second fastest marathon finish for a woman. 

We anxiously awaited the American women and saw Emily Sisson (2:22:09) go by. But it was Molly Seidel (2:23:07) who got the crowd cheering loudly! She's from Madison, Wisconsin, and is a local favorite!

Just a few minutes later, we saw Des Linden approach, flanked by a few other runners. She was focused but turned quickly to acknowledge our screams, lol. She crossed the finish line in 2:27:35, breaking the American women's marathon record, which was previously held by Deena Kastor. What a morning!

The crowd behind us began thickening and pushing us up against the barrier. We saw who we came to see, so we left our prime spot and began to walk towards our original spectating spot near mile 25. We were joined by my sons. I couldn't believe they actually came! We cheered and rang the cowbell until the 5 hour marathoners ran by. Even though we were tracking multiple runners, we only saw a few, which was a disappointment. As the race wore on, we noticed that more runners were walking. It was fun to be at the end of the marathon, where we were able to cheer on people who were struggling and needed a push. I wore my banana hat from Hype Fest and got a lot of thumbs ups. We walked to the nearby Giordanos for pizza and beer.

What a fun and inspiring day! The best part for me was my youngest son saying he thinks he wants to run the marathon next year. I told him if he does, I will too. Fingers crossed that we get in the lottery. It opens next week!

Both Kristin and I woke up exhausted Monday morning, but the sun was shining and we both wanted to go for a short run to shake out our legs. After all that standing yesterday, my legs were stiff and I had to stop a few times to stretch my calves and shins. 

After breakfast, we headed downtown for our Brooks-sponsored meet and greet with Des Linden. I brought my copy of her book to be signed. She was as kind and humble as you would expect. I showed her the photo I took of her on her way to the finish line and told me she was really hurting there. She knew she had the world master's marathon record within reach! After we spoke, I took a photo with her and a few of my RHT members joined in for a group photo. What a fun opportunity!

Off work this week, on Tuesday, I headed up to Whitewater, Wisconsin for some IAT trail miles. I ran a new-to-me trail, the Blue Spring Lake Segment, which is adjacent to my favorite segment, the Blackhawk. I was surprised to see as many people as I did on a weekday, but most of them were chasing miles for the Mammoth Challenge. This is a longer segment and I knew it was going to be hilly, but I did not expect to struggle as much as I did, especially after last week's 12 miler, which went so well. I'm not sure if it was because I was fatigued from my Chicago Marathon weekend, but by the last couple of miles, the climbs made my heart rate go through the roof and I felt as if I was going to vomit. I've never had that happen on any of my IAT runs. Thankfully, my stomach behaved itself and I finished up the segment.

On Thursday, I flew to Calgary, picked up my rental car, and drove to Canmore, where my sister and I had rented our condo for our 11th annual sister trip. By the time I got to Canmore, I was starving, so I stopped at the Grizzly Paw Brewery for lunch and a beer. I spent the rest of the day exploring the area, which was lovely, even in spite of the low clouds. I found a short trail that took me to a creek and a view of the Three Sisters--one of which was hiding in the clouds. My sister arrived in the evening, just in time for a delicious dinner at Blake.

Feeling overwhelmed by all the sightseeing options in Banff National Park, our first stop on Friday was at the tourist information center. After consulting with the young woman behind the counter, we set off on our day. Our first stop was Bow Falls, which is on the Bow River.

Our next stop was Tunnel Mountain, a hike that promised views of the town of Banff from above. The winding road that took us to the trailhead also provided a great view of the Fairmont Springs Hotel and no, we did not stay there!

As we made our way to the summit, a 2.4 km trek, we had incredible views. The clouds made things interesting. That is the Bow River in the photo below.

At the top of the mountain, there are 2 Adirondack chairs where hikers can sit and take in the view. We found that this is a theme throughout the town!

After stopping for lunch (we packed sandwiches), we drove to the Vermillion Lakes, where we were rewarded with more incredible views. 

After stopping in the town of Banff to do some shopping and have a beer at Three Bears Brewing (very tasty!), we headed back to our condo. We decided to make one last stop along the way at Lake Minnewanka (I kept calling it Willy Wonka) and wow, we were glad we did it. Lake Minnewanka is a glacial lake and it was a taste of what was to come for the rest of our trip! Thanks to the recommendation from the bartender at Three Bears, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Where the Buffalo Roam. 

The sun came out on Saturday and we changed our plans, opting to go to the iconic Lake Louise and hoping that the bright skies would bring out the lake's famed color. We were not disappointed. Our plan was to hike the 3 miles up to the Little Beehive, a viewing spot from above. When we started out, we shared the trail with quite a few other eager hikers, but the steep climb thinned the numbers pretty quickly. We took our time along the way, soaking up all the beauty. We stopped at Mirror Lake on the way up, aptly named!

Our next stop, about 2.3 miles up the trail was the Lake Agnes Teahouse. The teahouse was closed for the season, but we enjoyed the lovely namesake lake. There was a waterfall below the lake. We also stopped to use the facilities, which were up a flight of stairs, suspended above the ground. It was interesting!

We continued up the trail to Little Beehive. By this point, we pretty much had the trail to ourselves. It was very steep and rocky, and we looked forward to completing this very challenging hike! When we reached the top of the mountain, we were not disappointed. The view of Lake Louise below was breathtaking. We sat on the rocks atop the mountain and ate our lunch. We sadly made our way back down to the shoreline and the crowds below. 

How was your week? Have you ever spectated a marathon? Have you met any 'celebrity' runners? Have you been to Banff? What is the prettiest place you've ever been?

I have one more day in Banff and we are wrapping up a few leftover must-see sights. How do I go back to real life after this week, lol? 

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown.