Recap: Run + Rest

As a fan girl of wellness and wandering, when I found out I could pair both passions with my first Mother's Day, I jumped at the chance. 

This past weekend I participated in the inaugural Fairmont Mother's Day Run, a 3k, 5k or 10k jaunt from Vancouver's Stanley Park to Jack Poole Plaza, benefiting Make-A-Wish. Dancing to the beat of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", I shimmied and shook my way along the Seawall for the 10k on a morning so warm and bright, I was reminded why Vancouver is my home base and my main squeeze. 

But, for the Trip Styler crew, it wasn't just about the run. We wanted to trip style the occasion too. 

Naturally, we started at the spa so I could honor my mom with a mani and some rooftop relaxation. Then, the rest of the crew—Mr, Baby AND Dog Styler—joined in for a weekend at the Fairmont Pacific Rim, perfected with a fizzy flute of Moët. See you next year. 

The details:        

The terrace at Willow Stream Spa, the cherry on top of an 8,500-sf urban sanctuary towering over the Vancouver Harbor. 

The ladies lounge in the spa.

The nail salon.

Choosing nail colors for our manicures. 

Missing Maui, I went with a purple-y-pink tone from OPI's Hawaii Collection. 

Fairmont Pacific Rim's lobby, the gold standard for gathering places in Canada with servers wandering around in red carpet-ready frocks, all-day music played on the custom Fazioli piano handcrafted in Italy, and so much marble it's like you're in a quarry.

Our room with floor-to-ceiling views of the waterfront. 

Our spa-like bathroom the size of city apartment, featuring a waist-deep Ofuro {Japanese soaking tub} perched over Canada Place. 

Bathroom selfie with Baby and Dog Styler. Note the hotel's pet-friendliness!

Mr. Nacho King {aka: Dog Styler} about to get a treat in the bathroom. 

The pool. 

Mr. and Baby Styler hanging at the pool. 

ARC restaurant in the Fairmont Waterfront, the sharp location for the pre-race, carb-loading "Mamma Mia" dinner created by Chef Alessandro Vianello.

Mamma Mia dinner: Village Farms Caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella.

Mamma Mia dinner: House-made formaggi fusili pasta with peas and a trio of cheeses.

The start of the run {somehow I snapped this while jogging}.

The entire run meandered alongside the Pacific Ocean on the Stanley Park Seawall. 

Hugging Baby Styler after finishing the 10K run.

giovane café + eatery inside the Fairmont Pacific Rim: My go-to for coffee and confections such as sugar buns {read: cream-filled balls of dough}.

Trip Styler family portrait.

Dear Moët & Chandon, thank you for being one of the race sponsors. Sincerely, the Champagne-loving Trip Stylers. 

[photos by @tripstyler (aside from lead + room + spa) taken while as a guest of the hotel, somewhere I've stayed on my own and LOVE]

Conquering the Road to Hana

[trip style = adventure]

Dear car sickness sufferers: If you're under the impression you'll never experience the Road to Hana's curvy coastline, you're sorely mistaken. You just have do it the RIGHT WAY {tips below}. 

Because anything in motion is my nemesis—I even get chairlift sick—I was under the FALSE notion that a trip to Maui’s modern-day Eden was a no-go for me, in addition to the route otherworldly sights: cascading waterfalls, bamboo groves, botanical gardens, and red-sand beaches.

I thought my only options were a} experience it virtually through other people's photos, or b} become BFFs with a heli pilot, and get myself there by air.

Koki red-sand beach

Annoyed with my constant need to manage my motion sickness, a few weeks ago I changed my tune. After 15 or so trips to Maui, I decided it was time to overcome my fear of "ralphing roadside" halfway between the six-hour trip's 600 some-odd turns.

At first, I set the bar low. If I only made it five miles, I would consider it a win. Then, with Mr. Trip Styler at the wheel, we made it to the Rainbow Eucalyptus trees at Mile Marker No. 6. At Mile Marker No. 9, I was so ecstatic with our progress, I started high-fiving bamboo branches draping over the road. At Mile Marker No. 25, I started getting used to the mist from waterfalls gushing over the cliffs just paces from our car. 

Waterfall by the roadside

At Mile Marker No. 31, I spotted the sign officially welcoming us to Hana. Now I get it. In the midst of blind corners and close to 50 one-lane bridges, the scenery is spiritual: Trees grow out of trees, fuchsia flower petals dust the road, palms erupt like fireworks.

We came to this idyllic seascape a few miles beyond Hana in search of Uncle Troy's BBQ; we found this! 

It's funny that it took me a third of a century to make it to one of Maui’s most celebrated stretches of coastline, and yet Baby Styler came along for the ride in his first six months of life.  

How to handle the Road to Hana (without getting sick)
1. Drive at a tortoise pace. To put this in perspective, we averaged 15 mph. Really, it’s hard to go much faster given the road’s hairpin turns, blind corners and one-lane bridges.

2. Coast through each turn. Pressing on the gas in a turn jolts the stomach, and is one of the main reasons passengers start to feel queasy when this motion is repeated more than 600 times in a row.

For tips 3-7, see my latest article in the Expedia Viewfinder. 

Walking in feilds of green beside the Rainbow Eucapyptus grove

[photos by @tripstyler]

Event: Run + Rest

[trip style = active + luxury + urban]

{Editor's Note: Celebrate Cinco de Mayo in style with a Mexico find from the Trip Styler Store. %15 off all items today only. Enter promo code cincodemayo at checkout. Ole.}

A run and a rest; I need both in my life. So, I'm going to do them back-to-back in my home city with a stop at the spa, a sip of sparkling, and a bite of a sugar bun {Vancouver's version of malasadas}.

This weekend, the four Fairmont Hotels in the Vancouver area are holding the first-annual Fairmont Mother's Day Run & Walk, a 3K, 5K and 10K jaunt from Stanley Park to Jack Pool Plaza {where the 2010 Olympic Flame was lit} benefitting Make-A-Wish® BC & Yukon.

I've been running my whole life, but I took a break when I was pregnant with Baby Styler—opting for walking and swimming instead. While I was *hoping* to get back into the sport shortly after my wee wanderer was born, it took me longer than expected due to his turbulent arrival and an emergency surgery to ensure his safe landing. 

Now that he's almost 7-months-old and I have a few months of miles racked up on my shoes, I'm ready to race—ok, jog. 

Aerial view of the race course

In true Trip Styler style, I'm going to make a weekend of it and paint the town—and my nails—red in Willow Stream Spa at Fairmont Pacific Rim with Mom and Sis Styler. Following the spa, Mr. and Baby Styler will join me at the Fairmont Pacific Rim {a TS fave}, perched over Vancouver's waterfront and the race course. Here, we'll take in some pre-run clinics and carb-load at the Mamma Mia Pasta Dinner on Saturday, and then I'll escape to run the 10K on Sunday and meet the other Stylers for brunch on Sunday morning.

This is my first official Mother's Day, and I can't imagine a more FITting way to spend it; with the people I love, in the city I love, doing the things I love {escaping + exercising + eating}.   

PS - Join me this weekend. Find details and a Fairmont Mother's Day Run promo code below. 

Race Details
DAY: Sunday, May 10th
COST: From $59 for adults/$29 for kids [under 6 free]. Enter Promo Code TRIPSTYLER2015 at checkout to receive 10% off.
SWAG: All participants will receive a technical running shirt, limited-edition running gloves, and a gift bag filled with zero-calorie goodies such as Lindt Chocolate :). And when moms cross the finish line, they'll be handed a custom pashmina.
EAT: Pre-race, three-course Mamma Mia Pasta Dinner at ARC in the Fairmont Waterfront {$49} // Post-race nourishment at the Pacific Rim Mother's Day Brunch {$55}

Special Stay Rates
Fairmont Hotel Vancouver – starting from $279/night
Fairmont Waterfront – starting from $319/night
Fairmont Pacific Rim – starting from $369/night
Fairmont Vancouver Airport – starting from $299/night
Participants will receive special stay rates, here. Enter a check-in date of May 9th and a check-out date of May 10th.

Fairmont Pacific Rim

[photos via Fairmont and National Geographic for an event I will be doing in partnership with Fairmont Hotels]