My Journey With Weight Loss – My New Goal

Yes, I have decided I need a new goal. This weekend I made the decision that I want to do the Grouse Grind. For those of you not from BC, the Grouse Grind is a 2.9km trek up a mountain. Apparently it is quarters 2 and 3 that are the biggest challenge. I know I am getting stronger every time a work out but I also am unsure if I can get to doing a 10k by this summer (remember my coach firmly believes we go slow so that I remain injury free). But I really think I can train for this hike over the next 2 or 3 months and give the Grind a try.

My first thought was I’ll start training on Oxford St which is a 1 mile long very steep hill in White Rock. Funny story about that hill that I was reminded of by an old friend. When we were in junior high our physical education teacher would several times a semester have us walk down to the beach and then run up Oxford St. It was brutal so one time my friend and I decided to hitch a ride in the back of the pickup to take us up the hill. I think I am a little more engaged in doing the actual climb now.

Yesterday I did an extremely long walk and Oxford St was part of it. When I arrived at the bottom of that hill I thought, there is no way you can do this. Just the grade on this hill was pretty intimidating to see and I started to panic thinking ok, maybe the Grind isn’t in the picture. But, I put that positive voice in my head and started walking, just one foot in front of the other. I had previously learned that in tackling hills you just have to keep going (but seriously, this is more than double the length of the one I normally do), if you stop you are going to lose you momentum and maybe even your resolve. So I kept walking. The 1st half of the hill is the steepest then the 3rd quarter the grade levels ever so slightly. The final quarter is still a good incline but more in line with the hill I normally do.

When I got to the top of that hill I immediately FaceTimed my husband to tell him I wasn’t dead. He was stunned and said ‘you don’t even look like you broke a sweat or have you cooled off already’. I explained I had literally just finished that climb and I wasn’t even mildly winded. Damn, I really am getting fit. And surprisingly, I got up this morning thinking my muscles would be screaming in complaint but no, I felt good and went on to do my interval training. Moreover, by time I made it back home yesterday I had walked for 5 miles and my total for yesterday was 13.2 miles.

Friday I start my serious training for this goal, running intervals up the hill. My coach has suggested doing 4 3:30 minute intervals (same time as my running training) and gently walk back down the hill after each interval. I confess, I am not convinced I can do this but I am willing to give it a try. I know if it is too much we can scale this back and I absolutely won’t be doing another 5 mile walk as part of this training (I’ll cut it back to 3 miles) and I am going to do one more full walk up the hill before that training session. I’ll be posting on Saturday about the whole experience with this training so stay tuned to see if I survive.