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Conquering Mountains

I’ve been climbing mountains lately.

Well… what I’ve been doing is the Grouse Grind, which technically is climbing a mountain.

I’ve gone from not having hiked it in years to doing it every weekend for the past month.

I once said the half marathon wasn’t the most physically challenging thing I’ve ever done – the Grind on the other hand could very well be my toughest endeavour yet.

It all started one Sunday when I decided to tag along with Pearlsa and her friends.

Among the group were an Olympic medal rower and a couple of guys climbing Everest in September! Yeah, it wasn’t intimidating at all.

As I climbed through the relentless rain and cold panting to a point of hyperventilation, I had a moment of clarity… the Grind is so hard, it makes everything else seem easy.

This was a week to the half marathon and I knew it couldn’t be worse than the Grouse Grind.

I liked the way I felt after the climb; I realized I could substitute it with my run especially in the hot summer months.

Pearlsa and I went back on Canada Day did horribly; I think it had something to do with not having those ultra athletic men to cheer us on.

Our next try wasn’t any better but I was able to control my breathing thanks to the yoga class I’m no longer taking because I can’t wake up early enough on Sundays.

Last weekend, Paul who’s been doing the grind for almost as long as I haven’t came with us and with a few tips I managed to finish it in under an hour and the half.

I’ve written about the Grind before in December 2002 and August 2003, which was the last time I did it

I want to stick to it this time. I want to be good at it, I want to be like the annoyingly fit perky blonde and her Ken boyfriend who were hi-fiving each other and going… “Yeah, 51 minutes baby!”

Technorati Tags: Grouse Grind

Posted July 19th, 2007 in Run, Vancouver. Tagged: exercise, grouse grind.

I took a couple of days off work to get myself centered and rested. I’ve felt a little unbalanced of late, it’s funny because, I claim I abhor the monotony of life yet I come unhinged at the slightest alteration to my rhythm.

I’ve been out for a run only once since the start of the year. It’s not entirely my fault, however, the crazy weather and I share equal blame.

I tried a yoga class last year which I really liked, I haven’t made it back since because the timing doesn’t work for me; so I got this and a host of others DVDs and I’ve become slightly possessed.

I’ve been doing them religiously morning and night, as if to make up for the fact that I’m not out there running anymore. I even changed my waking-up schedule just so I can get a workout in before I leave for work in the mornings. I’m not even sure I like them or they’re any good. I just know that I have to do them, maybe I’m bored and it’s there. I probably should try sex or masturbate to wean myself off this craziness.

I turned the living room upside down to make room for my mat and it’s all I seem to do, I go home, do it for hours, got to sleep, wake up a few hours later and I’m at it again.

Thoughts of my yoga DVDs started creeping up at work; this is when I realized I needed help.

The best way to end a harmful habit is to understand the origins of said habit, in my case, where was my bizarre addiction these yoga DVDs coming from? I came up with the weather, my guilt for not exercising and the fact that I’m anal retentive.

This little incident also made me realize how much running has become a part of what keeps me sane, I keep at those DVDs is because I keep hoping to get that buzz I get from running.

I always maintained that I’m not one of those people that LOVE to run, I felt I tolerated it, this incident has showed me otherwise, I may not love running, I just need to run occasionally for my sanity.

I haven’t even been running that much lately, in fact I’ve been down right slacking for a year or so. My extra snug clothes attest to that.

I have a little prayer; that tomorrow the skies will clear up. Oh and also I miss the sun!