It’s All About The Climb…

I actually like that Miley song…..

Anyway, last week was a pseudo recovery week from my very first Triathlon–I didn’t do a whole lot of running (two days) but I got in a tough trail run/hike at the end of the week.

Monday I headed to the gym and worked out with a buddy. She had me doing some crazy stuff that left me quite sore, lol! It was fun though, because they were workout drills I normally would never do–squats with weights and other fun things.

Tuesday had me running an easy 5 miler (8:53/m) with a friend and her pooch.

Wednesday I picked up the pace on a solo run, 4 miles at 8:04/m. I was really happy with this run because my splits were good–8:16, 8:04, 8:05, 7:51. ๐Ÿ˜€

Thursday consisted of a 20 minute stationary bike ride and core work and I took a complete rest day Friday .

Saturday was a big day.

I have a 4 year old <3

I have a 4 year old โค

It’s crazy how time flies. When she was born, people would tell me that before I knew it, she’d grow up. Now it’s really happening.

We had a fun family day together and in the evening we had a few of her friends over for play. Her big party is this next weekend so there’ll be more pictures then ๐Ÿ™‚

Sunday I met up with my run club for a new trail run. I always jump at the chance to run on a new trail because I love exploring where we live.

This particular hike was exactly that, a hike. It was about a 40 minute drive from where I live, but we were told it would be worth it.

Oh, boy.

The trail was labeled “expert” but I wasn’t sure what that meant. I’ve done some pretty tough climbs but this had been talked up as being a really, really tough one.

See those towers way up there? Let's climb up to them just for fun!

See those towers way up there? Let’s climb up to them just for fun!

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Yep, that was my Garmin read of that hike.

It was a 9+ miler that was basically UP. At the start, you had a few rolling hills, so you thought you’d be okay. But then around mile 2 and a halfish, the ridiculousness started. I was f bombing left and right at how not fun it was. At this point, the trail turned into concrete and there was no running; it was literally a climb.

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Pit stop to decide if we *really* want to go all the way to the top, lol!

The trail website describes it:

“The climb provides a serene feeling of ridge-line hiking, offering amazing views along the way as you quickly climb 2000 feet to the peak.”

I somehow missed the serenity feeling, lol!

Anway, I huffed and puffed (and swore) my way up all the way to the very top ๐Ÿ™‚

Almost to the top. This was after quite a few Holy Fuckballs

Almost to the top. This was after quite a few Holy Fuckballs

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Amazing view of Phoenix

And when we got there, we saw a helipad!! I of course had to take a picture on it! ๐Ÿ˜€

Helly on a helipad :D

Helly on a helipad ๐Ÿ˜€

The way back down had to be done carefully. It was so steep there was no way you could run down that without falling. Once it leveled out a bit though, it was easier to pick up speed. Which I did because I wanted to get the hell out of there, lol!!

Shoefie!

Shoefie!

Protruding cactus at the start/end. I wanted to high five it

Protruding cactus at the start/end. I wanted to high five it

I was glad I did the hike though. As with most things in life, it’s good to try everything once (most things anyway ๐Ÿ˜‰ )

–Have you hiked a rough trail before? What about it made it tough?

–Do you swear when you run? Or during your regular day?

 

 

Grouse Grind Mountain Climb! {Recap}

So Saturday, the day after the Night Run Vancouver 10k, I should actually say, the morning after the Night Run Vancouver 10k–we woke up, bright and early, to climb Vancouver’s most famous mountain!


The Grouse Grindยฎ is a 2.9-kilometre trail up the face of Grouse Mountain, commonly referred to as โ€œMother Natureโ€™s Stairmaster.โ€

This trail is very challenging. Keep in mind that there is a wide range of mountaintop trails that might better suit the average hiker.


Trail Facts

Length
: 2.9 kilometres (1.8 miles)
Elevation Gain: 853 metres (2,800 feet)
Total Stairs: 2,830
Average Time: On average, it takes up to an hour and a half to complete the hike. For novice hikers, two hours is recommended.
Source

Mother Nature’s Stairmaster. How could you NOT want to do that, right???
As I’d mentioned in my race recap, it was cold in Vancouver (for me) and I purchased a very expensive hoodie as I’d come unprepared to climb up a mountain in what seemed to me freezing temps, lol.
We started the climb and right away, started going UP. The stairs seriously seemed never ending.
When we climbed Mt. Humphrey’s, Arizona’s highest peak, there were landings where we’d often rest. Not with Grouse Mountain. There were just stairs going up and up and up. Occasionally, I’d just pull off to the side and let people pass.
The trail of steps are narrow, so they’ve made it a one way trip. People can only go up and then you have to take the Sky Lift to come back down.
This actually made me feel better because it wasn’t far into the climb that I started to ask, Are we there yet?
Up and up and up
It took us almost exactly an hour and a half! There was this cafe type building at the top of the mountain where one could eat and buy souvenirs. We rested, snacked, and then decided to get back down as quickly as we could.
On the Sky Lift, we had amazing views of what we’d just climbed. It was actually really cool to see as there had been quite a bit of fog on our climb up that we hadn’t really seen any views.
It was a perfect morning hike, tough, but we were glad we were able to cross off Grouse Grind on our list!
I hope everyone has a great weekend!!! Happy October!!! ๐Ÿ˜€
โค , helly
–Are you a fan of the stair master?
–Have you thought of your Halloween costume yet?