Kettlebell Hiking

When I asked Jason if he wanted to do a hike with me – I never anticipated that we’d be bringing along this hefty little kettlebell with us!

We decided that we would venture to Grouse Mountain on Sunday morning – but instead of doing the Grind like we would typically do, we decided to try out one of the other trails. Jason suggested that we put the kb in his backpack and take 5 minute interval turns of carrying it on our back – I’m always up for a challenge so of course I agreed!

Jason was up first!

(That sag isn’t normally part of the backpack!)

The Baden-Powell trail literally starts immediately on the right as soon as you get on the Grind (I don’t know about you – but I’ve personally never noticed this haha). Although we didn’t realize it at the time, we actually only walked a small portion of the Baden-Powell trail as it stretches all the way from Lynn Cannon to Grouse.

(Sorry for the blurry photos – we literally weren’t stopping other than to switch the back pack)

We followed the little orange markers for the beginning of the trail which we thought was quite flat (and unimpressive) and even started to trail down at one point… until we realized we needed to change trails at the BCMC trail junction and start hiking back up hill.

After realizing we were heading in the wrong direction (east instead of north) a kind pair of older hikers led us back in the right direction.

From this point on, it was ALL up hill, around fallen trees, shimming along rock ledges, crawling up slippery slopes – a true mountain hike!

(Jason: “I’m going to get a picture of you when you are really dying…” so I quickly flashed a smile haha.)

The best part about the entire hike was definitely the first minute after you took the backpack off. The incredible light feeling and euphoria of continuing on without that 30 extra pounds of weight made you feel like you could literally run up the rest of the mountain… and we typically each did run for a bit each time we switched off the weight to the other person.

(Don’t look back!)

We made it to the top in an hour and 27 minutes. I continued carrying it the last league all the way up the stairs and out the back of the lodge at the top so we each had the weight for 45 interval minutes.

Even though it sounds crazy, it was such a rush once we reached the top! Knowing us, we just might do it again next weekend…

The best part? The random Owl mascot at the top of the mountain which we sweatily had to get a photo with before taking the gondola down.

Do you have any suggestions of good hikes/climbing challenges you’ve done around the Vancouver area? I’d love to hear them and give them a shot!

 

 

 

23.81 kilometers

I am ecstatic to share that I ran 23.81 km (almost 24 km) yesterday morning!

Those who know me, know that I’m not a natural runner. I much rather short, quick bursts of energy that builds endurance or strength over long, extended periods of cardio as my workouts of choice. I’ve never overly enjoyed running and always saw it as a huge scary goal that would take me forever to accomplish… and then one Saturday morning in July, I squashed that goal and ran 23.81 km in just over 2 hours.

I still cannot believe that I actually ran that far and how much it took out of me. Going into the run, my friend Ashley told me we were going to run 16-18 km. Running 10-12km runs over the past few months, I figured ok, I need to work up to this 21.1km so I can be successful on the lululemon half marathon I’m signed up to run on August 11th… that turned into a distance OVER a half marathon!

We started off pretty steady and at about 5 km we hit our first steep hill – which turned into about an 8km distance of climbing up hill. I don’t typically run hills so it wasn’t easy, but I kept going at a steady pace taking it one hill at a time. After we got off the road we ran through some lovely trails and down into a lovely ocean front park! We stopped at about 12.5km once we hit the dock at the Belcarra – I snapped a few pictures at the end of the dock:

We then turned around and headed back up a 2km climb of a hill! After 5km in the opposite direction it was pretty downhill or flat until about 3km from the end. Needless to say I was relieved when we were about 2 leagues from the end.

When I looked down and saw that we had hit the 22km mark I couldn’t believe it and just kept thinking “we are almost done, we are almost done, we are almost done!” During the last 2km I had to stop every 1/2km but I knew I could pick it up after I recovered, and I made it to the end!

My top 5 running Tips:

1. Find a running buddy. If you choose one of any of these tidbits of advice, it’s this one! It’s a lot easier to accomplish something when you have someone else motivating you and encouraging you to keep pushing.

2. Running is almost always mind over matter. If you are in good health and have been training, the distance is purely all mental. Believe you can do it, and your body will make it happen.

3. Switch it up. Choose different routes and challenge yourself to keep your runs interesting. Unless I’m running intervals, I always run outside – it took me a while to get used to outdoor running, but it’s so much different than indoor running and you get to experience new places!

4. Get enough rest. Don’t run long runs when you are tired – been there, done that (I’ve learned the hard way for us both already – trust me!), felt the exhaustion.

5. PLAN. Like anything else, you need to plan your runs into your week or they will not happen! Make running as important as appointments, cooking dinner and brushing your teeth – hold yourself accountable!

Above all else, remember that running is dependent on you and you only. Whether your goal is to run 1km, 10km or 50km – you are the only person you are competing against and the only one you should compare yourself to.

When I started running a few years ago, I couldn’t even run down the block let alone 1km. I kept at it, kept running and never gave up – it’s all about perseverance and dedication!

If I can do it – so can you!