Marathon Training Event #2

Days until the Marathon: 18

Today was to be a short run - about a 12km run home from work but I did something else instead. There are a few guys from my office that do the Grouse Grind every week and since it`s nearing the end of Grind season, today I decided to join them.  Not quite marathon training (there are no mountain climbs in the course) but I think it`s got to help somewhat.

I`ve done the Grind a couple of times this year but both times I was going up with people at a more leisurely pace so I was excited to hit this one hard, go at my own pace, and see what I could accomplish, not knowing what to expect.

I started the trail with a slight jog; I figured I should make some good time while the trail was somewhat less steep. Almost immediately I started to sound like a train and my legs felt like they wanted to cramp. I realized there was no way I was to hold that pace all the way to the top so I settled down into a quick groove. I hit the 1/4 mark in 12 minutes. Now I need to mention that the trail is marked at 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and finish but these marks are for elevation gain - not distance, so since the first quarter is the least steep, it's also the longest. From that I figured my finishing time would be about 45minutes.

I continued on and hit the 1/2 mark in 8 minutes but from there I had to slow down a little because my legs were giving up on me. The next 1/4 took me 10 minutes and the final 1/4 took 8 minutes for a total time of 38:22.

Now that I've got a time I now have a benchmark for next year.

I would like to take this opportunity to put a plug out for my co-worker Duncan who is travelling to Tanzania next year to help out with the Canada Africa Community Health Alliance which specializes in bringing medical supplies and treatment to families in Africa who have little or no access to healthcare. He will help to oversee the structural design of a new healthcare center. Over the next month he will be doing the grind as often as he can and is looking for pledges (1-10+$/grind) to help fund his volunteer trip. If this intrigues you at all see his blog here: http://www.grindfortanzania.blogspot.com/. Instructions on how to donate can be found on his blog.