Then back in June I saw the Grind for Kids (www.grindforkids.com) fundraising effort and thought that it looked pretty cool and I might give it a go. So I set the modest goal of $200 dollars to raise and 25 grinds. Now, a little over a month since starting, I am sitting at $750 in donations and pledges and have already completed 20 grinds and have about 5-6 weeks remaining in the fundraising.
This past week I've done 6 Grouse Grinds. That's more in one week than I have ever done before and more than I thought I could do. I am now upping the Ante and starting to watch my nutrition and energy levels and try to do more grinds per day as well as per week.
A big inspiration and motivating force has come from the fact that I am helping out for Children's Hospital, while getting in shape myself at the same time. One thing that keeps running through my head while on the Grind is that many of the kids in Children's Hospital would love to be out in nature, hiking and having fun, but they can't. I can. So I really shouldn't complain that it's long, it's hard or I'm too tired. I just need to get out there and do it.
Jason Chong's amazing run of over 270 grinds so far for Grind for Kids has been a huge inspiration and reading his blog (www.thegrousegrinder.com) has made me believe that I can complete multiple grinds per day, with an intellectual and smart approach to doing so. So my goal has been to monitor my training and gradually increase my numbers and times while at the same time learning more about the nutrition needed to do so.
To help out I purchased a new heart rate and gps monitor this weekend - the Garmin Forerunner 305. It monitors a lot of different items and I'm just learning the software but the two that stand out most are of course heart rate, to make sure you are training in the right zone and GPS to show elevation data and route. I've attached a couple files here showing my first Grind with it on Saturday. I actually completed the grind about a minute faster but was catching my breath and forgot to turn the Garmin off! It also tracks my split times at the 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 marks. Should be interesting to compare as the season winds on.
I'm will post frequent updates here as to how my grinding is going so that my family, friends and others who have pledged to Children's Hospital for my grinds will be able to follow my progress and thoughts.
Goodnight for now!
Files from the Garmin:
I am so proud of you honey!
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