Thursday, February 5, 2009

The Steps





There they stood, ranged along the hill-sides, met
To view the last of me, a living frame
For one more picture! in a sheet of flame
I saw them and I knew them all. And yet
Dauntless the slug-horn to my lips I set,
And blew. ``Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came.''
~ Robert Browning

So I read that there are 764 steps in my Dark Tower, 36 floors. I got there early, I called one of the people I was supposed to meet and he said, go try one and I will be there when you get to the top. I laughed, I can't do 36 flights up.. the most I have done in years is 7 and I felt like I was gonna die after that.

So, here is the deal before I tell you the story. You ride up... drop your stuff off at the top, ride down and then walk up, ride down... etc...

Ok, I hopped into the elevator and headed down. It opened on the ground floor and I was thinking well, my stuffs up there, I am gonna have to make it at least 1/2 way up to get to the second elevators so I can get to the top. So I went over and from the bottom you have a choice of left or right staircases. I followed a couple of people in front of me and headed off to the right.

Floors: (these are my thoughts as I went up)
  1. I felt pretty good.
  2. Still felt good
  3. I remembered to turn on my HR monitor.
  4. OK what the heck did I get myself into.
  5. Well 31 to go.
  6. OMG 30 to go.
  7. Hmm I can do this...
  8. Heart rate 135.
  9. Ok this is nuts
  10. Ok that guy just passed me.
  11. Well I don't hear the people I started with anymore.
  12. Heart Rate 152
  13. Actually wondering if there was a floor 13.. :P
  14. My mind went numb....
  15. same
  16. same
  17. same
  18. same
  19. Heart rate hit 162... I stopped and took a lot of deep breaths and let my HR drop back down to 140ish
  20. OK this may be doable
  21. Well, I shoulda brought water with me and not left it up there.
  22. Hah I am an idiot and I am gonna die in this staircase.
  23. Wow I see why they said wear wicking stuff it's hot in here.
  24. Numbness again....
  25. Same
  26. Same
  27. Same
  28. Same
  29. Same
  30. 6 more... hell ya I can do this
  31. 5 more
  32. 4 more
  33. 3 more
  34. 2 more
  35. 1 more (an open window... feel that cold air!!)
  36. I made it.....!!!!!!!
Ok some of these are made up. But I did think alot of that. I also though about this sign:



On the second time up the people I was waiting for showed up and when we got to like floor 6 I was like only 30 more. They told me not to look at that, but those damn numbers are everywhere. How can you not look at them! All I kept thinking was I don't wanna die here. But I made it up. I did the climb 3 times before I called it a night. 2292 steps. I loved it and plan to do this a lot more often. Next time though I am going for more than 3.

This is one of the best workouts I have had. I felt like great afterwards and today I can feel the difference in my legs. I suggest this workout for anyone. Just bring your Heart Monitor and keep an eye on it.

9 comments:

Sarah said...

YOU GO STAN!!!!

That sounds like an awesome workout! It was giod to you to bring your HR monitor and adjust accordingly. Way to go!

Betsy said...

This is awesome, Stan!

Very interesting - I read the Dark Tower series and I recognized that poem from the get go. I guess you conquered your tower long before Roland did...

Awesome job!

But what do you do if someone steals your stuff?

greentigress said...

be careful running up stairs, my dad has been doing this like a maniac for a while, and stepped it up big time recently, he's torn a tendon in his foot and has to be on crutches for a few months and pretty much off his feet for about 18 months...

Stan said...

There is so much up there, I doubt anyone has or would. I wouldn't leave money or keys lying around but a jacket and some water.

As for running up the steps.. umm no I wasn't running and honestly doubt I will be able to run up them for a long long time. I just walked :)

Thanks for the well wishes.. I already committed to next week today :P

Marianne said...

OMG! That is so awesome! I'm almost jealous. I tried to do something like that in the past, but out building had only 3 floors and it was boring. Mostly cause no one else did it. Stair climbing is a fantastic exercise!! You GO Stan!!

robison52 said...

I've never ran up a building steps before and I've been running for 10 years now...I should try your workout someday! Thanks for the inspiration!

Winnston said...

I was just thinking about this yesterday, and wondering if you were going to try to get to the top on the first attempt at this. I was going to drop you a note about not getting discouraged for not making it to the top.

Stan -this is a massive accomplishment for you. You have come 1,000 miles since you first began all of this. I would like to know how many flights you would have made it up in February 2008. Think about it. 2? 5?

It's these kinds of milestones that should really drive home to you what you are accomplishing. These things fire ME up and make me want to get out there. Right now I'm waiting for it to get light so I can hit the trail.

You must be a completely new man. What does your wife and kids say about all of this? I bet they are beaming with pride!!

WendyBird said...

Great job! Keep up the good work. I know this was a big goal for you, I'm glad you made it :-)

Tanya said...

Awesome job! What a huge challenge-and you conquered it!!