80 Flights -- 1,643 Steps Today

In line I ask the woman in front of me, "Have you done this before?  What's it like?"

"Oh no, I've been a volunteer before but this is the first time I'm doing the stairs.  You should ask her--pointing out the woman next to her--she's an athlete."

Woman in orange shyly responds, "No I'm not."

"Yes you are.  You do bike races, marathons and stair climbs!"

"Well yes, but I'm not an athlete," she counters, as I wonder what one has to do then, to become an athlete!

So many "steppers" everywhere I look, filling the halls in all directions, waiting to begin.  Men, women and children, all ages and shapes imaginable, talk, pace, stretch, and wait.

The excitement is palpable, adrenaline is kicking in.

At exactly 8:45 a.m. my feet cross the threshold as a volunteer snaps his arm down pointing to the floor and says, "Go!"

As always, the first few flights sail by with ease.  As always, by the fifth floor I start to feel it.  Not sure why I'm shocked, that yet again, it happens so soon.  Fleeting thoughts rush my mind. "What am I supposed to do for 75 more floors if this is how I feel already," becomes dominant, as I count off the floors heading for floor 10, the first water stop.

What I do, is carry out my plan.  Strategy for this first ever 80-flight climb is to stop for approximately 60 seconds at each water station.   I'm not climbing this tower for time today, but for what I can learn from the experience, and to finish.  However, realizing these breaks will add at least seven minutes onto my time, I maximize each second. 

Reaching for a very cold cup of refreshing water from the volunteer's outstretched hand, I mumble, "Excuse me," and cut through to the hallway.  Jesse told me at the water stations they will allow climbers to go into the hall to rest. 

Simply walking on level ground those few steps begins to have a calming effect.  Next I sit in a chair, close my eyes, relax everything I can possibly relax as quickly as possible and begin my breathing exercises.

My goal is to slow down my breathing and heart rate, and to lower my blood pressure...all in those few seconds.  I've planned, visualized and practiced the exercises for each water station, countless times in preparation. 

Immediately imagining my hands, feet and solar plexus are very warm I increase blood flow to my extremities and then imagine this healthy blood flow going to my heart and serving it up with lots of healthy oxygen. Next, I breathe (as deeply as possible at the time) in peaceful breathing, out distressed breathing...in calm, out stress...in confidence, out fear...in slow steady breath, out hurried fast breaths...in a nice slow heart rate, out my racing one...as many as I can fit in the seconds allotted.  I stand, finishing the water and head back to the steps.

Amazingly, every time I begin another ten floors after my 60-second break, I'm starting fresh all over again!

Somewhere around floor 54 I hit a second wind entirely.

Floor 72 seems to be the most difficult to reach. 

At 70, bent over, leaning against the wall, I try a rush version of my breathing exercises, but I'm breathing so hard and fast, the only thing my brain can muster up with each breath is, "Breath in good, breath out bad...breath in health, breath out disease!"  Ha, my brain can't keep up with my breathing, fast enough to formulate the words which have worked so well before.  I throw any ol' good word I can think of into the "breathing in," and negative ones into the "breathing out"!

I press on to floor 72, and then it happens--a third wind of mammoth proportions.  Having steadily walked up 72 flights of stairs, I now take off running up these last eight flights.  Slowing down for only one of them, I continue running right through to the end.  At floor 80 I have to ask the volunteer by the door, "Is this the end?"

Walking into the reception area, I'm on top of the world...no nausea...no pain, no aches... breathing fine...elated!

What am I most thankful for today?

--The volunteers with outstretched hands full of water every ten floors.
--Volunteers in the landings of the flights just before each water station. There they stand clapping and cheering us on at the most perfect times.
--The hallway air conditioning for my 60-second respites, after the stifling heat of the stairwell.
--The Boy Scouts manning the last two water stations.

What did I learn? 

--If I can run up the last eight flights, perhaps I could have pushed myself harder earlier on? 
--Now I'm looking forward to the climb in two weeks on Feb. 12th. 
--My goal is to cut down on the number of breaks and scale back
   some of the seconds on the breaks I do take.

I can do this!

Photos just after the climb.  Top one with Jesse, my trainer.