What's that next level of atmosphere? Oh yeah...

~Marc Paulus

Las Vegas boasts its Stratosphere is the tallest freestanding tower in the U.S.

That's where I'm headed tomorrow for the Saturday climb.

Tonight feeling tired from Sunday's Hancock race.  These next two days in Vegas are important to rest and get acclimated.

By Saturday I'll be re-energized.

No trips to Serendipity for chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick or banana splits!  Bananas yes, the split part, no. 


Instead, fruit in the spa, make-your-own-salad in the food court, and careful choices anywhere else.  Find some Smart water.


This 108 floor climb doesn't feel like 108 floors at all, according to Jesse.  He is predicting I'll be way under my time from last weekend.

That's the plan:   rest, healthy food, exercise, new energy.

New heights...

and new times.

~from Climate Education K-12

A new level of atmosphere for me!

Hustle Up the Hancock 2012

"Top Finishers - Full Climb Elite: Congratulations to Justin Stewart of Springfield, IL, winner of the Elite Division with a blazing fast speed of 9 minutes and 44 seconds. The fastest woman climber was Kristin Frey of Schaumburg, IL.

She conquered the climb in just 10 minutes and 56 seconds."

~taken from "Hustle Up the Hancock" official results notification email

(I would like to credit the photographers, but their names weren't listed.)

I'm very excited for Justin and Kristin's great success yesterday.  They are soaring through these races, improving their times with each one.

Also happy for a friend in her early twenties who prepared and participated in the race yesterday -- her first official stair climbing experience. She came in with a 22 minute and 29 seconds finish. Way to go Yvette!

I'm exchanging emails today with another friend, a retired English teacher, who recently recovered from knee replacement surgery, and now wants to move into stairclimbing.  He's figuring out how best to train, with a goal of competing in next year's "Hustle Up the Hancock."  Alright Rich!

Giving huge credit where credit is due, I also congratulate the number one woman in my age group, 65 yr. old Nesa Anderson, who finished in 17 minutes and 54 seconds.  Definitely impressive.

While I currently remain in the bottom half of the women in my age category, I am still pleased with my time yesterday as I was able to shave four minutes and twenty-two seconds off my time from the Aon building climb on January 29th. 

My goal going forward is to improve in each climb. 

A few details about yesterday:

     --  A beautiful sunny day on Michigan Avenue!
     --  An exciting start, knowing my family was there to support me, and
          chatting in line with fellow climbers.
     --  By floor seven I felt weak already, even though I started with so much
          energy. Only 87 more floors to go!  I checked my pace, proceeding
          on through, taking the briefest rests every eight or ten floors.
     --  Around floor 80 I was fading, when "I Get High With A Little Help From My
          Friends" came on my I-Pod. I started saying, "I can do this. Peggy said I
          can. Kathy said I can. Jackie said I can!"  A few floors later I said,
          "Ok, I CAN!"      
     --  My plan was to run up the last several floors, but didn't find the push
          inside myself to do it. Each floor closer to the 94th, I kept postponing the
          run.  I walked out of the stairwell at the end.
     --  First highlight?  Finishing drenched in sweat from the effort, but literally
          on top of the world!
     --  Second highlight?  Later in the afternoon, calling out to Harold in the next
          room when I saw my time posted, "I beat my time from the 80-floor Aon
          building climb by 4 minutes and 22 seconds!"
     --  Furthermore, out of 28 women in my category, only one other woman and
          I climbed both the Aon and the Hancock, less than a month apart!


Post Script from today's training session:
Jesse explained that the weakness I spoke of feeling between floors seven and ten will always be there, no matter how fit I become--it will simply start at a higher floor.  He said stairclimbing does it to everyone!

I'm working on a video to post in the future...

In the meantime, a couple light-hearted photos:

Washing a few windows for the Hancock building after my race!

Harold said he was being silly showing off his "Team Cheryl" t-shirt from last year,
while waiting in the Observatory as I climbed.

Family

 Looking up where we'd just been!

    

Proceeding to the Stairwell

From my 2010 Las Vegas sketch book.

Last year on February 27th, I experienced my first stair climb--the 52 floor half-climb of the John Hancock building.  

Honoring a seemingly random thought which surfaced after a French lesson, I dreamed of climbing the Eiffel Tower in Paris and enjoying dinner at the Jules Verne restaurant--not on the same day as the climb of course! I then found myself typing "stair climbs chicago" into a Google search bar, and the rest is history.





The night before my first climb, I blogged:

I climb for the child in me who wants to play--with others, outside, every day--but who was not allowed.

I climb for the girl in me who didn't have an opportunity to be pushed physically by excelling in a sport.

I climb for the young adult in me who sought and searched, paid dues, settled down and closed down.

I climb for the mother in me who willingly poured everything possible into my children and forgot about myself for a long time.

I climb for the wife in me who continues to learn every day how to bring a better "me" to the relationship.

I climb for God's spirit in me which guides my steps.

I climb for the goal-seeker in me, the bull-dog, and the tenderness.

I climb for those who can't.

I climb for today.

A year later I agree with each line above, and now there is more.

I climb for inspiration to reach new heights.

     Sometimes it comes to me from deep inside...that place of
     longing and longing-fulfilled, that place of deep creativity which
     paints a picture of my climb ahead of time, which sings the thrill
     of the challenge, which directs my path.

     Other times the inspiration is external...joining hundreds (and
     sometimes thousands) on the same stairwell, seconds apart, but
     together in the same venture--men, women, and children of all
     ages.

Two weeks ago, at the Oakbrook Terrace climb, a blank wall mural hung to the right of the climbers waiting in line to begin.  At the top of the hanging, it read, "I CLIMB FOR..." and markers were provided. 

As the line progressed, climbers wrote the names of  relatives with lung cancer, mothers with asthma, and loved ones who had passed.  Some wrote, "for exercise," and others wrote whatever popped into their head.

Moving fairly quickly, I didn't see the mural until I was right on it. My fingers grabbed the marker and scribbled off what sprung up from my subconscious:  "...for all the 60 yr. olds!"  as I proceeded to the stairwell doorway for my countdown.

Out of 633 climbers, only four other women in the 60 - 70 yr. old age bracket joined me in the stairwell that day.  While I realize stair climbing may not be the sport of choice for my age group, I also know many women my age are not moving. 

I move for them. 

I honor them wherever their journeys are taking them right now.

In addition, I am grateful to all those who have moved before me, opening the door to so many possibilities.

I climb--a moving illustration of a work in progress! 

I climb, an example for all to see that we have this moment to move, to dream, to ascend, and to transcend  past trials, disappointments, and judgements.

Respecting my inner voice, tomorrow I climb 94 floors of the John Hancock building, with over 4,000 others...

stepping up, in the miracle of this moment...

mine...

and yours.

As they say in Vegas when a show is closed,

my blog will be dark until Saturday.

Three days dark while I concentrate on

preparation for Sunday's climb.
Single focus.

Wild Strawberry from my garden on Newcastle.

~~'Til Saturday!~~

Tuesday  February 21st

Meals

Omelette with fresh basil, kale, spinach, onion, garlic, tomato, avocado
Grilled chicken breast strips with Indian vegetarian leftovers, (on a tortilla!)
     Yogurt sauce dribbled on top
Dark Chocolate, Muscle Milk Lite protein shake
Whole grain crackers and Ajver (red pepper spread)

Workouts
1 hr. Pilates solo session
45 minutes cardio and stretching

Daydreams

Quebec City                                                                                August 2010

When you visit a new place, do you ever get the idea you would like to live there, though most likely, it's not a possibility?  I see myself there, I feel it, long for it, dream of it...then return to Chicago!




A few places it's happened...

Quebec City, Canada -- the crepes! The hills, the old
city, restaurants, history.. walking inside a painting and eating, an art.

Door County, WI -- my fantasy of being part of an artists' community where I would be a "local" in the winter when there are no tourists and we all meet regularly at the local taverns for sustenance--physical and otherwise.

Greenwich Village -- well, it's Greenwich Village.  There was a time I fancied myself a hippie and the poet inside my skin breathed the "beat generation" though I missed it by several years.

Mission Beach, San Diego -- the sun! Surfers, miles and miles of ocean, year-round great weather, the bay in the morning and the ocean at sunset, old hippies' drum circles at the end of the beach.

Venice, Italy -- the gritty, ancient mystery, flowing with poetry, paintings, and wine, old hotels, comings and goings like the pigeons descending and taking flight in the square, easels and gems, deep dark secrets in small passageways and underneath the currents.

Seattle, WA -- the waterfront market, today's artists, islands, lavender farms!

Santa Monica, CA -- the ocean, the music, the drive and then Malibu caves on the beach...Duke's mango barbeque burger atop the waves.

Almafi Coast in southern Italy -- the mountain villages carved into rock, resting on the ocean's blue almost purple-ish blending with the sky's same hue, and the villagers speaking--like singing-- early morning greetings and conversations with smiles only those who live on the edge of the world's most breath-taking beauty can sing at daybreak...I mean... speak.  I want to be one of them.

Whew! 

Good thing I have a dream I can do something about.  Felt good again working out today, though a little tired. 

Definitely looking forward to the climb on Sunday. 

It's my mountain village for a day.

I will be one of them.

Monday February 20, 2012

Meals

Cereal, fruit

Grilled chicken pasta salad with vegetables and mango

Tomato basil soup, whole grain crackers, asparagus and more grilled chicken pasta salad

Snacks:  Divided huge Dark chocolate bar into serving pieces...to hopefully have one a day.

Workouts

1 hr personal training-- running, walking, TRX

Group core class

Sunday's Workout, Best Yet

Church is over, time for the gym.

After spinning, a bit of walking, and running, I head over to the hospital stairwell.

Practicing my pace for the John Hancock building next Sunday, I'm on the seventh floor before I know it --  no stopping on the way and I feel great. 

On January 7th, I blogged about climbing 350 steps.  I remember vividly, I absolutely had to stop, not once, but twice, before reaching the seventh floor where I take the elevator down in order to climb back up again.  Also, at the seventh floor, back in January, I had to rest a few minutes to get my breathing under control before heading out of the landing to catch the elevator down.

Not today.   At the top, I feel fine... speed through the door, out of the stairwell, catch the elevator down (a quick trip because almost no people there today), and right back up the stairs again.  Second time up, no stopping either.  At the top feel great, back to the elevator, down again, and...

Third time up ...NO stopping, feeling great...  I sound like a broken record, right? What a great broken record it is!  Each time, I make it all the way to the top and still feel great.

What a contrast to five weeks ago...

Comprehending the strides I've made ...

Continuing to improve...

Feeling light!



Meals
Granola, fruit
2-egg omelette, onions, tomatoes, steamed carrots and asparagus, apple
Dinner..."Chef's Vegetarian Speciality" from Viceroy of India

Dinnner

                                                                               

Breakfast, Lunch, Snack

Put In The Work

Kristin Frey, elite tower racer who won the 80 floor Aon building race for the women with a time of 10 minutes and 48 seconds, summarized at the end of her blog on the experience:

~dailyherald.com

"My races aren’t a fluke; I’m putting in the work and seeing the results. I’m not a millionaire; I don’t sleep in an altitude tent. I’m not taking some kind of magical potion either. I’m tiny and a vegan but I eat a bunch, I have a square of dark chocolate every day and go on cereal and nut butter binges every night.  I just put in the work, that’s why I’m faster! :) "         

I have a very long way to go.  I don't say that judgementally, or at all discouraged.  More... realistically!
  
Having never been an athlete, or for that matter not having worked out for 57 years, there is nothing about what I'm attempting that comes naturally.  

I've set a goal, intellectualized it, read up on the sport, watched countless videos for inspiration, and I train with one of the fastest elite stair racers, Jesse Berg. 

Tower racing requires a mental commitment to suffer what it takes to get to the top faster than the next person.  You definitely have to want it, in order for your mental response to be, "Yes, keep going, push it!" in spite of the physical stress.

However, no amount of mental preparedness, reading, watching, listening, writing, desiring, or aspiring can prepare one to be competitive in this sport. 

Kristin says it all:  "I'm putting in the work and seeing the results." 

I'm 57 years behind in experience -- the experience of knowing what it is like to work this hard, every single day on physical fitness, on becoming better and better physically from intense workouts...over and over...and then over and over again, without breaks, without losing focus.

This is my steepest learning curve.  Though I'm not there yet, I slowly gain ground with each step. 

Grateful, I count on great role models daily for direction and inspiration.

Carisse and Palani in California -- living out their faith daily, along with their dedication to helping others, and rising each day to the challenges of their own physical fitness regimen in order to pursue their dreams.  Runners, creators, trainers, motivators.  Though far away, their light shines a great distance.

Donna -- my former trainer, returned to her corporate career.  She now balances work, with her life as a wife and mother of three elementary school girls, and continues impressive participation in marathons and long-distance relays...also continually joining her partners in morning's wee hours before work for long runs.


9/23/11--18^th Annual US Bank Tower Run-Up in LA.  Jesse Berg was the Elite and Overall winner in a time of 9 min. 38 sec

Jesse -- what strength he possesses in humble dedication to his faith, his family, his clients, and fellow stair climbers!  What amazing accomplishments, wisdom, experience and quiet guidance I benefit from as we share the hours of personal training!

Harold -- my husband had heart bypass surgery in 1988 and was told the bypasses typically last  six to eight years before collapsing.  One did collapse six years later.  It's now 2012 and he is still going on the other one!  At age 60, he plays basketball at 5:00 a.m. two mornings a week, and tennis once or twice a week.  The other days, you'll find him working out at the gym before work.

I don't have a clue how to dedicate myself to the kind of work it takes to be a competitive athlete.  At the same time, I do have every opportunity to learn.

Being,

...and becoming...

life is full.






Click here for Kristin Frey's blog:   run fast, climb high

Mardi Gras Party

Energized Friday morning by motivating music, I ran longer than ever before -- a banner day for running!  The day progressed with thoughtful interactions and good conversations, finishing the night with a New Orleans band and singers at a Chicago Mardi Gras party.

Following is an excerpt from 1Dead in Attic, by Chris Rose, a collection of stories by Times-Picayune columnist Chris Rose, recounting the first four harrowing months of life in New Orleans after Katrina.  Click here to purchase at Barnes and Noble.

Rose lets us in on the accurate, soulful description of Mardi Gras:

“To encapsulate the notion of Mardi Gras as nothing more than a big drunk is to take the simple and stupid way out, and I, for one, am getting tired of staying stuck on simple and stupid.

Mardi Gras is not a parade. Mardi Gras is not girls flashing on French Quarter balconies. Mardi Gras is not an alcoholic binge.

Mardi Gras is bars and restaurants changing out all the CD's in their jukeboxes to Professor Longhair and the Neville Brothers, and it is annual front-porch crawfish boils hours before the parades so your stomach and attitude reach a state of grace, and it is returning to the same street corner, year after year, and standing next to the same people, year after year--people whose names you may or may not even know but you've watched their kids grow up in this public tableau and when they're not there, you wonder: Where are those guys this year?

It is dressing your dog in a stupid costume and cheering when the marching bands go crazy and clapping and saluting the military bands when they crisply snap to.

Now that part, more than ever.

It's mad piano professors converging on our city from all over the world and banging the 88's until dawn and laughing at the hairy-shouldered men in dresses too tight and stalking the Indians under Claiborne overpass and thrilling the years you find them and lamenting the years you don't and promising yourself you will next year.

It's wearing frightful color combinations in public and rolling your eyes at the guy in your office who--like clockwork, year after year--denies that he got the baby in the king cake and now someone else has to pony up the ten bucks for the next one.

Mardi Gras is the love of life. It is the harmonic convergence of our food, our music, our creativity, our eccentricity, our neighborhoods, and our joy of living. All at once.”    
                                                                                                              ~~  Chris Rose, 1 Dead in Attic

Meals

My breakfast hash in the morning.

Breakfast hash on a tortilla = Lunch!

Muscle milk and nuts.

Mardi Gras dinner:  Red beans & rice, 1 small crab cake, Jambalaya.  Passed on the Beignets and Bananas Foster.

Workout

1 hr. 15 min. personal training session

Fall Seven Times, Stand Up Eight

                                                                                                                                                           ~~a Japanese Proverb

Photo taken at the St. Louis Botanical Gardens

Monday and Tuesday I sailed through the workouts--two each day.  Today I seem to barely limp through one.  This morning everything burns and breathing is an issue.

As I log this journey, training to be competitive in my age group at tower racing, the questions arise.  Did I get enough sleep? Though I was careful about food choices, did I err somehow?  Am I stressed?  Why the change?  Am I too old to work this hard?

Ha, the answer is definitely,"No," to the last question!  Too many others have done it and continue to do it, remaining very physically fit, well into their older years. 

A seventy-three year old woman climbed the 80 floors of the Aon building a few weeks ago, in nineteen minutes.  She was faster than all of the women in the 60 - 70 yr. old bracket.

She was also faster than more than half of the men in the 20 - 30 yr. old bracket!

Perhaps this is one of those days when there are no satisfying answers.  But rather, one simply has to push through.  Uncomfortable as it is, confusing as it is, just keep showing up.

Tomorrow 9:00 a.m. at the gym, it's another day.

I'll be there.

Wednesday Meals

Granola/fruit/skim milk

Salmon tostada

Muscle milk lite, mixed nuts & cranberries

Whole wheat spaghetti & meat sauce--1/3 of a portion, salad and bruschetta (restaurant meeting)

Thursday Meals

Omelette

Leftover salmon/potatoes and fresh vegetable Minestrone soup

Muscle milk lite, cracker thins

Supper...to be determined

Workout

Personal Training session

Valentine Dinner

Enjoy the website at: Le Colonial

"Je Reviens" I come back... Background music at Le Colonial's website.

A French Vietnamese restaurant, "Le Colonial" pays tribute to the French colonial era of Southeast Asia...offering a dining experience faithful to Vietnamese culinary traditions.                                                           

The restaurant has me, at its scrolling promotional descriptions:

                   A sultry, seductive destination.

                                              An escapist's paradise.

                                                                                                                                        A sedate oasis.


We left our cell phones in the car, thus I borrow liberally from the restaurant's website to post about our dinner last evening.  Able to maintain my determination to approach food as proper fuel, dessert could have been the only exception.  However, it was sweetened with coconut milk and bananas, not sugar, and the truth is Harold ate his and most of mine anyway!

Dinner to celebrate love in a setting like this where each spoonful or bite on your fork blesses your mouth and inspires a feeling of deep satisfaction, creates such a good feeling that I know every morsel was also good for me.

My choices:

Bo Luc Lac

Salad of warm, seared filet mignon over watercress with red wine vinaigrette

Ca Hap

Steamed fillets of Chilean sea bass, with cellophane noodles, oyster mushrooms, tomatoes, scallions, & fried ginger in a light ginger broth

Banana Tapioca

Warm Tapioca,  coconut milk & bananas, topped with toasted sesame seeds.

If my words haven't tempted you, read the following review and jot this down on a list of places to go when you visit Chicago!

Frommer's Review

Appropriately enough for its tiny Oak Street environs, Le Colonial has one of the loveliest dining rooms in the city -- and the second-floor lounge is a sultry, seductive destination for cocktails. An escapist's paradise, the restaurant is a cleverly crafted re-creation of the exotic world of 1920s Saigon, with bamboo shutters, rattan chairs, potted palms and banana trees, fringed lampshades and ceiling fans, and evocative period photography to set the mood.
While the ambiance certainly merits a visit, the flavorful cuisine is a draw on its own. Start with the hearty oxtail soup or the light and refreshing beef-and-watercress salad. Entrees include grilled lime-glazed sea scallops with garlic noodle salad; sautéed jumbo shrimp in curried coconut sauce; and roasted chicken with lemon-grass-and-lime dipping sauce. Refresh with the orange-mint iced tea, and finish with banana tapioca pudding, a gooey Le Colonial macaroon, or an after-dinner drink upstairs. Le Colonial offers outdoor seating in warm weather; try to reserve one of the coveted, romantic mezzanine terrace tables.

Thank you Harold.

...and Melinda for your tip!

Sweet!

 Draw me a giant heart and I'll jump in today!

Two of the valentines I received in the mail, were the little rectangular happy-faced greetings like we used to give each other in grade school.  A big, "Thank you," to my sister in-law!  One is never too old to receive a Valentine.

They bring back memories. 

The night before Valentine's Day I'd spread the cards out, to study each picture and message.  It was very important to choose the right one for each classmate.  "Be Mine," isn't for everyone.  Regardless, it always worked out and the next day I delivered tiny sealed white envelopes down each row of desks to Lynn, Laurie, Karen and Jeannie, right along with John, David, Larry and Jim...

One of my valentines today says, "Hyper Valentine's Day!"  I imagined Leslie spreading out all the cards and deciding which one to send.  It makes me smile.  I'm pretty much hyper-happy and hyper-dedicated to my quest these days.  I totally appreciate the message!

Workouts

1 hr. personal training, spinning, running, TRX

1 hr. solo Pilates session

Meals

Granola with banana, almonds, cashews and cranberries

Mixed salad with salmon, balsamic vinaigrette

Muscle Milk Lite

Dinner -- Harold's surprising me.  Late dinner out.  I'll post pictures of it tomorrow.

As of  this morning, I've assigned a "border patrol station" at my lips. 

Yes, each food or drink item attempting to get past the border 

must first halt for questioning and possible searches.

Some will, no doubt, be turned away. 

Where are you from? 
Is this a natural food, not processed? A fresh fruit, vegetable, lean protein or water?

What is the purpose of your trip? 
How will this enhance my body's performance?

Where will you be staying, and how long? 
How will it benefit my body?  Will it stay on my hips forever?  Will it be easily and successfully digested?  Will it contribute to the working of my immune system, or break it down?  Will it contribute to building the strength I need, or cause early fatigue, lethargy, and depression?

Do you have any contraband?  Are there hidden ingredients?  Sugar, butter or mayonnaise trying to sneak in?  Unhealthy chemicals?

How much currency are you carrying on you? 
What are the nutritional facts?  Calories, fat, fiber, protein, carbohydrates, and sodium amounts?

Do you realize you must register with authorities each day? 
A picture will be taken and posted for accountability.

No bribes!
No, "I'll make up for it tomorrow," or "If I only have one, it's ok," or "It's important to share food socially," or any other possible rationalizations.

 ~~~~~

Though strict, in order for a body to perform, it must have the proper fuel.  I like the imagery of my border patrol station set up right at the lips! 

The next three weeks are so seriously purposeful, that I happily look forward to my plan.  I don't feel restricted or denied.  Rather, I feel privileged to have learned what I must do, and ecstatic about my opportunity two weeks from now to climb 94 floors at the Hancock, and then the next week, 108 at the Stratosphere.

In response to a friend's suggestion

not to forget to smell the roses along the way,

here's a picture of my current rose garden:

Dedicated to the moment. 

Appreciating each breath.

Grateful for support 

from family

                                              and friends.  

Loving life.

Content to go to bed early for my health.

Ready to move forward

each morning...

the moment

  I awaken. 

What could be better?

Workouts
1 hr. 15 min. running and  spinning with personal trainer.
1 hr. "Group Active" class -- 20 minutes of step, 20 minutes weights, balance, flexibility, core

Meals
1 egg omelette with onion, kale, and red peppers.
Fresh vegetable minestrone soup with kale and red peppers.
Salmon with fingerling potatoes, carrots, asparagus and herbs.
Muscle Milk -- protein drink.

Learning!

Had to pose five times and then finally ham it up, trying to hide my fatigue for the picture! 
Taken thirty minutes after the climb, it still shows in my eyes though.

THREE LESSONS

1)  Next time, do not start off the race running! 
     At least not now...maybe someday, but I'm not ready yet. 

My favorite tunes are in my ears standing in line waiting to start.  They are allowing I-Pods in the stairwell after all.  Fact is, I've been pumped listening to them the whole hour previous to the start.

It's a beautiful bright, clear, sunny day.  My early start means no chaos, no long lines, no commotion.  All is calm.  Pumped.  Ready.  Counting down the 10 seconds after the racer ahead of me starts--I'm... so... ready...   "Go!"

I take off running up the steps.  Feeling light.  Feeling the music.  Flying! 
Two floors are nothing.
Three, four, still flying.
Five -- high on the lightness of being able to run up the stairs. 
Six, starting to slow down a bit. 
Ok, seven...maybe time to walk a bit. I'm sure that's all it will take to get my breath back... reign it in... friggin' find it! 
Eight, not going to give up.  I can run again--up to the first water stop at floor 10 ... go,  go...

Unfortunately, from here on, I pay for all the time I made in my almost 10-floor run.  I pay, with a breathing pattern like none I've ever experienced before -- beyond uncomfortable, straining to the max.  I keep a steady pace, but no longer running.  Determined not to take any long breaks, I don't allow more than a few seconds, time and again, to lean on the wall, hoping for some calm. 

It doesn't come.  I never catch my breath, not even a little bit. The whole way is a struggle.  Not my legs, just my breathing...deep hard, super fast, by the time I get to the top, painful.  What's incredible to me is that "the top" is only floor 31!

Two weeks ago I emerged at the top of the Aon building at floor 80, not struggling, not in any kind of pain whatsoever.  Rather, I was elated, felt fantastic, and my breathing was normal in a matter of seconds. 

Today I exit at floor 31 coughing, hard hacking coughing, throat and chest on fire, too dizzy to even notice the medals they are handing out to each finisher.  I use every bit of will power I can possibly muster up to keep walking to the elevator, on two feet and not losing my breakfast...till I make my way to Harold waiting on the first floor.

Collapsing on a lobby planter, I hear his words, "How was it?" 

All I can do is make feeble hand motions, through my coughing, indicating I cannot talk right now.

I'm recording all this in vivid detail, because I need to learn these lessons, today. 

Review --  first lesson is, do not start off the race running!  At least not now...maybe someday, but I'm not ready yet.



2)  Spend more time in the gym these next two weeks before the
     94-floor John Hancock building climb.

Before the Aon building I logged many more workouts per week then I did these last two weeks.  Harold says, "If you really want to be the best woman in your age group, then you have to be dedicated to daily workouts. Plural. No letting up."  He's right.  I felt the difference today.

Review -- second lesson is, plan daily multiple workouts and keep schedule.



3)  What we put into our bodies is no joke.  Back to no sugar.  It
     makes a huge difference.

Again, as with the workouts, I let down my resolve these last two weeks.  Sugar re-entered my diet. I'm learning exactly why every single food or drink must be chosen for it's benefits.  Period.  Right now, there needs to be no other reason for eating.  If I'm going to ask my body to perform, then I must give it the proper fuel. 

Review -- third lesson is, proper fuel.  No sugar.  Follow Jesse's dietary recommendations.


I choose not to climb the tower today for a second and third time -- the first time finished me.  Disappointed I cannot go through with the complete plan for today, I don't ever want to be in this position again. 

Lessons 1, 2 and 3 are hard-earned. 

It's time to make it worth having learned them.