Ushered into a crowded cafeteria setting, I sit while Harold parks the car. Next to my table, three fathers wait with sons and daughters. I don't remember seeing any children in the Vegas climb. Almost every table is full--climbers listening for their numbers to be called. No music, no space to stretch or move around. The energy is not electric. I even forget to make sure my iPod is set up correctly for the "stair music" Playlist.
Volunteers escort us across the street to Presidential Towers. Efficient-- no lines, no hustle, no delay...simply walk up to the clock and, "Go."
Inside the stairwell, I turn on my iPod to discover it's the wrong Playlist. Yikes! What is this music in my ears? Certainly not stair climbing music! Concentrating on climbing, I blindly push another button on the iPod, attempt to adjust to whatever song it is, and finally yank the earplugs out of my ears.
No music today. Just a very narrow stairwell. And I do mean narrow. Difficult for anyone to pass. Small amount of steps in each flight also. Seems like I'm on another landing after every few steps! So many people all bunched up together. Very hot.
I skip steps in my new leaning-forward-one-hand-at-a-time-pulling-myself-up-on-the-rail technique. Well, it's not a new technique, simply new to me. This time I make it to about the fifth or sixth floor. An improvement.
After that, the usual...except more crowded, hotter, and more closed in. I'm longing for some of that electric energy from last week. Most of the participants I've seen so far are young adults and they seem to be keeping about the same pace I am. My problem, as ever, is that I have to stop momentarily from time to time, and they don't.
I come upon an older couple blocking the stairway climbing together, but don't have whatever it takes to pass them. I start thinking out loud, "These steps sure are smaller than my last race," when the woman responds by asking me what race that was. I reply, "The John Hancock...the Aon building...the Stratosphere..." and offer a dramatic pause before concluding, "...but the smaller stairs here, still aren't making it any easier for me to breathe!!!" She, her husband and I all laugh.
I glance at my watch on floor 39 and think to myself there is no way I can finish this tower in the time my trainer said he thought I could. When I left the gym after Friday's workout, on the way out the door Jesse called out, "Cheryl?"
"Yes?"
"Nine minutes!"
"What? Oh, you mean my tower...9 minutes. Got it!"
With the energy that has typified this morning, I continue on, crossing the finish line of my tower on the 49th floor, wishing I had done better.
Down the elevator, re-tracing my steps to Harold, I pass the women volunteers as they ask, "Are you climbing Tower 2?"
Not today.
One of them who remembered me from the start added, "Well, you did this one really fast!" Ha, I believe they thought this old lady would take longer.
On to Starbucks for a lengthy and animated discussion breaking down what happened each minute of this morning, over my iced decaf venti latte. So many factors. Over so quickly. What if, why, how could I have, why didn't I...lots of second guessing. But more importantly, starting to get my energy back as I plan for the fall!
Returning to Presidential Towers to hand in my timing chip, we run into Jesse, with Javier, PJ, Brady, Justin and the other elite stair climbers. I'm excited for them and all their accomplishments... outstanding! I let Jesse know I didn't make my tower in 9 minutes. He says to wait there while he goes for an official print-out of my time.
A few minutes later he places a little piece of white paper in my hand. I look down...underneath my name, across from Tower 1... it says:
8:00:13
I let out a squeal of delight! I DID make my nine minutes, and then some! In fact, if I'd even run up the last three steps, I could have so easily shaved off that 13 one-hundredths of a second, and had a time of 7 and something. Sooooo happy!
I return to stair climbing seven months from now.
Magic is going to happen!
Turning 61 on October 13th,
I'll celebrate the full realization of this quest,
then blow the rest of 2012's Tower Races
through the roof!
 |
| Congratulations on all these amazing times! |
Looking back, I improved with every single race. Looking forward...the sky's the limit!
Monday morning: Communication back and forth with timers from race late last night and this morning...turns out the 8:00:13 was actually what time it was when I reached the top.
My time for the 49-floor climb was actually just posted at 7:55 !!
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