Last year, I climbed the Stratosphere and jumped off it - all in the same year! This year, I'm doing it again... at least the climbing part. Hopefully I'll be rappelling off of another Vegas casino later in the year. Gotta change things up, right?!
I like workouts that I can incorporate easily into my daily routine, and doing stairs fits the bill perfectly. I've been doing them for several years now, not quite since I began my lifestyle change in 2002, but for a long time. They're great! As long as you've got a building with one or more floors, you can run stairs before work or after, on breaks or on your lunch hour. You can do one or two sets or a whole bunch of 'em, depending on your time constraints. You can walk briskly; you can run; you can take them two-at-a-time. Bottom line, stairs are a fully adaptable, customizable workout for any schedule or fitness level. I'm hooked on them!
So, last year, when I learned about Scale the Strat, a charity stair climb to benefit the American Lung Association, I had to participate. This was the ultimate event for stair climbing enthusiasts like me! This is no tiptoe-up-the-steps gig. It's serious stuff: 1,455 stairs spanning 108 floors. Yowsa!
I did it in 17 minutes last year, and crazily enough, I'm doing it AGAIN this year... today, in fact. Nutty!! It's going to be grueling, but it will be totally worth it. I'm raising money for a terrific cause, AND I'm challenging my physical limits. Doesn't get much better than that... unless you add music. iPods and MP3 players are banned on this climb. Why? No idea; it's a bummer. Music is so motivating, and AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top" is the ideal anthem for this kind of event!
Ah, well... the things we put ourselves through in the name of philanthropy and personal growth. :)
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