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News Flash: Foot races are now going vertical. That's right! Tower running, stair climbing, tower racing -- whatever you want to call it -- is another fast growing sport. I started running stairs at the beginning of my weight loss journey nearly 12 years ago. We lived near a community college and there were beautiful bleachers that called my name every time I drove past. I still run stairs on a very regular basis and have been hoping to do a tower race for several years now.
Plus, I have these monstrous legs and by jove -- they must be good for something besides making a good fitting pair of jeans hard to find :)
This wasn't a very long race, but I thought it was perfect for my first one. It was 37 flights of stairs and a total of 660 steps. It was also a fundraiser for the Fight for Air with the American Lung Association. Good cause. Good workout. Right up my alley :)
Since we were racing up a stair well, we each had a separate start time one minute apart. We were allowed to use the railing -- which I did big time with both hands. We also were allowed to pass other climbers, which happened frequently since this was such an intense race.
I have never run stairs just going up. And up. And up! I typically climb up about 3 flights of stairs, then turn around and head down the stairs -- thus granting me a bit of a break in between climbs. I started strong, running up the stairs and double stepping them. After 90 seconds I checked out my heart rate and it was already exploding at 179 bpm. I knew I could not sustain that for any longer, so I continued to double step but took my pace way down. My heart rate stayed around 168-170 the whole time -- but I knew I could maintain that for the the duration of the race.
There were many who did not sprint this race. They just took the stairs at a nice, easy pace. Others sprinted, stopped, caught their breath, focused on keeping their breakfast down, then kept going. Loads of firefighters ran this in FULL GEAR. I have a newfound respect for firefighters, since this race was H.A.R.D. Wearing all that hot, heavy gear would have been grueling.
My ending time was 5:29 -- and I came in 9th place overall and 3rd in the the women's division. Check that out -- the girl who came in 8th place overall and edged me out was barely 19 years old. 19!! Does that even count? Do I get some seconds shaved off for being the grandma of the group? :)
The things that I learned:
- Going up, up, up the entire time was exponentially harder than the up and down I'm accustomed to.
- Tower racing makes me dizzy. Round and round she goes! I could not look up. I just had to focus on the stairs.
- For whatever reason, I still love running stairs.
- This was not a very long workout, and I needed at least 30 minutes that day. So, I followed up the race by a 30 minute run here:
If you ever come to San Antonio, be sure to take a walk or jog on the Riverwalk. Oh, and call me so I can do it with you. It is peaceful on a Saturday morning.
Have any of you Fit Momma's ever done a Tower Race? What did you think?
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13 comments:
That sounds like it was really fun! And I love the Riverwalk. We go a couple times every summer to enjoy San Antonio and go to Schlitterbahn. :) This year I think we are going to float the Comal now that the kids are old enough. Fun!
Sounds like fun! Looks like I have a new race to try!
I think it's AWESOME!! What a great way to start your day..
thank you for sharing. Your riverwalk looks beautiful!
Working towards a race is such a good way to keep you on track with your workouts. I gotta look for one of these in my area.
I've never heard of these cool races! Wow, sounds like a hard blast of fun! Since I've been injured, I had to do something other than run so I've been a stairclimber (on the machine) at the gym. It has really been a benefit. The stairclimber kept my fitness level about where it needed to stay without hurting that pain in my butt piriformis muscle that's been such a beast. I love stairs and hope a race like yours will come to a town like mine! Congratulations on doing so well!
I lived in San Antonio 8 years and never thought to run on the river walk. When I come visit I just fill up on the Pepperito Burrito at Habanjero's Grill. SO GOOD!!!
Great job in the race! I think that may make me dizzy as well--but it's definitely worth a shot! There's a good possibility we may end up relocating somewhere near San Antonio in January when my husband starts his civilian career so you may get a call from me--LOL.
Heh, I hate going up. Hills, stairs, what have you. But that looks like a killer challenge, congrats on 9th place!!!
I ran my first half marathon in SA and am thinking about returning to run the rock and roll in Nov if I can get my training figured out! I still have yet to go to the riverwalk though!
Congrats on the race that is awesome!! I have heard of that before!! Yeah we live on the 15th floor so I try take the stairs every once in a while. Especially if I have our dog with me!! We love San Antonio!! Hopefully we can come visit when we eventually move back to the states!!
AWESOME RACE!
Wow, I didn't even know those races existed! I am going to look into what we have in the Sacramento area to see if I can try to get into something like that in my area! I think you should do a blog on finding great fitting jeans for athletic legs... I too have them and am in need of someone to tell me what works!
Great Job!
I want to know if you took the elevator on the way down.
Heck yes I took the elevator down! There was an exhausted group of us that rode in a silent elevator all the way down. We were breathing too hard to speak :) Wait, I did say something to break the silence. I believe my exact words were, "Well, THAT was crappy!" Actually, since there were tons of climbers coming up, we weren't allowed to run down.
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