Yesterday I officially crossed number three off my list: Do the "Fight for Air" / Master the Met event - CHECK!
I should start with a little background on exactly what this event entails...
The Fight for Air Climb is a national campaign that benefits the American Lung Association and consists of a vertical race in multiple cities. In St. Louis that meant me and approximately 1,000 others sought to climb 42 floors to the top of the Metropolitan Building downtown. **A quick fun fact, the Metropolitan Building is 593 feet tall (181 meters) and is the tallest building in St. Louis, although still not as tall as the landmark Arch.** Of course, all 1,000 of us didn't all start climbing at once. That might have been a little crowded. :-)
This was an event I had been wanting to do for a couple of years now. So when I saw the registration open last year, I was one of the first to sign up. (A lesson learned from last year when I learned too late that registration had already closed.) I can't say I put any focus on specific training for the event. My normal fitness activities consist of a lot of cardio, so I felt I was in pretty good shape to tackle it. Once I realized the entire climb would take me less than ten minutes to complete I was even more unmotivated to train. Regardless, I felt mentally and physically ready!
So...race day finally came last week. I picked up my bib and got my start time: 08:40am - SWEET! I'll take an early time! They were starting racers every nine seconds, so all I had to do was show up 20-30 minutes before my start time, find my spot, and then run up 42 flights of stairs. Simple enough. I wish I could insert a memorable story here, but unfortunately it was a pretty "eh" activity. Aside from them shortening the climb by two stories to 40 flights because apparently the restaurant on the top floors was having an event, it pretty much just happened. I passed a few people on the way and felt strong (although not necessarily fast). I got yet another race t-shirt. And that was it. Period.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I did it. Was I proud of myself (and everyone else participating) for climbing up 40 flights of stairs for a great cause? Hell yes! But was I sore afterward? No. Did I feel like pizza and beer afterward at 9:00 in the morning? No. Did I have a crew of people there to share in the experience? Unfortunately, no. All said and done, I was back at my house within an hour which felt kind of "wah wah wah" for something I chose to put on my Operation 30 list.
BUT (and there is a but), there's redemption to the story because later that day I was able to get more out of my Master the Met experience. I waited around at the After Party for them to post my time but got impatient (go figure) and decided my time would be better spent giving my car a good cleaning which it desperately needed. I assumed I'd be able to find my time online once I got home but was sad to find there was seemingly no link to results (or even "Coming Soon" links) or times from previous years. And while I knew I probably didn't set any records, I had to know my time! So I convinced my brother, Alex, to return to the After Party outside the Metropolitan Building with me at about 1:00pm as things were wrapping up. We got there just in time for some pizza and beer, to watch the award ceremony, and get my time.
So here it is...
Total time: 08:19
Overall place: 202 / 1098
...I guess top 20% isn't bad.
**Side note**
I did Bikram Yoga again today for the second (and definitely not final) time. I truly love to sweat and enjoy the feeling that I've gotten rid of a ton of bad toxins in my system, no matter how purely psychological that may be. I just did a quick online calorie burn calculator and for these 90 minute sessions of activity for my 135lb frame I'm burning over 900 calories, which is close to equivalent by time to running. I still love running more than anything, but my almost-thirty-something body needs the cross-training, and I'm positive the postures in Bikram Yoga won't be giving me shin splints anytime soon.
Oh, and the details of the Arizona trip are coming together nicely. :-)
Timestamp:
I should start with a little background on exactly what this event entails...
The Fight for Air Climb is a national campaign that benefits the American Lung Association and consists of a vertical race in multiple cities. In St. Louis that meant me and approximately 1,000 others sought to climb 42 floors to the top of the Metropolitan Building downtown. **A quick fun fact, the Metropolitan Building is 593 feet tall (181 meters) and is the tallest building in St. Louis, although still not as tall as the landmark Arch.** Of course, all 1,000 of us didn't all start climbing at once. That might have been a little crowded. :-)
This was an event I had been wanting to do for a couple of years now. So when I saw the registration open last year, I was one of the first to sign up. (A lesson learned from last year when I learned too late that registration had already closed.) I can't say I put any focus on specific training for the event. My normal fitness activities consist of a lot of cardio, so I felt I was in pretty good shape to tackle it. Once I realized the entire climb would take me less than ten minutes to complete I was even more unmotivated to train. Regardless, I felt mentally and physically ready!
So...race day finally came last week. I picked up my bib and got my start time: 08:40am - SWEET! I'll take an early time! They were starting racers every nine seconds, so all I had to do was show up 20-30 minutes before my start time, find my spot, and then run up 42 flights of stairs. Simple enough. I wish I could insert a memorable story here, but unfortunately it was a pretty "eh" activity. Aside from them shortening the climb by two stories to 40 flights because apparently the restaurant on the top floors was having an event, it pretty much just happened. I passed a few people on the way and felt strong (although not necessarily fast). I got yet another race t-shirt. And that was it. Period.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I did it. Was I proud of myself (and everyone else participating) for climbing up 40 flights of stairs for a great cause? Hell yes! But was I sore afterward? No. Did I feel like pizza and beer afterward at 9:00 in the morning? No. Did I have a crew of people there to share in the experience? Unfortunately, no. All said and done, I was back at my house within an hour which felt kind of "wah wah wah" for something I chose to put on my Operation 30 list.
BUT (and there is a but), there's redemption to the story because later that day I was able to get more out of my Master the Met experience. I waited around at the After Party for them to post my time but got impatient (go figure) and decided my time would be better spent giving my car a good cleaning which it desperately needed. I assumed I'd be able to find my time online once I got home but was sad to find there was seemingly no link to results (or even "Coming Soon" links) or times from previous years. And while I knew I probably didn't set any records, I had to know my time! So I convinced my brother, Alex, to return to the After Party outside the Metropolitan Building with me at about 1:00pm as things were wrapping up. We got there just in time for some pizza and beer, to watch the award ceremony, and get my time.
So here it is...
Total time: 08:19
Overall place: 202 / 1098
...I guess top 20% isn't bad.
**Side note**
I did Bikram Yoga again today for the second (and definitely not final) time. I truly love to sweat and enjoy the feeling that I've gotten rid of a ton of bad toxins in my system, no matter how purely psychological that may be. I just did a quick online calorie burn calculator and for these 90 minute sessions of activity for my 135lb frame I'm burning over 900 calories, which is close to equivalent by time to running. I still love running more than anything, but my almost-thirty-something body needs the cross-training, and I'm positive the postures in Bikram Yoga won't be giving me shin splints anytime soon.
Oh, and the details of the Arizona trip are coming together nicely. :-)
Timestamp:
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