Stairs

I am thankful to have wished February "adieu" as the month brought some stressful changes in the work place, and left me sick for at least 3 of it's 4 weeks... The one great thing about February, however, was that despite being sick I completed my first ever, "Hustle Up the Hancock" event. I am blessed to be able to state that I must have done something really "right" in my training to make the event feel like a breeze. OK, let me clarify, walking up 94 flights of stairs is a hell of a work out that left me huffing and puffing for air most of the way, but it was manageable and easier then I had made my previous Interval Training workouts. Not to mention, climbing real stairs in a building versus staying stationary on the Stair Master = way more fun!

Stair training has taken on a whole new place in my workout, I love seeing how much faster I can go and just how hard I can work by changing up the intensity levels. The program called "Fat Burner Plus" is my favorite! Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a numbers junkie when it comes to time and distance, so my 2014 Hustle goal is to finish in under 20 minutes. That would mean shaving 5:46 off my current time, which I think is pretty manageable given I have a year to train! My personal best to date has been 84 flights in 20 minutes, so I'm improving slowly (versus 71 in 20 minutes previously).

I recently found out that there is a Sears Tower Climb! So, that means that the next stair climb event for me will be (God willing) the Skyrise Chicago event, which tackles the 103 floors of the Sears Tower this fall! I can't wait! The irony of all this really is, that if you've read my 2011 blog, I'm afraid of stairs and falling up (yes up) and down them, so it would have never occurred to me that I might become addicted to them!