The day had finally come. I had to wait one year to see the effect of changes in training. At first, much was going to be the same. But then, after a job reassignment, I no longer had keys to a three-story office building. I would have to train during business hours, or go somewhere else. At first, I was deeply disappointed. Then I remembered that disappointments are often opportunities in disguise. I began to branch out and train in a variety of taller buildings. As a result, I had the chance to work on anaerobic aspects which were not getting enough attention in the shorter building.
I did several things differently from the previous year. In the last week before the race, I made sure to taper, dramatically reducing the total number of stairs climbed, but keeping the intensity high (fast climb rates in taller buildings). I also made sure to eat a lot of greens and carbohydrates. Last year, I didn't get enough to eat on the day before the race. I also made sure to do a better job of staying hydrated on the couple of days right before the race. I always drink a lot of water. But I often get dehydrated on Sabbath (Saturday) while at church. This time, I carried and emptied a water bottle, even while on the platform.
Sunday morning, the day of the race, I woke up at 3:25 AM and drank about a quart of water. I did some mild exercise (to warm up the muscles and get the metabolism going). Then I ate breakfast at 4:00 AM (oatmeal, scrambled tofu, orange juice, and a few grapes). Jason got up at 4:25 and ate about 10 or 15 minutes later. We left the house at about 5:50 and drove to Chicago. Unfortunately, there was a traffic jam on I-55. We lost 20-30 minutes (including some roads closed for construction near the Willis Tower). We parked at 7:00 AM (rather than 6:30 or 6:40 as we had planned). We got our bag checked in and hurried to get in line. Sure enough. We were too late to be at the front of the line after the elite climbers. This one change would slow down our climb times since we would have to pass more people in the stairwell. I had to pass about 30 people on the way up (losing around 30-60 seconds).
But there were some other advantages. The extra food and water in the days preceding the race were paying off. The taper left me with more energy. The anaerobic training gave me more ability to push on after 60 floors. I still set the metronome clicks to 192 per minute. I took one step for each two clicks (like last year). But last year, when I slowed down for about 1/3 of the distance, I was taking one step for each 3 clicks. This year, I slowed down some in the middle, but not completely. I was somewhere between 2 and 3 clicks per stride.
I noticed that there were about five strides for many flights between landings (apparently, there are about 10 steps for each of those flights of stairs). My throat was really dry. At three of the water stations, I accepted the cup of water that was offered, but only managed to gulp down one or two swallows before ditching the rest in the waste baskets which followed. This seemed to help the body cope.
This time, we didn't have the person lying to us around the sixth floor (in earlier years, she would call out, "you're almost there" even though there were more than 90 floors still to go). Another change for me was that I knew in advance that shoes were required. I came prepared with Vibrum Five Fingers. Last year, at the last moment, I had to wear regular walking shoes (I had been doing other races barefoot, so this left me with unfamiliar extra weight). Now I could be light-footed again. In addition, I used the rails more than ever before. This was not possible when passing people since they had been instructed to stay on the right side (which happened to be the inside rail), it meant that all passing required extra running (or climbing) around the outside edge of the stairwell (or landing). Jason told me that he marched along at a good pace, but trotted faster when he was passing people. In the whole journey up, only two people passed him (I was one of them, so maybe that doesn't count).
In the end, I checked my watch at the top. It was 18:52. I later learned that the official time was 18:47. I had started the watch before the entry bar and stopped it after the exit bar. I like it that way. Reality is better than my first information about it.
Even though I was disappointed at losing time while passing all those people, the time was still better than last year. Jason and I both set PRs (personal records). I was so thankful to see that it was an improvement of one minute over 2011 (which had only been an improvement of 2 1/2 seconds over 2010).
In the end, Jason completed the climb in 21:58 (min:sec) and Glenn completed the climb in 18:47. That put Jason as number 174 out of 2262 who attempted the climb (11 did not finish the climb--or at least they have no times listed by their names). Glenn was number 53 out of 2262 (in the top 2.5 percent). In our age categories, Jason was 2 out of 22 (eleven and under). Glenn was 10 out of 195 (40-49).
After the race, we had so much fun meeting with other racers and getting acquainted. Javier Santiago and his wife (married two years ago in Las Vegas) talked for a little while. Due to the language gap, we couldn't say much. They took a picture of Javier with Jason. We also got to meet Edridge Bolin who formed his own group this year. He is one dynamic individual with a passion for climbing and for helping other organizations gather funds for their worthy purposes. He and Jason had a playfully competitive interaction about future races.
We missed Mark Trahonovski this time. Somehow, he got up the tower, and back down again before we could see him. Maybe his flight home was a little earlier than usual. We got to meet the founder of towerrunning.com while at the top. Michael Reichetzeder has a passion for connecting tower runners around the world and for letting them see how they compare to each other. His web site features stair races around the world. He also has a system that ranks stair racing athletes. He is from Austria.
The climb itself is significant, but not too hard if you take your time. If you push for a nice time, the faster speed takes a lot out of you. The impact on the body is much more intense when the time is reduced. I still had "more in the tank" at the end of this race. I need to push a little harder next year.
Perhaps the biggest challenge this year was picking up the bag we had checked in. We talked to people in the line while we ate the refreshements that were given (banana, bagel, etc.). We should have gotten into the line ourselves. By the time we got in line, we had to wait over an hour to get our bag. At least we got to get acquainted with the people around us.
If you chanced upon this page and have not yet tried stair races, consider giving it a try. It is fun to push your body to see how much you can improve. It is exciting to be fundraising for excellent organizations. There is so much camaraderie at these events. People are friendly and approachable. And there is the privilege of honoring God through a different kind of service than typically happens in normal weeks. In Chicago area, there are five basic opportunities for such races for charity. See the bottom of the stair race page for specific information.
Here are the official scores (times, age, etc.) for the 2012 Willis Tower stair race. Scroll to the bottom for the age categories.
Photos are temporarily viewable (about 12 months)
In previous years, we were allowed to view proofs of the photos for one year. I posted links on this web site. They have changed it so that you can no longer connect a link to a specific picture. There is a way that sort of works (at least for now--it may change with time). When clicking on a link, you also have to add the ticket number (indicated in parentheses which follow the link).
You can click on any of the small pictures to view them in a larger size. Then, if there are other pictures, you can reach them by clicking on the numbers at the top left (1, 2, 3, etc.).
If all else fails, and you want to see the pictures, the following works:
1. Go to www.theskydeck.com/photos (or click here) If it doesn't work, use the alternate link.
2. Enter the Date: 11/04/2012 (or click on the little square and use the interactive calendar)
3. Select the Gallery: Skyrise Chicago
4. Enter the Photo ID: use the bib number (in parentheses below)
As you can see, in order to do this, you will need to have two windows or tabs open in your web browser: one with this page, and one with the Skydeck photo search page open. Each picture would require a new search. To save time, you can use the "search again" feature on the top right. To save more time, use the "back" button on your browser, and enter a new bib number for the search (cutting out about three steps per picture). But this may be blocked by their web site.
Pictures of Jason (1198) Or try this, and enter 1198
Where he can reach both rails, it is around floor 100.
Where the rails are much farther apart, it is around floor 2.
The picture with the green background or with the Willis Tower in the background is just before the race (at ground level).
The picture with the city in the background is on floor 103 (the Skydeck). It is on a little ledge that sticks out about one meter beyond the building (on the west side). From there, it is 1353 feet (412 meters) straight down to the ground.
Pictures of Glenn (1197)
Most of these are the same as the ones shot with Jason. In fact, in the picture of him around floor 2, I am the guy in the background below him.
[There were links below, but they no longer function. The matters they describe may still be of interest.]
Comments below are related to people we met today (or in the past):
Our friend, John Osborne (548), is from Springfield, IL. He came in second this year with a time of 14:16 (min:sec). He is fast. He was pictured with his son and/or his father in some of the pictures. John is about nine years younger than I am.
We missed Mark Trahanovsky (569). He was also pictured with Dave Kestel (2634). Dave had on the green shirt. Both men are in the 50s. They each climbed faster than 18 minutes.
Michael Reichetzeder, (552), is in charge of towerrunning.com
After the race, I met Dettin Piero, from Venice, Italy. He is amazing. He is 75 years old and climbed to the 103rd floor in 24:23 (min:sec). Wow! What a guy! He was pictured (#1747) on the stairs and at the top.
And, from Chicago, the oldest climber in the race (again this year) was Gloria Schiffler (bib number 2018). She was 84 years old and climbed to the 103rd floor in 1:05:02 (hr:min:sec). I admire her stamina at an age that precludes most people from climbing.
Other Willis Tower Races: