You've probably never wondered how many flights of stairs can you climb in less that 10 minutes but as I'm signed up for a charity run up the old NatWest Tower next week I thought I'd better find out.
And yesterday I found I could could do 47 floors in 9 mins 35 secs.
I work in the tower (now known as Tower 42) and thought I'd have a go. I spent nearly 9 months incapacitated by an achilles last year injury but as soon as that was sorted in October I signed up for February's Cancer Research 10k. I managed 10 weeks of training did OK at that for an slightly overweight 53 year old (I did it an hour).
Now I've had to change my training from plodding longer distances to VO2max stuff - running and and down hills with wrist weights, sprints and of course.....climbing stairs.
Before I was packed off to Washing DC for two weeks recently I was gradually increasing my climbs from 11 floors (to my office) to 15, 20 and 25 floor sessions. On Tuesday I did my first 35 and yesterday I did as many as I could bar two that are not easily accessible - 47 in total by my reckoning.
I did in my suit (well, minus jacket). It's a real lung buster and at the top I was breathing heavily and sweating quite a lot. So much so that a fellah I met in the lift on the way down actually asking if I was having a heart attack. LOL
Anyway, I'll do two climbs today
Why 10 minutes? It's because that what Duncan Bannatyne reckons he does it in and he's about my age so that'll do me. And targets are good. I actually hope to get nearer to 9 but we'll see.
Including my entrance fee I've raised north of £300 for Shelter which is not bad. I'm not really posting this to ask for donations and am not sure if I can on this site but if anyone does have a spare tenner burning a hole in their pocket just PM me and I can send you a link to my Just Giving page.
Otherwise please just share any stair climbing stories. I'm sure Patagonian will have done something like this. Dragging a tractor tyre as he goes LOL.
And yesterday I found I could could do 47 floors in 9 mins 35 secs.
I work in the tower (now known as Tower 42) and thought I'd have a go. I spent nearly 9 months incapacitated by an achilles last year injury but as soon as that was sorted in October I signed up for February's Cancer Research 10k. I managed 10 weeks of training did OK at that for an slightly overweight 53 year old (I did it an hour).
Now I've had to change my training from plodding longer distances to VO2max stuff - running and and down hills with wrist weights, sprints and of course.....climbing stairs.
Before I was packed off to Washing DC for two weeks recently I was gradually increasing my climbs from 11 floors (to my office) to 15, 20 and 25 floor sessions. On Tuesday I did my first 35 and yesterday I did as many as I could bar two that are not easily accessible - 47 in total by my reckoning.
I did in my suit (well, minus jacket). It's a real lung buster and at the top I was breathing heavily and sweating quite a lot. So much so that a fellah I met in the lift on the way down actually asking if I was having a heart attack. LOL
Anyway, I'll do two climbs today
Why 10 minutes? It's because that what Duncan Bannatyne reckons he does it in and he's about my age so that'll do me. And targets are good. I actually hope to get nearer to 9 but we'll see.
Including my entrance fee I've raised north of £300 for Shelter which is not bad. I'm not really posting this to ask for donations and am not sure if I can on this site but if anyone does have a spare tenner burning a hole in their pocket just PM me and I can send you a link to my Just Giving page.
Otherwise please just share any stair climbing stories. I'm sure Patagonian will have done something like this. Dragging a tractor tyre as he goes LOL.