The Return

I finished my final set of burpees in the Stratosphere Tower entry hallway as the volunteers continued to remind me that my water bottle wasn't allowed in the stairwell. 

Yeah, no shit. I heard you the first time*.

*I hoped my inner voice wasn't too loud - they were just doing their job

By this point the first international competitor had started the race. With 25 second intervals, I had a couple minutes to recover and prepare myself. After a bit of dithering, I got in behind Cindy and just ahead of Mark H.

Normally, I'd be right behind the faster international elites, but it's been a long 4 years since I did a stair climbing race. In fact, my last race was exactly 4 years ago at this very same tower.

Why the hiatus? If you're reading this in the future, races shut down for the COVID19 pandemic... and during that time I became fat and out of shape.

About a year ago I decided to make a comeback and it was harder than I thought it would be. First, I gained 22 lbs. - which was significantly more than I had intended. Considering I exercised regularly - though admittedly less than before - I was taken aback by how much weight I had gained. Second, my fitness took a moderate hit. Base fitness was certainly there, but the extra weight and decreased volume of exercise cost me my competitive edge.

Despite increasing my training volume and watching what I ate, I only managed to lose a few pounds. By the Sears Tower race (November) I was finally below 190 lbs... but still nearly 20 lbs. heavier than my goal weight of 170 lbs. 

(I actually traveled to Chicago for Sears, but ended up getting sick and missed the race. But that is another story)

Right around Thanksgiving I decided to *really* step up my diet and exercise to prepare for the US Championship Race at the Strat.

So how did I do? You can be the judge.

The table below shows my average speed on my Precor Stepper for my 5 x 4 minute HIIT  sessions. For reference, my pre-COVID speed was in the range of 180-182 spm (steps per minute).

Date                Weight    Speed Delta Speed

14-Nov-23 188.5 150.4 DNF - Did Not Finish

21-Nov-23 189.25 151.3 0.19

28-Nov-23 189.75 150.8 DNF

05-Dec-23 186.75 151.6 0.29

12-Dec-23 188.50 152.3 0.69

19-Dec-23 186.00     153.0 0.66

09-Jan-24 185.00 153.7 0.75

16-Jan-24 184.50 154.7 1.00

23-Jan-24 182.75 155.6 0.90

30-Jan-24 183.50 156.7 1.04

06-Feb-24 183.25 158.0 1.31

13-Feb-24 181.50 159.5 1.54

20-Feb-24 181.25 160.9 1.35

While I dropped ~8 lbs. of weight and increased my speed a solid 10 spm, I didn't reach either of my goals. But it was still a marked improvement.

It was a tough pill to swallow, but I knew I would be fighting to get under the 9 minute mark and likely over a minute slower than my previous times (all in the range of 7:42 - 7:58).

A quick calculation shows that at best I could achieve would be ~180/160 x 7:45 = 8:43.

 

Notice the emphasis on "at best". 

As the race would be a whole minute *longer* than usual... it would be as if I was racing in a slightly taller tower - and therefore I'd have to cut my pace a litter further to accommodate.

So yeah... getting under 9 minutes was the goal... and considering all my rivals were in the 8:30 - 8:45 range... it meant I had only a sliver of a chance at taking the US Championship.

I'd be lying if I said wasn't disappointed. I used to be the guy people were chasing and taking a back seat was a blow to my ego as well as my confidence.

What's more, I knew I would've been in the hunt had I only been down to my race weight. The extra 10 lbs. meant I'd be spotting everyone a solid 30 seconds. Fitness wise, I was probably on par with my top rivals?

Finally it was my turn on the starting line. I was nervous, but it was good to be back.

I'd be climbing without my normal racing flats (broken left sole) and I chose to forgo wearing a stop watch. The absolute worst feeling would be to get half way through the race and realize I'm even slower than I thought I would be.

However, I *was* wearing my metronome and I dutifully set it to 86 BPM.

(The night before the race I read one of my older posts claiming that 97 BPM would get me to the top in around 8 minutes... so a simple ratio shows that 86 should get me to the top in about 9 minutes -  i.e. 86 BPM / 97 BPM = 8 min / 9 min)

Go Time!

It felt strange being back the stairwell after such a long hiatus, but it was also quite familiar: the open stairwell, the abnormally long flights, and the oddly rectangular handrails that would inevitably blister my fingers.

The first few flights were nerve wracking as I settled into my pace. My biggest fear was that my "slow" 86 BPM pace as still too fast and I'd bonk halfway through. 

I reached the 200s* pretty quickly and to be honest, the pace still felt easy. But from experience, I knew that the pace should feel manageable until about the halfway point. It's only in the latter third where you feel like hanging on for dear life.

*Remember, this tower doesn't have "floors" and is instead measured by altitude (in feet). We start out a few dozen feet from ground and climb to the upper 700s until we hit the bottom of the "donut". Then climb another 8 short floors until the top.

With substantial 25 second gaps between racers, racers more or less have the stairwell to themselves... but by the time I coasted into the upper 300s, I could see Mark a few flights below. He might've gained 10 to 15 seconds?

I probably should have been concerned, but between concentrating on the climb and the intensity of the exercise, I had limited capacity to worry. While it was conceivable Mark could edge me out in this race, I knew that I had still had plenty left in the tank and if it came down to it, I could always speed up. In addition, at the bottom of the tower Mark mentioned he would be setting his metronome to 81 BPM and was easily keeping up with 86 BPM. I *should* be pulling away, right?

Sure enough, by the 500s I had pulled away. 

I knew I had passed the halfway point so that meant 3-4 minutes left of climbing. This far into the race, I still felt pretty good, so I climbed a little bit faster than my metronome. It lasted only a few flights; the extra output put me closer to the red line and I was concerned that I'd burn out*. I figured I was already close to my sub-9 minute goal so I didn't wan to take the risk of bonking out. I could still turn on the afterburners when I reach the donut, right?

*I find your lack of faith disturbing.

The 600s crossed into the 700s and by now, I could feel the pace as I was starting to tickle the redline.

I glanced up, hoping to see the donut, but all I could see were more loooong flights of stairs.

Where the hell was the donut?  Wasn't it somewhere in the 700s? Or was it in the 800s and I just forgot the building went up that high? 

I immediately regretted not reviewing Stan's Stair Chart ahead of time.

By now I was in pain and just wanted the race to be over. While I still had energy in reserve, tapping into it would be painful.

As I let my mind wander, I finally hit the bottom of the donut. 

Time to jet.

I ignored my metronome and darted up. Floors 101 - 104 went by in succession.

I distinctly remember Jason telling me that he accidently left the stairwell on the 105th last year, so I when I saw the 105 placard, I made sure to keep climbing upwards.

106... 107...

I made one last attempt to increase my speed; foregoing the use of the handrails, instead pumping my arms to increase my turnover rate.

The Last Flight

I darted through the open door and crossed the line on the 108th floor.

While the final burst of speed inside the donut left me winded, I quickly walked it off.

I was happy to finally have a race under my belt, but slightly disappointed that I didn't climb a little harder. Under normal circumstances, I should be lying on the floor panting for air. 

Still, I easily maintained 86BPM for the majority of the race and climbed faster than that during the final sprint. I was pretty certain that I broke the 9 minute mark.

As the minutes ticked by, more racers finished and I had a chance to stretch, eat a banana, and see how everyone fared.

Though I was confident I had met my goal, a small seed of doubt germinated in the back of my mind. I knew that Cindy - a perennial woman's champ - should be climbing in about 9 minutes and I never saw her in the stairwell... meaning she either maintained her 25 second lead... or increased it.

As I was chatting with her, I did get a look at the online race results. Sure enough, she clipped me by a few seconds and it turns out I crossed the line in 9:07.

In-line with the tail end of my goal... but still disappointing. Especially considering I had energy to spare.

After the race, I went back to my hotel to take a quick shower and then back to the Stratosphere for the award ceremony.

It was difficult to be there.

While I was glad to finally make it back to the Strat and see my climbing friends, four years ago, I was the US Points Champion (best "point total for top 8 races) and runner-up American in very tight race. This year I wasn't even ranked... and I barely received an age-group award.

What's worse, is I was so much slower - well over a minute off of my previous worst.

I felt... washed up. 

And to top it off, I learned that I was bumped down yet another spot in the rankings.

Normally that shouldn't be enough to get me riled up, but the circumstances of it raised my hackles. You see, a competitor raced in the elite wave, but didn't push themselves. An hour or so later - after all the times were posted - did a *second* much faster climb. And of course that 2nd climb was 9 seconds faster than mine. While their 2nd climb was undoubtedly faster, I don't see how it can be counted. Are there any other types of races that allow a do over?

You can see the final results here. I was a distant 9th overall.

• Congrats to Wai Ching Soh for setting the course record*
• Congrats to Jason Larson who won the US Championship on the men's side
• Congrats to Jill (Alex) Paha who won the US Championship on the women's side

*To be fair Ryoji Watanabe was only .008 seconds back which is probably within the timing equipment's margin of error. 

I spent the rest of the trip decompressing. I met a few friends for dinner that night which helped me take my mind off of the race. The following day I spent shopping and walking around the Vegas Strip (like 25,000+ steps) before taking the red-eye flight back home.

Final thoughts

Part of me regrets going to Vegas. Had I skipped the race, at least my pride would still be intact. On the other hand, it gave an honest assessment of where I am at:

• My initial target of just under 9 minutes was pretty accurate. Yes, I was slower than that, but considering my confidence was poor and effort level was lower than usual, a 9:07 makes sense.
• Dropping another 10 lbs. is going to take at least another 3 months, but it will shave off another 30+ seconds.
• My fitness is still good, but it isn't at pre-COVID levels. I'm likely down 4-6%. While I may not get it all back, I am hopeful most of it will. My workout data supports that I'm still increasing my fitness at a steady rate. Admittedly, it is hard to separate weight loss gains* from fitness gains. I'll have a much better idea when I finally hit 170 lbs.

*No oxymoron intended

While I'm disappointed with my race, I'm more disappointed with myself for being at 181 lbs. 

The cold hard truth is that I came to the race fat and out of shape and it's entirely my own fault. It's not going to be an easy fix and I have many months of hard work to do before I'm race ready.

The only silver lining with my weight gain and subsequent (partial) weight loss is that I have first hand knowledge of how weight impacts speed in the stairwell. I've always have *theoretical* knowledge, but that isn't the same thing as living through it.

I guess there is one more silver lining:

I have some unfinished business in the stairwell and I'm motivated to finish it.

Grades

Effort: C - Lack and confidence and a whole lot of rust

Conditioning: C - I'm not yet close to my peak, but I trained my ass off to get to this point.

Weight: D - Spotting myself 10+ lbs. is unacceptable.

Pacing & Technique: B minus - 86 BPM is more like a 9:15 finishing time. Maybe if I paid closer attention to the turns it would've helped? There are ~70 turns and shaving a "step" off of each translates into 48 seconds, which is massive. I'm honestly not sure how efficiently I climbed, but it's clear that I should have either 1) increased my pace or 2) had fewer steps on the landings.

Overall: D plus - Below average effort and slightly underwhelming pacing compounded by the fact that I was fat and out of shape made this my worst race ever.