Gabe and I are preparing to climb fire stairs of the Sears Tower here in Chicago on Nov. 9, as a fundraiser for the Damon Runyan Cancer Research Center. (You say you're interested in donating to the cause? Why, thank you! Have at it!)
This is a 103-story climb, of what will soon be bumped to 5th on the list of the world's tallest buildings. Two years ago it took me about 27 minutes to go from ground level to the Sky Deck. I've been training again for about two months.
On Sunday, Gabe and I drove downtown and climbed the fire stairs of a 62-story condo building, thanks to a friend who's president of the condo board (otherwise we'd either have been thwarted in our climb by locked doors, or else arrested).
I coached Gabe in pacing yourself, in nutrition before the climb, in calming the nerves. He listened to everything I said, which is unusual.
Until we started climbing.
"Slow down," I said. "If you go that fast at the start, you'll be exhausted by the 30th floor."
He kept going. His size 8 feet boomed on the metal treads.
"Gabe! Slow down!!"
"No."
It took me 12 minutes, 32 seconds to reach the top. Gabe beat me by more than a minute.
Later that day, he played every minute of a soccer game against a very tough team.
The next day, he wasn't sore in the least.
Ah, youth.
--T.A.
RunyOn.
Yours sincerely,
Pedants r' Us.
(He and I came from the same town in Colorado.)
Posted by: Charlie (Colorado) | October 28, 2008 at 02:54 PM
Perhaps he even slowed down so as not to lose sight of his father.
Posted by: May | October 28, 2008 at 03:18 PM
Charlie: My kind of town.
May: More likely he sped up, so he could beat me by as much as possible.
Posted by: david | October 28, 2008 at 09:40 PM