I was gasping for air when I reached the observation deck at the Calgary Tower. I had just finished my first solo ascent. The excitement got me so I went hard to the top.
Determined to beat the afterwork rush, I was one of the first to arrive before the doors opened at 4 p.m. which gave me time to chat with the gatekeepers. That’s when I learned that the record for the Calgary Tower 801 is 31 times in three hours. Crazy.
It has been a couple years since I tackled the Calgary Tower 802. Every Tuesday in March the stairwell is between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. I have been busy with moving and training for Sinister so I missed the first two Tuesdays.
Once again I organized the Calgary Tower 802 climb with my coworkers. I send out a company-wide email encouraging my colleagues to join me for a climb or two. There’s always a bit of resistance with “I have bad knees” and “it’s too hard.”
I organize these challenges because I want to show people they are stronger than they think they are, and it’s a fun team building exercise.
Strength in numbers
Several people had signed up but as it typically happens there were many last minute drop outs on the day. Four brave souls joined me at 5 p.m. I had already done 3 repeats so I was ready to slow it down.
Or so I thought.
Turns out, my coworkers were in pretty good shape, so little reprieve for me. We powered up twice, taking the elevator down, between ascents. By the end, they were all surprised at how doable it was.
It’s one of those things – you can’t really gauge the effort until you actually do it.
Do you climb stairs as part of your training? Why or why not? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.