One Step at a Time
As a young child, I had many interests: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, bike riding, Bazooka Joe bubble gum that only costs 5-cents with the comics inside the wrapper. I had some eccentric interests too including architecture and skyscrapers. I was fascinated with the idea of urban living — being peppered with media images of places like New York City (where the Ninja Turtles lived in the sewer system) and Los Angeles — all heavily influenced by TV and movies largely produced on both coasts of the United States.
Fast-forward to 2012. I had just moved to Las Vegas to begin working at a major university. There are plenty of tall buildings in Las Vegas. However, the tallest was — and still is — The Stratosphere. The Stratosphere is a hotel, casino, and tower in the middle of Las Vegas; right in between Downtown and the famous Las Vegas Strip.
Built by maverick businessman Bob Stupak in 1996, The Stratosphere or “The Strat” complex of buildings includes the tallest free-standing observation deck — which is also one of the tallest buildings in the United States. To literally stand-out in a place that is all about being flashy and different is a major statement. I’m all about making statements.
Yes, the original (and later phased-out) World’s Fair theme of The Strat was quite cheesy. Still, there is an elegance and allure of the tower that always inspired me to reach higher.
As I was getting acclimated to my new home in Las Vegas, I saw a clip on the local news of the “Scale the Strat” event. It was a bunch of people running up the stairs (in intervals) inside of the emergency exit up the 108 floors to the top of the tower. It’s roughly 1,400 steps up to the top. The event is a fundraiser for the American Lung Association non-profit. People doing something out-of-the-ordinary (and perhaps a bit strange) brings awareness to respiratory health and clean air quality. I thought: “I could do that! How hard could it be?”
Running up 108 floors is a lot of physical activity. Let’s explore that aspect. Growing up, I was never an athlete. Although I took P.E. as an elective my senior year of high school, I was always drawn to choir, drama, and TV production. Never sports or even weight lifting. In my 20’s I was “gymtimitated.” I was intimidated by the gym environment. I did not have the confidence to go to the gym nor did I feel I had the competency to workout properly with all the equipment. Also, people. People at the gym. Managing people and their energy, mostly at work, is exhausting for us introverts. As I got older, I wanted to prioritize my health and wellness in more productive ways. In addition to exploring personal trainer options in the area and researching proper nutrition, I thought — I could “Scale the Strat.” That’s a goal I’d like to reach.
One year later in 2013, I registered for “Scale the Strat”. While raising the minimum fundraising amount, I trained for three months leading-up to the event by running-up the seven floors of the building where I lived. I could reach the roof in 28 seconds. That’s fast! Unfortunately, that’s not sustainable for 108 floors. Womp. Womp. The day of the actual event, I sprinted as hard as I could. I needed to stop at every oxygen station on the way up. The paramedics asked me if they needed to take me down; they thought maybe I was too exhausted to finish the race safely. It took me almost one hour to get up all the 1,400 steps to the top of the tower. However, I pushed through and I made it to the top.
In 2013, I very much thought of this run like a “bucket list” item. I would do it once and that was that. Never again.
2020. I’m at home in lock-down during Pandemic 1.0. I’m learning all about the impacts of COVID-19 on lung health and respiratory nurses. Then my brain remembered my past connection to lung health. I recalled the American Lung Association AND the stair climb in Las Vegas. By 2020, I was in a lot better shape both physically and mentally after starting a new job at Stanford. The 2020 “Scale the Strat” took place just a few weeks before COVID-19 shut down the world. The 2021 event took place outside at a local stadium (not the Stratosphere). At that point, I set a goal of completing the 2022 “Scale the Strat.” Yes. Again. All 1,400+ steps up to floor 108.
I fundraised again and had the support of wonderful new colleagues at my new-ish job. In January of 2022, I began training. This training consisted of running-up the stairs of one of the tallest buildings at Stanford — where my office is conveniently located. I worked with my personal trainer to experiment with different paces. I properly prepared for this climb as someone older and wiser. In February 2022 I went back to Las Vegas and I completed the “Scale the Strat” building climb again. This time, I finished in under 15 minutes. No stopping and I did not need to visit at any oxygen stations. It was exhilarating! I remember thinking: “This is as close as I will ever get to the Olympics. (Shout-out to two-time Olympian, Figure Skater Maria Butyrskaya). I came in number 62 out of 367 climbers and finished just outside of the top 10 in my age group. Side note: As I am closer to 40 years in age, I’m still unsure if it is fair to compete against 30 year-olds 😉.
What I appreciate most about this experience was having a goal outside of work. Professional goals are important. However, we do not always have control over the stressors of work and capitalism. My spirit benefitted from having something to focus on outside of my professional identity. I also recognized my growth allowing myself to be more vulnerable and asking for help. Many cisgender men are socialized not to ask for help in favor of assumed competence. That’s nonsense. This time, I asked for help and I did much better.
In fact, I was so inspired I decided to complete my new hometown stair climb in the Bay area. I completed the San Francisco stair climb in April 2022. The race was held at 555 California St. in downtown SF. I finished 1,300 steps in just over 13 minutes. Elite runners can complete these races in under 10 minutes. For the SF climb, I finished in the top 25% of runners. Now, I have new goals. By the way, why do we even have stairs if everyone can use a ramp? That’s an important conversation for later. For me, I like reaching higher. One step at a time.
Originally Published — April 2022 on Blogger at blogstpot.com
