So I finished the CN Tower Climb for United Way this morning and had a great time! I didn’t quite make my goal of a sub 15 minute time but I was very close. 15 minutes was an arbitrary number I put out there, and I really think I could have made that easily if I had done a few more things right than I did wrong. My time was 15 minutes and 13 seconds. That number is not that accurate in my opinion. At the top, I didn’t realize I was done and so I had to fish the timecard out of my pocket and then I had to wait in line for others to get their time stamped. I probably did get under 15 minutes but its ok, I’m not too worried about it 😉 I stuck around to see what other peoples times were and I only saw two people, a guy and a girl who were together, definitely runners, with faster times than me in the 14 minute range. As Georges St. Pierre would say, “I am not impressed with your performance.” lol. It was my first time climbing up the CN Tower and if I decide to do it again I will be much better prepared.
I raised $250 so that is pretty cool. Thank you to everybody who sponsored me, I really appreciate it. Even the guys I pretty much forced into it lol. I am still allowed to raise money for the next little while (don’t remember the exact date, I think November 20th) so feel free to contribute if you want. The proceeds go to helping worthwhile programs throughout the city of Toronto. My sponsor page can be found here http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=779232
Below are my thoughts on what I did right and some advice on what you could do to get the best time possible. Learn from my mistakes.
What I did right:
Warm up and stretch: It was pretty cold and windy out today so I really had to warm up and stretch. Don’t skip this or you’ll be cramping up. I saw a number of paramedics helping people out who were experiencing muscle cramps probably because they skipped this part.
Massage: I really have to thank Johnny Vos at http://www.vosrmt.com/ (Toronto Life named him the best massage therapist in the city here http://www.torontolife.com/features/best-service/) and his team for making sure my muscles were in good shape. I had a session with him last Friday, one yesterday with Joanne (who is phenomenal as well), and another one on Monday. It has been a while since I’ve had a massage and Johnny mentioned how ridiculously tight my muscles were and really helped me loosen them a lot. Joanne also mentioned she could feel a lot of scar tissue in my hamstrings, I have no idea when I did that I have had so many injuries over the years due to pure ignorance and improper training that I have lost track.
Keep fit: I am a P90X grad and soon to be Insanity grad and am in, by far, the best shape of my life. Rock climbing and Yoga have really helped as well and although I have a disc bulge and a disc herniation in my neck, I feel strong enough to give BJJ a go starting in November. Its been too long and I am itching to get back in there. General healthy fitness will really help you in your athletic endeavours.
Mental strength: The mental game to push through your perceived limits is so important in athletic competition. For the past week I’ve visualized reaching the top in spectacular fashion and never doubted my abilities for a second. I’ve also been using guided Paraliminal meditation to help with peak performance and it has been doing wonders for me.
Hydrate: Self explanatory. Just make sure you are well hydrated as you aren’t allowed to bring any water with you during the climb. They have hydration stations before and after the climb. For myself, I used Vega sport combined with Vega Health Optimizer, mixed with a greens infused liquid, Udo’s oil, cacao beans, goji berries, acai, matcha green tea, tumeric, two bananas, a berry antioxidant mix, squeezed lime and lemon, and coconut water. It really, really helped me recuperate from a mild hangover and tasted delicious.
Enjoyed the view: It was my first time up the CN Tower and I spent quite a bit of time at the top, really enjoying the spectacular view and cooling down. I went outside and it was extremely windy and cold but very fun as well. It was kind of embarrassing that I’ve lived in Toronto for 8 years and have never been to the CN Tower up until now. Toronto from above looks pretty awesome.
What I did wrong:
Arrive early: I got stuck behind a lot of people going up the stairs. There was a huge lineup to register and a huge lineup for coat check. Even though I got there at 6:45 AM, I didn’t get to climb until 7:45 AM and by that time it was already rammed. I’d suggest going at 5 AM and being ready to climb at 6 AM.
Get adequate sleep: I have had back to back to back sub 6 hour sleep nights when I am normally used to at least 8. That will mess up your recovery and rest and energy big time (I definitely noticed this at the beginning of the climb… I was seriously struggling). Make sure you are well rested and refreshed and energized.
Do not get drunk two nights in a row prior to the climb: I decided to support my homegirl Heather (http://www.gingermartini.com) in her quest for world fashion domination and sending her off to Vancouver Fashion Week on Thursday night and then Nick and Tina’s super fun engagement party last night. Although I didn’t get super hammered I did get drunk enough. Both nights were fun and I have no regrets, the timing of everything just so happened to be non ideal, but if you can I wouldn’t advise doing what I did.
Train properly for it: I didn’t do any stair climbing whatsoever. Heck, I didn’t even do any running. If you are looking to get a great time then you probably should. Next time, I will.
Wear good shoes that you have adequately worked in: I was worried that they weren’t going to let me climb with my Vibram Fivefingers, so instead I went out and purchased a pair of Nike Free the day before the climb. Nike Free is Nike’s line of “barefoot” running shoe, and even though they are pretty sweet they are no comparison to the freedom of the Fivefingers. I definitely should have worked them in more, as I wasn’t used to them at all. Even though they are super light, they aren’t nearly as light as the Fivefingers and the cushioning is a lot more than what I’m used to. My feet felt trapped on the climb and they started to hurt probably with 50 flights of stairs to go. Not good. I should have confirmed with the organizers if I could wear the Fivefingers or gotten used to wearing the Nike Free. I did neither.
Do not get sick: I have the sniffles, probably because I got pretty wet going to Nick and Tina’s engagement party. My umbrella busted in the windy rain and so I chucked it mid pour. The sniffles will definitely impair your breathing as it did for me.
Have a support team: I made it to the top and saw others high fiving each other and getting cheered on by their friends and family before and after the climb. I had neither. Schools climbed together as well. I saw McMaster there, Humber there, lots of elementary schools, etc. I was like “Yes, I did it!!” then high fived myself. A couple people stopped to talk to me and say they saw me blazing past them, but that was it. I would rather celebrate with friends, its more fun and rewarding that way.
Be more aggressive: This is for charity so people come in all shapes and sizes, not everybody is going for time. Lots of people would walk beside each other and there was no easy way to get past them. I patiently waited for my openings but instead I probably should have said “excuse me” a lot more than I did.
Prepare yourself: Stairs are narrow and not wide like I thought, that messed me up because I wasn’t able to pass people. You aren’t allowed to bring anything up either. They say you can bring a fanny pack up to carry your id but that’s ridiculous, who the heck has a fanny pack these days? It makes sense that you can’t bring up your ipod, cell phone, camera or water. Imagine people dropping their electronics, stopping to take pictures or chat on their phone, or spilling their water on the metal stairs. It could be disastrous when you are pushing 5000 people up a small stairwell. There are paramedics at every 10th floor I think, so if you run into any injuries they can assist. Also, after you are done and your time is punched, there is still another 10 flights of stairs or so to get into the tower, so be aware of that.
I think that’s it. I am happy with my performance and if I ever do the climb again feel I can demolish my time easily with some proper preparation. I am probably going to catch up on some sleep now then do my Insanity workout for the day. I have 1 more week to go then I am done with the program, 67 days of pure …well insanity. I’ll probably post my thoughts on the program and my fit test numbers once I am done.
