2013 Willis Skyrise Stair Climb

2013 Willis Tower Skyrise Stair Climb
Sunday November 3rd 2013


Justin Stewart
1st Place/2,300
13:29

Race Morning 4:00 a.m.
This race is always interesting waking up for because it lands on day light savings time. Woke up around 4 to get a shake out run in. Ran easy just shaking the legs out, getting the blood flowing for 10 minutes. Got back to Jesse's house and stretched out then ate some breakfast.

Race Recap
I went into this race pretty confident, relaxed, and in shape.  This race comes at a weird time of year for me as far as stair climbs go. This year I was ready due to the fact that Ive been training for the 12 hour stair climb. The strength that I have gained from those long hours in the stairwell paid off.  When we were lining up I really did not want to go first. I climb better when I know I have to catch people and it keeps me motivated to climb and catch the next person. I usually go first but this time I was stubborn and started 4th in line behind Jesse, Oz, and David Tromp with Tim Danahue and Gorge Hermann right behind me.  I had a game plan of working into the race and thats exactly what I did. I remained focused on keeping a nice uptempo pace the first 50 floors then working into it if I was feeling good. I didnt know much about Tim but I knew he trained with Sproule so I knew he had to be good. Tim caught me by floor 15 or so and was moving but I never lost sight of him. He was breathing quite heavily so I stayed calm and hoped he wouldnt be able to keep that pace.  He later faded around 70 were I passed him back.  He had huge long legs and it was hard for me to get around him, his 4 steps equaled my 3. From 75 ish on I was all alone and focused on picking up the pace every 10 floors and putting as much time as possible between me and everybody else behind me. The last 20 floors I caught myself really looking at my watch quickly on the landings because I was really wanting that record. At floor 94 I glanced and saw 13:01 and thought damnit....but I could still get in a solid PR. The last 10 floors I actually had what I would consider a sprint finish in the stair climbing world.  I was really moving and grabbing the railings for everything I had left. Stopped my watch and saw 13:29 and was pretty pleased considering my finish and time from 2 years ago was 14:49 and 10th place. 2 years ago I had a rude awakening with this tower but this year I was ready and more prepared.  Then I just played the waiting game on finding out everybody else's times.  Overall I was really happy with my performance and time and effort I put forth in this race. I really wanted that 13:03 record but itll have to be next year. I know what I have to do. My 13:29 ties for the 4th fastest time every ran up in that race with some pretty big names in the sport next to me, which is a good feeling.


Results:

http://theracershub.com/results_view.php?id=2270&result_type=file&PHPSESSID=ef4d91f7d52c7742bfb9e65f174413b9

2013 Springfield Marathon

2013 Springfield Marathon 

Marathon
1/2 Marathon
10k 

October 20th, 2013
Location: University of Illinois-Springfield


10k Results

Pre-Race 

Justin Stewart
Place: 1st Overall/324
Time:  34:37 (5:32 pace)
Speed: 10.8 mph

10k Race Recap
I decided to run in this race last week.  My base mileage has been going really well and with only 3 consistent weeks of running I feel stronger than ever.  Over the years there have been plenty of times where I havent ran in a while and then I start my base training which usually consists of a couple months of increased mileage and easy runs with a few fatlek and dynamic runs as well as tempos mixed in there.  So far my weekly mileage started at 15, 20, 20, 30. I will keep increasing the mileage up to about 60 miles a week then start to incorporate some speed work getting ready for some indoor and outdoor track races this winter and spring. In the past my base building mileage usually consisted of 6:45-7:00 minutes pace miles. This year with my stair climbing training included in my base building I am hitting 6:10-6:30 paced runs easily and feel stronger than ever. I believe this strength showed in todays 10k I decided to hop in on a whim. I went out with the mindset of working into the race. Start as a tempo for the first couple miles then work into it. I honestly was expecting 5:45 pace but ended up hitting 5:32 pace which I was thrilled about. I led the race from start to finish and was out by myself the entire race. It wasnt until mile 2 when I started coming up on the tail end of the marathoners which helped in me keeping my pace honest and uptempo. The mile markers werent consistent and I only saw mile marker 2 and 3. I went threw the 2mile marker in 11:26 and the 3 mile mark in 16:54.

Overall, it was good race to get into last minute. Its always nice to win a race especially the inaugural event, so I guess you could say I have a course record as well. After the race I also was interviewed by 3 time Olympian and record holder Craig Virgin which was pretty cool as well. Overall great event and hopefully this event only grows bigger and more competitive over the next years to come. Congrats to all who participated and thanks go out to the fans, family and friends who came out to support.

With Craig Virgin after the race

Finishing stretch

12 Hour Stair Climb Training

Week #7 

Workout: 8 hour stair climb training session
Goal: Stay at a nice tempo that I think I can keep up for 12 hours and eat right. 
Location: Springfield Hilton (32 floors), Springfield IL


Done with 8 hours of stair climbing at the Springfield Hilton. I got through 7 hours and 40 minutes just fine, tried to pick it up the last 20 minutes and paid for it and crashed. 79 times up in 8 hours. Climbed the equivalent of Mt. Everest. Probably could have gotten the record today if I had climbed another 2 hours with better pacing and eating better. This will be my last long climbing session in my training. I figure if I can do almost 80 time up in 8 hours and feel pretty good then I can manage to climb at least 20 more times in 4 hours to get the existing record of 33,000 vertical feet. At the pace I had going today I could have gotten the record at hour 10 and still had 2 more hours to climb. I figure a whole lot isnt going to change from here on out till the event. Once theres people there encouraging me I think itll be a ton better mentally for me instead of being alone like I was for the 8 hour training session. 

Splits:
4:45
4:45
4:44
4:44
4:44
4:43
4:44
4:43
4:44
4:43
-----
4:43
4:41
4:41
4:40
4:39
4:41
4:39
4:38
4:39
4:39
-----
4:39
4:38
4:34
4:42
4:38
4:33
4:36
4:33
4:38
4:36
-----
4:39
4:37
4:33
4:31
4:24
4:32
4:34
4:26
4:28
-----
4:26
4:19
4:23
4:26
4:20
4:30
4:25
4:19
4:22
4:21
-----
4:18
4:22
4:21
4:15
4:19
4:20
4:22
4:21
4:18
4:20
-----
4:19
4:20
4:14
4:12
4:15
4:16
4:13
4:14
4:12
4:11
-----
4:14
4:11
4:10
4:03
4:00
4:01
4:07
4:13
4:38
4:45

Totals:
42,028 steps
26,268 vertical feet

12 hour stair climb training

Week #6 

Down Week

Workout: Sprint workout
Goal: Give myself a down week without a long climb and do some sprints.
Location: Springfield Hilton, Springfield IL

Splits: 

1.)  4:40 warm up climb
2.)  3 x (sub 3 minute climbs with 2 minutes rest between)
             2:45
             2:47
             2:55
5.)  4:50 cool down climb
6.)  12 x 5 floor sprints with 1 minute rest between

12 Hour Stair Climb Training

Week #5

Workout: 6 hour stair climb training session
Goal: To stay at 12 hour climb pace, stay under control and eat right. 
Location: Springfield Hilton, Springfield IL

Today I broke through a huge barrier. 6 hours of climbing was a success. Again, I had no crash or tiredness what so ever. I even negative split every hour and even climbed the last one in 3:24. This workout gave me a lot of confidence in what I can do come event day. On event day I know I will have the elevator on my side with shorter rests so I might be able to squeeze in another climb every hour even when I am staying at 4:20 intervals for the first 6 hours, which I plan on doing. It's just that in these training climbs I keep feeling really good and I loosen up and just find a groove and stay there. Yet with the 12 hour climb I will have to force myself to stay at 4:20's no matter how Im feeling. In this workout I am way ahead of record pace. I climbed almost 20,000 vertical ft in 6 hours only leaving 13,000 ft left for the second 6 hours if I continued on. Only 13,000 in 6 hours is doable even if I am starting to tire I feel I can reach that.

Splits:
4:22
4:21
4:22
4:20
4:18
4:18
4:20
4:19
4:16
4:19
-----
4:17
4:19
4:18
4:16
4:16
4:17
4:17
4:17
4:15
4:14
-----
4:13
4:17
4:18
4:15
4:16
4:15
4:16
4:18
4:13
4:15
-----
4:12
4:10
4:09
4:14
4:10
4:07
4:09
4:04
4:02
4:04
-----
4:06
4:03
4:05
4:03
4:02
4:02
4:03
4:03
4:05
4:01
-----
4:00
4:01
4:00
4:03
4:00
3:59
3:53
3:46
3:38
3:24

Totals:
19,950 vertical feet (3.8 miles)
31,920 steps

12 Hour Stair Climb Training

Week #4 

Workout: 4 Hour Stair Climbing Session
Goal: Maintain what I think is my 12 hour pace for 4 hours. Stay under control and on a consistant pace.
Location: Springfield Hilton (32 floors)

Felt really good today. I stayed under control and had real even splits and was really consistant.  I had some support in the stairwell also; Karen Geminatti came out and did 4 hours in the stairwell as well, which helped in keeping me company.

I just took this workout an hour at a time and stayed as consistent as possible.  Once I got a couple climbs under my belt I found my rhythm and actually even hit 4:07 12 times in a row then I even dropped a few seconds each time and even got under 4 on some towards the end. I never crashed or felt overly tired or anything. If anything I felt strong and relaxed and confident as I went on. I know I still have some in me because even after 4 hours of climbing I was able to hit a 2:56. Next week I have 6 hours and that'll be another true test of what it takes to do 12 hours. I figure if I maintain the pace I did for the 4 hours and keep that for another 2, itll put me way ahead of record pace half way through. Then I'll have 6 hours to get in only 13,000 vertical feet. The last 6 Im expecting to get ugly especially by the last 3 hours, so I need to have a buffer for the times Im not feeling good and slowing down and taking maybe longer breaks. At least thats the plan. There is still a lot of unknowns when it comes to climbing stairs for 12 hours.
***Food intake seems to be working well also. Keep on keeping on.

Totals:
40 times in 4 hours (Average of 10 per hour)
13,300 vertical feet in 4 hours
21,280 steps in 4 hours


Splits:

4:13
4:08
4:08
4:08
4:08
4:07
4:07
4:07
4:07
4:07
----
4:07
4:07
4:07
4:07
4:07
4:07
4:07
4:04
4:06
4:06
----
4:05
4:07
4:03
4:04
4:05
4:05
4:04
4:03
4:03
4:02
----
4:02
4:00
4:00
4:03
3:58
4:01
3:59
4:00
3:58
2:54

12 Hour Stair Climb Training

Week #3

Workout: 3 Hour Stair Climb
Goal: Initially the goal was to ride 100 miles on the bike then finish with an hour of stairs. It was down pouring and lightning out so I decided to just do 3 hours of stairs.
Location: Springfield Hilton (32 floors)

Felt pretty good. I felt under control and never bonked which is a good sign at 3 hours. Got in 30 times in 3 hours today. Elevators werent to  bad either. Had a lady ask me if I was that crazy stair climber guy who wins here (Hilton) all the time. I replied Yes, lol. Kinda cool, Im making a name for myself, the crazy guy. Physically I went into this workout kind of feeling foggy from Friday nights festivities still messing with me. Mentally I stayed tough and never lost it. My splits were right on as well.  I stayed hydrated and ate a couple granola bars and 1 Gu, and Gatorade, and pieces of watermelon throughout the workout. Seemed to sit fine and help.  This workout puts me on pace to break the record and then some. I figured if I average 10 times up and hour that'll give me some room to spare for the times I use the restroom or use more time to eat or if I just crash. 

Totals:
30 times in 3 hours
9,975 vertical feet climbed in 3 hours
15, 960 steps


Splits:
*Goal was to stay consistant, and I believe I achieved that. I even had enough in the tank to go sub 3 on the last one.

Hour 1               Hour 2                Hour 3
1.) 4:20             11.) 4:06             21.) 3:59
2.) 4:11             12.) 4:00             22.) 4:01
3.) 4:07             13.) 4:06             23.) 4:06
4.) 4:09             14.) 4:06             24.) 4:04
5.) 4:05             15.) 4:05             25.) 4:00
6.) 4:07             16.) 4:02             26.) 4:04
7.) 4:09             17.) 4:05             27.) 4:04
8.) 4:09             18.) 4:07             28.) 4:04
9.) 4:08             19.) 4:05             29.) 4:04
10.) 4:04           20.) 4:04             30.) 2:58
10 x's                  10 x's                 10 x's

12 Hour Stair Climb World Record Attempt

Fundraising Page for my 12 Hour Stair Climb World Record Attempt is up and running.

If you would like to donate towards this event and great cause just follow this link. Every bit counts.

Thanks

Link:

http://action.lung.org/site/TR/Climb/ALAUM_Upper_Midwest?px=4367504&pg=personal&fr_id=8380

12 Hour Stair Climb Training

12 Hour Stair Climb Training 

Week #2

Workout: 2 Hour Stair Climb
Goal: Stay at a nice comfortable pace I think I can carry for 12 hours, for two hours. 
Location: Springfield Hilton (32 floors)

With only 12 weeks to go until the big event I put in a 2 hour stair climb workout to start increasing my long climb.  2 hours is the longest climb sessions Ive done and Ive only done that 3 times, once in San Diego for the Towerthon and the other two times at the Hilton as practice climbs. A 2 hour climbing sessions is tough both mentally and physically but Im to the point where I feel I can manage it pretty easily without and drastic fatigue. My next test will be a century bike ride (100miles) then following that up with an hour climb at the Hilton. I am doing this to fatigue the legs and then climb an hour on tired legs. Ive done numerous century rides in the past and there is no way around it, Im tired. In two weeks Ill up it to 4 hours and I feel that will be a true test of how Ill feel. Im curious how I am going to feel around 3 hours of effort once I start tapping into my reserves fuel wise. I equate it to the 22 mile mark in the marathon where you have used your bodies fuel sources up and the crash comes. Stairs are obviously different that running but thats why Im slowly increasing my long climb to where that wall is.

*** Elevators where pretty slow in the second hour, ran into a lot of people but it made for good conversation to break up the time and take my mind off of what I was doing. People always see me in the elevator sweating and catching my breath and leaning on a wall and always as me, "You just get done running?" No Im climbing the stairs. Which results in an always odd look like Im crazy. One lady who was heading down stairs to workout out in the hotel gym asked me where the gym was and she said Ill follow you. I told her I was climbing the stairs. You're doing what. I told her she should try it but she was a no go.

Again, I know I need average at least 9 x's an hour for 12 hours, 9x12=108 plus those few extra climbs that I squeeze in with the extra minutes at the end of every hour. If I can get 10-11 times in each of these hour sessions with a longer elevator I believe I can accomplish an average of 9 x's an hour because I know there will be some hours where I fall of pace from fatigue so I am planning for that. Ill be ready thought as best I can.

Anyway here are my splits for today:

Splits:  
Average splits for the 2nd hour where faster but the elevators were slower.
Hour #1            Hour #2     
1.)  4:10             12.)  3:56
2.)  4:06             13.)  3:54
3.)  4:03             14.)  3:56
4.)  4:03             15.)  3:58
5.)  4:01             16.)  3:48
6.)  4:02             17.)  3:49
7.)  4:01             18.)  3:49
8.)  3:52             19.)  3:50
9.)  3:50             20.)  3:47
10.)  3:54           21.)  3:37
11.)  3:52            10 x's
11 x's

12 Hour Stair Climb Training

Week #1 

Workout: 1 Hour Stair Climb 
Goal: To stay at a nice comfortable pace I think I can manage for 12 hour, for 1 hour. 
Location: Springfield Hilton (32 floors)

There may be a few ways to approach training for this 12 hour climb. I am taking a similar approach of training for a marathon. Granted a marathon for myself is just under 3 hours and I understand this is a 12 hour attempt. Just like during marathon training the longest run most people do is 20-22 miles 3 weeks out from the race. I am slowly going to increase my long run or in this case "long climb" and have my longest climb be 8 hours or so 3 weeks out. I need to see how my body is going to react at this distance and time. I know my body is going to hit a wall at some point I just dont know when. During my long training climb I will be using the same fuel I will be using during the world record attempt. I will have to figure out my many calories I am burning every hour and replenish my fuel tank properly so I dont bonk or minimize the bonk so I can keep going because I cant afford to slow down at all too much over the course of the 12 hours.

*Elevator ride down was my only rest, usually took 1:20-1:40 minutes. During the event the elevator ride will only take 30-40 secs so I will be able to sneak in even more reps at this pace.

Splits:  4:19, 4:14, 4:15, 4:11, 4:11, 4:10, 4:10, 4:07, 4:07, 4:07 

10 reps in 1 hour
I felt under control, never felt tired, I stayed very consistent and loosened up as I went.


2 Hour Training Climb I did back in May 2013
Hour 1       Hour 2
4:03           3:59       
3:59           3:55
3:56           3:54
3:53           3:50
3:53           3:45
3:57           3:44
3:54           3:42
3:53           3:45
3:54           3:47
3:52           3:36
3:41           2:43
11 x's        11 x's

22 Times in 2 hours a nice comfortable pace. I have to average 9 times every hour for 12 hour in order to stay on pace for the world record.

12 Hour Stair Climb Record Attempt (Most Vertical Feet Stair Climbed in 12 Hours)

12 Hour Stair Climb Record Attempt
(Most Vertical Feet Stair Climbed  in 12 Hours)
Justin Stewart
26 years old
Springfield, IL

Current Record:
Chris Solarz

The greatest vertical height climbing stairs in 12 hours is 33,000 ft (10.06 km) by Chris Solarz (USA) climbing Three Logan Place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, on 25 June 2011. Solarz climbed the 600 ft (183 m) between floors 2-50 a total of 55 times, covering 58,080 stairs.
Solarz climbed enough to reach the peak of Mount Everest and still have nearly 4,000 ft (1.22 km) to spare. All distances are for ascents only, as participants are permitted to ride an elevator back to their starting point after completing a climb.

Record attempt will be held at the Springfield Hilton (32 floors) in downtown Springfield on November 23rd from 6am to 6pm. This record has been on my radar for about a year now and I have been planning out the event for the past few months. I got clearance back in April from Guinness World Records to go ahead with the attempt. I have everything set in place now for the event. I have also just completed my last recovery/down week and will begin training for the climb this week (Aug. 24th) I will basically treat my training as if I were working my way up to a marathon. Increasing my long runs of in this case climbs every other week. Making my longest climb, hopefully, 8 hours 3-4 weeks out from the climb. I wont go into too many details but I must maintain 8-9 complete climbs every hour for 12 hours. My current record is 13 times in one hour and 22 climbs in 2 hours. I will have no doubt in my mind that I can do this climb. Mentally and physically I know I can do it. I just have to make sure I fuel my body properly; if Im properly fueled then the physical part will be there. This will be a solo attempt at the record but if supporters want to climb some with me then that is awesome too. This is also a fundraiser for the American Lung Association. My donation fundraising page will be set up soon.

2013 Stoneman Sprint Triathlon

2013 Stoneman Sprint Triathlon
(500yd swim, 12 mile bike, 3.1 mile run)
Springfield, IL (Lake Springfield)
2nd Place
Overall Time: 58:34 
Splits & Rank: Swim: 9:30  16th
                       Bike: 29:25 (24.5 mph avg.)  2nd
                       Run:  18:13 (5:52 pace)   2nd

 This week has been quite the week of racing. Wednesday night I ran the Sizzling Mile and had pretty sore calves going into this race. I basically knew that this would happen but decided to race both events anyway. Im glad I did now, it was definitely worth it and in the long run I think it was good strength building. 

Race Day:
Swim
After taking a look at the weather the night before I knew it was going to be a chilly morning. Water temperature actually was warmer than the air temperature. The stoneman sprint was going off in 5 different waves which I wasnt too happy about because I knew most of my competition was in wave 3 which was the older guys; in this sport older guys can still compete and be very strong on the swims and bike. This actually came back to get me in the end. Horn went off at 8:00am and we headed off under Lindasy Bridge towards the first buoy. I was feeling really good and just chuggin along. Water got pretty choppy once you got into the open part north of the bridge. For myself I felt like I was cruising along pretty well. Every time I glanced around I didnt see any yellow caps so I figured I was up towards the front. In the end I ended up 14th in the swim which I was pretty happy about because the swim tends to be my weakest discipline. Came out of the water and ran up to T1.
Bike
Headed out on the bike on a new and beautiful Cervelo P3 set up with a HED 3 front wheel and a 808 rear wheel from BikeTek in Springfield IL. Mounted up and started hammering. Felt nice and fast on the way out with the wind to my back. Passing others very quickly, mostly those from the Iron Abe race, which boosted my confidence to keep hammer past them as fast as I could. Took a left on New City road to the turn around and maintained pace. On the way back the pace slowed slightly into a head wind. I just kept telling myself hammer hammer hammer, you can handle a 3 mile run no matter how hard you hammer the bike. Was first back to the T2, had a good T2 and headed out on the run.
Run
Headed out on the run and figured I was in first overall but still wasnt clear on what the other guys were doing from the other wave. Lungs and chest were super tight on the run. Just tried to stay relaxed and keep the pace honest. Got to the turn around and finally saw other racers. With the gap that existed I just figured I was still in first and just kept moving. Hit the bridge and started picking it up. Got to the downhill off the bridge and turned for the finish and ran for the finish hard.

Once I finished I waited for the results to show up on the screen and saw I finished 2nd place. An older gentleman (42) from wave 3 which started 5 minutes behind mine ended up beating me by 51 seconds. Im not one for making excuses but if he were in my wave it could have been another story. Who knows how that would have played out if I saw him out in front of me on the bike and run. In my opinion you should be put in waves based on your expected time or finish that way you can compete against those of equal ability instead of just ages because in this sport older men in there 40' and 50's can still compete with 19 and 20 year olds. None the less Im happy with this performance, of course a 1st place finish would have been better but there are things I need to improve on. 

Results:
http://itsracetime.com/Results.aspx?ID=629


 

2013 Sizzling Mile

2013 Sizzling Mile
Springfield, IL (SHG Track)
1st Place Overal
4:32

This has by far become one of my favorite races every year. A fast mile in the middle of the summer in the "sizzling" heat....Not this year though. Temperatures were in the mid 80's which has been unheard of at this event for years. I was skeptical to do this race in the first place just for the fact that my running hasn't been where I wanted it to be because I've been coming off of patellar/meniscus problems all spring. Coming into this race I was on week 6 of consistent training since my injury back in February. I also had only been putting in 10 miles a week of easy running, 150 miles biking per week, and swimming here and there. I have been on a triathlon kick this summer and was planning on racing the Springfield Sprint Triathlon just 3 days after the Sizzling Mile Wednesday night. I didn't really want to go into the triathlon with sore legs but thought what the heck I cant pass up the sizzling mile.

With all that said, I had a simple game plan for this year. Sit and kick. I figured I wouldnt be able to handle much more with the training that Ive been doing. Last year when I ran a 4:24 I was fit enough to go out hard and maintain by myself, this year not so much. So I sat and kicked. Heat 9 went off with a "Go" literally and I settled into 3rd behind Plunkett and Hoffman. I ran very comfortably to a 70 sec. first lap. Once Plunkett saw that split he took off into the lead and I followed. I sat off his outside shoulder for the lap and we went thrrough in 2:18 (68). I remained off his shoulder for the third lap just trying to stay relaxed. As we approached the bell lap I was indecisive on when I wanted to go and start my kick 400m, 300m, 200m.... I wanted to make it a huge move so I decided to go with 300m to go heading down the backstretch. 300m came and I went as if I was doing 300m repeats and I was on my last one. Went around the final curve took a peak back and strided it out down the homestretch. Eventual 2nd place finisher Joe Zeibert closed well too and finished 4 seconds behind with Plunkett and Hoffman right behind him.

Not the fastest year but it was still a great race and honestly I kind of lost track of splits the last two laps and wasnt sure where I was time wise. So when I able to see the clock coming down the homestretch I was surprised to see 4:28 and eventually crossing the line 6 seconds later with a 4:32. Next year we'll see where Im at in my training and maybe try to go for that record again. Also, congrats to everyone who participated and had PR's and ran that mile in the middle of their summer running.

Here are some pictures and video footage of the race.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLl8K4psd7w

 Results:
http://springfieldtriclub.com/announcements/sizzling-mile-results-and-photos

Pictures:

 

2013 Male and Female Winner

The Things Stair Climbers Say

As I was watching some triathlon videos on Youtube I stumbled upon a video entitled "The Shit Triathletes Say."  As I was watching a light bulb went off in my head; so I started making a video of my own but with a twist. I know there are tons more runners and triathletes out there than there are stair climbers but stair climbers are athletes that just like those athletes train just as hard and with a passion for the sport that we have created our own language through training and interaction out of pure love for the sport.  And within this interaction and hours of racing and training come some funnier moments within our circle of what we call step-sibs.  So check out this version of "The Things Stair Climbers Say."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZASV4rfsYs&feature=youtu.be

2013 Decatur Lakeside Triathlon

2013 Decatur Lakeside Sprint Triathlon
Decatur, IL
(400yd swim, 19 mile bike, 3.3 mile bike)
1st Place Overall   1:17:47







Race morning...I felt much better prepared for this race than I did on my first Tri in 4 years a couple weeks ago in Petersberg, IL. My running still hasnt been where I wanted it to be but my bike has been solid and Ive felt myself make huge gains with my swim the past few weeks.

Swim start went pretty well. I had no problems but I do need to work on kicking from my hips instead of my knees. Got out of the water in 8th place and headed to T1. Had a great T1 but it wasnt until I got to the mounting line. Got on top of my bike and placed my feet on top of my shoes, started to slide them in and one cleat hit the ground and made my bike jar forward, both cleats fell off and went into the rode, had to set my bike down on the pavement and get my cleats. Got them on, tried clipping in and the chain fell off. You have got to be kidding me. 45 seconds wasted. I just focused on staying clam and working into the bike. First 3 mile on the bike were rolling hills so it was hard to get straight into a rhythm. Finally got out on I-105 which felt decent. It was hard to say where I was place wise because the long course racers were out there as well. I guesstimated I was in 3rd or so, which I figured later I was correct. I knew at least one guy was ahead of me and I was slowly closing on him towards the end. After the race I saw my average on the bike and wasnt too happy, I really need a TT bike but dont think I race enough Tri's to spend that kind of $$$. Headed into T2 and had the fastest T1 and T2 which is a good sign because for the amount of Tri's Ive done it usually takes some time to get used to the transitions.

Transition 2, heading out on the run

Headed out on the run and felt tight and had tight sides which I was hoping wouldnt turn into cramps, which thankfully they didnt. Yet I had another problem, my knee was tightening up around the turn around. I closed on the guy I knew for a fact was in my sprint race but as for other I had no idea if they were in the sprint or long course. I just continued to run a decent tempo staying relaxed. Finished and played the waiting game to see if when my name cam up on the board.




I was really happy to finish in the first position again in just my second tri in 4 years. 2 for 2 in tri's this summer, pretty good feeling, for the fact I dont consider myself a triathlete. It just so happens my general training transfers over well for the triathlon. Im skeptical to focus on triathlon for the fear of investing too much $$$ and time in a sport where achieving elite/pro level takes just that, ALOT of time and $$$. I have no doubt I could be competitive in this sport if I really wanted to, thats just how I function. If I set my mind on something Ill do it. But for now Im just having fun with it and we'll see where it goes.

1st Place Overall

Results:

http://itsracetime.com/Results.aspx?ID=641

2013 Petersberg Stovepipe Triathlon

2013 Petersberg Stovepipe Triathlon


(500yd. swim 9:28, 13 mile bike 32:40 23.9mph, 3.1 mile run 18:08 5:51 pace)
1st Place 1:01:14

First triathlon since 2009.  I had been injured with knee pain for a while and two weeks before this race I started training in general again. By general training I mean I was biking with little running and swimming. I heard about this race the night before and heard it was supposed to rain so I was just going to wake up morning of and play it by ear.

Picture is actually from the 2013 Decatur Lakeside Triathlon

Day of the race I woke up and decided to go for it and see what happens. On the drive there it was spotty rain and a little chilly. I thought to myself how good a warm bed sounded but figured Im out here now so lets go for it no matter how bad the weather gets. With conditions like this you just have to have that frame of mind; I know Im going to get wet and thrown around on the bike and get drenched on the run but oh well everybody else is in the same boat.

Got there, checked in, found a spot in the transition area and went for a short jog then hopped on the bike for a small ride out and back. After the meeting the Intermediate distance went off and I hopped in the water for a short warm up. By the way prior to this race I had never done an open water swim. Also before this race I had only put in two swimming sessions in the YMCA pool. So I went into the swim not expecting a whole lot just to basically survive and stay within contact. But honestly once I got going I felt pretty good but had no idea where everybody was. Got out of the water in 14th and headed up the long ramp to the T1. Had a quick and trouble free T1.

Not much to say on the bike. Got into 2nd position on the bike quite quickly behind another local rider I knew who was stronger on the bike than I was so I just tried to stay with visual contact with him. A side note...I dont have a TT bike, its a Madone 4.7 with attached areo bars and a HED 3 front wheel that I throw on for tris and TT's (which isnt terrible for a Tri but I wish I had a TT bike I could really cut alot of time and effort). Went into the T2 in 2nd place about 30-45 seconds behind. Turned a corner and had my eye on the leader. I knew I could slowly reel him in so I went out conservative.

On the run a felt decent for just starting to run  a week early off my injury. Closed the gap on him as rain started coming down harder and harder. With 1/2 mile to go I was in the lead with a new 2nd place racer closing really hard (come to find out hes a Millikin XC guy who is a pretty solid 5k guy).  Came out of Lincolns Home area and didnt know which way to go, no obvious or visible markers. I saw yellow flags off to the left so left I went.......I was supposed to go right. As Im yelling "Where the hell do I go" and meandering around an open parking lot I see the 2nd place, now 1st place guy far off to the right across the parking lot. So I sprint across the parking lot to catch the guy as he slows for me because he knew I took a wrong turn. Awesome display of sportsmanship on his part. None the less I finished 1st 5 seconds ahead to win my first Tri in 4 years. 




Results:


http://itsracetime.com/Results.aspx?ID=602

Stair Climbing Workout with Justin Stewart

Take a look at a typical practice session that I will do at the Hilton (32 floors) in Springfield IL.

Depending on what races I have coming up or where I am in the stair climbing season my workouts will vary. If its early in the season and I don't have any races for a while I will usually do a kind of base training consisting of slower intervals with more sets. Ill give you some examples...If Im trying to prep for a race that is a week away Ill race specific pace work. Since all towers are set up differently this become difficult but I try my best to simulate. If it is a sprint race, 30-40 floors, I will usually do more sprint intervals when the race is approaching. Basically I do longer and slower intervals early and progressively increase my paces and lower my sets, sometimes even doing 5 or 10 floor sprints, resting for 30sec.-1 min.  Lastly, when you're setting up a stair climbing training program it is important to note that the typical U.S. stair climbing season is November-March typically, with the most races coming in February and March. Obviously your training will extend outside of this time frame if you want to excel "off season training."

Here are some examples of my workouts on the stairs.

Sunday October 14th 2012
1 mile warm up
Drills (High knees, butt kicks, karaoke, etc.)
Set 1: 3:15
Set 2: 3:09
Set 3: 3:17
Set 4: 5 floor sprints rest 1 min.
Set 5: Decent in 2:01
Cool Down run in the parking garage
*This workout came 3 weeks after my first marathon in which I took 3 weeks off afterwards.
________________________________________________________________________
Friday November 30th 2012
2 mile warm up run
Drills
4 x 32 floors
2:45
2:53
2:58
Last set I hit every step
*In this workout the goal was to hit each interval in under the 3 min. with just the elevator ride down for rest. If I can get 3 intervals under 3min. with little rest it usually lets me know that Im pretty fit and ready to race. Which in this case next week was the WaMu climb 56 floors in Seattle, WA.
________________________________________________________________________
Thursday December 13th 2012
.5 mile warm up
6 x 32 floors
3:48
3:20
3:00
5 floor sprints w/ 1 min rest
2:57
15 floor sprints (1:10/1:06)=2:16
1 mile cool down
 ________________________________________________________________________
Sunday December 16th 2012
1.5 mile run
Drills
7 x 32 floors (3:15, 3:09, 3:11, 3:09, 3:17, 3:34, 3:42) w/ 1:30 rest b/w all intervals.
 ________________________________________________________________________
Friday December 21st 2012
2 warm up climbs (nice and easy) 32 floors
2 x 5 floor sprints w/ 20-30 sec rest
Splits:
floor 5 (31, 29)
floor 10 (17, 16)
floor 15 (14, 13)
floor 20 (17, 17)
floor 25 (17, 17)
floor 30 (18, 18)
*On the first set of 5 floor sprints I took 30 sec rests.  On the second set I took 20 sec. rests.  The point of me doing this is so I can widdle away the rest time as I get stronger.
* Combine the times together at it was a 1:50; exactly 17 seconds under my PR at the Hilton which is 32 floors.
2 x Every step 4:08, 3:44 splits
1 cool down climb
 _________________________________________________________________________

Video of me during a workout session.

 @ the Hilton in downtown Springfield, IL

2013 Springfield Hilton Stair Climb Pictures

Justin Stewart
1st Place
Single Climb 2:07 (Tied own record from 2012)
Ultimate Climb 12 x in an hour

Willis Tower Stair Climb Records

Willis Tower
Formally Sears Tower
Chicago, IL
103 floors

Year	Name	Time
2002	Joseph Kenny	14:39
2003	Terry Purcell	13:50
2004	Sproule Love	13:35
2005	Sproule Love/Terry Purcell	13:26
2006	Jesse Berg	13:29
2007	Eric Leninger	13:42
2008	Terry Purcell	13:55
2009	Terry Purcell	13:22
2010	Matthias Jahn	13:09
2011	Sproule Love	13:03
2012 2013	Jesse Berg Justin Stewart	13:59 13:29

WaMu Stair Climb Records

The Tower at 1201 3rd Ave
*Formally Washington Mutual Tower (WaMu Tower)
Seattle, WA
56 floors


 

Year	Name	Time
2007	Zach Schade	5:54
2008	Zach Schade	5:59
2009	Jesse Berg	5:46
2010	Joe Gray	5:29
2011	Justin Stewart	5:29
2012	Justin Stewart	5:30

Springfield Hilton Stair Climb Records

Springfield Hilton 
Springfield, IL
32 floors
*Ultimate Hour Climb

 

Single Climb
Year	Name	Time	Place
2010	Terry Purcell	02:24	1st
2011	Justin Stewart	02:21	1st
2012	Justin Stewart	02:07	1st
2013	Justin Stewart	02:07	1st
Ultimate Climb
Name	Time	Climbs/hr
Terry Purcell	47:21:00	12
Justin Stewart	46:01:00	13
Justin Stewart	43:11:00	12
Fire Fighter (Full Gear)
Name	Time
Curt Rueter	04:55
Jason Nolan	04:41
Jason Nolan	05:04
Curtis Rueter	04:41

Presidential Towers Stair Climb Records

Presidential Towers
Chicago, IL
4 Towers
45 floors each
180 total 



 

2009	Christopher Schmidt	16:13
2010	Jesse Berg	16:22
2011	Jesse Berg	16:18
2012	Justin Stewart	15:41
	Jesse Berg	15:43
2013	Justin Stewart	15:22
	Jesse Berg	15:36

Master the Met Stair Climb Records

Metropolitan Building
St. Louis, MO
42 floors

2008	Ryan Humphrey	05:15
2009	Zachary Freudenburg	04:42
2010	Zachary Freudenburg	04:48
2011	Justin Stewart	04:17
2012	Sproule Love	04:10
2013	Justin Stewart	04:12

Hustle Up the Hancock Stair Climb Records

John Hancock Tower
Chicago, IL
94 floors



 * Not sure what the results are pre 2001, couldn't find results but I do know this event started back near 1994.

2002	Terry Purcell	10:00
2003	Terry Purcell	09:47
2004	Terry Purcell	09:49
2005	Terry Purcell	09:45
2006	Terry Purcell	09:39
2007	Terry Purcell	09:30
2008	Christopher Schmidt	09:36
2009	Terry Purcell	09:32
2010	Terry Purcell	09:32
2011	Terry Purcell	10:04
2012	Justin Stewart	09:44
2013	Sproule Love	09:24
	Justin Stewart	09:33

Empire State Building Run Up Records

Empire State Building 
New York, NY
86 floors



 

Name (Male)	Time	Year	Name (Female)	Time
Mark Bourne	10:12	2013	Suzy Walsham	12:05
Thomas Dold	10:28	2012	Melissa Moon	12:39
Thomas Dold	10:10	2011	Alice McNamara	13:03
Thomas Dold	10:16	2010	Melissa Moon	13:13
Thomas Dold	10:07	2009	Suzy Walsham	13:27
Thomas Dold	10:08	2008	Suzy Walsham	12:44
Thomas Dold	10:25	2007	Suzy Walsham	13:12
Thomas Dold	10:19	2006	Andrea Mayr	11:23
Rudolf Reitberger	10:24	2005	Andrea Mayr	11:51
Rudolf Reitberger	10:37	2004	Andrea Mayr	12:08
Paul Crake	09:33	2003	Cindy Moll	13:06
Paul Crake	09:40	2002	Kerstin Harbich	12:46
Paul Crake	09:37	2001	Cindy Moll	12:45
Paul Crake	09:53	2000	Cindy Moll	12:51
Paul Crake	10:15	1999	Angela Sheean	13:23
Terry Purcell	10:49	1998	Cindy Moll	14:17
Kurt König	10:22	1997	Belinda Soszyn	12:32
Kurt König	10:44	1996	Belinda Soszyn	12:19
Kurt König	10:39	1995	Michelle Blessing	13:03
Darrin Eisman	09:37*	1994	Belinda Soszyn	11:36*
Geoff Case	10:18*	1993	Sue Case	12:42*
Geoff Case	09:33*	1992	J´ne Day-Lucore	12:00*
Geoff Case	10:13*	1991	Corliss Spencer	11:32*
Scott Elliot	10:47	1990	Suzanne Malaxos	12:27
Robin Rishworth	11:09	1989	Suzanne Malaxos	12:25
Craig Logan	11:29	1988	Janine Aiello	13:43
Al Waquie	11:56	1987	Janet Wendle	15:12
Al Waquie	11:27	1986	Janine Aiello	13:19
Al Waquie	11:42	1985	Janine Aiello	13:14
Al Waquie	11:29	1984	Isabelle Carmichael	13:32
Al Waquie	11:37	1983	Burke Koncelik	13:40
Jim Ochse	11:42	1982	Mary Beth Evans	13:34
Peter Squires	11:00	1981	Nina Kuscsik	14:46
Jim Ochse	12:20	1980	Nina Kuscsik	14:55
Jim Rafferty	12:20	1979	Nina Kuscsik	15:04
Gary Muhrke	12:33	1978	Marcy Schwamm	16:04