Here's my quickie grades for my Tower Running season. I'm refusing to give myself anything lower than a B- for a race where i PR'd. :)
Willis tower
Grade: B-
2176 steps, 21:01
Set a PR for myself by 34 seconds, but got mentally out of it very early. Legs hurt, didn't start early enough. Did take away lessons and worked on my training.
Aon Chicago
Grade: B-
1630 steps, 14:29
Again a PR, and felt pretty good, just got mentally out of it somehow and left a fair bit of time in a building i was expecting to kill.
Empire state:
Grade: A
1576 steps, 16:59
Good time for a first timer on a really challenging course, and i really enjoyed myself. Not an A+ because i did leave time on the stairs; could have gone faster for sure.
Oak Brook terrace
Grade: A
680*3 ( 4:45, 4:48, 4:52 )
Solid performance in a whole new format for me--three times up a (relatively) short building. Really found my zen while running.
Springfield hilton
Grade: A-
Time: 3:39
Decent performance, but didn't come in quite right. Was really destroyed afterwards. Really exposed my need for more intense cardio. First race in a long time where i had to lie down afterwards
Hustle up the hancock
Grade: A+
1632 15:36
My only A+ ever, PR'd and had a good time with a really nasty flu.
Presidential towers
Grade: C-
2340 steps in 22:51
Slow, long rests, felt bad after... Well, it was a learning experience.
I guess overall a solid B, a B+ or maybe even an A- if i toss the last crappy race. So not too bad.
Simple lesson is i need to do more cardio and drop weight to be faster next year. More interestingly, i need to work more on 3-5 minute races, as those kinda kicked my butt. Moreover, the sears tower and Aon climbs, i felt mentally out of it, so i need to find a way to work on that.
Ideally, i'd like to train in a building i could climb in 4-6 minutes and push myself to the absolute brink in it, to build up both my sprint cardio and mental fortitude. Failing that, more shorter, more intense workout sessions where i'm pushing myself to the brink seem to be needed.
As a balancing point, my best races were the ones where i used the lessons of "body mind and sport" and consciously enjoyed myself and zenned out during the race. So i need to do long slow workouts to practice that as well. So some long meditative workout sessions need to be in there too..
It's going to be an intesting off season. I feel ready for some major changes!
