For Those Who Follow Or Enjoy This Blog...

...please join me at my new blogging adventure:

www.twentythreeyearsandcounting.blogspot.com

Finally! A Post!

It's quite obvious I have majorly been neglecting my poor little blog. I guess since I've fallen into a painfully boring routine, there's been very little to write about.

I want to start something new, but it has to be interesting (so clearly it can't be about me), but I don't know what topic(s) I want to pursue.

Any ideas?

Climbing The Stairway To Heaven: Pt. 2

So after climbing the CN Tower, I was so tired that I fell asleep for almost three weeks and am only waking up just now to write this post.

If you don't buy that, here's the truth.

The week after the climb I had my wisdom teeth removed, and had a pretty ugly go of it (if I'm being honest.) All four teeth had to go, all impacted. They cut them out and sent me home (high as a kite, might I add) where I promptly swelled up like a balloon, bruised the colour of Lipton chicken soup, and dropped 10 pounds eating Jell-o and Ginger Ale. Since then (although the recovery continues), I've been so preoccupied with my vacation (4 sleeps!) that I haven't put much thought into telling you about my journey to the top. Here goes.

I went to bed at 9:30 the Friday before and slept surprisingly well considering how excited I was. I awoke at 5:30, ate a quick breakfast and walked to the CN Tower (one of the reasons I love living downtown!)

The morning was beautifully brisk, and the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. As someone who is typically never awake to see the sun rise, it was a momentous occasion, especially coupled with what I was about to. The moment I crossed the street to the entrance of the registration point, the energy level quickly spiked and the combined adrenaline of the other climbers created a buzz of excitement at the base of the tower. It wasn't even 6:00 in the morning, but as soon as I joined the crowd I completely forgot what time it was.

I wandered towards registration and was shocked to find hundreds of people already there, in various stages of registration, a few people doing some warm-up stretches and some groups chanting and cheering to build excitement.

I registered, checked my coat, and decided not to put it off any longer. I walked towards the tower.

As I went through the security check-points (as rigorous as airport security, I kid you not), I passed a girl throwing up into a garbage can. If I wasn't already shaking with nerves, I definitely was after seeing that. Throwing up before even starting? Yeeeeee...

Finally, I arrived at the base of the stairs where an incredibly cheerful woman looked me straight in the eye and asked, "Are you ready?"

"I sure hope so" was my reply.

"Well there's no looking back now" she said as she stamped my time card.

And so I began. I knew beforehand that the CN Tower had 144 flights, and was quickly grateful to find that flights are different than floors in that fact that each floor (using my building as an example) is made up of two flights. Get it? Moving on...

I was also pleased to find three things on the landing of each flight:

a) a number telling you which flight you were on (the countdown begins),
b) enough space to stop and breathe (much needed!) and
c) a picture, painted by a grade school student reminding us to save the environment (definitely a morale booster, especially the one that said "Save the Turtles!")

Surprisingly busy for 6:30 in the morning, what I thought would be a solitary climb to the top was hardly that. The whole time I could people cheering (and in many cases gasping for breath) and there were always people around, whether a few flights above or a few flights below.

Immediately a group of guys raced beside me, determined, no doubt, to run their way to the top. I was content, however, with going at my happy little pace and making it (to my free bottle of water at the top) alive.

Quite quickly, I felt myself get into a good rhythm. Noting that a lot of people stopped on the 10's, I stopped on the 2's. 12, 22, 32...etc each time I needed to catch a breather. I would stop, inhale deeply through my nose, curse the CN staff for not allowing water bottles during the trip to the top, and then continue on my way.

One thing that came as a bit of a surprise was that my legs didn't hurt as much as I had expected. Yes, they were tired by the time all was said and done, but they weren't as sore as I had anticipated.

My lungs, however, were another story. With no need to ventilate the stairs on a regular basis, I quickly became aware of how hot and stuffy the stairwell was. Halfway through the climb, I had to laugh, as I remembered that we were all climbing to fight global warming. I don't know about any of the other climbers, but this small "reminder" was enough motivation for me to keep going.

The climb definitely isn't for everyone. If you suffer from panic attacks or vertigo, I suggest you discontinue reading this post now right, as you might not make it.

The stairs are grated, and aren't solid, like the stairs on a fire escape. If that isn't trippy enough, along the whole one side is a wire cage...standing right next to this cage reveals a chilling look of the interior of the concrete support, all the way to the very top of the tower...and all the way to the very bottom. Needless to say, as I climbed farther and farther up, I stayed farther and farther away from the cage. I was not prepared to remind myself exactly how high I was...

As you start nearing the top, it becomes REALLY clear exactly why they don't allow liquids into the stairwells. As you hit and descend further than about 100 flights, the stairs started to become slippery and slick, coated with the sweat of climbers before you. And I was one of the first up the tower! Ew. I feel bad for the end of the morning climbers!

About every 10-15 flights a paramedic is present, most of them looking bored, though some appearing slightly amused watching people throw themselves at the mercy of the tower. I was lucky I never required their services, but I can't say as much for "the person on flight 75" I heard some other climbers talking about as I hit flight 80.

Finally, as I rested on flight 132, I decided to not stop until I reached the top, flight 144. As I clamored on to flight 142 I could hear the cheering start: "You're almost there...we can see you...two more flights...woooo!" I hit flight 144 and handed off my time-card, and was ready to greet a cool bottle of water...and then realized that there were an additional 10 flights to the actual look-out point of the tower.

Finally, after staggering up the additional and unexpected stairs, I reached the top to cheers of volunteers and strangers. I may not have known anyone, but it was nice to get to the top and have someone cheer about your accomplishment.

I was finally united with a bottle water, and went to enjoy the early morning view. I wandered out on the south side, took in the breeze (a G0d-send), looked down and saw my apartment building. In an exhausted state of delirium, I vaguely remember saying "Hello Home!" before wandering back inside and getting in line to take the significantly shorter elevator trip back down.

After exerting myself so completely, it was all I could do to stay standing, and I became dizzy and had to close my eyes for part of the trip down. At the bottom there were more people waiting to cheer, and I wandered back to registration to claim my climb t-shirt and register my time.

At this point there the atrium was PACKED with people waiting to register, and I decided to take a breather and took advantage of the free massage booth, where a massage student stretched out my legs and massaged my calve muscles leaving scarcely a reminder of what I had just done.

After grabbing my t-shirt and coat, I headed home, and was back at my apartment by 8:00 - wired and bounding around my apartment with an energy that is not typical of my Saturday morning personality. My roommates were just waking up and I shared the experience with them, and then crawled back into bed realizing it would be a few hours until I could share my experiences with the rest of the world.

Waking up at 11:00, I still felt wonderful (there must be something about climbing that many stairs at 6:30 in the morning, I think), with the exception of a nagging cough that lingered for the rest of the day.

I took the rest of the weekend easy, walking along the waterfront with my roommate and relaxing with a couple movies.

It's funny, now when I pass the CN Tower, or sit at my desk at work and see it rising over the skyline, I can't help but smile and remember that I conquered it. One more thing off my list. One more thing to proudly claim that I have accomplished.

For those who care, my offical time was 32:53, which was (apparently) actually kind of slow. The fastest male did it in just over 11 minutes, and the fastest female in just under 14! I don't really care to share my placing (you can find it if you really care), because I realized that it doesn't matter to me whether I came first or last. I am so proud of simply finishing. It makes me want to keep picking through my list and making all of my wishes and dreams, even the tougher or more difficult ones, happen.

To check out pictures from the climb (I don't think I'm in any and I didn't bother to take my camera as you can't take it up the tower anyway), visit the WWF CN Tower Climb Flickr page. I may not be in any of them, but I think they accurately show the excitement of the experience and the scale of this event! Apparently there were 6300 climbers! And we raised over $1000000 to fight climate change!

I can't wait to train a bit more and do it again next year. Perhaps I'll do it in less than 30 minutes? Who wants to join me?

Climbing The Stairway To Heaven

I did it!

I have completed my CN Tower climb in 32 minutes and 53 seconds! Whoooooooo! I was aiming for about 35 minutes, so I couldn't be happier!

I'll write about the experience a bit later when my fingers stop shaking and I come off this adrenaline high!

Watch this space!

Oh Horror Of Horrors

At this point, two sleeps away from my CN Tower stair climb, I *should* be posting my incredibly awesome, inspirational playlist that I will be listening to as I venture up all 144 flights.

But I'm not.

There is no playlist.

There will be no playlist.

They don't allow mp3 players in the stairwell.

I learned this a few days ago as I was reading one of the newsletters that the WWF send us via e-mail to keep us motivated and share last-minute reminders.

There, in huge letters was a link - REMINDER, THIS IS A HANDS-FREE CLIMB.

Curious, I hit it.

There are no mp3 players of any kind allowed in the stairwell. You can't take your cell phone. No water bottles. NOTHING.

The most you can have is a fanny pack to hold keys and ID (I have a pocket in my shirt that will probably do the trick.)

Needless to say I was a bit devastated. Not only am I climbing more stairs (in one go) then I have in my whole life, I have to do it while listening to the mind-numbingness of my own thoughts and the sound of my lungs gasping for air. Great.

Anyway, I'm still doing it, and after watching An Inconvenient Truth this past weekend, I'm even more inspired to climb to save our deteriorating planet. Thanks to all who have supported me along the way - financially and with your words of encouragement.

More to come, post-climb.

CN Tower: The Playlist

It is now less than two weeks until I make my attempt to climb the CN Tower (if you want to sponsor me or learn more about the cause, again, here is the link.)

I can tell that the day is getting close, because every time I walk past the tower on my way to work, I get butterflies in my stomach - knowing that I am venturing out to accomplish one of my goals fills me with a bizarre cocktail of anxiety and pride.

Things are going well training wise...I still need to cut down on my Pepsi intake (an uphill battle I am constantly fighting), but I have been getting to gym more often and working my legs as much as possible (running, elliptical, Stairmaster, lunges, squats, jump rope, etc.) As much training as I do, however, I know the hardest part is yet to come.

Yes my friends, I have to make a playlist for my climb.

It's a lot harder than you think, really. I have to find songs that will motivate me to take step after step, for all 1776 of them. I have to find words that will keep me upbeat and strong at 6:00 in the morning when I start my climb. I have to find melodies to keep me on pace and powerful to the very end.

This is where you come in.

What songs do you think I should put on my playlist. I'm open to ANY suggestion whatsoever. Whether it be the theme from Rocky to set the tone right from the start, or a crazy upbeat metal head-banger to get my blood pumping and my legs moving, I'll take it. I'm looking for what songs motivate YOU, and in turn, you think will motivate me.

The message board is open. A few days before my climb, I'll post the final playlist.

You can actually see my condo in this picture (for the sake of security, I'm not going to highlight which one.) However, I WOULD like to highlight that the tower is soooooooooo much taller than any of the condos nearby. So much.

Shameless Self Promotion

I haven't blogged in awhile...I guess I haven't had much to write...UNTIL NOW!

My life has become really routine and void of any major news, but just a few minutes ago I made a decision that I am VERY excited about, and hope that you can share in my excitement, and if possible, support me through this!

Some of you might remember my "Life List" that I wrote down way back in October of 2006. Since then, I've managed to complete a few of them (Skydive, get a tattoo, etc.) and I've come pretty close on a few others (Guitar Hero has prompted me to do #4, I've done a lot of research in #30 and hope to get it done before 2008 is over, and I'm so close to #32...I'm just not consistent yet.)

Back to my point, in two months time, I am going to accomplish my #45: Climb The Stairs of the CN Tower.

That's right, friends. I am going to brave all 1776 steps (or 144 flights) in order to be able to cross another goal off my list.

I can't even tell you how excited I am...since I began consistently working out in August of last year, I've lost nearly 25 pounds, so being able to do this will not only mean meeting a life goal, but it will be meeting a health goal as well...it will have the strength and ability to take on a daunting task such as this.

(This is where the shameless self promotion comes in.)

While I think they used to let you pay a fee and climb the stairs, as far as I know that opportunity no longer exists, so you have to wait for a charitable opportunity arises to have the opportunity to climb the tower.

In April, the climb is for the WWF (World Wildlife Fund), which strives to take on the daunting task of educating and encouraging the inhabitants of our beautiful planet to conserve our resources and take care of our world. It is a great cause that benefits everyone who has ever called planet earth home.

So if you feel so inclined help see me meet my goal (or if you just want to do it for all the pandas and turtles and monkeys and hippos (etc) in the world), please click on THIS LINK to support me in my climb up the tower.

Please do not feel obligated to provide financial backing. I also accept hugs, words of encouragement, funny jokes, and training tips to help me make this a possibility.

If you are able to help, the creatures of the world thank you, as do I.

This turtle wants you to support Kyla...


As does this baby panda.