Results here

My lungs hurt. I’m not sure what it feels like to smoke an entire pack of cigarettes, in say a half an hour, but my guess is it feels similar to running up Republic Plaza. The race was six hours ago and my throat is still sore, it seriously feels like I spent the morning putting in insulation without wearing a mask. After the run up the stairs, I was coughing rather hard and wouldn’t have been surprised if I would have coughed up some blood, I didn’t but you get the point. It’s sort of “funny” that the American Lung Association puts on an event that makes your lungs ache.

This morning, J. Mock stopped by mi casa and we ran downtown to Republic Plaza, which is about three miles from the place I call home. I debated wearing my racing flats, but I wasn’t taking this event that seriously so I just stuck with my New Balance 903, as I didn’t want to carry another pair of shoes down there, since we weren’t driving.

When Justin and I arrived at Republic Plaza, it was a vibrant atmosphere. We headed downstairs and saw the line forming for the “Elite Wave.” I have to admit that some of these athletes in the “Elite Wave” did not look that Elite, one guy was wearing a camelbak and I saw several people with iPods, Fuel Belts, etc. While standing in line I thought it would have been funny had I shown up wearing a business suit, while carrying a briefcase, giving the appearance that I am just coming into the office on a Sunday.

The race started at 8:10am, runners were sent off in eight second intervals. It was rather cool because they had a clock at the bottom and the guy working the start would tap you on the shoulder when it was time to go, thus you got the feeling that you were launching out of the gate! The first ten flights of stairs I ran, I didn’t skip a step, but utilized a quick single step method. At that point I was winded and started doing the skip a step/walk method. This entailed grabbing both sides of the handrails and essentially doing a quick walk, up the steps.

By the 10th floor, I passed my first competitor. It was hard to get around the other runners, as it took a bit of an extra push to swing around them on the outside. Also, one of the racers that I passed had his iPod and wasn’t responding to me telling him that I was on his left, as he managed to take up the middle of the stairs. I eventually got around this bloke and passed a few more folks, however I also got passed by two other runners on the way up.

I did make a mental error in the race. I knew that the race consisted of 56 flights of stairs, but I had forgotten that it’s 53 floors. I was planning on kicking it into gear on the 53rd floor, but when I got to the 53rd floor, I realized the race was over and I wasn’t complaining. I finished in 8:17, good for 29th place out 1,456. I’m blown away by Ricky Gates time of 5:50, Ricky also placed third in the Empire State Building Run Up.

It was hard and it burned the lungs! I took water every time it was offered, the funny thing is Justin and I were joking that they even had water “on the course” but it was desperately needed. If I did the race over again, I would rethink my strategy and start the race off by skipping a step, but by doing the fast walk method. When I started using that method, I realized that it was just as fast as my quick running, single step method, but less tiring because you can use the handrails to assist you up.

The event was fun and the American Lung Association put on a great event with a professional feel. I’m not sure if I will ever do it again though, once is probably enough.

Run the Republic Race Review

RunColo Forum (If you ran the race you can review it there)