Tizzy

The struggle is real

Tuesday 15th Apr I had a bit of a tough week last week, feeling like every night I was too busy to do a workout.  I did manage to go on Sunday, and while my son was not feeling the best, he still came to support me.  I managed to make it up and down 50 flights of stairs.  My son was with me for a few flights, then took a break until I had reached about 32 flights.  He did go along with me and said he would quit when I did at 40 (as was my origianl plan).  I am not sure if I should be proud or ashamed that I pushed past 40 as a bit of a challenge to myself, but also as a way to mess with my son.  He stuck with me for the rest, and I am proud of him.  It would have been easy to not bother to come back, but he pushed through not feeling great to support me. Share

Before the decision to climb

Thursday 3rd Apr

At the beginning of the year, my wife and I had decided that we needed to make some changes.  I am attempting to change my eating behavior (which is harder than I thought), but most importantly, we have made it our goal to walk every day.  This was helping (and I enjoyed the walks with her and the dogs), but deep down, I know I wanted to do more to get back to where I was pre-COVID.  When my coworker/teammate mentioned the challenge, I felt like it was a sign. 

Before I could commit to the challenge, I had to see if my lungs could stand up to the strain, I was planning to put it through.  I talked with my family, and my son agreed to help me train.

The first trip there, we managed to do 20 trips up and down the stairwell at the firehall (26 steps each way).  I wanted to punch my son as I struggled to make it through the reps, and he was bouncing behind me the whole way as if it was nothing.  In my defense, I was wearing a weighted vest.

The second trip, I wanted to even things out, so I gave him 2 20lb weights to carry, while I wore the vest again.  We managed to get to 26 reps (676 steps going up), while my son struggled....I felt vindicated as the old man showed he could still beat the 'young pup'.

The last round before I decided to sign up for the challenge, I switched things up, and let my son wear the vest, while I carried the weights.  After he lapped me for the 4th time, I realized that I may have had a bit of an advantage the previous time.  He decided to stop after 32 reps, while I recognized that I could only do 29 reps (754 steps going up for me).

I feel honored to have my son pushing me to my limit for this challenge, and I appreciating him taking the time to help his old man out.  I know that with him pushing me, I will be ready for the challenge in no time.

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My journey

Wednesday 2nd Apr Since I saw my Deputy Chief training for this event a number of years ago, I had thought about attempting the challenge.  COVID hit, and when I ended up with COVID 3 years ago, it hit mu lungs harder than I ever thought it would.  I had to take a few months off from the fire department to recover. While I have been able to return to active duty, I have not managed to get myself back to where I was before.  I have been thinking about this challenge for years, but always worry.  With one of my sons by my side helping me train, I decided this will be my year. Share