Doing the Hustle

After a night filled with crazy dreams I woke up early and tried to contain my anxiety as I paced around the hotel room like a caged animal. Some thoughts running through my head included:

• Where am I going to meet my family?


• Are the kids going to flip out on the elevator?


• How do I put the timing tag on my shoe?


• How much water should I drink? The info sheet said there are no bathrooms in the stairwell.


• What will happen if I don't make it to the top?


• Will I see Denise?

After the entourage woke up and Amanda and I decided she would go to the Hancock with me to do some reconnaissance.

When we arrived at the bottom of the Hancock I was overwhelmed by the number of people and the energy in the lobby. The climbers were ready to conquer this building. Here's a secret...I get choked up when I hear the National Anthem, at parades and at concerts when everyone sings along. The energy of the climbers immediately brought me to tears which is not a good thing since I was going to have to be able to breath to get to the top.

After I composed myself Amanda and I wandered around the lobby looking for the elevator. We found a new friend, the Security Guard, who proceeded to tell me I was nuts and I should be taking the elevator with my family. Our new friend also provided valuable information about how long the line would take to get to the elevator and how fast the elevator travelled. I am very proud of Amanda for not having a panic attack after talking to the Security Guard because she has refused to go up to the top of all tall buildings since birth.

Amanda and I stood in the lobby taking it all in when the 10:15AM wave was given the go ahead to proceed. Loud cheers erupted and the climbers got on the escalator and disappeared. It was quite unnerving watching them go up and not seeing what awaited them knowing I would doing the same thing in less than an hour.

Reluctantly, I told Amanda she needed to go to the hotel to gather the rest of the entourage. I handed her my iphone (I had to endure the anxiety completely disconnected from the world), gave her a hug and watched her leave. I walked over to the line and waited for my turn.

I wish I had an EKG hooked up to me when they called my wave because I am sure my heart rate was 180 BPM. In line I had a cute twenty something girl in front of me who attracked a lot of attention so that was a nice distraction. After we went up the escalator we were in a new line that snaked around a couple corners. As I turned the last corner I saw an EMT and stretcher, and my Mom telling me not to drop dead in front of my family flashed into my head.

As I got closer to the starting line I opened my water and put my cough drop in my bra for safe keeping. (I don't recommend doing this.) The girl with the huge foam hand sent the guy in front of me and I turned to look at the stairwell for the first time. I could not help but laugh at the irony of the three stairs looking back at me. I did a quick glance at the clock as the foam hand waved me along, and I began my descent.

As I started out I kept telling myself the advice Denise had been given, "Start out slower than you think you should be going." It is really hard to gage how fast you are going when people are whizzing by you. I thought I was going slow until I realized my hands were shaking and I could hardly breath on the 7th floor. I paused for a moment and had some water while my mind began yelling at me...

• The Stair Master lied


• What were you thinking?


• The 7th floor? Seriously...the 7th floor you have like... a lot more floors but I am too tired to even do the math to figure out how many

After a couple seconds I began climbing again. After beating myself up for three more floors I stopped on the 10th floor and asked myself...

"Are you going to finish or are you going to be too proud to stop and catch your breath and die on the 15th floor?"

I stopped long enough to catch my breath on the 10th floor, and decide that if I had to stop every 5 floors then I had to stop every 5 floors to catch my breath. What I learned is that I was not the only on with this plan. I would stop for a breather and then on the next floor a couple would be stopped for a breather. I would pass them and climb several more floors then stop for a breather, and they would pass me and be stopped on the next floor. It was like a game of leap frog.

As the 12 inch high numbers that tell you which floor you are on started getting higher my confidence grew and I began taking it all in. At the bottom there were cheerleaders every 5 -10 floors, and EMTs every 10 floors. There were people of all ages and sizes. The number of stairs varied and around the middle of the building there was a stretch where the stairs were free standing and there were no exit doors which was very interesting.

When I signed up for the Hustle in November my mind was convinced that my legs would stop working at the 63rd floor. When I hit the 63rd floor I took a breather and smiled as I realized my legs did not hurt and I was not tired. This is when I began cheering on the other climbers.

I started to see EMTs more often I realized they were assessing each climber as they passed. If you did not look them in the eye they asked how you were doing.

I was amazed by the people who were still taking the stairs two at a time toward the top, the kids who were unphazed and skipped up the steps, and the marathoner looking people who were struggling.

When I got to the top I was super excited that I had completed the climb and had not died, and even more excited that my family was at the top to meet me! They had faced their fear, got on the elevator and were able to see me get my medal!

After hugs from my family I texted Denise to let her know I was at the top, and was surprised when she said she wanted to form a team next year. I told her we would discuss a team after she got to the top. I did not want to let her know that I was already thinking about how I would train differently for 2012. I told her about my breakdown on the 7th floor and warned her to take her time!

The family and I took in the views from the top, and the kids even looked over the edge and cleaned some windows.

After we made our way back down I was able to find Denise in the lobby before she started the climb. I gave her a hug and offered words of encouragement.

The one thing I forgot to tell Denise was, "Thank you!"

I would have never been brave enough to attempt the Hustle without her, and my family would have never gone to the top of the Hancock if we had not done the Hustle! She has helped make all of us stronger and I am looking forward to the rest of our Excellent Adventures!