butts on the 14th

Date	Celsius ° (C*9/5)+32=F	Place of run	Duration	start time	5 laps on the stairs (up and down)	Sprint 16 floors	Escalator	weather
19 Feb	≈ 1	Moscow, Russia	≈ 19:48	09:00		1:02.71	55.01  55.51	Overcast

Words: 308

            Yes, I broke the record, but it wasn’t without great effort.  I ran/walked up and down twice before I made the assault on the record.  After I finished, my legs were screaming in pain.  I hobbled down the steps like a crippled sloth. I was giving my body time to heal itself.  The next lap took more than 4 minutes, by baseline.  I finished strong though, skipping steps all the way down, in order to finish the 5 laps in under 4-minutes per lap with 12 seconds to spare.

Problems began on about the 13^th flight of stairs when I started to feel the concrete set into my lower limbs.  I needed a hydraulic crane to move them from one step to the next. Another let-down may have arrived when I saw the cigarette butts strewn on the steps at level 14.  These butts have been there for a month, so it was not shocking or new, they simply signified that there was not ONE more flight, but TWO.  Ahhh!

            This may also have been the point when I started to flail a bit searching for the railing.  I paddled for a second once trying to find a hand hold.  Then my foot did not fall onto the hard, unforgiving cement step cleanly.  Sure, I described those events so they would seem like they are important, but they really are!  I assure you!  A fraction of a second here and nano-second there, can add up.  When I miss the record by 2.71 seconds, I need to count everything. 

            If you have a stop watch on your wrist, start it and stop it after 3 seconds.  That is MORE that the amount by which I missed my goal of 60 seconds up the stairs.  Think about it, I used to be happy when I finished in under 70 seconds.