Pace Training for Stair Racing

This morning I woke up at 4:54 am. I made it to my stairs at about 5:15.

I used the same 50 stairs that I used on Monday. I approached training with a strategy this morning. After a five minute warm-up, I ran up and down the stairs five times (125 up/125 down), at a pace that was probably 85-90% of my maximum heart rate. I did this for four sets. I rested about three minutes in between sets. Below are my times (up & down stairs included):

Set 1 - Every Step [3:48]

Set 2 - Every Other Step [3:10]

Set 3 - Every Step [3:34]

Set 4 - Every Other Step [3:01]

What I learned from Today's Training

*Always walk down the stairs

1. In stair racing/tower running, the emphasis is on ascending the stairs not descending them.

2. Safety is always the priority; running down stairs can be
dangerous for anyone, especially someone who is fatigued.

3. Landing and propelling yourself from the balls of the feet will
save wear and tear on your Achilles Tendon, and put tension on
the powerful calf muscles

My race next Saturday is a shorter event (479 steps) compared to most of the other stair racing events (1000-2000 steps) I have read about.

I ran track in high school. I was a sprinter, the longest event I competed in was the 400 meter dash. Most of my events were in the 60 - 200 meter range. When I ran the 400 meter dash, I ran it in a little over a minute (indoors). I thought I was going to die. The lactate accumulation was unbearable.

From all of my personal experience as an athletes, my professional experiences from training athletes and non-athletes, from what I have learned in school (exercise physiology) and from what I have learned from obtaining a top-notch strength and conditioning certification - I am fast twitch muscle dominate. "Stair sprinting" is going to have to be my strategy. Pacing myself in the beginning of the event is going to be crucial for anything over 500 steps. Next week's race is short (479 stairs) and I want to finish in three minutes or less, so I will sprint most of this event.

Until next time...

Curtis Bickham
mr_bickham@msn.com