Hustle Up the Hancock

I grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago, so naturally I've heard of the Hustle Up the Hancock.  This is an endurance competition much like a marathon, but with stairs.  94 floors worth of stairs to be exact.  It's always been a goal of mine to push myself to compete in something like this, and this year it's happening.  On February 27, 2011 me and 2 of my very good friends will be running to the top of the John Hancock building.  I have 104 days to get myself into some sort of shape for this thing, and I have no idea where to start.  Reading other blogs and message boards, I have found that some people recommend the use of the stair master, while others say that it's just a waste of time.  I figure that I'm so out of shape that anything is worth a try at this point.  So beginning tomorrow I'm going to try to stick to some kind of workout/diet regimen.  Weight Watchers has worked in the past for me, but I just don't want to spend the money.  And the fact that I live in the city now does not help the fact that I love, repeat LOVE, to eat.  There are so many good options that definitely outweigh staying in and cooking low fat food.  :-/  But alas, I have committed myself to this competition, and I'll be damned if I have to stop halfway because I didn't train hard enough.  I will make it to the top and get that medal.  And then hopefully this will be a gateway to other future competitions.  Someday I would like to run a marathon.  I want to push myself to that extreme goal just to see if I can do it.  People that know me know that I am not a runner by any means.  A short sprint across a parking lot will give me shin splints for a week, so this is not going to be an easy goal to obtain.  But let's start with the Hustle and see where we end up.  Wish me luck!