Going Vertical – The Return of Wheely Wonka!

…Well, my last post was 11/14, which also happened to be when I completed the half in the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon.   W2 has done a lot of traveling during this time, including:  the Blue Ridge Parkway during the fall colors, New Years on Beal Street in Memphis, and a recent trip to visit colleges in Ohio which ended in a brutal encounter with an ice/snow storm that I’d rather forget for now…  But, the reason there have been no Wonka posts is that my physical activity was kept pretty much to a minimum.  Just enough stretching, yoga, cycling, and running to stay in 5K shape, but nothing beyond that.   (There was that Austin Gorilla Run in January, but I’ll save that for a future post…)

Well, it’s time to end my hibernation, and get back into the mix.  This Saturday is the 26th Annual San Antonio Tower Climb, an event I’ll be participating in for the fourth time.    This fitness challenge requires you to run a mile, then climb the 952 steps and 58 stories to the top of San Antonio’s iconic downtown landmark, the Tower of the Americas.  I started doing this event a few years ago because, quite  frankly, I had a fear of heights I wanted to confront, and I also wanted to support an event that occurred in San Antonio’s historic downtown.   (It’s also a fundrasier for a great cause, finding a cure for cystic fibrosis…)  Now, I treat the climb as the official start of my fitness season, which includes major cycling events like the San Antonio Tour de Cure and the Ride to the River, and ends with the downtown marathon in November.  I’ll keep this short for now – I’ll have plenty of photos and stories from the climb this weekend.

See you on the road (and in the stairwell!).

Beautiful view of the Tower of the Americas shrouded in fog

Photo from last year's climb, right as I reached the top of the climb

Runners Dressed Like Jedi Knights during the 2009 Climb

Feeling spry at the top during the 2010 climb