This has been a great week! I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot and I’m well on my way to reaching my goals!

 

Eleven months ago when I started at The Motion Room I sat down with James and he asked me why I wanted to work out and to set some goals for myself. My first goal was just to be able to walk up a flight of stairs without being winded. I just wanted to be able to do normal activities like go for a walk with friends and move around without being tired all the time. But then I thought I would set a goal that seemed impossible at the time: I wanted to be able to do the United Way CN Tower Stair Climb in October 2011.

 

It’s amazing what having goals can do to motivate you! I need goals. I like to know what I’m working for, how far I’ve come and how far I have to go. And being held accountable for those goals is really important too! If I’m really honest with myself I probably would have “forgotten” that I said I wanted to climb the CN Tower if James hadn’t written it down as one of my goals.

 

Even after all of my work for the past eleven months, at the beginning of last week I didn’t really feel prepared for the CN Tower Stair Climb. I drive past CN Tower on my way to work every day and whenever I saw it I got a huge lump in my stomach. It’s sooooooo tall!! What if my legs give out halfway up…  What if I’m just too tired to do it… 1,776 stairs is just too much!

 

I spent the week training hard – I worked out every day this week except Friday, pushing myself a little bit harder and a little bit longer than normal. I watched what I ate and really stuck to my eating plan. And I actually started to feel really good! I could do this!

 

On Sunday morning our 8 person team gathered in the convention center and we were ready to go. The United Way Stair Climb has become really, really popular. The hall had lots of teams preparing for the climb, there was music and a stage with someone leading stretches and getting everyone pumped up and there was lots of energy! We watched as people came back after having finished the climb and got their T-shirts with their times printed on the back. We were ready to go!

 

We jogged over to the tower, lined up and began our climb. I am so thankful to James for sticking with me during the climb. He stayed one step behind me encouraging me the whole way, keeping me going at a good pace and pushing me to keep going when I wanted to stop. We took a couple of breaks but pushed on at a steady pace for most of the climb. I wore my heart rate monitor during the climb and I was at my 80% max heart rate for most of the climb, but I was so happy that I was able to keep going and push through it. Last year that never would have happened, I didn’t have the tolerance to stay in that zone for very long.

 

We all met up at the top of the tower. A couple of family members met us at the top of the Tower (they took the elevator up) and three of our climbers actually beat them up! Joanne, Alana and Bettina did the climb in an amazing 17 minutes!! But the rest of us weren’t too far behind, with everyone coming in under 30 minutes!

 

Thank you to everyone who climbed on Sunday and thanks to everyone who supported to The Motion Room team! Our team raised over $1,400 for United Way. United Way helps provide stability to community agencies and strengthens their capacity to serve our city—both today and into the future. United Way helps move people from poverty to possibility. Thank you for your support! We can continue to raise money until November 18, so if you would like to donate please go to Enbridge Tower Climb

 

 

After the climb we went over to Boom Breakfast to recharge and eat some amazing food!

 

I have been on a bit of a high since the climb on Sunday. I have experienced so much support and encouragement from friends and family and I feel really good about myself! I guess proud is the word I’m looking for. I’m really proud of myself for setting a goal, working hard for eleven months and achieving that goal! It feels really good and I’m going to remember this feeling as I keep working hard at my other goals!