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I've been trying to get better at running stairs. Part of this is also running to the stairs, which is tough for me. I've never been accustomized to running long distances. Sprints, yes. Distances, no. I tried running cross country for a day in high school before I gave that up. I ran track for a bit (100m and 200m was about the best I could do). 

So this is a tough task. 

In any case, I've run the stairs 8 of the last 11 days. I'm pretty happy with that - every time I go, I feel myself getting stronger and more accustomed to running stairs. When I first started, I could barely do a single run without being winded. I can do 3 sprints without being winded. The next step will be to be able to do that for long periods of time - my goal is to be able to do 3 sets of 3 sprints up the stairs. 

The stairs themselves are pretty intense (they're at the San Diego Convention Center): 

This picture is actually misleading: there is another flight of stairs past the vantage point of this picture. In total, I believe there are about 80 stairs or so to run. A pretty intense workout. 

I had to buy new shoes: the first time, I had intense burning on the outer parts of my feet. 

Lately, my problem hasn't been getting winded, but my shins. Today, I could only do 5 runs before I felt like somebody had kicked me simultaneously in both my shins at the same time. Insane pain. 

I've been coupling the runs with an evening workout: while I had been working out by myself in the evening, I've been getting pulled into classes lately... which is tough to do after your ass and legs feel like they've been lit on fire. 

But I'll be honest: it feels great after. I'm going to try to be able to get through a full run down to the convention center stairs, be able to do 3 sets of 3 sprints up and down the stairs (for a total of 9 runs), and run back before going to do a workout. That'll be a helluva 90 minute workout. 

Weight check: 171lbs. I lost 3lbs the first week, but this week's been slower. 

And now, something a little less serious: