Mens Health Urbanathlon 2010 - Sandton

What better way to start my blogs again after a long silence (I know, I know), than to start blogging my journey to the Mens Health Urbanathlon 2010, which is to be held in Sandton on Sunday November 28th.

Today we officially kicked off the team training sessions and upped our own regular training just a notch!

Tonight's session saw us running up and down the famous Westcliff Stairs in Parktown. All 210 stairs. And not in a rhythmic-equal-distance-bounce either. The unemployed miners who built them back in 1933/4 saw it fit to have a group of 2 here, 3 there, 4 that side, 5 this side... EXCELLENT for anyone wanting to test their fitness.

Oh, and when I say "run" ... we did a bit more than just that. It went a little something like this:

1) Long-stride bounding up the stairs to the first corner
2) 10 press-ups
3) Run up to the next long'ish flat level
4) 10 partner assisted dips on the railing
5) Explosive step-ups all the way to the top
6) Sprint to the corner
7) Lunge to the next step
8) Recovery jog over the road to the next steps
9) Precision jump to each first step until failure
10) Tuck jump between each set of stairs the rest of the way
11) Take no more than a 2-breath rest
12) Quadrupedal walk down all stairs to the road
13) Recovery jog to the next stairs (as quiet as possible)
14) Turn Vaults over the hand railing (in both directions)
15) Buddy does press-ups while waiting for you to finish, then swap
16) Continue jogging back down to the first level
17) 10 Press-ups (in the same place as we did them on the way up)
18) Jog down to the road
19) Stay in plank position till the last person arrives
20) Then hold the plank for a further minute
21) Repeat steps 1 - 21

The kilometre or so run to the stairs and back were a great warm up and cool down, then winding down with a relaxing stretch session before heading home.

Tonight was an easy run where we only did 4 sets up and down the stairs as it was our first group session, and I must say .. it's looking good!!