Primanti's and the Cathedral of Learning

Jan 7, 2013 · 3 minute read · Comments
foodPittsburghexerciseCathedral of LearningFight for Air Climb

Today I was scheduled to do the Cathedral of Learning stair climb again, two repetitions like last time. Since I had stayed later at work than expected, I was hungry already, so I decided I would go do the two reps and then eat a lot of food.

John was still around at work too and he was interested in doing two reps for the first time (years ago we’d periodically done one), so we went. We had a plan.

Two reps

I did both reps barefoot this time, and with a fully stuffed backpack.

I decided to lead the way with a slightly slow pace, in order to guarantee we would go faster during the second rep. We saw two people in shorts doing reps also. Both John and I were in street clothing.

The first rep we did in 9:07 (on Friday, alone, I had done 9:02).

This time I timed the break, because this is actually important information for the future when comparing improvement. We took a random break of 10:42 before doing the second rep, which we did in 8:54 (at some point before floor 31, we had an opportunity to overtake the other two people, who were on their third rep, and so I decided to just kick it up a notch for the rest of the way up).

My progression plan

John liked going two steps up at a time, but I am still on one by one, because it’s easier on my quads. My intuition tells me that a good cadence is important for efficiency, and until my quads are strong enough, I cannot keep a good cadence going up two steps at a time. Right now I’m focusing on simply getting some endurance and efficiency, and increasing the number of reps. After maybe two or three weeks of this, I will work on powering up two steps at a time over maybe no more than ten floors at a time.

I was amused to see the man wearing one of the old Rachel Carson Trail Challenge T-shirts that I also have, from 2008 (when I was a volunteer, not a participant as I was in 2005-2007). Also, the woman said she had done the Fight for Air Climb last year and placed third in the women’s division, I think.

Primanti’s

Then we went to Primanti’s in Oakland, as planned. I stuffed myself with a huge roast beef sandwich, my usual order when I go there (just a couple of times a year).

I heard recently that Primanti’s may be expanding nationwide. Cool! Why should the Pittsburgh area be the only one privileged to enjoy the huge “fully loaded” sandwiches with fries and cole slaw inside?