15/29

I managed only 15 of my planned 29 staircases, having realized partway through that I had bitten off way, way more than I could chew. So, change of plan: 29 staircases now becomes a goal to work toward, and it's going to mean that my Everesting will probably last until the fall instead of being done in early July. I suspect I'm going to discover, tomorrow, that walking three times up my building's staircase will be impossible with a 16-kilo weight vest on. If I can make it up twice, that'll be a minor triumph, given what I discovered about myself today.

I was assaulted by all manner of problems today: my right ankle started to hurt, as did my left knee (which is a new thing; I had no knee problems during the recent walk). I found myself out of breath about seven or eight staircases in, and I was mildly dizzy by Staircase #13. Choosing safety over pride, I decided it would be no use to push myself harder. But here's what I discovered: if and when I do finally reach 29 creekside staircases, I'll be doing a workout that's substantially more difficult than anything I did during my cross-country hike. I may even have to start bringing water (which will add more weight to the adventure), given how dry my mouth is right now.

After tomorrow, I'll recalculate the numbers and give you a more realistic idea as to how long this Everesting project is going to take. Whew.