The Third Floor

I am fortunate enough to work on the 3rd floor of my office building.

The 3rd floor...just high enough to get this chubby girl completely winded from the stair climb...but, just low enough to receive glares from all of the 4th, 5th, and 6th floor-ers in the elevator when their smooth ride to the top is suddenly interrupted at floor 3.

Ahhh, yes...the third floor...my dilemma...

This week I've been feeling pretty fired up about my new goal to get healthy, and so I decided to go big, or go home.  

Now wait just one second...don't get too excited.  For me "going big" simply means doing something that I never-ever do a few more times than I usually do it.  In otherwords, if I do something once that I usually do zero times I have just hit myself a grand-freakin-slam, baby!  And that, my friends, is how you "go big" Kelli-style!

Usually, I park my car on the 5th floor of the garage.  Nobody questions someone riding an elevator up to the 5th floor.  Large or small, everyone understands.  The 5th floor is acceptable...but not the 3rd floor. No, sir!

In true "go big" fashion, I've started to park my car on the 3rd floor multiple times each week.  You see, I'm not really afraid of the parking garage stairs because I've got a little secret.  With all of my experience (vast as it may be), I've learned that my fellow employees tend to park their cars as near to the parking garage elevators as possible.  That would be the west side of the garage, which is closer to the office buildings where we all clock-in for our eight-to-fives.

If you think about it, it makes logical sense.  A closer parking space could easily position an employee for a more-timely escape at the end of the day...but when it comes to myself, I'm not as concerned about the quick exit as I am about the complete lack of witnesses.

That's why I park on the east side of the garage...way in the back...by the far staircase.  In the garage I can huff, I can puff, and nobody will know.  That's the beauty of isolation!

Now let's talk about the office building for a brief moment.  It's another story entirely.  There is no hiding in that stairwell.  No pausing to catch your breath.  No stopping to gain composure before walking into cube-land.

No...the office staircase will suck you in and spit you out, right there in front of your peers, even if you're drenched in sweat and cannot breath.

Okay, perhaps I'm creating something of a dramatization here...but when you're this out of shape, sometimes that's just how it feels.  The odds of climbing the stairs in privacy inside the building are slim-to-none, and my pride is just too darn big to take breathers between each flight.  You never know who might turn the corner next.  It might be your boss, it might be those jocks that work on the 6th floor, or it might even be a skinny princess who is climbing the stairs in heels.

Any way you slice it, the odds of an embarrassing moment occurring within the office stairwell are very high--at least for me.

But, like I said...I was feeling fired up this week and Tuesday I decided I was going to just go for it.  I mean, seriously, how bad could it be?  Right?

In preparation I pumped up my ego by reminding myself that I have climbed to the 3rd floor of the parking garage on several occassions...and best of all, I lived through it.  I told myself it was only three floors, a managable climb, and that it would be over before I knew it.  I made the decision to climb these stairs even before I got in my car and drove my hour-long commute distance into the office.

I was prepared.  Yet, somehow as I was walking out of the garage and into the building I was still actively pleading with myself to change my mind.  Please, I said...don't do this!

No!  I wouldn't stand for it.  My mind was made up.

Instead of heading straight toward the elevator I veered left...toward the stairs.  It was only the first step, but once I was inside the stairwell I became totally committed to my decision.  

Before starting the climb, I listened.

Silence.  No feet tromping up the flights above me...no voices or footsteps outside the door behind me...Yeeeeessssssssssssssssssssss!!!!  I think the stair-climbing Gods have answered my prayers!

But, my joy was short-lived.  One flight in I heard the door below me open and close, then quick climbing footsteps following up behind me.

Oh, crap!

Now I have a chaser (as I call them) on my heels.  Now my pride kicks in, and boy am I climbing those stairs.  I don't know who it is behind me.  I'll never know.  I never want to know.  In fact, I must exit the stairwell before me and the chaser ever make eye contact.  I'm near the 3rd floor.  Almost there. Just a few more steps.  Ugh...it seems like I just climbed a mountain, all while giving one of my skinny friends a piggy-back ride.  I can't breathe.  I'm sweating. But...I made it!

Now it's game-face time.  The exit for the stairs on my floor is right by where my team sits.  They'll all be there.  They'll see me.  They'll know that the stairs nearly killed me.

I tell myself:

Keep it together, Kelli!  Just make it to your desk.  Breathe through your nose so you're not panting like a dog.  Just nod and smile as people say, "good morning."  That's polite, right?  You're almost there...almost there...almost...

I'll bet you're waiting for a sudden dramatic ending, maybe like me falling flat on my face and being hauled to the emergency room on a stretcher, right?

Well, sorry to disappoint.  This isn't that interesting of a story.  I made it safely to my desk, turned on my little fan and sat there to cool off for a bit.  Pretty dull ending, if you ask me.

Oh well, that's exactly the point, I guess.  It might seem like such a little thing...but for me it's big news.  In fact, I even climbed the parking garage stairs later that day!

Ahhh...the simple joys of making one minor decision that got me headed in the right direction!

What small things do you try throughout the day to help you become more healthy?  Can anyone relate to my stair-climbing drama?  I'm seriously hoping this is not something that I have to worry about for much longer.  Nothing a little time and effort can't fix, right?

xo, Kelli