Is it the stairway to Heaven – Or the Stairway to Hell?

I left for college the day after Memorial day back in 1998. It was a Tuesday. After a 4 hour drive, I arrived in Ann Arbor at 3:15 in the afternoon. By 3:45, I was already warming up for my first workout as a Michigan football player.

At Michigan, they never waste an opportunity to improve.

It was real simple, run from the football building to the stadium. Then upon reaching the stadium, jog down the first set of steps, in front of the first row of seats and then sprint up the next set of steps.

We were supposed to go make it around the whole stadium like that but the trainers pulled me out at the 2/3rds mark. I could have made it, but they had orders not to let me pass out so I jogged (really hobbled) back to the football building for the remainder of the workout.

Running those steps was tough, as tough a thing as I had ever done but during the workout two days later, I made it all the way around with a little more gas left in the tank.

The View from the Top There are 73 steps at Michigan Stadium which start out about 4 inches tall and get progressively taller and longer the higher up you go. You are roughly 3 stories above where you started when you hit the top.

That summer, we ran the steps at least once a week

On Tuesdays, we would jog over to the stadium and everyone would line up at the bottom of the steps in small groups of 8-10 guys.

The strength coach would blow the whistle and the first man would sprint up the steps, When the first man was half way up, the whistle would blow and the next man would go and so on and so on.

When we hit the top, we turned around to make our way back to the bottom where the process started again. It was a continuous cycle and we did this until every man ran up the steps 10 times,

The first day we did that, I made all 10, but my body locked up at the top and they had to take me back in a cart. - Not fun.

Every time we went to the stadium I did a little better. I dreaded every minute of it and so did the rest of the team… but we did it, and it made us Champions.

Four years ago I stopped playing football but these days I still go back to that stadium twice a week and the reason I keep going back is to run those steps.

A little crazy I know but let me tell you why.

You see, when I was a player, I hated running those steps because I knew how tired I would be afterwards. Nothing will screw you up more (in a good way) than running steps. Today, I go back there for that very reason.

When I go run those steps, I'm leaving my mark

My goal right now is to be able to sprint up and down those steps 10 times without even thinking twice about it.



Looking up - You want some of this?
Right now I can jog 7 flights (and have to walk the rest) which means I’m roughly six to ten weeks away from my goal. I have little doubt that I will get there but the fact that its 12 degrees and raining right now isn’t helping matters.

And when I reach that goal, I'll do 15, then 20 then I'll skip every other step then Ill jump rope for a minute between sprints – really it never has to end

But why, you ask?

All I can say is because its there, and because I have unfinished business with those steps. I want to see just how far I can take it.

Truth is, there is magic power in “a thing” – no one probably knows or even cares if you close the next gripper, or put 5 pounds on your bench press or do 50 pushups every day -- or run those damn stadium steps – but you care, and its important and meaningful to you, just to see if you can.

Ill be running those steps today -- wish me luck -- or on second thought don't bother, I won't need it

Whatever you do, however you train, stay the course, make it important
and make it happen...

Train hard,
John Wood

My Finest Moment in Michigan Stadium

Nine years ago I came to the University of Michigan to play football as a kid with a head full of big dreams. So many great players and great games followed.

It seems like just yesterday when I was suiting up in the Freshman locker room for the first home game against Syracuse.

Yes it was quite a thrill running out and touching the banner in front of 100, 000 people although we got our rear ends handed to us that day by a guy named Donovan McNabb (I wonder what became of him?)

Then there was the first time I actually saw the field which was against orthwestern in the closing moments of a one-sided win or when Michigan somehow came back and beat Washington in a nail biter or that great overtime win against Penn State.

Just a few of many experiences in 'The Big House' and yes along with the many victories there were heartbreaking losses too. Regardless of the outcome, each experience was certainly incredible in its own right.

You may be interested to know that my finest moment in Michigan Stadium didn't have anything to do with football - and it happened last night.

For some crazy reason I got the urge to run stadium steps. Not sure why, either, I hadnt done that for over three years. During summer conditioning, we would go run the steps as a team and few guys could make it through. It was as rough an experience as they come. It had been a while and I didn't exactly have fond memories of running those steps during under the blazing summer heat.

There are 73 steps from field level to ground level and starting at the bottom, they get progressively higher, doubling in height roughly every 15 steps or so.

You start out easy as pie but around step 50, you really start to feel it. Anyhow,
fast forward to the present.

Again, I have no idea where this urge came from but with the goal of making it around the stadium with nothing but the moon and the wind accompanying me.

I began.

The first flight was easy 'This will be no problem, I thought."

Halfway through flight number 2 it was as if I had run into an invisible wall.

My heart was pounding, the sweat was pouring off of me and with the 10 degree weather, each breath felt like a knife in the chest.

"Uh Oh, maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all"

At this point I had two choices: I could finish, or I could quit.

I decided to finish, even though I had to walk the last three flights. It took me just over 23 minutes and was a far cry from days gone by when I could do a whole stadium in less than 15. When I was done, I sat there by myself staring at the field for what seemed like an hour through in reality was only a few minutes.

With all the grand history and tradition that has gone on in that stadium,
I had made my mark, though no one will ever know.

There wasnt 100,000 screaming fans cheering me on, no strength coach cracking a whip ,making me do it either. Nope, I ran that stadium for no other reason than because it was a personal challenge that I set and when it was 'do or die' time,the time when its either fight or quit, I chose to fight.

See, I though I was in shape but theres being in shape and then theres being in "stadium shape." I have no doubt that Ill get back even better that when I was as a player. All its going to take is time and effort and Ive got plenty of both.

Last night will be the first of many, but last night was special.

As you travel through life, youll come to that point quite often and youll have
two choices,

1. You can quit, you can run away, you can shy away from your dreams and
live a life of regret for the things you 'shudda' done when you had the
opportunity.

Or

2. You can move forward, despite the fatigue, despite the obstacles, even if
you dont feel like it, even if it isnt the easiest thing to do, even if you would
rather do something else.

I made my choice, what are you going to do when your time comes?

Train hard.
John Wood