Yesterday was a super stair day, I started out of the house at about 8:30am and ran to Lincoln Park, once there I spent the next hour and fifteen minutes (give or take) circling through the trails really seeing the park and discovering quite a few off shoots I didn't know were there. It wouldn't have been difficult to avoid elevation gain and loss, but then, why was I there? I ended up climbing the stairs at the north end of of the park 4 times along with a few hills and plenty of rolling miles, all in all, I figure I logged 9 miles or so. When 10am rolled around I headed to the parking lot where I was meet by my wife and 2 friends. We split into 2 groups, my wife and my buddies wife headed off to walk the trails of Lincoln, while my buddy and I headed to the public stair case at 46th Ave. SW and Thistle St. At the stairs we meet up with another friend and proceeded to climb up and down for a little less than an hour, I got in the full set 5 times. Essentially, I was on my feet, in perpetual motion for 2 and a half hours, there were pauses at the top and bottom of the stairs while waiting for everyone to either catch up or "recover", but I think I was able to keep my heart beat elevated during those times. I wouldn't quite say that this adequately took place of a long run but I know stairs are a great way to increase endurance, strengthen legs for hills, and deal with elevation change, so I guess I'll take it...