 My 1st sport lead. 5.8 at Rumney, 2007. |
 The secret weapon. Vibram Five Fingers. |
 Born to Run. Read it. |
One night at the rock gym…
The first time I tried climbing it kicked my ass. That night, climbing taxed my body more deeply than I’d ever experienced with other sports. And from that moment on, climbing was my inspiration. It was my symbol of health, vitality, and ultimately, success. If this sport could require so much from my body, then doing it well must mean I’m healthy. In other words, if I’m climbing well, I am well.
A new means of wellness
Now after 5 years of climbing, my symbol of health is changing. I’m finding myself climbing less, and more essentially, thinking about climbing less. After some reflection, I realized that I’m not inherently inspired by the particular activity of climbing, but that what inspires me is the general assertion of my health through physical activity.
30 miles of failure
I never wanted to hike 30 miles. I wanted to hike 80, but I failed. It was completely random: My friend and I decided it’d be cool to hike Rhode Island’s North/South trail in 24 hours, so we tried.
Just as with rock climbing, the mechanism of this activity is extremely simple — in climbing you hold the holds, in hiking you put one foot in front of the other. But just as climbing originally perplexed me, it turned out that hiking did too! Putting one foot in front of the other may be simple, but after 30 miles in the woods at night it gets pretty hard!
Slowly this failure sank deeper into my psyche. Just like my first time climbing, my first ultra-hike taxed my body in a newly powerful way. And anything that can drain me like this I am driven to overcome. Five years ago I couldn’t accept falling off of easy routes, and today I cannot accept my 30 mile failure.
New passion, discovered
Everyday I find myself constantly thinking about hiking and running. I love strategizing training plans, and I love hitting the road to see how much better I can perform with each week’s experience. The dream of hiking 80 miles in 24 hours is alive in my mind. And while I work towards this dream, I’m comforted by the challenge provided, and by the opportunity to once again, assert my health through a physical activity. I hope that this passion carries me for the next five years.