Oh, so apparently you're supposed to write more than one blog post a year! Oops. Well, finally making the time as I am inspired to tell you about my experience this past weekend at a Movement Matters retreat with Katy Bowman, biomechanist, author and all-around awesome human being. (If you're not familiar with her work I suggest you check out nutritiousmovement.com for more info, or read one of her books like Move Your DNA or
Movement Matters.)
We did movement classes (I have a great rotation exercise to share!), we ate delicious local food, we helped make our own pair of minimal footwear- that was all day one. But the second day was the big test for me, a 16 mile hike in the forest. I had never before in my life walked so far, probably not more than 6 or 7 miles in a day in recent years, and never in minimal shoes (making my feet do a lot more work). We were advised to train for it- and of course I had every intention! But after battling for 30 minutes with my daughter over raingear, getting the dog on leash, and actually heading out the door in soggy Portland, (only to have my child refuse to walk), I usually only made it about a mile or two, just hoping that one mile carrying a 26 pound toddler counts as at least 3 miles on my own.
So I was nervous about this hike- I just kept wondering, "Can I do this?"
Another word for it might be fear- fear of the unknown, fear of being uncomfortable, fear of embarrassment, pain, failure, disappointment.... There are so many reasons we can find for avoiding things that challenge us. And it’s so easy to not do new things- stay in our comfort zone. But our comfort zone is a place where nothing ever really happens, certainly no personal growth.
So despite all my misgivings, I was determined to finish this walk even if I had to crawl the last 6 miles. And now having completed it, on my own two feet, I can tell you with confidence that none of the terrible outcomes I imagined actually happened- sure I had a little pain in a foot, a little ache in one knee, but in the end, I didn’t just do the whole walk- I felt great after! I was actually a little sad when we reached the ‘finish line’, because I felt I could have kept going.
And now, because I pushed myself a little, I have so many more positive feelings to show for it: pride, joy, accomplishment, and most of all- possibility. Because now that I’ve done 16 miles, I can do more! I can do it again, I can go further- I’ve moved my personal bar a little higher.
At the end of the walk one of my trail-mates mentioned potentially walking all 30 miles of the Wildwood trail in Forest Park for the summer solstice- just a few months from now. And my brain’s initial response was “Twice what we just did? Heck no!” But that sort of habitual thought stems from many years of avoiding challenge. Thinking on it now, exercising this new "I can do it!" frame of mind, I'm more inclined to say, "Why not? What's the worst that could happen?" I'll keep you posted ;)
You can't get views like this from your couch!