Hiker's High?

So, last week I mentioned that I was going out of town over the weekend.  My husband and I went down to Virginia (or as they call it, "God's country") this weekend to visit his family and do some relaxing.  Let me tell you a little bit about the massive contrast between our upbringings.  To put it simply, he grew up outside and I grew up inside.  Until we started dating I had never camped, canoed, hiked, fished, sat around a campfire or used an outhouse.  Well, I've gotten pretty decent at all of those things over the years but I've always been the one that can't quite keep up.  Always tired, always opting to take the shorter route, always saying I don't have enough energy.

Around this same time last year we went on a similar (more strenuous) hike.  I brought my camera and I started out with the best of intentions.  I kept having to stop and rest and about halfway up I literally had to sit down.  There was no bench, I just sat in the dirt to the side of the trail.  I felt like a total sack of shit.  The other people I was hiking with stopped, despite the fact that I told them to keep going.  I sat there, red faced, breathing heavy and feeling totally defeated.  I felt like my husband was ashamed of me and I wanted the whole experience to be over.  And after that hike we went to a restaurant where I specifically remember ordering nachos AS MY MEAL.  Because after a defeat like that, what better to do than comfort myself with a plate full of garbage, right?  Wrong.  I remember feeling horrible and being disappointed in myself.

2012 vs. 2013

This weekend was a complete 180!  It was a very similar situation, literally a year later.  As always I start these hikes with no idea what to expect.  We started off and I kept thinking it was only a matter of time until I got tired or my legs started hurting.  For once I was wrong!  I kept trucking along and holy shit I was actually enjoying myself.  We passed a bench and I didn't even want to sit down, what the fuck?  Who am I?  Benches used to be my bff's on hikes!  We were going back and forth on these switchbacks and kept getting these amazing views of this waterfall.  It.  Was.  Awesome.  You runners (I'm not one) always talk about the runner's high you've experienced and I'm wondering if there's such thing as hiker's high?  At one point during the hike my husband turned around and said, "You look so hot."  And I was all, you bet your ass I do, and I don't even feel like I have throw up right now!

I never thought I'd feel this way, but I feel like I conquered a huge obstacle (not for anyone else, but for me).  I love the fact that a hike isn't something I'll dread next time, but it's actually something I'll look forward to.  It makes me want to think about what other things used to be challenging for me and might not be anymore if I were to try them again.  What can I do better?  What can I change?  What can I enjoy now that I used to think I couldn't?  Think about it.  I feel like all of these little triumphs are what make us want to keep improving.

Happy Monday!