Put one foot in front of the other

    This isn’t my favorite photo of myself. I was on the Inca Trail and having one of the most physically challenging days of my life. I’d gotten sick on the first day and couldn’t keep anything down except for water. I had altitude sickness to boot, peaking when the 3-day trail topped out at nearly 14,000 feet.

I had to turn the experience into a game, a challenge for myself. That game was seeing how many steps I could take before I was within seconds of passing out. Then I’d stop for a bit until my vision and breathing returned to normal. Sometimes it was thirty steps. Sometimes it was more like two or three. I lost about 15-20 pounds during those three days (not water weight) and came home looking like a different person.

I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. Why not? When you push yourself physically that close to the edge, you learn things about yourself. You learn how words like “can’t” disappear when faced with “must”.  So put one foot in front of the other and keep moving.

Thanks for Andrea Lynn Taylor photography for the photo! http://andrealynntaylor.com/