Hello All,
I wanted to share a recent trip I made over the holidays, typically when I say "take a trip" that means going to some far off destination.  I've had the opportunity to travel to Texas, Nevada, Alabama, Oregon, Washington, and Australia.

This past trip was a little different instead of going to a destination I decided to go up ...a hill that is.

Growing up; my family would take vacations out to the Palm Springs area pretty frequently.  As a child I remember going with my father and grandfather hiking in the local mountains.  I always enjoyed the hikes, the way you scramble up loose rocks or how a cliff is only a few feet away, or the great views.

Feeling adventurous, and having some old friends with me I decided to climb the same mountain I used to climb as a little kid.  Things started out well enough it was about a 1 mile walk to the base of the mountain.  From there we found a little path that had been cut out from previous hikers, as we were going along I started to realize I was talking less and breathing more.  After about 20 minutes we all took a break and everyone seemed to be in good shape, except for me.  Now keep in mind I haven't been in shape in probably 6 years and haven't gone hiking 10 years.

As we were heading further up the hill I began to realize there was no way I was going to be able to reach the top, luckily (or unfortunately) for me I had a friend with me who would not let me give up no matter how much I complained.  We carried forward with most of our small group charging ahead of a winded, tired, exasperated, burned out, disheartened, faint, fatigued, weary, overstrained, overworked, worn down me.  (Thanks Thesaurus.com!)

Eventually my body told me I had done enough damage and I was done for the day.  I convinced the rest of the group to carry on to the top of the hill.

Now the reason I'm sharing this is not to pout about  my inability to reach the top, the reason I write this is because I realized that it's not about making it to the top of the mountain your first try.  It's about not giving up  and making it further the next time you try!  Once you do make it, the view is fantastic.

If you looking for a great source of inspiration I encourage you to listen to Carlos Dones and Mike Verduzco on their show Get Out and Move Your Body.  If it wasn't for them I would have been home watching TV that weekend.  You can listen to the show archives here.