Hiking (Updated)

I heard once that after childbirth women produce some hormone or something that makes them forget how horrible the experience was so that they'll be willing to do it again.   I have no idea if that's true or total bullshit, but I do know that something similar must happen to me when I go hiking.  Because there is no other explanation for why I would keep putting myself through this.

Today I hiked 7 miles to and from McAfee's Knob with my friend Stephanie and her husband Jeremy.  It was a lot of fun except for the parts where I was pretty sure I was going to pass out or have a heart attack.

I already knew, in theory, that I am out of shape.  But to have that theory proven so irrefutably was slightly disturbing.

To say that parts of my body hurt that I didn't know could hurt would not be hyperbole in this situation.  There is apparently a muscle at the part of the body where the front of your leg meets the front of your torso that I can only assume is in charge of lifting your leg high enough to climb things and it started to hurt around mile 2.  At this point it's making it difficult to walk and I can only imagine what it will feel like tomorrow once it's had time to fully process what I've done to it.  My take away from this turn of events is that I need to have more stairs in my life.

My throat is actually slightly sore from the force with which I sucked in gusts of air.  It would be easier for me to catalogue the parts of my body that don't ache currently or show the signs of making themselves known tomorrow.  

My face.  My face is OK.  My hands are good.  The middle of my back seems to be alright, but I'm dubious about that lasting.

It was also disheartening to see just how many people are in better shape than I am.  It was a beautiful day on one of the most popular trails on the AT.  So there were a lot of people coming and going.  And many of those people passed us.   

There were elderly people less winded than I was.  We were passed by an entire Boy Scout Troop at least 5 times because every time they would stop to do something scouty we would catch up and pass them just for them to stride past us again in a few minutes.  At one point we saw a dachshund bounding up the mountain with his owners like it was nothing.

And yet despite all that, I already agreed to go hiking again next weekend with my family.  That should be enough time for me to fully recover use of my limbs.

Proof.

***Update:  I did not go hiking with my family this weekend.  It was a really long week... and I was tired... and I... DON'T JUDGE ME!