Testing limits

Roller coasters or other rides that make your stomach drop? No thanks. Sky diving? I'll keep my sky time as a mode of transportation from one place to another. Bungee jumping? No way. So what do I find exciting? Zenning out during meditation, yoga or relaxing walks on the beach. Cliche I know, but such a nice change of pace from how I spend most of my days.

I think it's safe to say that I would not consider myself a thrill seeker. All that adrenaline rush is for the birds (or crazies), or so I thought.

Josh and I hadn't had much opportunity to do anything fun or new this summer, so we decided to take a day trip to the U.S. National Whitewater Center.

The grand entrance. You can't help but feel like a pro.

The website provides a nice overview of what kinds of activities they offer, but you can't really appreciate it until you get there. The space is absolutely huge and it really seems like a place that people come to hang out and get active. There are dry and wet opportunities - from hiking and climbing to kayaking and whitewater rafting. If you're up for a challenge and some activity, they've got you covered. 

The buzz of energy sucked us in, and the people watching was great. I think I called it an adventure seekers amusement park. We had an hour to kill before our whitewater experience, so we decided to get familiar with the space.

Selfie on the bridge over unsettled water

Along the way we found a mini obstacle course that we were both able to successfully complete. The subtle exertion (and humidity) to climb the rope nets and walk along logs left us shaky and sweaty. Just in time for the water fun.

Challenge #1 of the day

This was a controlled whitewater course, meaning it is man-made and not natural. It exposed us to various levels of intensity of rapids, and I learned that level 4 is the highest you can navigate. Just another interesting nugget - Niagra Falls is considered a 5 and you don't kayak or raft anything like that.

It was so exciting to tackle the rapids! We got wet - thankfully, because it was hot - but fortunately we didn't lose anyone. Later in the day, there was a series of rescues of rafters who went overboard. Based on how tired I was at that point, I'm wondering if people were just really tired and didn't have the energy or strength to brace for the rapids. Anyways, we had a great guide who taught us about whitewater rafting and safely navigated us through the course. I would love to go back and watch some pros navigate the gates in their kayaks.

Part of the rapids course

Next up lunch. It's amazing how these activities didn't feel like work or effort in the moment, but we were definitely left feeling thirsty and in need of food. As I mentioned earlier, people literally just hang and watch others raft, climb, or zipline. There are several restaurants and biergartens that offer nice views. The food options were a southern meets vegetarian flair and the drinks included lots of local beverages.

After rehydrating and refueling, we decided to take on a suspended ropes course. Josh chose the river course, the highest difficulty. Go big or go home, right? The course started off simple enough, but then I realized I was walking on cables the thickness of my finger. And when I looked down, I realized I was suspended several stories above the ground. The only thing keeping us from falling was our balance and the safety harness - good thing I'm short and had started taking ballet again. Once I processed all of this information, my heart started racing. Whose idea was this? That racing heart is part of what we all know as the adrenaline rush. But what is really happening in the body when we get that adrenaline rush?

So this is the course we used to dangle over the water.

 Some of you may remember back to science class, but I thought it would be fun to share a quick review. Humans have the fight or flight response, and this is what prepares us to take action. The Autonomic Nervous System helps control body functions that happen without us having to think about it. This includes your heart and breathing rate, how wide or narrow the pupils in your eye are, digestion of those foods and drinks you have, and a few more things. When your body or mind becomes highly stimulated from stress of a dangerous situation or even stress of bad news, extra amounts of a hormone known as epinephrine are released. Hormones are messengers in your body, and this hormone prepares your body for action by increasing your heart rate and blood pressure and triggering your liver to release stores of glucose (or energy). The availability of extra energy and oxygen prepare you to respond to whatever happens next. This adrenaline rush may come from extreme activities like jumping out of a plane, but it can also happen with daily activities like speaking in front of a group.

Once I realized my body was responding to a previously subconscious fear I had about being up there, I was able to use that energy and focus to safely finish the course. I think this also helped me better appreciate the scenery. I also appreciated the strength and grace my body offered as I crossed each of the 8 sections. With each step I conquered my fear a bit more. I'm pretty sure Josh felt the same way, although he did offer to alter the course to finish early. Was it for my sake or his? I'll never know :) I did have one slip while tightrope walking over the river, but I was able to pull myself back up and continue on. And surprisingly enough, the slip didn't scare me, or at least not any more than I already was. I realized how safe I felt with the equipment. Finishing the course was a huge sigh of relief and celebration.

To finish things off, we decided to go for a 'relaxing' zipline. I'm not sure I envisioned zipline to be relaxing. I mean you're cruising through the air, and remember I can go without rides that make my stomach drop. Once we started zipping, I realized it was actually quite relaxing and I was able to enjoy the rest of the ride and take if one final view of our playground.

We certainly are no Olympic-trainees, but we may or may not have pretended to be awesome as we recounted our day's activities. When it's all said and done, we were pretty awesome. We tried lots of new things that pushed our bodies and minds to new limits. And we survived them all. Other than feeling exhausted - I don't know if it was the heat, long day, physical activity, multiple adrenaline rushes, or any combination above - we felt accomplished. 

The point is, you never know what you're capable of until you try it out. While this learning experience came from physical activity, it also caused me to pause and reflect about the endeavor of moving across the country and trying lots of new things. Thanks to the adrenaline rush for actually giving me the opportunity to slow down and see things a little bit clearer.

How might you test or push your limits?

Until next time!