Vertical Limit

A few days back I accepted an invite from the one and only Bryan Farnsworth to join him and some others (Nathan, Nicole, Spencer and McKell) in a day of sledding adventures. I donned some pants(for only the third time of the season) and some under armour in anticipation of this event. Having gone down the hill a few times I noticed Spencer Hansen attempting to take a jump. I thought to myself “that looks like a great idea, I should try as well.” I joined him on that part of the hill and I started my mental and physical preparations. I limbered up and found my Chi. (At least I assume that is what I found)

After I decided it was time, the infamous McKell Strong (she is infamous for her desire to tame and undermine the integrity of this the most honest and righteous blog you could ever hope to find) took up the role of camera person. I started with a gentle rocking motion just to get me started and then I was off. You could never hope to see better sledding form. My toes were pointed and my back was arched. I took to this sledding run like a golfer to a putt. I sized up the jump and lined up my path accordingly. As I approached I could tell my line was perfect and I was coming in with breakneck speed. Then I hit the jump. It was like an angel had taken flight in an attempt to reach heaven.

But wait what was this? A mistake. On hitting the ramp I forgot to lean forward so I could keep my balance. Here I was flying through the air like a rag doll while the sled went careening in its own direction. My legs were trying their best to go over my head and my back and neck were on the downward trend.

BAM! I made impact with the ground. After a second of disorientation I remembered there were girls watching so I turned around and gave the all clear signal I then decided to give myself a quick check to make sure I was actually ok. In a moment I realized I had lost quite a bit on impact. I had lost my glasses both shoes and my remaining shreds of dignity. After the feeling returned to my legs I proceeded to gather my things so I could make the lonely sojourn up the hill. To my surprise I saw that my left shoe had tried to make a run for it and had ended up some 50 feet away.

It was a glorious day in that I once again survived my encounter with encroaching old age with only a bruise or two. I do give you fair warning though. Once you hit 25 your body will try and give up and you and tell you that you are no longer indestructible. Your body is telling the truth, but on occasion it will feel sorry for you and let one stupid decision slide by.

I have included the video of my jump in hopes that either you will heed my warnings and listen to your body or you will think it is super bad–a and go try it for yourself. If you look in the top left corner of the video at the end you might notice a black dot. That is the shoe that tried to run out on me.

-Zac