Pooped - USNWC

The wife and I hiked 10 miles at the US National Whitewater Center today.  Talk about exhilarating! ZOMG, it was awesome!  We stopped about 5 times for 1-2 minute breaks. The last mile was really tough for the wife but she made it through! I am SO happy with how well we both did!  10 miles, can you believe that!!?? I loved it every minute.  It was some spectacular quality time with the wife too. We talked about all types of stuff and shared dreams of being fit.  There were people jogging these trails in addition to the bikers.  It was amazing!  The trails were tough walking, I can't imagine jogging much less mountain biking them. I can't speak highly enough of this place. We plan to do more and more hiking. It's a WHOLE lot of fun and tons of exercise! The best part is it doesn't feel like exercise.. well I mean you feel the burn but it's so much fun you don't think about it.  Maybe one day we'll do the mountain biking too.  There's also whitewater rafting, kayaking, rock climbing and all sorts of other stuff. It's an Olympics training facility too.  If you're looking for stuff that the whole family can do I more than recommend going for a hike. It's very refreshing and rewarding!

Sounds like lots of fun!  I'm petrified of heights so most hiking around here is out of the question.  I tried once and I got so dizzy I was either going to fall down or pass out.  Now white water rafting, omg I want to go so bad!!!!  We have that here too, and it's been a goal of mine to try to lose enough weight to go and enjoy it this summer.  I'm not sure if they have a weight limit to that or not?!?!  

That's awesome! 

I have a friend at work who goes whitewater rafting and he's 6'1" @ 350 lbs.  I believe he actually goes in a canoe/kayak but he's been able to go through water that's less than 8 inches deep. I imagine there are boats made for larger individuals.  You should definitely go check it out. I want to do that too but I'm afraid of it because of my knees. Scared they will pop out of socket. The whitewater center is probably the best place for me to start because it's man-made and there's lots of people there that can help should something go wrong.

Always wanted to try kayaking, but was petrified I'd get in, get stuck, turn over and not be able to get out and drown!  How embarassing would that be?   LOL

Lol it would be quite embarrassing!  Surely they'll teach you how to get out of situations like that?

Sounds like you found a "home" in this place, Chris!  I'm happy for you .. for the both of you!  :)

Wow, Chris, that sounds awesome!  All those endorphins pumping through your body must have been quite a high!  It's wonderful that you and your wife can share this kind of experience.  I think my hiking days are over with these knees of mine....60 years of being overweight has done them in, but I know I could do a lot more if I could just manage to get 50lb off.  I'm glad you're making the effort at such a young age....your quality of life will be so worth it.  Keep up the good work!!

I, too, have bad knees.  Mine pop out of socket all the time.  (At least that's what it feels like.) I cannot do anything that requires me to kneel down. I can'****er ski or knee board. In fact I'm afraid of going kayaking or whitewater rafting.  Whenever my knees decide to give out on me I cannot walk or stand. My knee will not bend straight. After a few hours of working at it I can finally get it back into place but then I'm down for a week or two with extremely swollen and bruised knees. Once, it happened while I was tubing on the lake. If it were not for my life vest I would have drowned because I couldn't swim. It took 4 people to get me back in the boat.  I wouldn't recommend starting with hiking if you have knee problems. I've been increasing my activity since early last year. I started by walking and then tried running which I had to abruptly quit because of my knees.  I continued walking and have maintained at least a 1/2 a mile each day. Now I take Karate and I've found that my knees are strengthening. They no longer pop or feel loose when I walk.  I would not have attempted hiking a year ago.  My knees were a little sore after the 10 mile hike yesterday but it's not an unbearable pain.  I can only imagine that they will continue to get better. However, I do need to see a specialist about them. I have no doubt that I need knee surgery. What I'm trying to say is I feel your pain! I know it hurts! But there is hope! You can enjoy these types of things even at your age. Just start small and just do whatever you can do.  The pain does lessen with time and the weight coming off only helps to lessen it.

That's so awesome!  I'm struggling with 1 mile in my own yard.  I haven't made it yet but I will!  

Aww! Keep working at it, you'll get there!   I shared a story recently about a guy who lost 600 lbs.  He started out by walking from his bed to his bathroom.  Oh..and he's like 70 years old. :)