Adventure Camp Changed Her Life

It all started on a Monday morning last August. My mother knew of an adventure training camp weekend, and offered to send me if I were interested. I took a quick glance at the Girl Teams Web site (https://www.girlteams.com), and decided to go. If I had given the idea of adventure training more thought, I probably would have decided against it. Fortunately, I went and the experience changed my life.

The camp introduced me to rock climbing, kayaking, orienteering and mountain biking. While the first three sports made me nervous, mountain biking filled me with fear. Like most people, I had never ridden my bicycle on anything but paved roads. So I uneasily headed out with the group to learn how to mountain bike. Within 15 minutes, I took my first fall. With my heart lodged in my throat, I pedaled through three hours of mountain bike techniques. The instructors and fellow campers were always there to encourage me and would not let me quit. I found myself riding down the hills, over the ruts and learning how to fall.

The last day of camp I had to apply my newly learned skills, starting with kayaking at dawn. From the first paddle stroke, my arms felt as if they were on fire. When we finally pulled our boats out of the lake, I was so tired that I could not handle the thought of going on a three-hour ride and started to cry. My teammates rallied around me, and 20 minutes later we set off. It is hard to put into words what the ride was like, but my fears made it much more of an emotional challenge than a physical one. Although my teammates supported me and I finished the ride, I felt very negative about the experience and swore that I would never take my bike off a paved road again.

However, when I got home after camp, it hit me. I did it! I felt so tired and emotionally wrung out that I hadn’t realized that I’d finished everything I had started.

Since that weekend last August, I have found the courage and confidence to try new things, to stay strong and true to myself, and to push my limits. Now it is easy to stay motivated at the gym because there is a better reason to get in shape. I have even taught my husband and mother how to mountain bike.

Most of all, the emotional strength I found at camp permeates every aspect of my life. I am much calmer and deal with stress better. The strength helps me handle the everyday problems of life. It’s not worth it to get upset about the line at the post office or the traffic home from work when there are steep, sandy hills to ride, trails to navigate and waters to cross.

My friends now say, “Wow! What did you do this summer? You sound so great.” I feel great.

How Did You Do It?

In the past, we’ve asked you to share your success stories about losing weight. We still want to hear those stories, but we also recognize that there is more to physical fitness and staying in shape than weight management.

So we’re inviting you to tell us about your accomplishments in other areas: how you learned to mountain climb or roller-blade, trained for a half-marathon or discovered a unique way of keeping fit or dealing with a nagging ailment.

As always, tell us your story in a 500-word essay listing what worked in terms of diet, exercise and encouragement, as well as any emotional and physical changes.

For weight-loss stories, send us full-body color photos of yourself, before and after. For other types of stories, send a color photo of yourself doing the activity you’re writing about.

Send essay and photos to How I Did It, Health, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. Include daytime and evening phone numbers. Submissions cannot be returned. And, please, no phone calls.

In addition to publication, winners will receive a Los Angeles Times Health section gym bag.