The plan had been to hike 30 mile days through the Mazatzal Wilderness in order to catch my train in Tucson. But something had changed in Sedona. Though my body got the message to slow down, my conscious mind was a little behind the learning curve.
I didn’t understand why we were taking breaks, why we weren’t averaging more than 19 miles a day.
Sure the terrain was rough, water was scarce, and I’d given up sugary snacks in favor of frozen burritos… something I was heavily regretting. On top of that it was way too hot to be running with a pack in the middle of the day.
If I didn’t put in the miles I wasn’t going to make it to Tucson in time… except I couldn’t force my body to move. We’d take long breaks in the shade where it gently whispered soothing words just below conscious perception. And the more I tried to listen, the more I realized how much noise there was to filter.
I’d been moving too fast for too long, and I’d lost my center without realizing it.
#AZT