I have to admit something. I am an adrenaline junky. It’s not something I’m proud of, but it definitely is something that I pursue on a regular basis. I love that feeling when your legs are so week you lose the ability to walk. I love breaking through the intelligent advice my head feeds my muscular system. When everything in your mind is telling you to stop but you still find a way to force your muscles to move. I have to admit that recently I have been searching for new ways to push myself in this regard. I’ve gotten to the point that I casually throw myself off of bridges with nothing but a couple ropes attached. And usually I don’t register much more than a tick on my adrenaline scale. It is getting to the point that I am getting bored by the conventional adrenaline games.
All of this got me thinking about the shakes I got jumping off a construction-like crane while bungee jumping Mexico about 3 years ago. This was the push that got the ball rolling. There is nothing like climbing a tall crane as it shakes in the wind. There’s nothing like standing 300-or so meters above the ground on a see-through floor looking down on the specks of heads below. And there is nothing like shuffling yourself to the edge of a tiny platform and dropping yourself off, against all natural instincts.
As you watch the video watch for four things. 1) my stomach rising and dropping with air as I struggle to find enough oxygen to overcome the adrenaline. 2) The guy starts the countdown and then stops on me to tell me that there is someone swimming in the pool down below… so not cool… the muscles weaken even more. 3) He tells me to look at the camera. I glance for no more than a split second. 4) I am a jumper. I play basketball, volleyball, and I competed in long, high, and triple jump in Track and Field. I once had a vertical jump of 40 inches. The guy tells me to jump out as far as I can. But the lack of muscle strength in my legs only allows me to lean off the platform. I really wish, sometimes I could go back to that guy who was scared of bungee jumping mexico. But hell, on to bigger and better things!
Anyways, enough rambling, here is the video from Mexico: