My Galiano Experience

Was the training and painful uphills for Galiano, worth it? Galiano is a compacted four-day camp filled with tough physical challenges. The two main activities were biking and running. Both were tough mentally and physically. These activities were done with hard work being applied. When hard work is being applied you can accomplish anything.

The ride to Bodega was one the toughest and fulfilling rides that I have been on during my brief biking experience. On the way to the beginning of the steep and long hill was not terrible as it was mostly downhill. Now going up those long hills was a different story. I felt that it was never-ending. Although I never hopped off my bike and walked, I did take breaks. I kept pushing to keep pedalling and reminding myself that

the pain was only temporary. My body definitely felt the toll, but if we did not go on the previous biking day trips, I would’ve given up. When I reached the end, I was proud of myself and everyone else for the reason that we all pushed ourselves to finish the hills to the best of our abilities. Once I dismounted the bike, I was relieved, but then we went on a little hike. I believed that I did not have the ability to hike, but I pushed through. When we made it to the top, it was worth the amazing view. It’s times like that where I had the chance to appreciate what we have.

On our way to the campsite, I did not realize that the last downhills were the infamous cardiac hill.

I felt a rush of relief and joy while speeding down the hills. When I found out that it was cardiac hill, my heart started beating fast. I assumed that I would take forever to reach the end, but I did satisfactorily. The first time running up, it seemed it was a long way left. Once I arrived at the end, I was heavy breathing with sweat dripping down the side of my head and I could feel how red my face was. When I was told that we were going to run it a second time, I was determined to push harder and receive a better time. A mental block was stopping myself from reaching the finish line faster. On the way down, I did not feel it was as long as I had believed. The second time up my goal was to improve my time I pushed to not stop even when my legs were hurting and I was breathing heavily. In the end, my time was faster by forty seconds. When I finally made it to the end, I wanted to pass out, but I know that means that I pushed more than the first time. Something that kept me going was reminders to strive for the goals that I had set. If I did not attain the goals, I would have felt disappointed in

myself.

After the four days of “boot camp”, the conditioning and those long and steep hills were worth it. I have not only grown physically stronger, but also mentally stronger. When I pushed the limits it caused myself to carry out the new achievements in biking and running. After this trip, I have learned that can do anything if I put effort into it and my mind to it. I can apply this new mentality on future trips or challenges I will encounter in the future.