Lenny drove the 3 of us to the start of the race at 6:15 am. When we arrived, we tried to join the porta-potty line for last minute wee, only to leave the line at 6:55 in order to start with everyone in the race. So, of course, on mile 2.5 I ducked behind some bushes on the side of the road (anyone who has ever run with me knows how typical that is). The run was great, very very windy (VERY WINDY), but gorgeous. It was right along the coast of the Indian Ocean about 85% of the time, ending in Simon's Town. This meant that we were totally exposed to the turbulent weather but also that we could not have had a better view of the coastline.
Thinking that the half marathon was scheduled for Saturday, not Sunday, I had planned skydiving for a group of us on Sunday. Once I found it, I had made up my mind that I was skydiving on Sunday and wouldn’t budge my plans. Thus, Sunday morning, around 9:15 am, Lenny and Sierra drove Mariah and me home. I arrived home at 10, did some computer things, showered, ate, and met everyone outside to hop in a van with our driver, Hershal, to head to Atlantis for skydiving.
They took us up in the oh-so-small plane in groups of 3 (there were six of us) and 3 jumping partners, guys who do this 6-10 times a day for years and years. My partner, Jason, started reading his book in the choppy 25-minuted plane ride up 9,000 ft. I started laughing, “You’re reading!?!”. He just smiled and replied, “Yeah, it’s a long ride.” I was Chatty Kathy the whole way up since talking helps me calm my nerves. Hellen, who was sitting next to me, quells her nerves other ways and Taylor, sitting behind me, was pretty focused as well, so most of the silence was filled with my usual questioning. “How many times do you jump a day? Has anyone ever refused to go? What book are you reading?”…etc.
Jason and I jumped first. With 3 minutes to go, he pulled me onto his lapped and attached our harness together in 4 places. Then he talked me through my simple job: head back, feet back, and keep breathing. They opened the door to the plane, and we sat there with our feet dangling as he readied the hand camera. At this point, I was so ready to go. You can feel the adrenaline pumping through your veins and your preparing yourself for the biggest rush of your life. Then, he jumped. The energy I felt was undescribable, as if I could snatch the entire of the Capetonian coastline in my hand. The amazing thing about sky diving is that the fear of falling through the sky immediately leaves you once you fall. You are no longer worried about what will happen, only focused on what is happening in the moment that you are and how awesome that is.
I couldn’t stop shouting and laughing as we continued to soar over everything. The entire coast was in my sight, more beautiful than ever. Then, Jason pulled the parachute and we were pulled into a sitting position, still high above the earth. He let me steer the parachute and take us in 360 degree circles. After that, it’s the best 3 minutes of relaxed sightseeing I will ever have in my life. Jason and I had lively conversation the whole way down. To me, he was a man among men, a god, but to him, I was just another first-time jumper on an adrenaline rush.
We all completed the jumps and walked away with our hand-camera videos. We were still soaring when we jumped in Hershal’s van and headed back home. I finally felt the weight of the day’s events and immediately fell asleep in the van, much to no one’s surprise.
Later Sunday evening I went to Church on Main with Malory and Sarah, and then Rafe gave me a ride to a traditional eggs on toast dinner, hosted by one of the elders of the church, Dave, and his wife, Meg. Of course, I showed the skydiving video to Mitch, Mark, and Greg, all of us squished in the back seat of Rafe’s car. In fact, I couldn’t stop talking about it all night. How was I to respond to the question, “How was your weekend?” It was great to simple relax and make good conversation. I listened to Dave’s stories of his 3 month stay in California when he got a job parking fancy cars without a driver’s license. It was the perfect way to end an amazing weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment