Day 4 - Downhill Blading

One of my more pressing fears for sports doesn't come from either Parkour or Freerunning, it comes from rollerblading. Sports that heavily rely on you controlling equipment, such as skis or snowboarding, has always given me a feeling of uneasiness. The idea of not knowing whether or not something is wrong with the equipment you are using terrifies me. It makes me feel I need to be extra cautious just in case the equipment has problems. So when I got a pair of old rollerbladers from a thrift store the other day, you can imagine how tensed I was trying them out.

The fear I chose for the day was to be able to rollerblade downhill without stopping. I remember very little about rollerblading when I was younger, only that I would constantly fall down on the concrete. Nonetheless, I was not going to let the idea of a little fall prevent me from overcoming my challenge for the day.
I put on the blades during the evening and found a flat space of ground to get use to the blades. I eventually got comfortable with the blades and found out that the brake on my blade was worn down to the point of being nearly useless. "Great" I thought. Another thing to keep in mind when attempting my challenge.

I finally decided to ready myself on top of the hill for my first attempt down that hill. I bladed down and quickly steered to the left where I fell down on the grass. I got up and attempted to continue down the rest of the way. As I went down, I tried to use my brake to slow myself down. A futile effort, but still the idea comforted me. I soon felt myself lose control and I steered back onto the grass where I fell a second time. I had just a little more ways away so I got up to blade down. I went down the rest of the way and felt an overwhelming feeling of ease hit me as I slowed down on flatter land.

I felt proud, but still didn't feel accomplished. I went back up that hill and attempted to go down that hill without stopping several more times. Each time I lasted a little longer with not steering towards the grass, or using my brake. After numerous times of bailing and falling, I eventually got to the point where I only steered off once. I thought to myself "This is it, no bailing. You fall, you fall.". I went down that hill with no attempt at slowing down or steering off. I focused on keeping my balance and finally made it down hill. I raised my arms in victory for conquering the hill.

I took my blades off and reflected on this fear. I realize that the only times I fell where the times I didn't commit to going down all the way. If I didn't go down that hill with anything but courage to not take the seemingly safe route I would have just kept falling on the grass. The whole "You bail you fail" mindset I feel will be greatly influential for my attempts at future challenges.