Swallow Cliff: How to make a young woman feel old, Lol.

Every now and then in life we encounter some jarring reminder that younger doesn't always mean stronger. I had that experience today.

Today my sister and brother invited me out to have lunch at one of our favorite Indian restaurants. Fortunately, from 12-2 they have an endless buffet of delicious Indian cuisine. Curry chicken, lemon pickle, jasmine rice, and that wonderful dessert that looks like a glazed donut hole in Tapioca pudding. We ate until it hurt. We ate until we felt guilty about the extreme number of calories we consumed. We had to do something to right the delicious wrong that we just took part in. My sister had the bright idea that we go to Swallow Cliff to try and work off the calories before they had time to set in and turn into fat. It sounded like a good idea at the time.

For anyone who doesn't know, Swallow Cliff is a set of 125 steep stairs located in the scenic Palos Park, IL. Forest Preserves. It's a beautiful and scenic place to visit. In the winter, people come from miles around to sled it's slippery slopes but it is most known for the free toning workout it provides with its stairs. At anytime of the day,  people flock in groups, in pairs, or alone to get a good workout and burn calories.

Now let me say upfront, I am in no means in tip top shape. But I am fairly young. I think that my youth made  me a bit over zealous though. Instead of taking my time and feeling the stairs out, I made the mistake of charging full speed up the stairs with lots of energy. I got about half way up when I realized that I had bitten off WAY more than I can chew. The worst part is, as I was sweating and heaving and stopping to catch my breath, I noticed an older gentlemen coming up beside me at a fast pace. I caught my breath and said to him, "be careful sir and don't go so fast. I raced up the stairs at that same pace and could only make it half way up. He smiled and said, " oh it's okay dear i'm almost done. I'm on lap number 19 and I'll stop at 20". I couldn't believe it!! Here I was at aged 30 something and couldn't do 1 full lap without stopping and this guy was 60+ and doing 20 laps. I walked away feeling a little older and having more respect for my elders.