Lesser mortals and Herculean tasks

I'm back after a very, very long time. Almost as long as a 21.097km long half marathon seemed to me till a few months ago. Why the reference to a half marathon you ask? That's because this blog post is about running. I've had only a handful of life altering experiences so far. While I do have a list of life changing experiences that I'd like to have, drawn up, running was definitely nowhere on the list. Why? Because it seemed like the stuff that only the mythological figures that have amazed me, since I was a child, could do.

I was, what I'd call, a lesser mortal, when it came to anything to do with sport. Not because I didn't have the inclination, but because I always shielded myself from the embarassment I thought I'd be putting myself through. A bunch of you reading this have grown up with me, in school and otherwise. When was I ever close to being a sportsperson? Never, ofcourse. So how could I ever get myself to running (running, mind you, not walking) a half marathon? It was, after all, something only people who'd been into sports since their baby years could do, I thought. My father went to a boarding school in the hills, and needless to say, ran agonizingly long distances, growing up. Over the years, I remember him telling me how running had defined his life, how it changed him. But then, he was also, as I thought, no lesser mortal like me. Then again, my friends in school were no less. A bunch ran a 100 m sprint in a mean 11 odd seconds, while others could run a 1500 meter race in 7 to 8 minutes. I, ofcourse, resigned myself to being a lesser mortal, in that sense. 

But was I wrong! It started with me getting out for a stroll in my neighbourhood at 7 in the evening, on the 9th of September, 2013 (yes, I do tend to remember such things - one of my quirks, perhaps). And I started running. My feet kept moving... 5 minutes down, then 10, the  20 minutes, then 45 minutes, and before I knew it, I'd clocked an hour of running at about 7 minutes a km. I'd done it! I'd stepped out of my comfort zone and challenged myself. I'd undertaken, what to me used to seem, a Herculean quest. In my own eyes, I was a lesser mortal, no more.

                        

In the last 3 months, I've learnt to push myself beyond my preconceived limits. Running has been the most exhilarating and life altering experience I've had in the recent past. Even though I've always believed in challenging the odds, this was a reality that I'd never imagined. Yet, it is. I'm running my first Airtel Delhi Half Marathon next week. It's something I always wanted to do, but I'd never imagined myself being able to do it. I'm thrilled. I'm nervous and fearless at the same time. Fearless because I've already achieved what I never thought I would. Nervous because I know I'm not going to stop at this. The next task is running a 42km marathon. When? I'm not sure. Maybe 3 months, maybe 6 months, maybe a year down the line. But I will. After all, I'm no lesser mortal. No one is. I'll keep going as long as I can. More importantly, I'd urge you to find that urge within you to do what you thought yourself incapable of doing. Our lives are too short to waste time setting limits for ourselves. So get out of that cocoon of excuses. Go ahead and prove to yourself that you're no lesser mortal. I'm doing it. So can you. 

I remember now-wasn't Hercules also mortal born?