Pedal to the Metal

Quote : "For there is something in man that seeks out challenge, especially the challenge of a single man taking on a task in which all the forces of nature, and often the opinions of the world around him, are arrayed against him; a task in which his own solitude may become his greatest enemy; a task that his own drive, his own desire, and his own ego must make him accomplish. There is something in man that seeks out the challenge of the unknown within himself and seeks to challenge the limits of his very being. There is something in man that makes him run marathons" : End quote. (source)

It's my countdown time.. few more days for my first Full Marathon..


I will be running the 26.1 miles and 385 yards (42.195 Km) on Oct 9th, 2011 at the Portland Marathon.

Don't ask me why I do it ? or how does one do it ?.or whether I enjoy doing it ?.. honestly I myself don't even know all the answers.

But one thing I do know is I like the fact that I am doing something I  thought would never be able to do in my life time !

Of course, am I scared of it ? hell.. yes, especially when you read all the horror stories and you-tube videos of runners collapsing of exhaustion 200 yards from finish line etc, but I guess that's where the excitement also comes from. That 'caveman instinct' that we are all born with, but never deploy or reach out to see how far we can take it ? and simply put, a new found appreciation for this amazing forgotten piece of equipment that I owned for a long time called "my body". 

Our body is the only thing that stays with us every moment.. from birth to death.. yet what do we do with it ? ignore it, abuse it, throwing all junk in it, never really check what it's full potential. God gives everyone at birth pretty much similar framework (ok..ok, am exaggerating a bit here, ofcourse we know we all don't have same sizes of pieces, but what I mean is ..hopefully no one out there with four lungs or 3 hearts..we all have similar pieces which perform pretty much same functions) of this beautiful body that you can grow into anything you want.

Metaphorically, it's like this. You daily walk into your garage, get into this familiar car of yours you owned for years, fill with  all the junk in to the trunk and drive routinely at 60 mph happily for most of your life. Ofcourse you rarely think how would it be or whether can you make this baby purr at 120 or 140 mph ? because even if you wanted, you have been warned repeatedly and given specs to make you believe that- what you have is a  'family sedan' and not some 'formula race car', so racing something like that is just plain crazy, stupid and impossible. 

But, but..here is the catch ! unlike the car we bought, when we were born were we ever given that spec sheet of what our body can do? how fast it can go ? or how far it can go ? no ! zilch ! nada !! nothing !!!  then why the hell do we assume our body is like a family sedan ? what if, in reality the almighty god actually gave was euqivalent of a Porsche (or a Ferrari or a Maserrati ? huh..) covered under the disguise of a mini-van or family sedan?.

How freaking sad would it be to find out only at the gates of heaven (or hell if you are Dick Cheney !) when you finally reach there.  [Of course on the contrary, the nay-sayers and pessimists amongs us would argue that one may find those gates of heaven sooner if you assume you have a ferrari and keep pushing while in reality what you actually have is a civic or chevy vega. ]  

Still a valid point is,  shouldn't we try to know what the heck it is we have ?  that's where the kicking off tires and purring comes into play..where you have to try it, test it, stretch it, break it, fix it, train it, to see where it can take you.. how far and how fast... as they say put "the Pedal to Metal"...

So there's the long drawn reason why I do this thing called the "26.1 mile madness", and I am not alone, there are millions rediscovering this same inner model.. look at this video the spirit of Marathon

So Friends !  "you have to believe in yourself !..take a closer look at what you own".  Don't just follow what you have been told all your life.. check out yourself.. find what's under the hood (or belt) and rewrite your own specifications! it's never too late, and you'll be surprised  (or shocked as in my case!)...even if it's not a Ferrari..it might be a Corvette or a Mustang GT..any day better than whatever you think you already own !!.

You too will be amazed and will say "god.. you're absolute genius",  and the next time you approach those gates of heaven, you wouldn't just walk, but will proudly run through them with head and hands held high with a smile on your face.  Enjoy the race of your life ! 

Last but not the least, I proudly support my favorite non-profit charity, AID (Association for India's Development) through their Run for India program, to raise funds to support NGOs working at grassroot level in India and initiates efforts in various interconnected spheres such as agriculture, energy, education, health , livelihoods, natural resources including land and water, women's empowerment and social justice.  If you would like to donate for the cause please click on this link, or even better join AID's local chapter to start your own journey of 'miles for smiles' !

PS: if you like what you see, and want more of one-on-one chat, drop me a note..(will assure it'll cost far less than Bill Clinton's motivational spiel). BTW join the fun on Oct 9th, we are always looking for cheerleaders.