Lust for life
The best way to relax yourself is to exhaust yourself. Anyone who is involved in any kind of physical activity will better understand the statement. Right from my school days, sports have always been a part of my life. Everyone will have something in their life which they will be so passionate about. And for me, it's travelling and sports. I am not a very good player, though I have played a little basketball in school, nor have I travelled the world. But every time I close my eyes, the only image I see of myself is me backpacking at some random place. Had the world been free of money, external pressures and other responsibilities, I would have spent my entire life travelling around the world, exploring and experimenting!
It was in one of the those depressing phases of my life I took up running to see how far I could go, not in distance but to achieve something which until that point remained some distant dream. Dream Runners Half Marathon 2015 (DRHM 2015), the first milestone in my life that marked the first 10K marathon I ever ran in my life. With the crowd trying it's best to cheer the runners, I experienced the push of adrenaline rush for the first time in my life. Though there were hundreds of participants running to clock a decent timing, I learnt what it is to clock the personal best. Though there were hundreds of runners running ahead of me and hundreds more lagging behind, my mind focused only on my body and my eyes saw just an empty road ahead. The moment I hit the finish line still remains frozen in my mind never to melt away. It was at that moment I discovered what I was capable of. After DRHM 2015 I was not involved in any activity until January of 2016 when I had a chance to experience a familiar but now technically advanced sport, cycling. Anything done as a group will be a lot of fun! So, four cyclists including myself went on a planned 36k cycling trip in the Nandi hills of rural Bangalore organized by ICYCLE. It was a level 1 event with no much challenging routes but as a beginner I had problems riding a mountain bike and shifting gears. Cycling is supposed to be done at one's own pace enjoying the beauty in scenic surroundings by just coasting and smooth pedalling, but I was concentrating more on learning to use the gears so I missed the real thrill in cycling. Perhaps in another trip I'll try to enjoy and appreciate cycling more than just trying to shift gears! :-P. Though I struggled to finish, cycling did teach a very important lesson in life - it takes a lot of effort and time to ride uphill but no effort and time to ride downhill! Human life is just like a bicycle ride through a lot of ups and downs.
Next, I'm looking forward to a more adventurous sport, perhaps deep sea diving! If time permits, why not try it out! :-P
