[ebonho]

Originally Posted by graaja

What does a mid-life crisis hit, petrolhead, amateur triathlete do? Goes on a road trip to Goa, does his maiden 70.3 Triathlon, and in the process, gets stung by Jelly fish!

Wowie! Man, to think that I chanced upon this thread because I logged in on the home page instead of the forums page as always, and a guy in a TT tuck on a red roadie grabbed my attention!


And I see its a thread by you. Man you should have at least given a link directing us here on the Bicycles thread.

Fantastic achievement Ganesh. Simply superb. Loved the passion and the josh, as well as the effort and planning and logistics that goes into this sport. The dedication and the willingness to bear pain.


Loved the photos of Goa too. And the fish!

Thoroughly enjoyable half an hour spent on this thread. Now back to the real world ....

Cheers, Doc

[AZ911]

That's a great achievement, Sir. Let me congratulate you on that first.

I would say I am a reasonably fit person, but highly averse to long-distance running or even swimming. Till now, I have never had a "want" to try out these activities. However, reading your post has surely given me a great impetus to try this out. This, in no way, means that I will, but at least this "want" is something new. You, Sir, are an inspiration.

Also, love the car, love the colour (of both, bike and the car), love the roof mounted bike.

[ToothyPetrohead]

Hey Graaja one superlative attainment kudos to you. One of the best hobbies in this part of your life I must say.

I was in Goa this Christmas season and was warned by my cousins not to venture out into the water as there were incidences of jelly fish stinging people. A few folks had, had a bad experience. It was all over the News papers. Hope you didn’t have the same.

Miramar Beach in the earlier days was really a nice place now though; the sand and beach area is all messed up (Oils spills) due to the barges, the boats and casinos proliferation and encroachment.

“You never get away from that thing in your hometown that it has over you. You don't outgrow where you come from.” Your Photos of the foods in particular mouthwatering, the side seeing old Goa and by-lane in Panjim, The Viva Panjim, gives me the yearn to just sit in the car and drive down once again……..

The open roads coupled with that amazing Blue GT steed of yours must have been another part of the icing of the Trip.

According to me the hobby in your Mid-Life crisis stage of life is an eye opener to all about fitness and getting into shape at this stage of life, very important due to all ailments seen now days.

Good luck to you for the prep for the October event.
Encore.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by tilt

Ganesh, wow! Simply, wow!

Now we all know for sure WWGD

Thank you so much for the kind words tilt. So, you got the answer for WWGD for the next meet, eh

Originally Posted by kraft.wagen

Excellent effort coach. You are a great inspiration to many of us. Best wishes for October training.

What was the reason the hotels don’t allow bikes inside the room? Very strange indeed!

Thank you for the kind words and wishes kraft.wagen! They did not have an answer to why they do not allow cycles in the rooms. My guess is that they do not want the rooms to be spoilt by mud or grease etc. So, in Goa, I showed them how clean my bike was with absolutely no mud or grease (I use dry lube for the chains and the chains are totally dry and clean).

Originally Posted by Thermodynamics

Congratulations Ganesh. Awesome travelogue. It takes so much to write something like this. Looking at your 8 years back photo, I see myself. Kudos to your determination and endurance. All the very best for Ironman.

Thank you so much for the kind words and wishes Thermodynamics! Hope you also get into this fitness journey.

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

Brilliant experience sharing and congratulations for completing the event in said time.

Thank you so much for the kind words Josh!

Originally Posted by Surprise

Very inspiring. Hats off to you for picking such a healthy hobby & coming out as a champion

Thank you so much for the kind words!

Originally Posted by ebonho

Wowie! Man, to think that I chanced upon this thread because I logged in on the home page instead of the forums page as always, and a guy in a TT tuck on a red roadie grabbed my attention!

And I see its a thread by you. Man you should have at least given a link directing us here on the Bicycles thread.

Fantastic achievement Ganesh. Simply superb. Loved the passion and the josh, as well as the effort and planning and logistics that goes into this sport. The dedication and the willingness to bear pain.

Thank you so much for the kind words and wishes Doc! I will definitely post a link in the Bicycles thread.

Originally Posted by AZ911

That's a great achievement, Sir. Let me congratulate you on that first.

I would say I am a reasonably fit person, but highly averse to long-distance running or even swimming. Till now, I have never had a "want" to try out these activities. However, reading your post has surely given me a great impetus to try this out. This, in no way, means that I will, but at least this "want" is something new. You, Sir, are an inspiration.

Thank you so much for the kind words! That want is the trigger. A few years back, I never even would have dreamt that I would be doing a Triathlon. Each step in my journey towards Triathlon happened when I saw friends doing various activities and the want to do that. Hope to hear back from you someday on your completing a Triathlon

Originally Posted by ToothyPetrohead

Hey Graaja one superlative attainment kudos to you. One of the best hobbies in this part of your life I must say.

I was in Goa this Christmas season and was warned by my cousins not to venture out into the water as there were incidences of jelly fish stinging people. A few folks had, had a bad experience. It was all over the News papers. Hope you didn’t have the same.
...
Good luck to you for the prep for the October event.
Encore.

Thank you so much for the kind words and wishes. Yes. I (and many other athletes) got some serious stings indeed. I still am recovering from the after effects! I am seriously hoping that we don't get to face this situation in October.

[sud]

Awesome! Congratulations Ganesh. Definitely an inspiration to many of us.

[peus017]

Rated 5*. Inspiring and a very detailed thread.

[LoneWolf9]

This is very very inspiring. Thank you for sharing.

Is the 2+ km swim, completely in deep waters?. From the pictures you have shared, I can see some people walking in the water. Does this get counted towards the 2+ km swimming criteria?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by sud

Awesome! Congratulations Ganesh. Definitely an inspiration to many of us.

Thank you very much for the kind words!

Originally Posted by peus017

Rated 5*. Inspiring and a very detailed thread.

Thank you very much for the kind words!

Originally Posted by LoneWolf9

This is very very inspiring. Thank you for sharing.

Is the 2+ km swim, completely in deep waters?. From the pictures you have shared, I can see some people walking in the water. Does this get counted towards the 2+ km swimming criteria?

Thank you so much for the kind words. Yes. The 2km swim is in deep waters. It is shallow in the first 30 meters or so and is part of the 2km. Pros run this distance and launch themselves into the water. Many of us amateurs walk this distance and do a slow launch

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by graaja

The famous Kottureshwara Butter Dosa place.
...
The butter dosa. The dosa was loaded with butter. Unlike the masala dosas I have had till date with masala stuffed inside the dosa, here they give the masala separately. The masala is mashed potatoes with onion and with a hint of sweetness. I had four of these which lasted till evening.

Btw thank you for bringing this up! I had last visited this place back in 2005; when I was heading to Bangalore with a local and he introduced me to this amazing place! I had completely lost track of what place it was, and which town it was; only remembered the amazing dosas I had back then!

Searched a lot (and apparently not very well) but couldn't figure out the place! Now finally I have it on my maps.

Trivia: Even back then the highway was under construction with diversions and all Talk about progressing!

Edit: Google baba is telling me there's a Sri Guru Kottureshwara Davangere Butter Dose hotel right in Bangalore itself! I wonder if it's a "franchise" or a knock-off!

Double Edit: @Ganesh, Does this tickle your interests?

[Aditya]

Well done Ganesh. A wonderful achievement indeed. I know how hard you train. You deserved to do well. I believe you had Omkar in your group, which Kaustubh coached. I bump into him sometimes during my morning rides.

Finally, a great report of the entire event and drive.

[basilmabraham]

Great travelogue and amazing achievement. All the best for the future events. True inspiration to people like me who find every excuse to not train.

All the best!

[narayan]

This is the mother of all travelogues ! well written and congrats on finishing the Triathlon. Never knew what a Triathlon was until I read this thread.

That must have been some serious mid life crisis that pushed you to complete this

Can't imagine pushing myself so much.

Sorry if I missed but could you cover more on your training regimen, diet etc ? I noted that you had some regular food during your trip ( bordering on - if I may say, junk food ).

Great job - once again.

[vb-saan]

Congratulations! Amazing achievement indeed.
And to top that, brilliant travelogue as well; thank you for sharing!

[woof]

Amazing stuff. Very inspiring.

Kudos to you for finishing the triathlon within the stipulated time.

I personally have been running and cycling since last 4-5 years now, but never been able to overcome my fear of water, and swim properly! :(

And, you swam in ocean will jelly fishes around you - that's awesome Congratulations!

Loved the narration and the log too!

[graaja]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Btw thank you for bringing this up!... Searched a lot (and apparently not very well) but couldn't figure out the place! Now finally I have it on my maps...

Edit: Google baba is telling me there's a Sri Guru Kottureshwara Davangere Butter Dose hotel right in Bangalore itself! I wonder if it's a "franchise" or a knock-off!

Double Edit: @Ganesh, Does this tickle your interests?

You are most welcome Hope you get to visit the place soon and have those butter dosas. Not sure they have any fanchise. To my understanding, they are a very small shop run by family, and did not look like they could have a franchise.

The Ooty ultra is definitely inviting. Thanks a lot for pointng this. I am thinking of doing a 30K this year.

Originally Posted by Aditya

Well done Ganesh. A wonderful achievement indeed. I know how hard you train. You deserved to do well. I believe you had Omkar in your group, which Kaustubh coached. I bump into him sometimes during my morning rides.

Finally, a great report of the entire event and drive.

Thank you so much for the kind words and wishes Aditya. Yes. I met Omkar. He is a very fit guy. Among all the Radstrong trainees, he had the fastest time (I think he did it in less than 6:15 hours).

Originally Posted by basilmabraham

Great travelogue and amazing achievement. All the best for the future events...

Thank you so much for the kind words and wishes!

Originally Posted by narayan

This is the mother of all travelogues ! well written and congrats on finishing the Triathlon...

Thank you so much for the kind words!

Originally Posted by narayan

Sorry if I missed but could you cover more on your training regimen, diet etc ? I noted that you had some regular food during your trip ( bordering on - if I may say, junk food ).

In my regular diet, I avoid all forms of sugar and other carb rich food like rice, maida, potatoes etc. I also follow 16:8 intermittent fasting. In the last 3 months of training, the training time and intensities increased a lot. During this time, I stopped intermittent fasting, and used carb rich fuel like energy gels, Enerzal etc during workouts, but limited the carbs during lunch and dinner. A weeks before the event, totally removed all limitations and had all sort of cheat food. Oh yeah, did I mention I put on a couple of kilos weight in the last three weeks!

Now I am back to intermittent fasting and my regular moderate carb diet.

Training wise, I trained 6 months. Usually, we have three phases of training. The first phase is base building where we focus more on developing endurance by doing the workouts in moderate intensity. The second phase is the power building phase where the intensities are increased so that we can improve performance. Also, combinational workouts (swim + run, bike + run etc) are introduced. Saturday used to be BRICK session with cycling + running. Coach used to adjust the distances and nutrition according to my performance and how I felt during the training. This started with 40km cycle + 3km run and in the end 100km cycle + 7km run. Also depending on how tired I felt during a week, the coach adjusts the workout load in the following week. Sometimes, the body would beg to stop and when coach gives an easy week, the feeling was similar to a lecturer not turning up for a class in college. The last phase is the taper off phase which happens over the last two weeks. During this time, we gradually decrease the duration and intensity of training. The last week has very short runs or cycling and many times just rest days. This is to give the body time to recover from training and get prepared for race day.

Also, I travel frequently on work. During these travel, I always carry my running shoes and swim gear. I also let my coach know my travel plans and what activities are possible. He then adjusts the training accordingly.

I am continuing to train for the October event. Coach gave two weeks of easy training and now it has started picking up.

Originally Posted by vb-san

Congratulations! Amazing achievement indeed.
And to top that, brilliant travelogue as well; thank you for sharing!

Thank you so much for the kind words!

Originally Posted by woof

Amazing stuff. Very inspiring.

I personally have been running and cycling since last 4-5 years now, but never been able to overcome my fear of water, and swim properly! :(

Thank you so much for the kind words.

Fear of water is just a mental block. The moment you go and jump into the pool, it just vanishes. I would very much recommend that you enrol into a swimming class under a coach, and just go and overcome that fear of yours!