[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!

Before I begin, I would like to thank:

• My coach Kaustubh Radkar (22-time Ironman finisher). Without his extensive training and guidance, I could not have completed this dream event.
• My friend and fellow Triathlete (he did not participate in this event) Dr. Gautham, who gave me company in this trip. Be it driving most of the distance on the way back, or the excellent moral support by driving past during my cycling and run segments and cheering me, without his company this event would not have been possible.
• My friend and training partner Pandiyan who did some serious shopping for me in Dubai and got me lots of sports stuff to use in the event.
• My wife who puts up with all this craziness, and gives me lots of support and encouragement.
• Enduro Sports, Goa, for organizing such a wonderful event every year.
• Veloscope, the official photography partners of the Triathlon, for the fantastic pictures of the event. I have used the pictures from the FaceBook Album with permission of Enduro Sports.

How it all began:





Triathlon is one of the hobbies I picked up in my mid-life crisis. I started with cycling a few years back, then added running and then added swimming and before I realized, I was into triathlons. Did my first sprint triathlon (750 meters swim, 20km cycling and 5km running) in Thonnur (near Mysore) in 2016. Then attempted the Olympic distance Triathlon (1.5km swim, 40km cycling and 10km running) in Thonnur in 2017 and could not finish due to bike failure. Completed my first Olympic Triathlon in Goa in January 2018 (had done a road trip in the Jetta that year). That is when I fell in love with Triathlon in Goa – the calm sea, beautiful weather, and fantastic organizing by Enduro Sports. And I decided I wanted to do my first 70.3 Triathlon (1.9km swim, 90km cycling and 21km running), in Goa. And when they announced the 70.3 Triathlon to be held in January 2019, registered the very first day and decided it will be another road trip to Goa.

The Plan:

Below was the plan for the 7-day road trip.

Day – 1, January 10th: Drive from Coimbatore to Davanagere, 650 kilometers. Halt for the night
Day – 2, January 11th: Drive from Davanagere to Goa, around 350 kilometers, check into the hotel and rest
Day – 3, January 12th: Practice swim at the swim course, race kit collection, pre-race briefing, leave the bike at the transition area
Day – 4, January 13th: Race day, do the 70.3 Triathlon
Day – 5, January 14th: Half a day of sight seeing in Goa, and relax the rest of the day
Day – 6, January 15th: Leave Goa early afternoon, drive to Davanagere, 350 kilometers
Day – 7, January 16th: Leave after breakfast and drive from Davanagere to Coimbatore, 650 kilometers. We ended up covering the full distance on Day 6 though.

Index of Posts:

Day 1 - Drive to Davanagere
Day 2 - The Drive to Goa
Day 3 - Practice Swim, Race Kit Collection and Race Briefing
Day 4 - The Race Day
Day 4 - My Race Experience
Day 5 - Sight Seeing
Day 6 - Drive from Goa to Coimbatore

[graaja]

Day 1 - Drive to Davanagere

Day 1 Summary:

Not much on Day 1 except the drive from Coimbatore to Davanagere with a couple of coffee breaks, a fuel stop and lunch.

I picked up my friend Gautham around 9AM and after breakfast we left Coimbatore at 10AM. Traffic was very sparse from Coimbatore to Bangalore, and I was able to cruise comfortably between 90 to 110kph. After a coffee break, reached Bangalore around 1:30. Another friend joined us at Bangalore. We left Bangalore at 3:00 after lunch. Faced heavy traffic upto Tumkur. Took a fuel / coffee stop near Tumkur.

As we were traveling through multiple states, I wanted to take a PUC certificate. As I could not get this done in Coimbatore before leaving, decided to get it done on the way. Took a detour into Tumkur to get a PUC certificate.

After Tumkur, though the traffic thinned down, there were a lot of trucks on the road which resulted in low average speeds. Reached Davanagere at around 9:30. Had dinner at a restaurant called District 17, and checked into hotel Southern Star. After spending an hour arguing with the manager asking permission to keep the bike inside the room, we were able to sleep at 12:30.

Day 1 Pictures:

The route for Day 1.


One of the advantages of the 3GT is the humongous boot space with the rear seats folded. My initial plan was to fold the rear seats and put the bike in the boot along with all the other luggage. I did not want to carry the bike on the roof on a 1000 kilometer journey. Wanted to carry the bike in the boot till Goa, and for local transport, use the roof rack. However, the day before we started, Gautham had told that his friend would be joining us in Bangalore and will travel with us till Davanagere. This meant I could not fold down the rear seats. To put the bike inside the boot without folding the rear seats, I had to remove the wheels and pack the cycle. Though the bike fit inside the boot, with the spare wheel occupying lot of space, there was no space left for the baggage. Also, I was not happy with the wheels and the frame freely moving around.


So, decided to carry the bike on the roof. Read lots of biking forums and found that people carried their bikes on roof racks on 1000+ miles road trips.

The bike loaded on the roof and ready to start.


With Gautham.


Somewhere on the highway on a coffee stop.


Very sparse traffic and very good roads from Coimbatore to Bangalore.






A coffee break at Kamat Upachar.


Getting PUC certificate in Tumkur.


Dinner at a nice restaurant called Highway 17 at Davanagere.




The drive statistics for the day.


Checking-in at Southern star hotel.


After an hour’s hard work, arguing with the manager, the bike too rests with us in the room.

[graaja]

Day 2 - The Drive to Goa

Day 2 Summary:

Day 2 was the drive from Davanagere to Goa, checking into Varanda Do Mar hotel, and meeting my coach Kaustubh Radkar in the evening.

Friend and TBHP member KarthikK, when he came to know I was visiting Davanagere suggested that we have the famous Benne Masala Dosa (Butter Masal Dosa) at Sri Guru Kottureshwara Butter Dosa Hotel. So, we started the day with a breakfast of Benne Masala Dosa. Post breakfast started driving. Lots of road construction activities till Hubli, because of which progress was very slow. After crossing Hubli, we had to leave the 4-lane highway and get into two lane state highway. This was a mix of really bad roads, and some countryside scenic winding roads. Overall, the progress was slow, and it took about 7 hours to cover the 350 km distance.

Reached Goa by 4:30 in the evening. Checked into Varanda Do Mar hotel. Even here when I asked the front desk staff permission to take the bike to the room, they said by hotel policy they do not allow cycles to be taken to the room. But they were quite friendly and called the Manager. The Manager Mr. Bharat on listening to my request, was quite understanding and told me it is ok to take the bike to the room.

In the evening, I and my friend went and met my Coach Kaustubh Radkar and some other fellow trainees who were also taking part in the event. Had dinner and called it a day.

Day 2 Pictures:

The route for Day-2


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.


The Butter dosa, the BMW and the Bike.


A coffee break.




Stopped for a brief photoshoot.








The Varanda Do Mar hotel. Loved the place. The rooms are pretty decent, the support staff are very friendly and the food was great. I plan to come here again in October for the next Ironman Goa event.


The cycle gets to stay with us.


Meeting the coach.


Rahul, a resident of Goa, who is also training under Coach Kaustubh, briefing us of the race conditions like weather, currents in the sea, possibility of jelly fish (more on this painful topic later) etc.

[graaja]

Day 3 - Practice Swim, Race Kit Collection and Race Briefing

Day 3 Summary:

Day – 3 started with a practice swim at the swim course. This was an acclimatization swim to let the participants experience the waters we would be swimming the next day. The organizers had arranged for participants to swim in batches. Most of the trainees under Coach Kaustubh had signed up for the same slot (9:30AM to 9:50AM). We did a couple of 200 meter laps in the sea. After the practice swim, returned to the hotel for a shower. Then Rahul took us to a nice restaurant called Ritz in the Panjim Gymkhana, where we had excellent fish fry and fish curry rice.

Post lunch, we went to the event venue, collected the race kit (RFID tags for timing, transition bag, and riding jersey) and left the bike in the transition area at the assigned slot. Then our Coach had a small meeting where he briefed us on some best practices for the next day. He gave detailed instructions on pre-race and during-the-race nutrition, and tips on pacing ourselves through the three events.

Then followed the race briefing where the race organizers and the race director explained details like the swim, bike and run courses, number of laps to make in each course, best practices, rules and regulations etc. Relaxed a bit on the beach watching a beautiful sunset and returned back to the hotel for an early dinner and early sleep. Next day is going to be a long day.

Day 3 Pictures:

The practice swim venue. Did not get to take any pictures during the swim as we were all busy with the swim.


The practice swim log.


At the lunch.


Tasty fish fry, fish curry and rice


Leaving the hotel post lunch.


Registration and race kit collection.


Participants getting their bikes checked


Bike loaded in the provided slot in the transition area. The one with the number 120 is mine.


Debriefing by Coach


Team Radstrong.


Race briefing.




Watching the beautiful sunset.

[graaja]

Day – 4 The Race Day

All pictures in this section have been taken with permission from the FB page of EnduroSports Goa, and have been shot by Veloscope, the official photography partner for the event.

The D-day. The race start time was 7:50AM and we were supposed to report for the race before 6:30AM. Woke up at 4:30 in the morning (not that I could sleep much). And pre-race nutrition started at 5:30. This included a couple of slices of bread with jam with a couple of bananas. This was followed by sipping a bottle of Enerzal. The intent of this nutrition was to replenish the glycogen store in the body which has to last through the swim leg where we do not have any chance for nutrition. Nutrition during cycling and running consisted of 1 bottle of Enerzal with pinch of salt every hour, one gel every 45 minutes, a few pieces of oranges dipped in salt every hour.

Reached the venue at 6:30, had the number marked up on the arms and assembled at the starting point of the swim course at the beach. The race was flagged off at 7:50AM sharp for the Elite group and 8:00AM for the Amateur group.

The race consisted of 1.9km of swim, followed by 90km of cycling followed by 21km of run. The actual distances were 84km or cycling and 22km of run due to the rounding off at the turning points. Due to ocean current and constant course correction, the swim usually was 2km+. Participants had to finish the swim and then after coming out of the sea, proceed to the transition area where they hop on to their bikes and start the cycling. Once they complete 90km of cycling, they enter the transition area again to leave the cycles and start their run. After completing the 21km run, they cross the finish line and collect the medals.

The swim course: We had to swim 900 meters into the sea, 100 meters parallel to the shore and then 900 meters back.


The bike and run course: For the bike, we had to do 7 loops of a 12km stretch of road, and for the run we had to do 2 loops of a 11km stretch of road.


Number marking on the arms.


Athletes carrying out a final check of the bikes in the transition area.




Race start for Elite division.


Race start for Amateur division.


A few pictures of the swim






There were plenty of life guards on kayaks and motor boats throughout the swim course.








Athletes after getting out of the sea, can take a shower before moving to the transition area.


A few pictures of the cycling






A few pictures of the run




Aid stations. Enduro Sports had made fantastic arrangements for the aid stations. The aid stations carried water, Enerzal, oranges, bananas, salt, and a couple of them carried ice water and ice sponges for athletes to cool down in the scorching heat.






Pablo Erat won the Elite Male division with a timing of 4:23:33 hours.


Blossom Fernandez won the Elite Women division with a timing of 6:43:49 hours.


The male podium finishers


The female podium finishers


There were two big challenges we faced that day.

Scorching Heat

The first was the scorching heat. As the bike and run legs happened during noon and afternoon, athletes had to brave the scorching heat. The heat resulted in dehydration which resulted in cramps.

However, the organizers had set up many aid stations which were stacked up with Enerzal, water, fruits and salt. A couple of aid stations also carried tubs of ice and sponges soaked in ice. Athletes applied these sponges to cool down. This helped a lot in beating the heat and hydration and reduce cramps.

That's Pablo beating the heat in style.


And that's me beating the heat, more like getting beaten by the heat


Rendezvous with Jelly Fish

Most of the athletes had a rendezvous with Jelly fish. Rahul, our fellow athlete from Goa had rightly called them the cockroaches of the sea. Once we entered warm water, the water was littered with jelly fish.

Jelly fish are creatures with 95% water. Their tentacles carry stinging cells called cnidocytes. These are small compartments that house a needle like stinger. When an outside force triggers the stinger, the cell opens, letting ocean water rush in. This causes the stinger to shoot out into what triggered the action; once it’s there, venom is released. All of this happens within a millionth of a second.

During the swim, we got stung by jelly fish multiple times. It was quite scary when we could see jelly fish moving a couple of feet below. Some of these had very long tentacles like a couple of meters. And when stung, it felt like being whipped by a barbed wire. But as we were already half a kilometre into the sea, there was nothing more to do other than bear the pain and keep swimming. More than the shooting pain, the main risk was getting cramps due to panic swimming. During one of the stings, I had a severe cramp in my legs and had to swim some distance with just hand movements to recover from the cramps. But after the 2nd sting, the mind switched to “bring it on you $$@#!&’s” mode. Once we came out of the water, they had set up first aid stations where they washed the stung areas with vinegar. For the first hour into cycling, it was burning a lot, after which the burning subsided. The best part was not a single athlete gave up. Everyone braved these stings and came out of the water a winner. Such is the amount of mental endurance Triathlon brings.

As I am writing this, it has been two weeks since stung by jellyfish, and I still have rashes in the stung areas and these are very tender and painful to touch, and itch like hell!

Below was the newspaper article that was published the next day about this jellyfish menace.

[graaja]

Day 4 - My Race Experience

6 months before the race, I had started training under Coach Kaustubh Radkar. He is a 22 time Ironman (4km swim, 180km bike, 42km run) finisher and is the fastest Indian to finish the ultraman race (10km swim, 421km bike and 82km run spread over 3 days).


He runs a training academy for triathletes and runners called RadStrong. He provided a systematic training which included individual swim, cycle, and run workouts and combination of swim+run, swim+cycle or cycle+run workouts. I used to train 6 days a week with Monday as rest day. A typical week would have 4 to 5km of swim, 25 to 35km of run and 150km of cycling. Due to work related travel, there were many weeks when I had to skip my training sessions. But I tried to at least complete my runs during travel. Coach also provided detailed nutrition instructions and used to adjust nutrition based on how I felt during the workouts. He uploads the training plan in an app called Training Peaks. As I complete my workouts, my Garmin watch uploads the activities to the app and the coach would check the activities, add comments etc.

Below is a screenshot of a typical weekly training calendar in Training Peaks.


Below is a screenshot of a week where I could not do all the planned workouts.


I am a below average athlete and have very low performance levels in all the three sports. I started physical activities only 7 years back. A year back, I would not have believed I could even compete in a 70.3 Triathlon. But with the training and guidance from Coach Kaustubh, I was able to finish the event within the stipulated time of 8 hours 30 minutes. I completed the event in 8:17:54 hours. For reference, this was me 8 years back.


On the race day with some of the fellow RadStrong trainees.


A collage of my race.


The swim log. Though the swim was supposed to be only 1.9km, due to ocean current pulling me off course and continuous course correction, ended up swimming 2.4km.


The bike log. Coach had given very clear instructions not to push too much during the bike leg and do it at a sustainable pace. The goal was to cycle at 70% of peak intensity so that I got energy left for the run. To finish faster, the right approach is to increase the peak intensity and still do at 70% peak, not pushing to 80% or 90%.


The run. I am a very slow runner. My best half marathon time is 2:35 hours. Add to this the swim and bike activities before and the scorching heat, dehydration and cramps, my run went to 3+ hours.


Race result. Before I came into the race, my only goal was to complete the race within the stipulated time of 8:30 hours to be able to get the medal and certificate. And I was very glad to have completed the race within the cut off time. I will be stepping up my training this year and target a 7:00 to 7:30 finish in the next Ironman event in October.


A dream come true. The medal.


What next? I have registered for the IronMan 70.3 race in Goa that is happening in October. This race would be conducted by the international IronMan organization that conducts the IronMan world championships. My goal is to finish this event with a time of 7:00 to 7:30 hours. The only problem is the Jelly fish. Will figure out some precautions to manage that menace.

[graaja]

Day 5 - Sight Seeing

Day 5 Summary:

Started Day 5 with a recovery walk in the beach. This walk gave the tired muscles the much-needed active recovery which is very important after a strenuous race. After this we decided to spend some time sight-seeing. We visited the famous Bom Jesus Basilica which was constructed around 1600 A.D and has the remains of St. Francis Xavier. Then we visited the nearby museum. After this we had lunch at Viva Panjim. This is a traditional Goan restaurant which has been converted from a 150 year residence. We enjoyed traditional Goan fish curry and fish fry and also the Goan dessert Bebinca which is a layered cake. A visit to Goa is incomplete without tasting Bebinca. In the evening, I visited a spa called Neomis which was close to our hotel and had a 90 minute deep tissue massage which was a welcome relief to the aching muscles. Then a simple dinner and off to bed.

Day 5 Pictures:

The recovery walk.


The Miramar beach.








A few pictures from the Bom Jesus Basilica and the museum.






























The Viva Panjim restaurant situated in a small street.






Yummy fish fry


Bebinca, traditional Goan dessert

[graaja]

Day 6 - Drive from Goa to Coimbatore

Day 6 Summary:

Started day 6 with a 30 minute recovery run on the beach road and the beach. As Gautham had to be back in Coimbatore by January 15th night, we decided to drive from Goa to Coimbatore non-stop. We left the hotel around 9AM post breakfast. We switched every 200km so that we can drive without fatigue. Stopped just for one lunch and two coffee breaks and reached Coimbatore around 2 in the night.

Day 6 Pictures:

The recovery run.


Run on the beach road.


And a small run on the beach.


All set to go.


My best friend and classmate had come from Mumbai to join me. A few pictures with his monster Isuzu.






A parting picture with Mr. Bharath, the manager of Varanda Do Mar.


Checking the bike through the sunroof.


Checking if the bike is still there.


Coffee break after Tumkur.


The route.


The ride statistics from hotel to home.


What a memorable 1 week! That’s all folks, I have for now.

[tsk1979]

Thread moved to travelogues section : Thanks for sharing

[deepfreak15]

Amazing Ganesh! You are an inspiration. Congrats on your achievment and wishing you all the best in your future endeavours! If you need help in completing those yummy dishes next time feel free to call me

[Hayek]

Incredible achievement and well written travelogue. Can’t imagine how you completed the swim with jelly fish stings and then did the cycle and half marathon legs as well. Best wishes for future events.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Amazing achievement graaja. Congratulations once again!

Like I had mentioned to you earlier - I won't be able to complete even one of those events, forget all three in a row. Amazing! Definitely an inspiration - need to work on my fitness.

[Axe77]

So nice to see so many familiar faces in your blogs - Pablo is a total legend. Hope you got some time to chat with him - he's got a fabulous Argon tri bike if you saw it. I think I saw Valli in one of the pics - she had a particular bad spate of stings I believe. I had trained for my first 70.3 under Kau as well. [Incidentally I have the exact same Neon / black 2XU trisuit as the guy shown in the shower pic - now I just need a bike to match it - LOL]

What Elias and Enduro Sports has done for Open Sea swim based triathlon in India is truly super - the 113 was a logical extension to this. Its clearly the best Tri event in India (Yoska's upcoming IM event notwithstanding, which I'm sure will be spectacular as well)

I am registered for October Goa Ironman 70.3 as well and hopefully will catch you there. I will 99% drive down with the GT myself. I also want my kid to witness an ironman event - he's seen the Goa Oly tri before but a full on Ironman event should be quite an occasion. I'll probably get wife and child to fly down so he misses minimum school and I myself will drive down for the event.

I have also registered for the Open Water Swim that Enduro Sports - March 23 / 24. End march at work is unpredictable but will fly down for the swim unless locked down in office.

Finally, super debut for your Ironman and good luck with the training for October Goa.

Cheers

PS. A parting pic of my bike all packed up in the bike bag earlier today and put into the GT. And one of the bike when it was packed in.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

Amazing Ganesh! You are an inspiration. Congrats on your achievment and wishing you all the best in your future endeavours! If you need help in completing those yummy dishes next time feel free to call me

Thank you for the kind words and wishes Deepak. Ha ha. Sure. Plan for a Goa trip in October and I will let you help finish those yummy dishes.

Originally Posted by Hayek

Incredible achievement and well written travelogue. Can’t imagine how you completed the swim with jelly fish stings and then did the cycle and half marathon legs as well. Best wishes for future events.

Thank you so much for the kind words and wishes Raj. I think it is our survival instincts that came into play. Though there was panic in the first sting, lot of physical and mental changes happened and somehow the body recovered and kept on swimming. Every single athlete who got stung completed the swim and carried on into the bike and run legs. Amazing indeed!

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Amazing achievement graaja. Congratulations once again!

Like I had mentioned to you earlier - I won't be able to complete even one of those events, forget all three in a row. Amazing! Definitely an inspiration - need to work on my fitness.

Thank you so much for the kind words Sujai

Originally Posted by Axe77

Pablo is a total legend. Hope you got some time to chat with him - he's got a fabulous Argon tri bike if you saw it.

I think I saw Valli in one of the pics - she had a particular bad spate of stings I believe.

I am registered for October Goa Ironman 70.3 as well and hopefully will catch you there. I will 99% drive down with the GT myself...

I have also registered for the Open Water Swim that Enduro Sports - March 23 / 24. End march at work is unpredictable but will fly down for the swim unless locked down in office.

A parting pic of my bike all packed up in the bike bag earlier today and put into the GT. And one of the bike when it was packed in.

Thank you so much for the kind words. And all the very best in your Ironman Dubai race

Did not get to talk to Pablo. Since he is a legend, I was a little hesitant to approach him. But I saw him easily getting into conversation with everyone. He is a great personality indeed!

Yes. Vallis is there in the group photo. She got severely stung and had to be taken to a hospital for first aid. Inspite of this, she came back and finished the event with a time of 9:30 hours. She is just AWESOME!

What distance are you doing in the open water swimmathon? 5K or 10K? I wanted to do 5K as well, but as that would make it 3 events for 2019, decided to skip the swimmathon. All the best for a good swim.

Looking forward to meeting you in October 2019 in the Goa 70.3. Maybe we can also sync up on Strava and follow each other's training.

BTW, which bike bag is that? Did you source it here or got it outside India?

[Dr.AD]

Heartiest Congratulations Graaja on finishing this amazing event! You are a true hero and a true inspiration!

And even BMW will be proud of how well you have put your 3GT to use. Your car is one of my favorite BMWs in India, and looks smashing in that blue color. I remember initially we used to joke with you about the bike on top of that car. But you have shown us what is possible with determination and hard work. Now the bike on top of your BMW is a symbol of that determination and hard work. Salute to you!

By the way, some of us had the privilege of spending an evening with Graaja in Salem just the weekend before this event: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...elly-fish.html (Fitness Vacation to Goa – A road trip, a triathlon and rendezvous with jelly fish)

Originally Posted by graaja

An Impromptu Meet at Salem

Meeting RSUDARSANAN and Dr.AD for dinner. The discussions ran till midnight and covered a plethora of topics from BMWs, VWs, past TBHP meets, of our lives in general to health and fitness.

As he said above, we had a discussion till mid-night, and Graaja told us amazing stories about how he keeps fit and we listened in awe about his upcoming triathlon plans. It was an inspirational evening to say the least.

Wish you all the best for all your future endeavors Graaja!