It was hardly 4 days since I was back from Goa after finishing the brutal Deccan Cliffhanger and I started suffering from a post race adrenaline withdrawal. I think I am officially become what they call as "the Adrenaline Junkie". I need some race to look forward to, something to train for, without it life seems meaningless. The NEF mountain triathlon seemed to be the perfect event. So the first weekend after the Goa race I went out for triathlon training. Cycled down to Manas lake with Hiren, Sandesh and Ravi. Did my first swimming practice in ages, was a bit stiff but I still had my old pace and technique. Then went and did a 10 km trail on the hills of Chandani Chowk. This was all the training I could put in for the triathlon, apart from some indoor spinning at Multifit.
This was going to be my first triathlon in India after a disastrous attempt in Australia. I was a bit nervous as the terrain seemed tough. It involved 800 mts of open water swimming in Panshet lake, 30 km of cycling through rough rolling terrain and ending with a 10 km run through a hilly jungle. My goal of participation was to learn about triathlons as becoming a full Ironman is one of my future goals. But I was going to give my best, especially in the cycling part which I knew was my strongest.
The triathlon start point was at Thangaon a small hamlet nested between the rugged Sahyadri mountains on one side and the serene Panshet backwater on the other. Situated 70 kms west of Pune, we had to report there my 7 am in the morning. To prevent early morning travel on race day me along with Hiren and Sushil went a day before and set up camp on the lake shore. It turned out to be a great idea as we ended up being more rested and fresher than the rest of the field.
The race -
As we lined up at the start on the lake shore the marshals tattooed race numbers on our hands. We were divided into groups of 15. I was put in the third wave. I was able to see the first and second wave go after 5 minute intervals. As we were let off the fastest guy from the first wave had already made it out of the water. He was damn fast and I knew I would have to beat him to win this one. My swimming was very slow as all the breakfast I had was coming out. It was hard trying to keep the food down and swimming fast at the same time. I had eaten too late as is normal for a cycle race, but dint know it was different for triathlons. Managed to finish the 800 mts in 15 minutes. Then came my favourite part, cycling. I had a lot of catching up to do, so dint waste more than a minute at the transition as I just pulled over my jersey, shoes and I was off. Did not even zip up the jersey I was cycling bare chested all the time. Cycling right after swimming was not easy. My HR was still high, but a start of high spin low gear got it down and I started my hammering. One by one I overtook all the other competitors. I surprised myself with the speed and power I was generating on the bike. The terrain was very rough composed of steep rolling hills, road covered in slippery gravel and sand and it kept twisting and turning. I really risked falling and crashing everytime I took a fast turn. I wasnt slowing down where everyone else were. Gained a lot of time. As I neared the turn aorund point I saw the first guy just 4 minutes ahead of me and the second about 2 minutes. This meant I was already ahead of them time-wise as I had started 10 minutes after these 2. I was happy, I was in a good position, but I did not take the foot off the gas. Just as I left the turn around I hear a loud bang and a hissing noise. It was my tyre getting punctured. This is where I learnt a lesson, I was carrying a hand pump but it was suited for the presta valve of road bikes. This mistake cost me 5 minutes as I had to wait till Sushil showed up and use his pump. Another 5 mins lost to fix the puncture. I was back on the bike and beast mode was on again. I was going down the rocky slopes like a maniac. So desperate I was to catch the leaders again, that I went into a turn too fast almost ending up in a ditch. I also missed a turn and ended up taking a 8 minute detour. I was very frustrated by then, I had lost a really commanding position by doing stupid mistakes. But all wasnt lost, I could still have a chance. So I went all out without a moment to rest and surprisingly I was not very uncomfortable. Body was responding all too well. Dropped my bike and started running, there were people around cheering me but they were just a blur. All I could think of was catching up with the leaders.
The run route was tough to begin with, we had to climb up a steep hill. Each step was shooting up my HR. Thanks to all the trail running, I had good legs going up the hill. I only saw the lead guy 1 km before the turn around, he was about 12 minutes ahead of me, catching him was almost impossible. However all wasnt lost as I passed Vignan the triathlete from Hyderabad only 7 minutes ahead of me. That was going to be hard but not impossible. So I dig in deep, take in my last reserves of carbs and get set to catch him, increasing my tempo at every possible corner. Cramps start to creep up, but I dont relent. Despite not knowing the real time deficit, I keep chasing him in the hopes of a second place. There was a steep uphill about 100 mts before the finish, I go really hard up it leaving nothing for the last sprint. But the hope of the second place kicks in again and I somehow manage to get a sprint out with the last ounces of energy and cross the line.
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| Running leg - Going up the hill |
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| The journos were considerate enough to let me sit |
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| With the medal as seen in the news |
I desperately called out for results but they did not disclose it. I even talked to guys around me, they all said Vignan finished 5 minutes before me. This meant it was agonisingly close as he had started 5 minutes before me. The second place position was going to be decided by a matter of seconds. I had to wait for one full day till they announced the results. I lost the second place by 30 seconds and the first by about 8 minutes. This wasnt bad for my first ever triathlon, especially losing out to champion athletes like Madhurja (national champ) and Vignan (half Ironman finisher). I later managed to beat Vignan in another Pune triathlon again only a matter of seconds separating us. Some nice friendly rivalry going on here, hoping to see him at the Hyderabad triathlon now.
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