Location: Goa
Ironman Goa
Yuvraj Keshav Kale - Deputy Manager Security & Admn, Jubilant Ingrevia Limited shares his first hand experience of participating in the prestigious ‘Half Ironman’ triathlon race.
“Ironman 70.3, also known as a Half Ironman, is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organised by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). The “70.3” refers to the total distance in miles (113.0 km) covered in the race, consisting of a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim, a 56-mile (90 km) bike ride, and a 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run, for successfully completion participants has to finish it in 8.30 hours. The event was organized in Goa this year.
I am passionate about sports and a couple of years back I came across some very inspiring personalities who were successful in both professional careers and at the same time pursued their passion in the fitness domain. With this inspiration I decided to commit something that will take to maintain my fitness level and make me mentally robust.
And the journey started… I joined at the Jubilant Ingrevia’s Nira facility on Sep 2019 and in first few months I bought a roadbike from decathlon pune. Since early days I used to do normal cycling on hybrid bikes for leisure only and that too not more than 20-25 km. From January 2020 to January 2022 I completed 5000 km of cycling amidst the COVID-19 pandemic issues prevalent across the nation. This also includes my Nira to Kanyakumari cycle ride of 1540 km.
I cycled all parts of Nira and its vicinity regularly and undertook solo rides that were ranging from 100 to 200 km.
Swimming- practice was never easy as there were no swimming pools near my location. The pool was around 40 km away at Baramati which was not possible to travel regularly hence I started swimming practice with my fellow collogues at Nimbut village in water well made by a farmer. After office hours we used to go for swimming wherein most of the time swimming was done in dark with little illumination, the experience was quite memorable.
Running was challenging this year as the whole of September month we witnessed heavy rains in Nira starting in the month of July which made it difficult to get trained. But with some practice of running and gym strength training I was able to train my body for this challenge. Walking the uphill and running the flats was the story of my half marathon in Goa. There are numerous other stories of my training and during the event as well, along with many learnings.
Ironman Goa was little tough due to humid and hot weather accompanied by scorching sun. Getting acclimatised to the weather was challenging alongwith water and roads. I am happy that I could make it successfully and I was part of this event.
I feel happy and proud to be part of this organisation where your passion is supported by providing suitable resources. My wholehearted thanks to corporate leadership and leadership team at Nira for motivating me to achieve my goal.”
