“She, queen of the kings, runnin' so fast, beatin' the wind Nothin' in this world can stop the spread of her wings She, queen of the kings, broken her cage, threw out the keys She will be the warrior of North and Southern Seas”
This is the song that came to my mind when I was listening to this amazing journey of our Triathlete, Sailee Gangakhedkar. This perfectly exemplifies “what the mind conceives body achieves”.
Successfully climbing the corporate ladders and managing her home, she ensured she proudly waved the Indian Flag at her recent Ironman event in Spain.
This year has been fabulous for her as she became an Ultra Runner and an Ironman all within 6 to 9 months. This blog is to celebrate her grit and determination.
The Foundation of an Athlete
"I am grateful to my parents for enrolling me in swimming and instilling the benefits of fitness since childhood. I participated in swimming competitions at the district level until 10th grade.
After that, life got busy with studies and the usual routine. I became a Chartered Accountant, got married, embraced motherhood, and was pulled into the daily juggle of life. I never had much time to prioritize fitness.
I enjoyed my work, but I also realized it was taking a toll on my health. In 2014, I started running. I would run alone, usually late at night after putting my son to bed. Running was gaining popularity, and it was an activity I could do independently, without relying on anyone or anything. Just 30 minutes of running made a difference.
How it all began!
I began to enjoy my runs and looked forward to them after long workdays and a hectic schedule. Running became a peaceful, meditative activity for me. Until 2019, I ran on my own, participated in my first Half Marathon with PRBM in 2016, and ran 10k races a couple of times a year. My goal was to run a Full Marathon in 2020.
I started training in June/July 2019 with "Running Potential" a running group, where I learned to run in a more structured and methodical manner. Things were going well until I suffered a severe injury in December 2019. I realized I had neglected strength training (ST). My awareness about strength training was limited at the time.
Despite the injury, I managed to run my first Full Marathon in under 5 hours. This marked the beginning of my journey. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I took up cycling and took a break from running to recover. When restrictions eased, I resumed my running routine.
Introduction to the world of Triathlons
I've always been surrounded by fitness-minded people and friends, making it easy to get tips and guidance on strength training and posture. Last year, in 2022, I took strength training more seriously. In February, I joined a group exclusively for strength training called "Fitness First".
Fortunately, there I also met a few other aspiring triathletes who were training for Triathlons, and that’s when I came to know about the Ironman race.
In April, there was a trial Triathlon in Panshet, and I casually participated. Despite a significant gap of almost two decades in swimming, I realized I could comfortably complete an Olympic-distance Triathlon. This motivated others to encourage me to register for an Ironman event in Kazakhstan. I was hooked on the idea, as fitness has always been my passion. I began spending more time on my fitness activities, thus commencing my Ironman journey.
Balancing my office job in Mumbai with my training proved challenging, as post-COVID, I had to commute to the office twice a week. Some days I ran in Mumbai, and other days in Pune. Fortunately, I had incredible support from my family, and my husband backed me in every way.
The training went smoothly, and I completed my first Half Ironman in 6:25 hours, emerging as the second person out of the water.
That moment affirmed that this was something I was good at and that I should continue. Since then, I've participated in the Bergman Olympic distance Triathlon and Swimathon at Amby Valley, consistently taking part in events and continuously practicing.
Ultra Running
Since Kazakhstan, running an Ultra was on my mind.
I began training for the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2023, which was my second full marathon. Unfortunately, during the training, I suffered another injury. I started training in October, but due to a heavy workload, not all aspects went according to plan. I realized the need for a change in my training regimen, given my recurring injuries.
My injury was quite severe, and I could barely run 5 km by the end of October. My Physio helped me recover and I gradually increased my weekly mileage by 5 km and incorporated split runs over the weekend to manage my mileage. Thankfully, by January, I had recovered and ran a sub-4 full marathon at TMM 2023, despite losing a month due to injuries.
With my newfound confidence, I registered for Comrades, and my journey toward the Ultra Marathon began.
I joined the "Motiv8" group and started training under the guidance of Atul Godbole. I participated in the Tata Ultra in February and completed it in 5:32 hours.
Running at night wasn't a great experience for me, but I persisted because Comrades was on my mind. My experience with the "Motiv8" group has been instrumental in my progress, as they provide realistic and conservative training plans that don't overload the body.
Along with a strong training plan and with significant help from my physio I successfully completed Comrades in 10:09 hours.
Making of an Iron(wo)man
An enduring dream for me was to become an Iron(wo)man on my 40th birthday.
Becoming an Iron(wo)man has been a journey, and my strength has always been swimming, which I've been doing since childhood. The 180 km bike segment was my main concern.
Because of this, I focused more on the bike segment. It was a circus managing everything, as this involved three different types of activities, plus maintaining strength training along with your professional life. But my family's support was tremendous and that helped me in completing my training with minor hiccups.
The biggest setback before my Ironman event was my Goa visit in September. There was a seminar for open-water swimming, and I took the opportunity to swim in the sea. Since my whole training was during monsoon seasons, I did not get an opportunity to practice in the sea as they were all closed. Hence when I saw this opportunity I quickly grabbed it thinking I should try to swim in open waters before the event.
I swam early in the morning on an empty stomach, worried about jellyfish. To my surprise, there were no jellyfish, but the salty and murky water made me dizzy, and I suffered motion sickness, ultimately throwing up. This experience shattered my confidence, as I had always considered swimming my strong point. It led me to find remedies for motion sickness and practice in salt water to overcome the vomiting sensation.
On race day, the weather was scorching hot but bearable. The water was clear, and I could see fish swimming beneath me. However, it was choppy and turbulent, making me struggle and resurface several times for proper sightings. With great efforts, I finally completed the swim in 1:18 hours, just as I had initially planned.
The bike segment went smoothly, but the heat was challenging.
During the run segment, I forgot to take salt tablets during the transition, resulting in cramps. I stopped at every aid station for icing and spraying, so my run didn't meet my expectations.
Nevertheless, the event was great, and I finished in 13:30 hours. I finally became an Ironman :)
Parting words
This year has been filled with achievements, and my current focus is on rest, recovery, and spending quality time with my family. 😊.
I learned a lot in these past couple of months. Due to our other commitments in life, we had been inactive for so many years and then suddenly expecting your body to give its best is not a fair ask. Hence strength training is extremely important, but also, we have to understand that our body takes its own time to adapt. It’s all about the perfect balance of nutrition, strength training, rest, and recovery."
Athlete - Sailee Wagh Gangakhedkar
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