Mayank Raghuwanshi started working out in his teens, to cure his asthma. His passion for fitness grew, and at age 38, he decided to participate in the Ironman triathlon.
As a kid, I grew up suffering from asthma. It grew worse each day. During treatment at Apollo hospital in Chennai, doctors told me that asthma is non-curable. They said it could just be controlled, with inhalers and exercises.
I started working out in high school
My sickness made my life a misery. I wanted to get rid of it, no matter what. So, I set a goal for myself: to cure my asthma. I was ready to do whatever it took, and started by joining a gym and working out, in class 12.
My workouts were limited to basic exercises to increase my lung capacity and make me stronger. Slowly and steadily, I started increasing the intensity of my workouts. Within two years, my asthma was completely gone.
Working out became my passion
Even though my asthma was cured and my lungs were better, I didn’t stop working out. Rather, I was addicted to looking fit and muscular.
After all, I began working out over 2 decades ago, and have even walked the ramp for Gladrags and Manhunt 2007.
Realized I had been neglecting my endurance
After reading a novel called Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, I was motivated to run. Before this, I was more into lifting weights.
Since I looked fit and muscular, I was over-confident about my stamina. I started my first run, thinking that running for 11 km would be easy. But, after running for merely 100 metres, I started panting like dog and was unable to catch my breath.
That moment I realized there’s a difference between looking fit and being fit. I realised I was not fit! All I was focused on, was my muscles and looks. Indeed, my definition of being fit was wrong the whole time, and my endurance and overall fitness was ridiculously low.
At this point I decided to make some changes to my fitness regime.
Started cycling and running
To gain some stamina and endurance, I started cycling and it worked. Slowly and gradually, I started loving it. Be it cycling solo or with a group, I thoroughly enjoy riding a bicycle. Today, I have done a few 200 km rides.
When I’m not cycling, I can be found running. On 15th august 17’ I ran barefooted for 15 km. I called it the “independence run,” since this was the day I was freed from my belief that I can’t run.
Decided to participate in the Ironman triathlon
One day I came across a video on YouTube that amazed me, called “Ironman- Anything is possible.” The moment I saw it, I made up my mind to participate in the Ironman challenge, which is a test of mental and physical toughness. After I heard about Ironman 70.3 in Phuket, I registered for it.
Trained myself for the event within 4 months
This event consists of a 2-km swim, 90-km of cycling, followed by a 21-km run. All this has to be covered in 8.30 hours. The biggest challenge was that, by the time I registered, I had only 4 months left to prepare.
Swimming was the hardest for me. Even though I had learnt it in school, I wasn’t good at it. In fact, the first day I tried swimming, I could manage just 50 meters. I worked harder, and within 5 weeks, I had trained myself to swim 2 km in 55 minutes.
The struggle was worth it
The event was huge, there were 1500 participants from 70 countries. I successfully completed the Ironman within the time limit. The elation I felt when they announced my name and called me the Ironman, was a great memory. It proved to me I have the power to realize my dreams, through sheer hard work and persistence.