The CAT results were announced and I got selected in IIM Raipur. I had only a week left to finish off with all my purchases and leave on my cycling journey to IIM Raipur from Chennai. I went for shopping in search of Jet-Black suits which was recommended by our seniors and I was not able to find a readymade suit and since I didn’t have enough time to get a suit material and get it stitched by a tailor. From the very beginning I was ignoring Louis Philippe thinking it would be too costly for my budget based on their sophisticated store’s appearance but as a final hope I entered the shop with a very warm welcome from the store manager and I was accompanied by a sales representative throughout my purchase. I finally bought everything that I needed in one place and to my surprise all the purchase came under my estimated budget, this saved me more time and effort plus I got a free business suitcase as a token of their gratitude. They also considered my urgent request in altering the suit a bit to my fitting and delivered it on time. As soon as I started my cycling journey towards Raipur I came across this forest in Chhattisgarh area where my mobile network(different network) went flat but I had done my research before leaving and I was suggested to carry an extra sim card of a different service provider (IDEA) which worked seemingly smooth and I was able to connect with my team in Chennai which was a game changer because if I wanted to talk to anyone or get anything done in Chhattisgarh I would call my team and they’ll help me with my necessary things. ABG has been a silent supporter in my greatest endeavor.

Triathlon and Mental Preparedness:

I am a long distance cyclist, I have travelled 370 kms in one day and I have commuted from Chennai to Raipur in cycling spanning 1172 kms in 10 days with no support vehicle which was published in newspaper and telecasted in news channels. My sports community in Chennai recognised me as an avid athlete since I was participating in almost all events conducted by all the clubs in Chennai and excelled in them. Chennai Trekking Club announced their flagship Triathlon event for the year 2016. My community registered my name before I could. I have always wanted to participate and finish a triathlon event as it is known as God of all outdoor endurance sports. I was not a great swimmer but I can run and cycle long distances so I had to focus and practice swimming and try to complete 1.5 kms in 2 hours. The event was just a week away and I started my swimming practice, on the first day I did 100 meters in 1 hour and was exhausted. On the second day I decided to swim for 2 hours non-stop whatever it takes and covered almost 500 meters, still I was not able to cover 1500 meters in 2 hours but I didn’t lose hope. The next day I calculated my timings for each lap and got advice from professional swimmers and changed my swimming style for every 4 laps which had a significance improvement in my timings and stamina. On 5th day I completed 1.5 kms in less than 2 hours and I still had energy in me to do more laps. Now I have built the confidence that was the major factor required to be mentally prepared for any endurance activities. The D-Day is here, I was practicing in the swimming pool but the event is in the open water, a lake which is 200 ft deep which scared me a little in the beginning but I only saw the water surface and told myself it’s just a big swimming pool and try to stay above the water. The whistle was blown and more than 40 people including me in my batch jumped in to the lake pushing each other while swimming and I waited until the space was clear for me to swim freely. After 2 minutes I started swimming keeping in mind all the practice I underwent during the last 6 days and finished my first lap(300 meters) in 45 minutes and the rest 1200 meters in 1 hour. It took a while for me to lose the fear of swimming in the open water but once I gained back my confidence the remaining distance didn’t seem to be that difficult. As soon I completed swimming, I had to immediately start cycling 40 kms in 2 hours and after that running 10 kms non stop before the cut off time. I finished my triathlon in 5 hours 43 minutes 26 seconds and became the first youngest athlete in my community to finish a triathlon. Being weak in swimming did not stop me from participating in Triathlon and become the finisher in my debut event. Since then anytime I come across any challenges in my life, this particular event gives me the confidence that I can do anything I wish with utmost dedication, commitment and hard work.

#IIMRaipur #ABGLPWooMe

Ashwin Irudayarajan

My life with ABG, IIM Raipur