Inside the making of an iron woman

Even when we met Saiyami Kher for the first at Indigo Deli in Bandra in 2016 when she was making her big Bollywood debut and recall her sharing her passion for fitness back then too Kher spoke about shooting Mirzya in Ladakh and how she started running while filmingThis week she recalls her fitness journey with us She says ldquoI just used to run in Ladakh and I did my first full marathon right after Mirzya released The film didnrsquot do well and for me and endurance sports was just a goto to calm my head down or figure things outrdquoThe idea of a triathlon had been on her mind since childhood ldquoBefore 30 I wanted to finish a half Ironman It gives you a sense of purpose a sense of fulfilment When you train and hit those training goals itrsquos a good sense of validationrdquoLooks like Kherrsquos wish has come true as she trains to participate in The IronmaN to be held in Cervia Italy on September 19STEP 1 EVERY DAY IS A NEW DAYThe idea that an experienced endurance athlete can simply return to peak form is misleading Even with a base level of fitness beginning another Ironman cycle comes with the familiar resistance of starting an exercise routine all over again ldquoYou begin at ground zero and itrsquos exhaustingrdquo After that comes the psychological negotiation ldquoItrsquos like lsquoOh my God now this whole thing all over againrsquoAnd then therersquos this battle with yourself in your head saying lsquoOh my God Irsquom signed up for this again Why are you torturing yourselfrsquoThis constant battle is always thererdquo Her trick is decidedly unglamorous mdash put the shoes on ldquoOnce I put on those shoes half the battle is won because mentally at least Irsquom thererdquoSTEP 2 FOLLOW THE PLANIronman preparation isnrsquot something she improvises Over different race cycles has worked with coaches including Kaustubh and Deepak Raj The first year Kaustubh sent her a structured plan this year Deepak has guided her preparation ldquoYou canrsquot just randomly wake up and say lsquoOkay today Irsquoll do this do thatrsquo Itrsquos very structured and very organisedrdquoThe current framework means three swims three runs and three cycling sessions every week plus at least two strength sessions Thatrsquos 11 workouts squeezed into six training days meaning some days involve more than one discipline ldquoBecause of the career path I have chosen itrsquos such an unpredictable timeline when it comes to shoots travel and things My schedule I try and manage to do everything in a way where I manage to get in these 11 sessionsrdquoMonday can be a rest day the remaining week builds towards a demanding Sunday ldquoWe wake up at four in the morning train ill about 10 in the morningrdquoSTEP 3 LEARN TO LOVE THE BRICKA brick workout is exactly as uncomfortable as its name suggests The aim is to condition the body to move from one discipline straight into another most commonly cycling into running ldquoA brick basically means you need to do two things at one time which is usually cycle and then run Itrsquos called a brick because your legs feel like bricks they donrsquot move after you cyclerdquo At peak training that can mean a 70km cycle followed by a 15km run Other days may involve a 25km swim followed by a 90minute speed runThe volume gradually increases through the programme before reaching a peak around a month and a half before the race ldquoYou start at a particular level and it keeps increasing Then you have a peak month which is a month and a half before the race where you hit your maximum distances And then about 15 days before the race you start tapering downwards so your body is fresh by the time you do your race Itrsquos extremely scientific and structuredrdquoSTEP 4 KNOW YOUR WEAKNESSOf the three disciplines running is second nature to her and has been running for about a decade Swimming is more technical while cycling remains her biggest challenge ldquoSwimming I used to do for school but never distance never open water and never for speedrdquo Cycling meanwhile is the paradox ldquoCycling should be our strongest and for me itrsquos actually my weakest so I have to put in a lot more effortrdquoSTEP 5 FIND A ROADTraining for an Ironman in Mumbai comes with a particularly complicated problem finding somewhere safe to cycle ldquoIf we have to cycle for 120 kilometres 150 kilometres for a long ride where do we do it Either we go up and down Marine Drive which is a fivekilometre loop for 130 kilometres which gets so monotonous or we take our cars and drive to Palm Beach Road and cycle up and downrdquoAnd even that requires planning around traffic ldquoWe leave at 345 in the morning to beat the traffic because by 7 am itrsquos super crowded Wersquore not doing this for leisure Wersquore speed cycling at 3840 kilometres an hour Yoursquore at speed yourselfrdquoSTEP 6 SWIM OUTSIDEMumbai presents another logistical hurdle openwater swimming ldquoThere is no place to do openwater swimming in Mumbai So you have to travel go to Nashik go to Pavna go to Khandala wherever You have to travel out of Mumbai to get your openwater swimrdquoThe reason is race conditions arenrsquot the same as pool conditions ldquoSwimming with currents in the ocean is so different as opposed to a lake Pool swim is so controlledrdquoSTEP 7 FUEL UPOne of her biggest lessons from previous races was that nutrition is part of the training ldquoThe biggest learning was nutrition I didnrsquot pay attention and said lsquoOh Irsquoll just drink whatever eat whateverrsquo But it makes such a big difference because yoursquore at it for seven sevenandahalf eight hours Your body is just constantly in motionrdquoSTEP 8 BE STRONGHer other major learning this time around has been strength and mobility ldquoI used to be really lazy with strength and mobility but I feel strength training will make you faster will make you fitter Especially for women after a certain age strength training is a mustrdquoSTEP 9 BE PATIENTPhysical preparation she stresses cannot be replaced by mental toughness The trick is to make an enormous challenge feel smaller ldquoItrsquos about one step at a time not looking way ahead just being extremely patient with what you want to do Endurance sport gives you incredible life lessons which I donrsquot think any school can really teach yourdquoSTEP 10 FIND A TRIBEThere is also a community that forms around endurance sport one Kher describes almost like a ldquocultrdquo ldquoYou meet some incredible people on the course The energy of the people is something which always draws me back to doing these racesrdquoSTEP 11 RACE YOUThe clearest measure of her progress is never another athletersquos speed But rather how far she has moved from the person who once found the distance daunting Her overall speed has improved but the bigger change is confidence ldquoSomewhere along the way training has stopped being a separate activity and become part of her identity ldquoThe race is against myself Irsquove always liked to just be better than what I was the previous yearrdquo