In this episode, I talk about the start of my journey in cycling and mainly the story behind the start of this podcast!

Topics covered

Intro and fan message

Initial days, intro to cycling

The rise and the stagnation

Losing my center and the impostor syndrome

Struggles through pandemic

Finding my center and the origin of The Working Athlete Podcast

Related links: Story of my start in cycling; 2nd Innings; My blog

Link to Subbu’s episode: https://youtu.be/RTkQenYpzvE

Link to send the podcast a message: https://anchor.fm/bikeyvenky/message

About the Podcast

The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working fulltime/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here(this episode is audio only): YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

A bit about myself:

I'm Venkat/Venkateswara Rao in my work avatar, working as a Chief Data Analyst in the IT industry in Bangalore. I'm Venky/Bikeyvenky for my friends in the cycling community. 

With 'The Working Athlete Podcast', I have a bit of a selfish motive. That is, it will provide me an opportunity for me to meet and talk to many people from all walks of life across different sports to learn how they manage an active lifestyle while doing well at work. I hope to share those learnings with all of you. That way, it will help both you and me to keep learning and keep growing.

Mayank Tripathi is one of the new breed of Ultra cyclists, that India is seeing who aims at not just finishing mind-numbingly long ultra events but actually do well in them.

He believes that Ultra cycling in India can benefit a lot from more people focusing on getting faster and not stopping at taking pride in just surviving for the distance.

Many would consider him too young to be focusing on Ultra endurance. But, to his credit he has raced and continues to race of all types races and distances along with the Ultra cycling races.

Unlike many of us who hate riding indoors, he loves riding indoors. He did Virtual Everesting on Zwift in 10h 15m. He recently won a 24hour virtual time trial championships riding non-stop for 24hours on Zwift.

A working athlete to the core, after years of working and cycling in India, he recently moved to Toronto Canada in pursuit of better work opportunities.

In this episode he shares his cycling journey which started back when he was in college. He recounts experiences from his first Kalahatty climb, his first Tour of Nilgiris and her experiences in ultra races. We also talk about his experience crewing for RAAM.

Topics covered in this episode:

ISRT Indian E-sports Racing Team(Zwift Team)

How his cycling started

His experience in cycling Nationals

His first 400km and 1000km rides

His cycling crash and coming back

2015 Tour of Nilgiris experience

Desert 500 race experience

London Edinborough London(LEL) 2017 experience

Coming back from injuries

Tour of Glory experience

Crewing experience for Race Across America

Training and winning the 24 hour Indoor time trial

Thoughts on balancing work and training

About the Podcast

The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working fulltime/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

A bit about myself:

I'm Venkat/Venkateswara Rao in my work avatar, working as a Chief Data Analyst in the IT industry in Bangalore. I'm Venky/Bikeyvenky for my friends in the cycling community.

In this episode, we talk with Dipankar Paul.

Dipankar Paul picked up a bike for commuting and chanced upon a cycling google group and signed up for an Ironman on impulse in 2011. Things never looked the same after that for him.

He walked away from a well paying job so that he can be a freelancer and pursue his passion of traveling and Ultra endurance. After a few years as a freelancer, he started a successful software company and walked away from it so that he can become a full-time coach and pursue his passion for the sport.

He is now an Ironman certified coach. He trains people in triathlon, cycling and ultra endurance and is loved by many of his trainees.

In this episode he shares his journey, his philosophy of coaching, his progression, his views on nutrition, weight training among other things.

Topics covered in this episode:

How he started cycling

First Ironman

Tour of Nilgiris

Touring in the Himalayas

Ultraman 20xIronman

Enduroman events Lands end to lands end 2013

Brevets longest

Fastest Brevet

First BBCH Race

The experience of winning a race finally

Training for speed vs shorter races

His Simple Nutrition strategy!

About the Podcast

The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working fulltime/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

A bit about myself:

I'm Venkat/Venkateswara Rao in my work avatar, working as a Chief Data Analyst in the IT industry in Bangalore. I'm Venky/Bikeyvenky for my friends in the cycling community.

In this episode, we talk with Richard McDowell.

Richard ran cross-country at school and university then moved more into mountain biking for a few years. Then sport took a back seat for a few years while travelling overseas with work, until getting more into cycling in India. He got into triathlon and participated in a couple of half and full Ironman races. He discovered that while swimming was certainly not a strength, running seemed to be his strength.  He ran his first marathon in Hyderabad in 2012 and finished on podium with a sub 3hr finish. After nearly 5 years traveling on work, he returned to the UK in 2015 and started running with more focus and joining an athletics club called Hercules Wimbledon.

He raced over a kinds of distances and terrain, from 800m to 126km, track, road and cross-country, with marathon being the most successful distance. PB has dropped over 13 marathons to 2:23:08 finishing 10th amateur at the London Marathon in 2019. He recently started venturing into the ultra-marathon distance. He's married and has 2 children, aged 4 and 1. He juggles training with family duties and work within the engineering sector.

In this episode he shares his journey, his progression, his views on nutrition among other things.

This episode covers:

0:00 Intro

0:05:32  Early years in sport

0:10:48  Early years on work and life around the globe

0:13:03  Time in Hyderabad, India

0:16:59  MTB Himalaya experience

0:19:47  Tour of Nilgiris 2012 experience

0:24:25  Restarting running in Hyderabad

0:27:51  First Marathon experience

0:32:05  Winning a Duathlon with a broken hand!

0:37:40  Triathlon, first 70.3 experience

0:43:42  70.3 World Championships in Vegas 2013

0:45:58  Transition from 70.3 to Full Ironman distance

0:56:09  Moving back to UK in 2015 and focusing on running

0:58:34  Running with kid in buggy- 5k in 16-10

1:02:09  Commute runs for saving time!

1:05:35  Progression of volume on the way to 2-23 marathon time( Advanced Marathoning)

1:17:39  Polarized training!

1:22:18  Nutrition and hydration for training and races

1:30:47  Why Ultra distance races? 

1:32:21  FKT Jubilee Greenway(57km race) Richard's Jubilee Greenway Youtube video

1:35:19   FKT Capital ring record  (126km)   Richard's Capital ring Youtube video

1:39:27  Jack Daniel's VDOT Formula calculator 

1:41:57  What goes in you mind during the long runs

1:46:10  Balancing training and personal life

1:52:13  Some tips for working athletes, priorities, sacrifices, being efficient with time

1:55:31  Closing

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts 

In this episode, we talk with Anubhav Karmakar.

Anubhav Karmakar started out as a cyclist, picked up running, then he participated in triathlons.  He is extremely good at all of these, but at least for now, it is in running that he seems to have found a footing and grown from strength to strength as an athlete.

He quit his well paying IT consultancy job and started an organization that aligned with his passion for multiple sports and calls it Athloft Multisport. A coaching firm providing coaching services in running, cycling and triathlon.

In this episode he shares his journey, his philosophy of coaching, his progression, his views on nutrition, weight training among other things.

Topics covered

Intro

Athloft philosophy

Start in sport/cycling

MTB Himalaya experience

Tour of Nilgiris 2014 - The missing bike!

Start of the running journey

First Marathon experience

First triathlon experience

70.3 distance triathlon

Challenges faced as a working athlete

Taking better decisions-avoiding decision fatigue

Biggest vacuum in my journey

2018 Berlin Marathon- A turning point

Mumbai 2019 - First Marathon Podium

1:07:10  Boston Marathon 2019 - A 42km stadium cheering you!

NewYork Marathon 2019 - Another PB!

Mumbai Marathon 2020 - Sprained ankle to 4th overall!

Nutrition and hydration for training and races

Thoughts on importance of weight training and skills development

Tips for a working athletes

Closing

About the Podcast

With 'The Working Athlete Podcast', my mission is to reach as many working professions as possible to help them get started and keep going on their fitness and healthy lifestyle journey.  The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. We aim to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working fulltime/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

A bit about myself:

I'm Venkat/Venkateswara Rao in my work avatar, working as a Chief Data Analyst in the IT industry in Bangalore. I'm Venky/Bikeyvenky for my friends in the cycling community. 

In this episode, we talk about a few breakthrough thoughts we gathered over the last 4 episodes. We also have a race update with a few breakaways that happened at the Nandi Epic Road race at Bangalore Bicycling Championships.

This episode covers:

Nandi Epic Road Race 2020- A Race Update

Planning and How Implementation Intentions help!

Not judging yourself by other people and Progressing On Your Own Journey!

Why You Don’t Need Motivation: Why Identity Trumps Motivation!

Self Compassion: Keeping things sustainable.

A few links that are related to the topics discussed

The Working Athlete Community on Facebook.

James Clear’s article on Implementation Intentions!

James Clear’s article on Identity based habits!

About the Podcast

The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working fulltime/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

A bit about myself:

I'm Venkat/Venkateswara Rao in my work avatar, working as a Chief Data Analyst in the IT industry in Bangalore. I'm Venky/Bikeyvenky for my friends in the cycling community.

All through my life I struggled with weight and health issues. After multiple failed attempts through the life to get fit and healthy, in 2008, I managed to lose 16kgs. My motivation was to be able to take care of my unborn son with the thought that "if I'm not able to take care of myself, how am I going to take care of my family?". When my son was 6 months old, having lost 16kgs, I picked up a bike to keep that weight off and stay fit. That became a passion and lost more weight and became better at it. I continue to train myself not just to stay fit but also race competitively in races in and outside the country. I also have been coaching a few riders to get stronger and faster at cycling since 2016.

With 'The Working Athlete Podcast', my mission is to reach as many working professions as possible to help them get started and keep going on their fitness and healthy lifestyle journey.

In this episode, we talk with Subramani Venkatesh.

Subramani Venkatesh was born and bought up in Bangalore, India. He started running in 2004 to lose weight and has never stopped. He moved to the US in 2007 and continued his running and picked up cycling as time went by. He is now one of the fastest Ironman triathletes in his age group with a sub-10 hour full Ironman and age group podium places in 70.3 and Ironman distance races. He is a 3 time Kona Qualifier in 2016, 2017 and 2019. He has a sub 10 hour effort in Kona which is considered one of the toughest courses there is. He was part of a 8 rider team that won the Race Across America(RAAM).

If all this makes him sound like a full time athlete, he is not. He is a working athlete - a Computer science Techie working and living in New Hampshire region in the US. Not just that, He is an Ironman Certified Coach. He has a certification in nutritional science from Stanford. He is amazing baker and has done a course on sourdough bread baking, he is a hobby bee-keeper and maintains a home garden.

In this episode he shares his journey, his philosophy of integrating whatever he starts into his lifestyle and his focus on keeping things sustainable and how it has transformed his life over the years.

Topics covered

Initial days, as a kid

Weight gain and start of running

Not breaking the rhythm, making it sustainable

A tick gets him into cycling

'You look like a triathlete, why not try?'

2012- Start of racing

First Ironman race

First proper coach and improved performance

Team RAAM(Race Across America) experience

Why only one big race per year

First Kona qualifier and Kona experience in 2016

His nutrition strategy for Ironman

Yoga in place of weight training

Hobbies, backing

How he organizes his day

His coaching philosophy

Tips for a working athletes

About the Podcast

The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working fulltime/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

In this episode, we talk with Shreyas Karnad.

At 21, he was young. At 120kgs, he was obese. He was constantly battling depression and found solace in food. What got him out of that spiral and begin to start living again? This is the story about how a man far down the path of self destruction saved himself and rose like a phoenix to transform himself into a 60kg marathon runner and a running coach.

Meet Shreyas Karnad, running coach at Runners360. In this podcast we cover his weight loss journey, his new lifestyle, his coaching philosophy of getting people 'fit enough to run', his thoughts on nutrition, why you should not look for motivation, why habits need to be sustainable etc.

Topics we covered during the episode

Runners360 philosophy

Obese and depressed at 120kgs

'Who's the boy?' 'I don't really like you!'

Weight loss journey - 'Sweating the emotional pain out'

First 10k and first Marathon!

Putting structure around training and making progress

Body image

Relationship with food, Change in diet

His diet mantra, eat local, eat organic...

Views on low carb diet for endurance

Hydration and nutrition during training and races

From 5:56 to 2:59 for Marathon. Injuries and coming back from the dead

Things to do when you're injured and taking the long term view

Why you don't need motivation - Being in autopilot mode

Tips to Working Athletes- Sleep better, Don't train like pros, eat lots of fruits and veggies, keep things sustainable,

About the Podcast

The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working fulltime/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor | RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | Breaker

A bit about myself:

I'm Venkat/Venkateswara Rao in my work avatar, working as a Chief Data Analyst in the IT industry in Bangalore. I'm Venky/Bikeyvenky for my friends in the cycling community.

In this episode, we talk with Vicki Nicholson.

Vicki helps organizations, teams and individuals make transformational change to meet their goals. She designs and implements interventions to build leadership capabilities, coaches leaders and teams and participates in organization change projects. Her unique ability is to create extraordinary learning experiences that stretch leaders to find their edge and truly explore their potential.

Vicki is passionate about finding a work/life rhythm and health and wellness.

In this episode she shares her cycling journey which started back in 2011 till now. She recounts experiences from her first Kalahatty climb, her first Tour of Nilgiris and her experiences in races and events outside of India including participating in UCI Gran Fondo finals twice. We also talk about the importance of group riding what it teaches. She shares her thoughts on being self-compassionate to not stress yourself with unrealistic goals.

Topics covered

Initial days, intro to cycling

Horse riding days

Riding horses, riding cycles & cycling community in India

First bike, the next and initial years in cycling

TFN 2011 experience

Rás na mBan, Broken bones, TFN 2013-14

First group ride, learning and getting stronger

Spectrum Racing and Veloscope

First race in 2011 - BBCH over the years

Women's participation in races

Motivation dips and choosing the right goals for the right times in life

UCI Gran Fondo Finals experience

Giro Delle Dolomitte experience

Profession and sport complementing each other

Managing schedule for work and sport

Being self compassionate, realistic and sustainable

Taking a longer term view, being active into the 90s

About the Podcast:

The working athlete podcast is a podcast with and for working athletes from all walks of life and various sports. The goal is to provide inspiration, training tips, mental hacks, time management and life-style advice through conversations with some of the best in sport, from athletes to coaches. If you think you can benefit from this, please consider subscribing so that you don't miss the weekly episodes in future.

Who is a working athlete? Someone working fulltime/part-time, entrepreneur or anyone who has to work to make ends meet and doesn't let being busy to stop him/her from pursuing an active lifestyle is a working athlete. I consider stay at home moms/dads who pursue a sport, as working athletes because homemaking is a full-time job.

If you like this, share with friends who could be interested.

For the visually inclined, a video version of the podcast can be found here: YouTube

Other Places you'll find the podcast on:

Anchor |  RSS  |  Apple Podcasts |  Spotify |  Google podcasts  |  Pocket Casts  |   Radio Public |  Breaker

About the host:

I'm Venkat/Venkateswara Rao in my work avatar, working as a Chief Data Analyst in the IT industry in Bangalore. I'm Venky/Bikeyvenky for my friends in the cycling community.

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Arvind Bhateja. Dr. Arvind Bhateja is a neurosurgeon based out of Bangalore, India. He is a gold medalist with an MS in general surgery and MCH in neurosurgery! He is an accomplished spine and neurosurgeon with nearly 25 year of experience and has taken part in over 5000 surgeries. Through 'Giving Back' program he has helped nearly 250 breadwinners of underprivileged families, that needed surgeries but were unable to afford them, get back on their feet and get back to work to take care of their families.   

He is a passionate master's cyclist and trains regularly. He uses cycling to stay fit to function well in his profession and life in general. He not only rides and races in Bangalore and across the country but also participates in events in various parts of the world.  

In this episode he shares his cycling journey which started back in 2009 till now. He recounts experiences from his first Nandi climb, his first Tour of Nilgiris and his favorite races and events outside of India. We also talk about the origins of Spectrum Racing team and why it lasted 10 years and still going strong. He also shares his experiences of coming back from major injuries including two spine surgeries. He finally shares a few tips on how to manage doing well in sport while doing well professionally and taking care of family.   

This is a long one. But, I think it is worth the time.   

For visually inclined, you can find the episode on youtube at: https://youtu.be/Ae0BpjB5ckU 

https://youtube.com/user/bikeyvenky

Topics covered:

The origin story. How cycling started. 

A new goal, first TFN 

First time up Nandi climb 

First Tour of Nilgiris(TFN) in 2009 

TFN 2011 experience 

70.3 Ironman experience 

Spectrum Racing Origin and Longevity 

TFN 2016 experience 

Overseas races  

Injuries - Spine surgeries 

How he come back from injuries 

50 Nandi climbs before turning 50 

Giving Back program 

How does cycling help your profession 

Planning the day - Managing time for sport   

Tips for a Working Athlete 

Keep in touch:

Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/bikeyvenky

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withbikeyvenky

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bikeyvenky/