BENGALURU: He is a mid-career cop with a resolve to carve a niche in the world of endurance and fitness. Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of 2004 batch, Inspector General of Police, Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP), Sandeep Patil, competed in the Ironman Triathlon in August this year.
He is the only IPS officer from the Karnataka cadre to have competed in the prestigious global challenge held by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) in Copenhagen. “I finished swimming 3.8 km in the sea, cycled 180 km and ran for 42 km in 14 hours 45 min,” Patil told TNIE.
“I began training for the triathlon one-and-a-half years ago but went on a stricter regime and diet discipline six months back, after registering for the triathlon in January this year,” he said.
A cop is required to be fit. Qualifying and competing in Ironman requires a higher level of discipline and training besides the resolve to make it. “To compete in all the three disciplines was a challenge, especially swimming. My earlier experience of swimming was for 300 metre at best. From there to learn to swim 3.8 km and that too in an open sea was a huge challenge. I pushed myself to swim more, better and in record time,” he said.
Cycling for 180 km immediately after the swim in the sea and then running for 42 km soon after was a bigger challenge for Patil. “I had to maintain my energy levels and went on a high protein diet three months prior to the event,” he said. Being a vegetarian, Patil got his protein intake from a diet of lentils, sprouts and protein shakes.
“On the race day, I had to consume a minimum of 60 gm carbohydrates per hour, and ate two to three energy gels and bars every 60 minutes. It’s not easy to suddenly switch to a high protein and carb diet. One has to train one’s body to get used to these energy bars and gels for almost 13-14 hours,” he added.
To maintain a fine balance between professional life and personal pursuit of the Ironman challenge, the police officer said that he would start his day early, around 5 am to complete intense and long training sessions with a personal trainer and be in office by 10 am.
Patil thanked the state government, DG&IGP and the police department for their help and support.
“My wife, Poonam, who cheered me all through, was present at the finishing line,” said the IGP.