Co-Founder and CEO of SUGAR Cosmetics, Vineeta Singh, who is seen among the panel of judges on the show ‘Shark Tank India 2’, is not only an entrepreneur, but also an athlete who participated in a number of marathons and triathlons.
Recently, she participated in a triathlon and found it really challenging as she had a panic attack but still she managed to compete race.
In a note about her experience, she said: “I FINISHED LAST. I’ve always struggled with swimming & unfortunately all triathlons start with swims, that too in open waters. Last weekend the Shivaji Triathlon was one of my hardest ever. A windy, choppy lake resulting in a panic attack that lasted almost an hour.”
She continued, “In spite of all the pep talk from Sham & Kaushik, I couldn’t breathe, so I asked them to carry on. I got on the rescue boat & decided to quit. The idea of quitting was painful but Shivaji Lake looked like the kind of beast I had no courage to tackle that morning.”
“As I sat shivering on the boat, I saw an incredible nine-year-old brave her way through the waves. Although I was ready to throw in the towel & made peace with it – this wasn’t a critical race, I hadn’t trained much so it was OK to head back to my children, tell them mama needed to train harder in open water & try next time. But was I ready to get my first DNF? Unlike most triathlons, this one didn’t have a timing cutoff, so what was my excuse? What would it take to somehow stop the negative train of thought & slowly paddle my way through the 1 km?”
Sharing more about the incident and how she was rescued, Vineeta said: “And just like that, I jumped back in. Paddled a bit, tried floating on my back, tried a couple of strokes, then went back to the rescue rope. Repeated this a few hundred times. What’d normally take me 39 mins took me 1.5 hrs. As I finally got out of the water, I looked back and I was absolutely the last one out (much to the relief of the Navy rescue crew). Threw up all that lake water I’d drunk & just sat down for a few mins before getting on with the bike and running.
“Had to savour the moment I’d visualised for the last 30 mins. Also, my knees were still wobbly. Looking back, I wasn’t mentally as strong as I could’ve been. Mental strength like other muscles needs regular training. The visualising, the breath-work, the positive thinking could’ve started earlier, but one learns more on tough days & I’m grateful. While most people had finished the race by 10:30 a.m., I was still finishing my run at 12:20 & yet there were 100 Navy soldiers cheering in the heat. God bless the whole unit at INS Shivaji.”
“I came back & told my children: Mama finished last today, but mama didn’t quit,” she concluded.
