Two record-breaking Mumbai athletes shed light on motivation and going big

At 330 pm on Wednesday Grihitha Vichare drops in at the midday office on her way back from Raj Bhavan In a whiteandblue dress beads and pearls around her neck Grihitha looks like any smart and perky eightyearoldhellipuntil you learn that she is the youngest girl from Maharashtra and only the second one in India to make it to Mt Everest Base CampShersquos not the only young achiever at our office on that day A tall 17yearold wearing an Ironman 703 jersey is here too Garv Jain is the youngest Indian man to finish the arduous triathlon in Goa earlier this month It was his first official one He came in fifth in the ages 18 to 24 category with a timing of 055513 The race includes swimming 19 km of open waters cycling for 90 km and running for 211 kmCycling in 39 degrees Celsius and running immediately after was a challenge for Garv Jain Instead of spending two minutes to change shoes he spent seven minutes to recuperate and get back on trackldquoYou canrsquot enroll if you are under 18rdquo clears the Borivli resident ldquoBut there is a loophole that will admit a person who will reach the age before December 31 2022 This worked in my favourrdquoVichare was not restricted by age when she went on the trek in October with her father Sachin and her 14yearold sister Harita Her father had informed Grihitha that she had to trek this year to become the youngest girl to do so The Diwali break provided the most convenient windowmdashthey were gone between October 19 and November 3 ldquoMy first trek was in Karnala when I was six years oldrdquo says the Thane resident ldquoI used to trek and would take Harita alongrdquo says Sachin ldquoI started taking Grihitha too and noticed that they were interested in the activity and did not get bored or tiredrdquoGrihitha Vichare isnrsquot fearful of heights She has trekked to challenging peaks such as Shree Mallangad fort and Kalsubai the highest peak in Maharashtra which is difficult even for teenagersThus Sunday treks became a Vichare ritual ldquoWe get up at 230 am to leave home by 315 am and both my daughters would be ready on timerdquo he adds ldquoThis was their level of interest and since we did not force them we realised that it stemmed from genuine interest So we continuedrdquoGrihitha has completed 38 treks in the last 18 months to train for Everest base camp She has covered Gopalgad Dabhol Sondai Panhalla Agoda Chapora Dindeshwar hills She is also in the India Book of Records for climbing the NavraNavri peaks in Karjat while wearing a traditional nauvari nine yard saree and the Scottish Crack at Harihar Fort in Maharashtra The climb consists of a threehour walk through the jungle to reach the base followed by a 500 ft steep climb at 90 degreesCompared to her Jain started late but hersquos happy with how things have panned out for him ldquoI was bored during the lockdownrdquo he says ldquoand when my mom finally allowed me to go down to play I could only do individual sports There werenrsquot too many options so I began runningrdquo He began training with a Borivlibased running group ldquoIn about three months I began cycling and joined a local cycling association With them I went on longer rides of 100 km and in 2021 rode for 200 km to Alibaugrdquo This March he enrolled in classes to learn how to swim ldquoBy Junerdquo he says ldquoI started training under a coach for IronmanrdquoGrihitharsquos father is her coach companion planner and motivator ldquoExercise was the focusrdquo says Sachin ldquoWe went for walks regularly Besides 38 treks our oneandahalfyear plan included moving gradually from six to eight to 10 and eventually 14 hours of walking every day We would also climb the stairs till our house which is on the seventh floor thrice or even four times a dayrdquo Grihitha didnrsquot complain even once in fact she was happy and excitedMercury at the Everest base camp drop to 9 degrees Celsius It was Grihitharsquos first time in snow and she wore five layers to stay warm ldquoI like summers morerdquo she admits shyly with a chuckle when asked how she tackled the weather ldquoAfter three days all I saw was yaks snowcapped mountains and helicopters there were no treesrdquo Grihitha loves music but her recreational activity of choice till they reached the base camp was talking ldquoShe loves talkingrdquo her father tells us rolling his eyesWhile Grihitha shivered Jain was melting ldquoThe temperature was at 39 degrees Celsius for the last 15 km of cyclingrdquo he says ldquoMy glucose level dropped I have no idea how I completed the sectionrdquo It took him a few minutes to get back on the running track ldquoI owed my journey to so many people that I told myself I must finish for them This fired me throughoutrdquoJain works outmdashrunning cycling and swimmingmdashfor 10 to 15 hours a week While most youngsters his age are obsessed with the gym he avoids it ldquoFirstly I donrsquot have the timerdquo he shrugs ldquoand secondly I was never into being bulky growing muscles My focus has always been on staminardquo He admits having to sacrifice his social life to pursue this passion and will be continuing even once he joins Pravin Gandhi College of Law ldquoInitially my friends would get angry when I cancelled plans with them but now they understand and accommodate my schedulerdquoGrihitha who is in Class III is popular at Saraswati Vidyalaya school Though she plays with her friends throughout the week she gives their company a miss on weekends when she treksJain and Grihitha unwind in similar ways She loves drawing singing and dancing while he sketches listens to music and occasionally plays games on his phoneldquoI want to be a bakerrdquo says Grihitha with a grin talking about her future Jain also wants to limit triathlons to remaining a hobby ldquoMy only fundardquo he says ldquois to not overdo anything and go with the flow If Irsquom meant to be a fulltime athlete wersquoll seehelliprdquoHow to motivate your kidsLower screen timeGet them involved in their passionsNurture hobbies that let you unwindDonrsquot force them into anything