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Fabian Gonsalves

@flying_fab

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7 WMM, 5 Continents Marathoner
Best M- 3:39:36
🐕lover😺whisperer, shutterbug 📸,speed demon & wordsmith behind Flying Fab Ruminations & Reflections

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Sanlam Cape Town (CT) Marathon: Africa done !

So. I went to CT to chase a World Marathon Major candidate. What I actually got was a 42K negotiation with the sun, bad water, and my own ill-fated decisions.

This was supposed to be my smooth entry into Africa. Instead, Africa looked at me and said, “You want all 5 continents? Earn it.”
Check. 5 down. Only South America and Antarctica left. Antarctica’s gonna involve penguins and hypothermia, I just know it.

KM 0-13: I’ve got this
Pacing plan? Locked in.
Legs? Feeling good.
Then rolling undulating terrain showed up like an uninvited gym bro and started squatting on my quads.
No problem. I can handle this.
Then the sun came out like it was late for work and decided to take it out on me. Where were the clouds and raindrops from Friday & Saturday?

KM 6: The Hydration Crime Scene
Brought one water bottle. Finished it by 10km. At 15km I tried the course water. Tasted weird - can you believe it's hard water? By 19km I was sprinting to the loo instead of the finish line.
Pacing? Gone. Dignity? Negotiable.

KM 15-30: The Spiral
Desperate, I switched to Powerade and Coke.
Sugar does not replace water.
My body sent a group text: “We’re out. Everyone panic.”
KM 24-27 became a walk-run crime scene.
KM 28-30 were just walking with my soul 200 meters ahead of me yelling “turn back.”

KM 30-36: False Hope
I clawed back 6km of running. Felt like a hero.
Then after 36 km , the beach road direct sunlight just ground me to walking.

KM 39-42: The Bargain
Around 39km I cramped while walking. While walking. 😳
That’s when DNF flashed in my brain for the first time ever.
I stopped, iced myself at a drink station, and basically begged my legs to stop being dramatic.
They agreed to a ceasefire. Sort of.

The Finish: Ugly, But Mine
By the grace of God and pure stubbornness, I crossed the line. First marathon in Africa. Another continent done and possibly a WMM.
But angry for letting myself & my coach down.

The Verdict:
Marathons aren’t a mystery to me anymore. But international marathons? They’ve got my number. CT won but I am coming back for my pound of flesh at International Marathons. by @flying_fab

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4 months ago

And an Ultra Marathoner was born today!

Totally off syllabus, I just crushed a 50 km ultra marathon at 50!

Coach Manoj hadn't authorized this run, but he understood the birthday madness - I celebrated my 50th bday on Jan 21st, and I just had to do something epic. My marathon journey began at age 42 with 42 km at Tata Mumbai Marathon on Jan 21, 2018, so this was a must-do as it was the Tata Ultra Marathon 50 km.
So , on Friday Coach shared the pacing plan and also sent me best wishes for my first Ultra.

The race started at 1:30 am and I started strong, hitting 21 km, 25 km, and 30 km right on plan. Then, those hills decided to show up in strength at my weakest moments where I was questioning my life choices. Those last 20 km were a masterclass in humility, perseverance, and ignoring the voice saying, "Maybe this wasn't such a great idea."

Result: First 30 km in 3 hours, next 20 km in 2 hours 38 mins. Total: 5:38:01.
As I reached the finish line, my hands rose up in praise of the Almighty who showed me the way at my weakest moments. What's life without the presence of God ?

And the best part?
I qualified for the 72 km Khardungla Ultra with the TUM timings and my Kolkata FM (3:39:36).

Thanks, Coach Manoj, for the paces and the vibes. Now, where's my pizza and the beer , I ordered ?
Time to celebrate a phenomenal 4 months with my Coach Manoj....
Equalling my 10 km PB but this time on hills
Smashing my 21 km PB at Navy Half Marathon
Smashing my 25 km PB at Tata Steel Kolkata
A huge PB and a sub 4, 3.50 and 3.40 at Kolkata
And within 2 weeks recording a good timing in a 50 km Ultra Marathon by @flying_fab

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7 months ago

Flying Fab's Reflections: My biggest win Kolkata Marathon

And finally, the trophy got delivered.
Thanks NEB especially @sunilshetty27 & @sangy_31 for the same.

Grateful to :
Coach Manoj Rane: The plans, the race day route mapping & km pace besides check on hydration / nutrition during the run. Truly amazed by your dedication and true love for each trainees journey.

Coach Vikas Srinivasan: For the form corrections, it really makes a difference in marathons.

Coach Ash Nath : For unconditional love, generosity, and mental conditioning.

Coach Mitsu: For the strength sessions, corrections and Community

Sindhu: My running partner, inspiration and friend

Sunmbul: For being such a wonderful host and for the amazing inspiration

Surjit : For joining me and for trusting me always

Sharmila: For the beautiful vibes, intelligent conversations and just being you

It takes a lot of hardwork and persistence but all this falls apart if your surrounding ecosystem is not helping you .
When you are failing, first check your health parameters,
If you still fail , check your nutrition and what you are doing wrong,
If you still fail , seek advice from your current coaches if they have not given you any root cause analysis of your failures
And finally, if that also does not work, please leave and find newer coaches .
Invest in your success - you have only one life , don't settle for the ordinary or ' we can do it in the next race' .... taken in Kolkata - The City of Joy by @flying_fab

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6 months ago

OBITUARY: The Untimely Death of My Exercise Band (2026-2026)

It is with mixed feelings of grief and pure, unadulterated joy that I announce the demise of my Exercise Band, aged 7 months. This morning, during what was supposed to be a routine workout, it snapped, tore, and committed suicide mid-set.

Sources close to the band say it could no longer handle the pressure.

For 7 long months, this black loop of tyranny has been my tormentor-in-chief. It has seen me sweat, swear, wobble, and whimper. And just when I was finally asserting my dominance over it, the coward chose to quit life altogether.

Let me take you back to how it all started. Every Wed. & Fri. morning, I would begin innocently enough. A peaceful warm-up on the mat, some activation work, a graceful Cobra gliding into a Child’s Pose, a bit of groin and hip mobility to wake up the joints. It was calm. It was zen.

Then I would pick up THE BAND.

And zen would go to hell.

First, it would force me into Banded Lateral Walks. For three minutes I would waddle across my living room like a crab with a hip problem, while my family questioned my sanity.

If I survived that, it would demand Banded Hip Flexion-straight, side, and back. I would kick the air in three directions like a confused martial artist fighting invisible enemies.

Just when my legs were on fire, it would bring in its accomplice, the Kettlebell, for Goblet Squats to Front Lunges. Because apparently, just squatting wasn’t humiliating enough.

Then came its masterstroke - the Single Leg Rotational RDL. This is a scientific test to see how many times a grown man can lose balance and almost crash into his TV.

And for the grand finale, Cossack Squats. An exercise that makes you sit deep on one side while the other leg sticks out, making you look like you’re trying to pick up something from the floor with your butt.

For months I tolerated it. Last week, I finally felt stronger. I was controlling the band, not the other way around. I was winning.

The band saw its defeat coming and instead of surrendering, it chose martyrdom. It snapped.

It didn’t break. It broke up with me.

Rest in pieces, you stretchy monster. You won’t be missed. by @flying_fab

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5 days ago

Ladakh Marathon: Or how I paid money to get roasted, toasted and stoned.

High Altitude Marathon? At Ladakh?
Yes, I must have lost a few screws. And nuts. And bolts. The whole hardware kit fell off somewhere around 11,000 feet.

So there I was, in Ladakh, a place so beautiful it looks photoshopped, and air so thin even my excuses couldn't breathe. Why was I there? Because some mad dog bit me and said "Go run 42km where even walking is an achievement." And like all runners, when someone says "Are you mad?", we take it as a compliment.

After 7 days of acclimatization - which is a fancy word for "eating, sleeping, and pretending to run while gasping like a fish out of water", I stood at the start line.

My strategy was simple: Start slow, stay with my buddies Jogesh and Buddha. Sounds like a spiritual plan, right? It was. Till 10km, we were three musketeers. After 10km, Buddha decided to find his own path to enlightenment... slowly.

By 19km, the Ladakhi sun decided to personally focus on me. I was melting. So I told Jogesh, "Boss, you go ahead."

Then came the 20-21km trail patch. And there, a tiny, ambitious stone from Ladakh decided it wanted to see Leh with me. It jumped into my shoe. I thought, "Chalo, free co-passenger."

Big mistake. That pebble and I ran together till 26km. Then my foot said, "Enough is enough, deal with your new friend."

I spotted some Army jawans cheering. I borrowed their chair like it was my own living room, took off my shoe, and evicted the illegal tenant. The jawans probably thought, "Another one from Mumbai gone mad."

26 to 30km was not running. It was a highly sophisticated technique called "Will-I-cramps-or-won't-I" walk-run. My left toes were sending me legal notices.

At 30km, my inner accountant woke up. I did quick math: "If I just walk like a Kashmiri uncle going for evening stroll, I will still qualify for the Khardungla 72km."

And that became the plan. 12.36 km of pure, shameless, glorious plodding. One foot in front of the other. Friends were shouting "Run! Run!" I was like "No, thank you, my qualification is more important than your motivation."

5km from the finish,Buddha - who I thought was

-Cont'd in comments- taken in Ladakh Marathon by @flying_fab

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24 days ago

NEB Mumbai Half Marathon 1:55:13

Today was about coming back strong despite the extreme humid conditions. Coach Manoj had sent the full route map explaining the new turns and where to speed up , where to control . This time he gave me no target other than stating that I need to run strong throughout.

Hydration and nutrition in the morning before reaching the venue as well as pre race light snack was followed to the minutest detail. As practiced on my weekday 21 km run , I also carried honey twigs. So 750 ml of water during the run, 1 salt capsule , 2 honey twigs and 2 gel packets served me well today. As can be seen , it was a near even splits well controlled run.

I was happy with my performance and my Coach was very keen to meet me post run . That personal touch and the coffee with Coach which he so lovingly arranged made it special not only for me but all his trainees.

The coach blazed away today and there were another 4 podiums from the amazing strong lady champions in our team - Manisha, Sindhu, Aastha and Mitali. taken in Jio World Garden by @flying_fab

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a month ago

Flying Fab's Interviews: Women Wellness Coach Renuka Davey
From a Runner to a Voice for Women

For years, Renuka, a runner herself, noticed subtle but unsettling changes in her body. Like many women, she blamed herself, for not training hard enough, for not eating clean enough. Hormones never crossed her mind.

It took a chance conversation to change everything. She was complaining to her physiotherapist about how her head would heat up rapidly even with slight sun exposure, leaving her dizzy and drained. He paused and said, “Maybe your estrogen levels are fluctuating.”

Estrogen. She had barely heard of it before.

That one word sent her down a path of research, and what she found was both shocking and comforting. She was not alone. Women across the world were going through the same silent struggle. The need for awareness and support was urgent. That search led her to the NASM Women’s Fitness Specialization course. She enrolled not just to understand her own body, but with a larger hope, to help other women navigate this phase with awareness and confidence.

What she learned in her training opened her eyes completely. The most startling fact was that the number one cause of death in women is heart-related, and much of it is linked to hormonal shifts. She discovered that a drop in estrogen does so much more than cause hot flashes. It can lead to brain fog, vertigo, itchy ears, bladder changes, loss of stress resilience, joint pain, weight gain around the abdomen, hips and thighs, vaginal dryness, unexplained fatigue, bloating, irregular periods, lack of motivation, skin changes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, depression and more.

For the first time, she could connect the dots to her own experiences.

She believes the biggest misconception women have is that suffering is mandatory. That menopause and perimenopause are just something women must endure because they are getting older and nothing can be done about it.

This belief is why so many women suffer in silence. Society has conditioned women to accept these changes as normal. While pregnancy and periods are openly discussed, menopause is whispered about. With little awareness,

--cont'd in comments-- by @flying_fab

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a month ago

You do your best , but somedays things
are not meant to be. Character and honesty
are simply powerful and when you have it -
You show it.
A bad day brought me down but being with
friends definitely help you hurt less...

Catching up with team-mates and friends...
And Gen Z made me shake a leg too....

Congratulations to Coach @flyingmachine.mr
on a podium despite a bad throat infection.
Congratulations to @sindz.wid.wingz on a
great run & podium despite the conditions ...
Congratulations to all who ran today and
crossed the line ... It wasn't easy at all ! by @flying_fab

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a month ago

Flying Fab’s Interviews: Nutrition & Strength Coach Priyanka
The woman who chose herself again.

At 44, she embodies strength, confidence, & purpose. Yet her story did not begin on a racetrack or in a fitness studio. It began in a place of quiet struggle, where years of prioritizing work, family, & responsibilities had caused her to lose sight of herself.

For nearly 18 years, she lived the demanding pace of corporate life, juggling endless travel, deadlines, & family commitments. Somewhere along the way, her own well-being became an afterthought. Following a C-section, she battled diastasis recti, gained weight, & watched her health decline. At her heaviest, she crossed 82 kg, but the physical changes were only part of the challenge. The deeper battle was emotional.

Her confidence eroded. She stopped enjoying social interactions & became increasingly uncomfortable in her own skin. The woman who once embraced life wholeheartedly found herself withdrawing from it. Eventually, she reached a turning point. She realized that if she wanted a different future, she needed to make a different choice.

That choice was herself.

Her husband became her greatest supporter, encouraging her to explore strength training. What began as an attempt to improve her health soon became a journey of self-discovery. She immersed herself in learning about nutrition, women's fitness, hormonal health, & sustainable lifestyle changes. With every workout, every healthy habit, & every small victory, she slowly rebuilt not just her body, but her confidence.

Running entered her life unexpectedly 4 years ago when a fellow runner invited her to participate in a 5-km event. She arrived with no expectations & no performance goals. But crossing that finish line sparked something powerful within her. For the first time in years, she felt accomplished.

That single race became the beginning of a transformation. 5 km became 10,10 became 21. Each milestone reminded her that her body was capable of far more than she had ever imagined. Running shifted her focus from appearance to ability. Instead of asking how her body looked, she began celebrating what it could do.

Today, as a
--Cont'd in comments -- by @flying_fab

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a month ago

This boy is amazing

We felt he was having a tough time in the X.
We felt he was distracted, interest was waning
But all our fears were allayed when results
came in . He was among the Top 10 in his
school & the first Merit (90%+ ) in our family.

Proud of you , Nathan - have in fact always
been . Keep your head held high but always
retain your humility and helping nature. by @flying_fab

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2 months ago

FF Injuries & Rehab : Physio Mustafa & Me
Sacro-illiac Joint Strain Rehab exercises

I have had the fortune of getting injured and understanding my body better.

A runner can avoid injuries through strength training, proper nutrition, proper warm-up and cooldown routines. But all of us have that 'Suleimani Keeda ' , the one which makes us take something for granted and eventually keep Physiotherapists in business.

There are 3 physios in Mumbai who I would trust myself at any time and all of them are simply the best for me and I keep recommending them whenever a runner is injured. For me , Mustafa who has his own setup 'Movmed' is truly the most accessible, fastest to reach and even does home visits when I am unable to go to his clinic.

The videos are some of the rehabilitation exercises which Mustufa made me do nearly everyday , to overcome my sacro-illiac joint injury.

What is the SI joint?
It's the joint where your sacrum - the triangular bone at the base of your spine - connects to your ilium - the big pelvic bones on each side. It acts as the "shock absorber" between your spine and pelvis. You have one on the left and one on the right. The strain happens due to various reasons but mine was due to repetitive stress of running uphills n downhills.

-The symptoms for me, lower back pain which radiated to the groin. This worsened with standing up from sitting, climbing stairs, running, rolling in bed, single-leg activities. by @flying_fab

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2 months ago

Flying Fab's Interviews : Coach Nayana
Training for Life, Living with Purpose

Some coaches inspire through records & medals. Others inspire through the way they live their lives. Nayana belongs firmly to the latter category.

A Strength Coach, Animal Flow Instructor, Nutritionist, & practitioner of movement disciplines such as Indian Club & Mace training, Nayana's journey has never been about chasing athletic glory. Instead, it has been about discovering strength, purpose, & connection through movement, & helping others do the same.

Her love for movement began not on a track but on mountain trails & forest paths. Walking & trekking brought her a sense of peace that competition never could. The turning point came when she decided to undertake the challenging Kumara Parvatha trek in Karnataka barefoot. What began as a test of willpower soon became a deeply spiritual experience. Drawn by the mountain's sacred association with Lord Subramanya, she embarked on a journey that transformed not only how she moved, but how she lived.

Walking barefoot taught her awareness. Every step demanded presence. It strengthened her feet, improved ankle stability, helped her recover from injury, & deepened her connection with the earth. Barefoot movement became a form of meditation, teaching her to slow down, breathe, & truly experience each moment. That philosophy naturally found its way into her coaching.

Certified through the American Council on Exercise & trained in Animal Flow & functional movement systems, Nayana helps people move better rather than simply look better. Her coaching focuses on strength, mobility, agility, balance, power, & long-term functionality. Whether leading early morning group sessions or working one-on-one with clients, her mission remains the same: to help people build healthier, stronger, & more capable lives.

Yet the greatest influence on her journey has not been a certification or a fitness achievement.
It has been her son.
A single mother, Nayana describes him as her world & her greatest source of motivation. He has accompanied her on treks, runs, & workouts, growing alongside her fitness journey. She introduced him to ..

-contd in comments- by @flying_fab

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2 months ago