Hradec 70.3: finally under 4:20

Why Hradec again

I had already raced Hradec the two years before. I love the course, the atmosphere and the town itself, one of my favourite places in the Czech Republic. So a third start was an easy choice. And if the race is on next year, I’ll be on the start line again.

Building back after illness

A serious illness took the start of my season. It knocked me out completely for several weeks and I had to cut my races right down. I only tested my form at a race in Most. That’s where I found out I was back and could prepare properly.

That left me roughly three and a half to four weeks for Hradec itself. It was a block built purely for this one race, nothing else.

The day before

On the last day I kept a clean, strict diet. Only rice: plain, with jam, or with lean meat and no fat or sauces. No fibre at all. I sipped electrolytes with a light sports drink to top up salts and carbs and fill my glycogen stores.

For two days before the start I stayed with my uncle and aunt, who live in Hradec. That helped a lot. I rode the start of the bike course and ran the run course, so I knew what was coming. I slept well, eight and a half to nine hours. In the morning rice with jam again and a cup of coffee, then my uncle dropped me at transition to fill my bottles.

Of course I was nervous. Because of the illness I had few races behind me and I was afraid of crashing or a puncture on the bike. That cost me some energy. But at the same time I believed in myself.

Swim: up and down the Elbe

The swim goes up and back down the Elbe. With the current it flies, against it it drains you. My official average was 1:21 per 100 metres, my watch said 1:20. But swimming downstream is faster and the course may have been short, so I don’t take that number too seriously. What mattered more was that I came out of the water fresh and strong.

Transition

My first transition was clean. I struggled to get out of the wetsuit for a moment, but I wriggled free in the end. Then you run with the bike around the whole athletics track where transition sits. Not pleasant on bare feet, but still better than wet grass or carpet where it’s easy to get hurt.

Bike: 39.5 km/h

On the bike I finally wanted to break a 40 km/h average. I missed it by a whisker: I averaged 39.5 km/h at about 252 watts. It’s my speed record, but that missing half a kilometre an hour annoys me a little. It was fairly windy and that only showed on the run.

Run

I started at 3:55 per kilometre. I couldn’t hold that and had to ease off to roughly 4:15 to 4:24. My legs felt the windy ride, and the bike-to-run change was the weakest part of my day.

Finish: 4:19

At the finish I found out I had a personal best of 4:19. I had finally broken 4:20 for half an IRONMAN and I was thrilled. Without the wind on the bike I think it could have been even faster. I finished 36th overall and 5th in my 18–24 age group.

What I take away

I leave Hradec with a great memory of a superbly organised race. For next season I have two clear jobs:

• work on the transition from bike to run,
• run more kilometres.

And if Hradec is on in 2027, I’ll be on the start line for the fourth time.