Karel’s thoughts on Kona…… My 20th Ironman and sixth Ironman World Championship is complete. Kona has been part of my triathlon journey five times now, and while I have plenty of Ironman experience, this race reminded me that experience only takes you so far. You have to respect the course, the conditions, and what your body is capable of on that particular day. This year’s race was tough, as it should be. After years of relatively calm conditions, we finally got the full Hawaii experience: heat, humidity, wind, and a challenging ocean swim. I was relieved to cross the finish line in 10:11:02, finishing 37th in the 50–54 age group out of 249 athletes. Getting to that finish line, however, was far from straightforward. Pre-Race Going into the race, as you probably know, I was still dealing with a partial tear in my upper hamstring tendon that I sustained near the end of the marathon at Ironman Lake Placid. My training was far from ideal. For several weeks, I couldn't bike or run con...
As you may know, Karel won his age group at Ironman Lake Placid in late July. With about eight miles left in the marathon, he felt something pop in his leg. At the time, we didn’t know exactly what had happened. Two weeks later, an MRI confirmed a partial tear in his upper hamstring tendon. And suddenly, the Ironman World Championship was in question. Sometimes, the hardest part of racing isn’t the race itself. It’s accepting that the race you had planned may no longer be possible. Karel had already registered for Kona (which happens at the award ceremony the day after the Ironman) but after he received the diagnosis of the injury (2 weeks later), he regretted the decision. He knew he wouldn’t be able to prepare the way he normally would, and there was a very real possibility that he wouldn’t be able to participate at all. Saturday October 10th will mark 12 weeks since the injury. For many athletes, returning to running after an injury can take a lot of time. It’s not just the time to ...