- I think it's fair to say that we would all love
to have more time for training and recovery,
but in reality as age-groupers,
we're trying to fit in a job around family commitments,
maybe even a little bit of a social life,
all around your training.
And I expect that I'm not alone
when I say I look on at the pros with envy as I just dream
of having an uninterrupted training session and recovery.
Well, in reality that isn't always true,
especially if you add a toddler into the mix.
Well, that is the exact circumstance
for pro-triathlete Radka Kahlefeldt
who gave birth to her first child back in January, 2018,
and managed to go on and win a 70.3 Ironman
just 11 weeks after.
Well, I want to know just how she does it,
and what tips she could give us.
And Radka has very kindly invited us into her home
just ahead of the Ironman 70.3 World Championships,
so I think it's time we went and found out.
- [Radka] Ruby, look.
Takes my mind to a small place.
Yeah, she was like--
- Go show Mom.
Off to transition, here we go.
- Iron Girl, here you come.
Radka, thanks so much fitting us in
cause as I can see it's pretty hectic
trying to do all of this before a race,
but I want to find out how you manage to,
since your life has obviously changed dramatically
19 months ago and you're still performing
at the very top level.
What are your key points or tips that you could share
with the time-crunched age-group athletes?
How have you adapted your training?
- Momma.
- Hi hello, thanks for having me.
Well, yep everything changed since Ruby was born.
You have to be really time efficient,
so there's no time for junk mileage.
I think the best thing was to do most of the training
on wind trainer and the run on treadmill.
Yeah, the wind trainer would be really boring
if you don't have a set session
so, I actually love it if Brad tells me,
"Okay, you do 20 minute warmup
then four times eight minutes, Ironman pace,
with 4 minutes easy in between,
and then, I don't know,
some more five-minuters, and them warm down."
It goes much quicker, and you get a really good workout,
and you are done in two hours.
This was great because I know if I pushed really hard
for two hours, it's good for me
and then I'm quickly back with Ruby.
- And have you found that's sort of affected you
as an athlete, condensing, I guess, your bike training?
How has that affected your performance
and your trajectory as an athlete?
- Yeah, well.
(beep)
- It's just the mic 'cause,
and we might struggle to pick bits up if--
- It's a bit too much, and I can't focus on what I'm saying
(beep)
- Well, yeah, if you just sort of cover again,
so obviously the trainer is much more time efficient,
but how, as an athlete has that kind of helped you
or changed the way you race or the way you're competing?
- I don't think I'm racing differently,
but, it really fits me well to do quality sessions
and I'm training roughly around only 20 hours a week.
- Okay.
- But most of it is quality,
it's great for me and great for the family as well
because I just don't want to be away from Ruby
the whole time, and it's a good motivation
to do something very quick and then be back into...
- [Interviewer] And what's the longest bike ride
that you now do?
- I do, once a week, a long ride,
which now is only three and a half, four hours.
- Okay.
- But, actually, another thing;
I don't have any people to ride with any more
because I can't say Wednesday this time, I'll be there,
because it depends all on Ruby, how she sleeps,
how we plan the day and so on.
So we decide, okay, this Wednesday you ride long,
or next week I may ride long Friday.
I do most of my rides on my own.
- Do you have any tips,
or is there anything you've changed in the order
or the time of day that you train?
For people who have less time,
do you find it more efficient to do it one end of the day
or the other, or do you ever put your sessions back-to-back
to save time on warm-up,
cause you're already warm for some of them?
- Yeah. Well, I would say as a mom you're warmed up
the whole day because you're chasing the baby.
I really enjoy doing one session of the day really early
before the baby wakes up, if it's possible,
cause I feel like I'm not taking her time,
my time with her.
- Aww.
- And also, it's easier to get out of the house
because now when she's also saying, "Mom, mom, momma,"
I feel like I don't want to go,
but if she's still sleeping I just go, and it's--
- How do you plan your week,
and what could maybe other people
who have things come up at work, and stuff,
how do you deal with that not complete knowing?
Cause I imagine before you could say exactly
what you're doing, every day,
for probably the next few weeks.
That similarity with age-groupers, you know,
suddenly your boss calls you in for work,
or suddenly Ruby keeps you up at night,
how do you deal with that, and what's your strategy?
- Yeah, you have to be really flexible
because otherwise you wouldn't be able to do it because,
like you said, everyday changes based on the baby,
or appointments.
Most of the time, once Ruby goes to bed at night,
I sit with Brad and say, "Okay, what's tomorrow?"
He tells me what I need to do,
and then we're, "Okay, can Ruby go to creche,
or is there Grandma, or can Ruby be with Brad?"
We just have to plan the day,
and then how we decide it has to be exactly how it is.
We can't decide that I'll ride before Ruby wakes up
and then I'll just decide to sleep in.
It's not possible.
It has to be, otherwise you can't do the--
- Yeah, I think that's very similar
in the fact that you have to be flexible
until almost the night before,
and then you know what your schedule looks like
and you have to stay, yeah. - And then you have to hold it
Of course, you have to be even more flexible
if we say now you're getting up, but Ruby has, I don't know,
growing teeth and you don't sleep the whole night,
then you change it even last-minute.
- Recovery is a big part that I personally,
and my impression about the,
everyone trains so hard,
but forgets that your body needs to recover.
But obviously, when you have less time
it's easy to say yeah you should recover.
How do you manage your recovery now,
when it must be very different?
- It's definitely very different,
but the recovery is very important
and you can't go without it.
I'm still making sure I have once a week a massage,
which is kind of the thing I'm living for,
because it's not just the body getting the recovery
but the brain as well.
You just can switch-off
and you know someone's taking care for the baby,
and you can relax.
It's very important for me.
Now most of my recovery is actually active recovery.
It's basically following Ruby either to the swimming pool,
or beach, or climbing up with her on the slide.
(Radka laughs)
- [Interviewer] God that sounds exhausting.
- Yeah, sometimes I'm really tired
and I'm praying she wants to sit down and read a book.
- You've got a few years to wait.
(Radka and interviewer laugh)
- But also, I've recently partnered with
one clothing company, called KYMIRA.
They are focused on recovery pants and recovery clothes.
The material is infrared material.
- Yeah, okay.
- So, it's very interesting and I now wear the pants
most of the time when I'm at home
so even when I'm cooking or doing stuff,
this should already work on my recovery, which is great.
- You've touched it quite a few times,
obviously Brad, your husband, is your coach.
And he's the father of Ruby, as well.
So, you're all very one tight-knit team.
I know Brad coaches age-group athletes, too.
Have you got any tips that you've absorbed from him,
obviously working with you as having less time than you do,
but all of his athletes having jobs as well.
Are there any kind of other pointers that you can think of,
that age-groupers could utilize
to make the most of their time,
or anything that you see Brad doing, or giving to athletes?
- Less is more.
Some athletes they have even just one hour a day,
and they can still do a proper training,
even for a full Ironman.
You just have to be really flexible,
and make the most of that one hour,
and don't chat around with people.
Some people say how busy they are,
but they have one and half hours for whole swim
but they are like,
you know, ten minutes before they jump in,
and cleaning goggles, and looking for paddles,
but you have to have everything ready.
You have this 90 minutes or 60 minutes to jump in.
Some have just their lunch break, we would still let them,
okay, if you are able to do a solid one-hour ride,
even on a wind trainer.
When you have a young baby,
I say happy mom, happy baby, and opposite.
When you come from your, even if it's just a 30 minute jog,
your hormones, you're happy,
and you come home you're happy, the baby is happy.
So it kind of works like that.
- Even in life or work,
if you go and do a nice session at lunch-time,
and you come back to work
and you just feel better. - Yeah, exactly.
It gives you the extra energy, yeah.
Of course, there's tough sessions where you're tired.
But, if you know that you have done the time well,
or something, it gives you the other energy and--
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So, it's sometimes key just to remember that, I guess.
- Yeah, exactly.
- For sure.
It's easy when we're sat here on the sofa,
talking about it, isn't it?
- Yep, it's easy.
- Always do all your sessions
and do them as hard as you like.
(Radka laughs)
And the when you get to them, it's so different.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Awesome, and thanks Radka, it's really great insight,
and I hope we can get a real flavor
for just how good you are at balancing everything,
and getting those key sessions in.
- You have to.
I do it because I love the triathlon,
otherwise there would be so many excuses to make,
not to go for the training, so, it's great.
- You're an inspiration. Thank you. Thanks for it.