Ironman World Championship: Rebecca Hoschke – Kona Uncovered

With the Ironman World Championship over for another year, we decided to catch up with some of the athletes to get an insight into how they prepared, what gear they used, and ultimately how the race unfolded. We also caught a look into what their family and friends got up to on the Big Island before and after the big day. Yes, there is plenty to do other than race or support someone racing; although it would be easy to miss this during race week!

We catch up with Rebecca Hoschke of Australia

Result: 18th professional female – 9:35:52

Swim: 1:06:45; Bike: 5:08:37; Run: 3:15:21

The athlete files:

Coached by: Grant Giles (Aeromax Coaching) since 2006

Training base: Sydney, Australia

Training camp pre Kona: IM Melbourne & IM Switzerland used as preparation races (Bec worked as a town planner in 2013, taking some holidays to travel to Europe for IM Switzerland, and again to travel to Las Vegas, also having raced Ironman 70.3 Las Vegas).

Favourite place to eat in Kona: Fish Hopper

Best activity outside of racing: Mauna Key Observatory tour (which was cancelled due to poor weather)

Number of times drug tested whilst in Kona: Once following race registration (blood only)

Familie’s take on Kona: Bec’s husband Nigel traveled to Kona to support her on race day, and made good use of his time on the island. A highlight of Nigel’s week was a night swim/snorkel with Manta Rays. Bec and Nigel spent a week post race on Oahu with friends.

Bec’s equipment of choice:

Bike: Specialized Shiv (xs frame)

Wheels: Zipp 404 front, 808 rear

Aero bar: Specialized

Saddle: Specialized Sitero

Running shoes: Asics DS Racer

Swim Skin: TYR

Goggles: Eyeline Stellar

Nutrition: High 5 Energy Source, Salt Sticks, High 5 Gels & Bonk Breaker bars

Race day, how it unfolded:

TZ: The night before, did you get any sleep? Do you have any strategies useful for getting a good night’s sleep before a big race?

Bec: Broken sleep is fairly usual the night before a race. Like to eat early the night before and stick to same routine as normal. I also like to have an afternoon nap the day before a race.

TZ: Race morning: Any superstitions, routines, favourite breakfast? Anything you specifically avoid?

Bec: Toast for breakfast + Sustagen drink. I have my race kit laid out on the floor consistent with my tri check list which I take to every race (make sure I haven’t forgotten anything)

TZ: Swim start: How do you decide where to position yourself?

Bec: Behind stronger swimmers then flog myself to hang on!

TZ: Transitions: any little tricks or tips for the age groupers?

Bec: ‘Slow is smooth, smooth is fast’ principle. Same simple routine for every race (nothing new on race day).

TZ: Please make a few general comments on each discipline, whether it is something that went wrong, things that went to plan, anything of interest that happened during the race?

Bec: Swim: Brand new goggles unfortunately leaked during warm up, I had packed a back up pair to fix the problem.

Bec: Bike: LOVE my Evade helmet plus overall aero set-up of my bike (thanks Specialized).

Bec: Run: Ran with shoe laces to improve overall shoe support. Shoe laces came undone by @26kms – that was a pain in the butt to stop and fix. Small break felt great recovery though and I felt stronger running after.

TZ: Nutrition: did it go to plan, if not what happened?

Bec: Big improvements to overall race nutrition (thank Kira Sutherland! 🙂 Incorporated Bonk Breaker gluten free bars with High 5 nutrition on the bike which worked well. I’m also a massive salt addict! Love SaltStick tablets 🙂

TZ: Post race recovery strategy:

Bec: Easy recovery swimming each day post race plus a very light easy 60-90min spin on the bike. I also like to have a massage straight after the race and then again a few days later. Greasy Chinese is an absolute favorite for tea!

TZ: Hindsight is a fantastic thing; if there is one thing you could change about your race or preparation, what would it be?

Bec: Become a full time professional athlete!!!

TZ: What’s next on the training, racing or recovery calendar?

Bec: Domestic racing! 🙂 I love to race in Australia. I’m planning to race some half ironman events during November (training races, work on my AT system and improve race fitness). I absolutely love Busso IM, a favorite to finish off the year so heading back in December.