Two minutes to the start, almost 700 athletes around me, and my goggles were on the ground with the strap mount snapped off. After two broken derailleur cables, a puncture and a few minor injuries, one thought took over: would I even make it into the race?
I had returned to Bydgoszcz after five years with one clear target. In my previous race here, the run fell apart until I was moving at roughly 7:40 per kilometre. This time I wanted a different ending — and I wanted to find out whether months of training were enough to break five hours.
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This is chapter three of my Road to Ironman 2027. In the previous episode, I described the bike failures, calf problem and return to open water before Bydgoszcz. I did not yet know that the list of surprises was still growing.
The day before: remove as many race-morning decisions as possible
We arrived in Bydgoszcz a day early: Ola, our daughters and me, with my parents joining us later. Our accommodation was less than two kilometres from transition and about 400 metres from the swim start. We had time for lunch together, a walk beside the Brda and an unhurried look at the start area.
Race-pack collection was efficient. I labelled the bike and helmet, then left my shoes, helmet, gels and bottles exactly where I would need them. I like this approach: the fewer decisions left for race morning, the fewer opportunities to make a mistake. Ironically, the gels stayed beside the bike, leaving honey as the only quick energy I could find before the start.
Two minutes to the start — and the goggles had other plans
Race morning felt cool and fresh. I warmed up on land and spent a few minutes in the water because swimming is still the discipline I respect most. The first time I put my face in was uncomfortable; after a few lengths, I finally felt settled.
Then, with two minutes remaining, the plastic mount on my several-year-old TheMagic5 goggles failed. There was no way to hook or tie it back together. I ran to the organisers, where Kuba Kubicki simply said, “Stay calm, I will help.” He returned with another pair. Without that response, my race might have ended before it had properly begun.
Once the replacement goggles were on, I thought: everything bad has already happened. Now I can race.
The swim: this time I did not lose to my own mind
Athletes started in pairs every eight seconds. The first minute felt light, then the heavy breathing and familiar anxiety returned. Someone kept touching my feet, so I switched to breaststroke for a handful of strokes. The difference was that I did not allow that moment to take over the entire race.
I reminded myself that months of regular pool sessions were not meant to end here. I found a rhythm, tried to stay near the centre of the river and kept moving. The official time was 31:32, or 1:40/100 m — far better than the roughly 40 minutes I had expected. The current helped, but the real victory was regaining control of my head.
Garmin got lost on the way to T1 — why the official result still matters
After I left the water, the Garmin Enduro 3 I was testing correctly recognised the beginning of transition. It then interpreted the run towards the hall as another swim. The FIT file therefore shows 2,064 metres and 35:22 for the swim, while reducing T1 to 42 seconds. The official timing tells the reliable story: 31:32 in the water and 4:14 in T1.
That is a useful data lesson. A FIT file is excellent for reviewing effort, average heart rate, power and cadence, but it cannot replace official splits when automatic sport detection misclassifies part of the race.
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The bike: the first triathlon I genuinely felt I was controlling
The bike course consisted of five 18-kilometre laps. It was fast, with several climbs and technical turns. My plan was to hold a calm 170–180 watts, avoid surges and resist the temptation to recover every second immediately. That is what I did.
The FIT data is particularly useful here: the bike segment shows 172 W, 139 bpm, 78 rpm and 32.11 km/h on average. The official bike time was 2:49:26 at 31.9 km/h. Average power landed exactly inside the planned range, although the report cannot provide reliable normalised power because coverage and sampling regularity did not satisfy its requirements.
I ate from the opening minutes: first a bar, then one gel per lap, plus electrolytes. After the pre-race failures, the bike finally worked without a single mechanical problem. I stayed in the large chainring to avoid provoking the front derailleur. I took one turn too quickly and saved it by unclipping a foot — enough of a warning that no corner is worth losing the race over.
The run: settling a five-year-old score
After an official 4:02 in T2, I started the run calm and still felt that my body was cooperating. I did not want to chase other athletes or force the pace. The plan was to find one strong but sustainable rhythm and hold it.
The collapse from 2021 never arrived. I passed athlete after athlete. Ola joined me briefly on lap three and joked that I looked as though I had come to Bydgoszcz on holiday. On lap four, seeing my family helped again. As the temperature climbed, each aid station followed the same routine: water to drink and over my head, gels, electrolytes and the welcome shower.
My official run split was 1:38:21 at 4:28/km, the 42nd-fastest run of the field. The FIT file recorded 1:38:42, an average heart rate of 162 bpm and an inflated distance of 22.31 km. That is why I use the official result for stage distance and pace, and the watch only for the heart-rate observation.
The result: no sub-five — and no disappointment
| Stage | Time | Pace / speed |
|---|---|---|
| Swim | 31:32 | 1:40/100 m |
| T1 | 4:14 | — |
| Bike | 2:49:26 | 31.9 km/h |
| T2 | 4:02 | — |
| Run | 1:38:21 | 4:28/km |
| Total | 5:07:35 | 146th overall |
I finished 29th in the M40 category and 139th among men. I did not break five hours; I missed it by 7 minutes and 35 seconds. Yet there was no sense of failure at the line. The plan had worked, the run had stayed intact, and I had been able to use the fitness I brought to the race.
What the FIT file actually shows
The full FIT activity lasts 5:07:42 and contains 18,123 valid records, usually sampled once per second. The seven-second difference from the official result is small, but the stage boundaries were distorted by automatic sport detection. For that reason, I do not directly compare the watch swim and T1 times with the race timing.
The clearest observation concerns the bike: 172 W against a 170–180 W plan shows that I executed the intended intensity. Average run heart rate was 162 bpm, clearly higher than the bike average of 139 bpm, but that alone cannot explain why the run went well. The report also detects two pauses or recording gaps of 38 and 66 seconds; without another source, I do not assign a cause to either.
The biggest reserve is now on the bike
Swimming still needs work, but the biggest change in Bydgoszcz was not the clock; it was how I handled the first moment of panic. Running remains my strongest discipline and confirmed that I can run well after a controlled bike leg. The largest reserve therefore appears to be on the bike: more time in the aero position, stronger and more consistent riding, plus cleaner transitions.
Bydgoszcz did not give me the four at the front of the finishing time. It gave me something more useful: evidence that I had returned after five years as a calmer and more deliberate athlete. The next test is IRONMAN 70.3 Poznań, while the full-distance goal in 2027 remains ahead.
Five years ago, Bydgoszcz exposed my weaknesses. In 2026, it showed me how far I had come — and where the next minutes are waiting.