A Happy Balance: Meet Radka

Why I Tri: Radka’s Story

I was born in a sporty family and my father had big dreams of my sister and I growing up to be professional tennis players. I loved tennis, loved the training and the hard work it took to progress at the sport. [Un]fortunately, I was not good at ball games at all and so I had to pick up another sport.

I had excellent endurance, so I did cross country skiing, biathlon, duathlon, biking, running, and swimming. When I was 18, I had to decide which sport I want to take more seriously. Instead of choosing one sport, I decided to try a sport where you combine three: Triathlon.

Radka Vodickova Finish Line

What is great about triathlon?

I never get bored! Every day my training is different and there are endless combinations of what I can do in a given week.

I also love the constant change of scenery: Swimming in a pool or open water; Running on a road, track, in a forest, park, treadmill; Biking out on the road, flat course, hilly course, alone, in a group, on a wind trainer.

It isn’t just about eliminating boredom. Having three sports to train for can also help keep you from being injured, or give you something to do if you happen to get injured! No injury depression here! For example, in 2009 I had a stress fracture. No, I couldn’t really run, but I was in the pool swimming two times a day. I became a good swimmer and my return to racing didn't take long as my fitness never dropped!

The best thing? Triathlon is a lifestyle! Once you try a tri, you will meet new friends, you will have fun together in training and racing, you can share stories and laugh about your first triathlons and about mistakes in a transition area.

Once you start loving your sport, you kind of become sport addicted (in a good way). Sport is like a drug. When you work out, your body produces endorphins. I like to call them the “Hormones of happiness.” I do this sport because it truly makes me happy. Thanks to triathlon, I have traveled the world, made amazing friends and met my fiancé! What more could I ask for?