Mislawchuk up to the challenge

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This article was published 21/01/2025 (253 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Call it the year of refinement for Tyler Mislawchuk.

The 30-year-old three-time Olympian from Oak Bluff has spent the better part of 15 years sculpting himself into a world-class triathlete, and now he’s finding new ways to push the limits and improve his weak points.

That recently took shape in the hills of Pucón, a small lake town in Chile, where Mislawchuk put forth an outstanding performance in his half-ironman debut. Not only did he complete the gruelling 113-km course, but he won the Ironman 70.3 Pucón in a time of 3:47.48.

“I’ll tell you what, I’m still feeling it,” Mislawchuk said eight days later from his high-altitude training site in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Mislawchuk emerged from the 1.9-km swim in seventh place and peddled the ninth-fastest split in the 90-km bike ride.

However, it was the last section where the Manitoban made up ground and ultimately surprised the field, blazing to a one-hour and 10-minute split — the fastest of the day — in a nasty 21.1-km run that featured nearly 400 metres of elevation gain.

His time in the final section was even better than American Jason West, the eventual runner-up and top-ranked middle-distance triathlon runner in the world.

“To be honest, when you’ve been in a sport — just like when you’ve been in a job or a career for a long time — you kind of know what to expect, and that’s kind of how I felt about short course (triathlon), versus, this was like going to school for the first time where I had all these nerves and different things that I haven’t had in a long time,” Mislawchuk said.

“It was kind of like doing triathlon for a whole first time again even though I’m 10, 15 years into the sport. It was just something fun and very challenging in a different way. Both are extremely hard physically — they both push you to your limit — but both in a different way.”

Mislawchuk finished in 15th place in both the 2016 Games in Rio and 2021 in Tokyo while nursing injuries and improved to ninth place in Paris last summer.

While a half-ironman and an Olympic triathlon feature the same components, the former’s total distance is 61.5 km longer.

“I found that over the half ironman… that’s a long time to be in your own head, and I think that was the biggest thing.”–Tyler Mislawchuk

To compare the two, Mislawchuk used an analogy of feeling the pain of a minor injury for several days versus stubbing your toe on the side of the couch, a short, but extremely painful experience.

“I found that over the half ironman… that’s a long time to be in your own head, and I think that was the biggest thing,” Mislawchuk said.

“It’s a lot of time to be in your own head and creating ways to stay motivated. Three hours and 47 minutes is a lot of time for your brain to try to convince yourself to stop doing what you’re doing.”

“Humanizing everyone around you allows yourself to keep going when things are uncomfortable,” he said.

“It’s realizing that everyone is going through a pretty similar struggle, so it’s finding your own way to get over that.”

Mislawchuk didn’t have a plan after he returned home from the Paris Games, but knew he wanted to take on a new challenge before he gave any thought to the next quadrennial. On a whim, he circled the race in Chile as his next goal and got to work.

The transition from triathlon to half ironman came with some key changes Mislawchuk needed to work through, beginning with his equipment.

“I definitely think I’m going to do another one. I think anything that pushes you in a different way can complement what you’re already doing.”–Tyler Mislawchuk

He was accustomed to a road bike, which is built for agility and cutting around corners.

His new wheels were a time trial bike, which he explained is like an American muscle car that is designed to hum along the highway. It is also heavier but more aerodynamic, so it held his top speed better than the road bike.

There were also some key differences in his training. Not in the amount he trained — Mislawchuk estimates he’ll train anywhere from 25-32 hours per week during a heavy-volume phase for a triathlon — but in the way he conditioned his body for a longer challenge.

With a focus on framing his mind for competition day, he would intentionally train alone for hours at a time beyond his daily routine.

“I train a lot with training partners, and I’m so grateful for them and I still love to train, but doing some stuff alone, because you may be around people in a half-ironman but it is a lonely endeavour in terms of being in your own mind. I did a little bit of that in four or five-hour (bike) rides alone and pushing and playing those games (in my head),” he said.

It likely won’t be the last time Mislawchuk is seen doing something that appears out of the norm for him. He hasn’t ruled out making a push toward the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, and a more rounded approach to his preparation could bode well for his chances.

This year could include anything from a half marathon against the best runners in the country to participating in the track and field championships.

Don’t count out another half-ironman either.

“I definitely think I’m going to do another one. I think anything that pushes you in a different way can complement what you’re already doing,” he said.

“You might see me dabble in a bunch of different things. Have fun, find different ways to push myself and see what’s out there.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca