Tom Hug - Triathlete

Goodbye 2023! 👋🏼
It has been a great year. Let’s make 2024 even better! 🔥

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Soaking up the sun ☀️☀️☀️

The festive season is always the time of the year were I like to take things a bit easier, break some routines and reload the batteries for the upcoming year.
Doesn’t mean you shouldn‘t train hard if you feel like it. However, I would always suggest doing the things you like the most. Whether it’s running up a mountain as fast as you can, a New Year’s Eve run, the classic 100 x 100m swim, the festive 500 cycling challenge or simply some easy running, hiking or walking in nature.
For me it‘s all about doing things you like, don’t stress you too much and spending time with loved ones.

Sailfish Night of the Year 2023 ✨
It has been a truly special event and I feel very grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of it.

Thank you for putting up such a great show!

Super happy to announce that I have joined .fichtelgebirge to implement some strength training under the excellent guidance of . I highly value Tobias' impressive expertise regarding strength training for triathletes as well as his enthusiasm and passion for his work.
The upcoming weeks and months promise an exciting journey of increasing intensity and challenges. I am looking forward to stepping it up and upgrading my training by building up strength and specifically working on my weaknesses, allowing me to create the best possible foundation to build upon my triathlon-specific training and maximize training & performance outcomes.
A big thank you to Tobias and the entire team at Fichtelloft for their professional guidance! 🙌 Let's scale new heights together! 🚀

Time to get back to work! After a couple of weeks of low volume and unstructured „training“ I am back to some more goal-oriented training. It also feels great to be back on the bike despite most of the riding taking place indoors 🌧️.
At least it gives me some time to make plans for next year. Already excited thinking about 2024 race season 🔥

What a year it has been - looking back on a successful season. I am very happy with how my first full pro season went:

- Ingolstadt Half Marathon 🥇
- Challenge St. Pölten 🥇
- Apfelland Triathlon 🥇
- Challenge Kaiserwinkel Walchsee 4th place
- Trumer Triathlon 🥈
- Ironman 70.3 European Championships Tallinn 11th place
- Challenge Paguera-Mallorca
15th place

Thank you everyone for following along. I am super grateful for all the support I got throughout the year. A very special thanks goes out to my one and only ❤️. Without you, I wouldn‘t be where I am today!

Unfortunately was my last Triathlon race this year. Since my knee was causing some problems the weeks leading up to the race and the days after the race (eventhough it felt fine during the race), I had decided to give my body some full rest, allowing it to recover properly. Looking back, It has been a very successful season and definitely a break through year so I can live well with the decision eventhough I was really looking forward to do one last race which would have been a real highlight!
But now it’s time to move on and start the build for 2024 season!

Throwback to bike course. I was definitely not enjoying the ride during the race but this island has some incredibly scenic roads to offer! Will definitely need to come back for some more exploring!

📸 .qualityproduction

P15 ! 🏊🏼‍♂️🚴🏼🏃🏼‍♂️
Although the strength of field was the highest I have ever raced, I came here for a better result. Swim was okay, eventhough I was hoping to show some of the progress I have recently made in the pool. T1 was the moment where a potential Top 10 position slipped out of hand. Lost almost a minute as I struggled to find my bag and to put on the visor🤦‍♂️ so I found myself alone on the bike course chasing the „packs“ that formed in the front. On top of that, I got misdirected by the marshals twice, probably lost another 30 - 40 seconds there. I was happy that my knee was doing alright and I could push decent power (315W NP). I know, it’s not quite top level power but still didn‘t expect to lose almost 10 minutes to the front..
Still tired my best on the run and managed to work myself up from P30 to P15. Of course I am not satisfied with the outcome but I am happy that I gave it my all until the finishline.

All set for Race day tomorrow ! Had some really good time on the island so far☀️ but pre race nerves are slowly kicking in now. Not quite sure what to expect for the race, could go both ways from really good to dnf. Time will tell. Thats the beauty of sports.

Only 5 days to go until my next race ! Unfortunately my preperation hasn‘t been ideal as I have picked up a ni**le in my knee which is particularly bothering me when riding my bike. However this gave me more time and energy to work on my swim and run with some really positiv results.
Anyway, I am excited to give it a go this Saturday and looking forward to gain some more experience racing some of the best in our sport!

📸 (C) SEPA Media

Chasing the last of summer sun! Solid training almost done, 3 weeks to go until the gun goes off again. 🚀🏁

Still in the middle of a training block, more racing soon 🏁

Testing my swim abilities in the ocean water today. Always great to mix up the regular training with some work in more challenging environments. 🌊

Unfortunately no race week for me as I am still taking my time to build up fitness again. I had originally planned to race at Ironman 70.3 Zell am See but I don't feel quite ready yet to race at such a high level again after my Covid infection. However, I am very motivated to work hard to come back stronger especially after watching an outstanding performance of the german athletes at Ironman 70.3 worlds!

📸 (C) SEPA Media

Feeling good and healthy again after a few days off due to my Covid infection. Started to slowly build up some volume again while keeping the intensity pretty low. I have actually really enjoyed going outside and just swim, bike, run without any real plan, just doing what I love to do! However, feeling ready to get back to some more structured training and to throw in some intensity this week!

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Throwback to Ironman 70.3 European Championships

Unfortunately I cought Covid on my way back home from Tallinn so I am currently forced to take a break from training. However I am feeling optimistic that I‘ll be able to get back into training soon.

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P12 at my first Ironman 70.3 European Championships !

Didn‘t have a great start, struggling with cramps in my calves and quads already in T1. Still need to figure out why because I never had these problems in training. Even though I missed the main pack on the bike, I managed to catch up to a smaller group after around 15 Ks on the bike. Started to feel better in the second half and went to the front of that group, which started to fall apart for the last 35 Ks and tried to minimize the deficit.
My run was solid, working my way up in the ranking, however without making up time to the front guys.
To be honest I was hoping for a Top 10 position but considering how much I struggled in the beginning, I am pleased that I never gave in and got the best out of the day.

📸(c) Jana Pipar

#70.3

https://youtube.com/watch?v=YZMCgeJnzXE&feature=shareb

New YouTube Video 🎥

Mein nächstes Rennen - Ironman 70.3 EM Tallinn Für mehr Updates, folgt mir gerne auf Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomhug98/Video produced by nirgend GmbH www.nirgend.media

Where to next…?
Really happy to announce that I will be racing Ironman 70.3 Tallinn European Championships next week!

It will be my first race overseas this year so already pretty excited.

Fun fact: This will be my 3rd time taking part in an European Championship event after playing with the Swiss U18 Field Hockey national team at the EC in Calais 2015 and Glasgow 2016.

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In preperation for my next big race I have increased my running volume quite a bit. It‘s been a while since I‘ve run more than 95ks over a 7 day cycle. On average I am probably hitting around 60 - 70kms usually including 2 main speed / threshold sessions. Everything else is just easy base miles at around 5‘00 - 4‘30 pace. I believe this polarised approach works best for me. Hopefully it will pay off 🤞🏼

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2nd place 🥈

Good start with a solid swim, right where I wanted to be. Not too far to the front. Got on the bike in P4, but unfortunately crashed after 2k on the bike. Still managed to get back into the first chase pack. Took some turns at the front but didn‘t manage to split the group significantly. Got off the bike with a 4 minute deficit to the front, putting trust in my running capabilities. and I closed up the gap to the front fairly quickly and overtook the leader. However, I was not able to keep up the pace with the flying Austrian. Therefore ended up second.
Congratulations again to for a phenomenal race and performance as well as .hirsch for taking third spot on the podium.

Thank you to and his team for organizing such a great event !

It‘s race day on Sunday! Heading to 🇦🇹 once again to toe the line !

Looking forward to be racing on another great course!

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Thank you and for another fantastic race!

Had a solid swim in the first chase pack and found myself in a great position starting the bike leg. Unfortunately, things started to go south a bit from there. Lost a bottle containg the large majority of my nutrition about 3 k into the bike leg due to a pothole so I decided to turn around and collect the bottle. Had to push pretty hard to work my way back to the next bigger pack which I caught after around 30 mins and stayed with for the rest of the ride. I am a bit disappointed that I couldn’t show what I am capable of on the bike, I simply didn‘t have the legs!
Very pleased with my run though. The fastest I‘ve run so far in a 70.3 despite the challenging course.

So overall some mixed emotions but still quite happy about 4th place.

Congrats to for the hattrick 🏅 and and for completing the podium!

It’s race week again! Heading down to my favourite country for triathlon 🇦🇹 again.
Let‘s see if I can pull off another good performance this Sunday. Course should suit me well and shape is looking promising! Excited!

📸 (C) SEPA Media

For me personally, the swim leg is all about keeping the gap to the front as small as possible while saving as much energy as possible for the bike and run.

It is pretty save to say that this just got a bit easier for me thanks to

Already looking forward to put on my new wetsuit for a race. Fingers crossed the next one will be wetsuit legal 🤞🏼

Back on the tt bike after an easy week of training. I am feeling recovered and ready to start a new block of training leading up to my next race! Any guesses where ? 👀

📸(C) SEPA Media

Still over the moon about my win ! Very happy that I was able to show another strong performance only 7 days after my first pro win .

Had a good swim and exited the water with the front pack. Tried to push hard at the beginning of the bike to drop my competitors in the first few Ks. Rode solo until T2 and had a comfortable lead which I was able to extend on the run course. Overall, super happy with my performance across all 3 disciplines!

Without any doubt, one of the nicest races I‘ve ever done! Huge thanks to and the whole for setting up such an awesome event and for all the support before, during, and after the race! Already looking foreward to come back next year !

Thank you !! 🥇
I‘m still overwhelmed, trying to process everything, not really able to put it into words but so happy and greatful that I was able to take my first pro win yesterday.
Also a special thank you for all the support and the amazing organisation of the event.

📸 (C) SEPA Media

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It was a pleasure to return to last weekend. Challenging course but amazing atmosphere! Clock stopped at 1h09. Legs felt pretty good despite a solid block of training. Already looking forward to come back next year!

Now it’s time to start tapering as there is only 7 days to go before my triathlon season kicks off followed by one week later!

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It has been a long wait but I am finally able to present to you my new bike for the upcoming races. Can‘t wait to ride it outside 🤩 Thank you .schulz.myposition for finding my optimal fit and helping me to save some watts!

Some very exciting news to share with you! In my latest Video on YouTube produced by I am talking about my New Team, Season Plans for 2023, a short Race Recap of the 15km race in Nuremberg and my new 🚲👀

It’s race week again! After a couple of weeks of unstructured training over the festive period I am back into a normal training rhythm and will use the 2nd race of the Nürnberger Winterlaufserie (15kms) to test my legs this Sunday!

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Throwback to one of the hottest days of the year and a great race! Definitely one of my best performances this past season giving me the motivation to train hard this winter training block, setting new challenges and goals, and building the foundation to make the next step in 2023!

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Me everytime I finish a swim session thinking of the warm shower waiting for me 🫠🚿

Who can relate ?

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It‘s time to put on race shoes again! After a really solid first block of training I am excited to test myself and see how fast I can go over 10K this Sunday at Nürnberger Winterlaufserie. Finished in 31‘39 last year - let‘s see if I can go faster this year. Fingers crossed the weather doesn‘t turn too bad! ❄️🌨

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New video just published on my YouTube channel ✅

If you want to have an insight into a typical training day, go check it out! 🙂

https://youtu.be/LJ9g2GdoLTI

Always happy if you like, subscribe and / or comment! English and French subtitles are available.

Thank you for the Production!

One of the main goals I have set for this winter is to improve my performance on the bike. While this year the bike leg was primarily about limiting the time loss to the front, my ambition for next year is to be able to put myself in a better position before the start of the run. Being a full time student, my possibilities to escape the cold weather and go on training camps is limited. Hence, my approach for the next few months is to find a good balance between turbo sessions, cyclo cross and cross-country skiing.

My season comes to an end with a 🥇at Nibelungen Triathlon Olympic Distance. Really happy that I was able show another solid performance across all three disciplines. The progress made and the experience gained throughout this season leaves me more motivated than ever to come back stronger next year! Taking some time off now and switching to some more unstructured training before throwing myself into the prep for 2023.

#2023