He holds 15 triathlon titles, 11 of which are for the 60-and-over "veteran" age group, and hopes to keep getting more. As a pensioner, he says he has a lot of time on his hands to train.

"What else would I do with my time?" he asks, speaking slowly and softly. "I can't watch TV for hours. Being retired is boring."

Over a glass of Pilsner Urquell and a plateful of grilled pork, which he eats just as slowly as he speaks, Živný makes triathlons sound like a breeze. He says he just likes to be outdoors and on his bike every day. Before a race, he increases his training, working out twice a day. He eats whatever he wants, but always makes sure to have plenty of cheese, yogurt, fruits and vegetables.

"Staying healthy is most important," says Živný, who eats a spoonful of honey every morning on an empty stomach to jumpstart his metabolism. He doesn't believe in taking vitamins or synthetic nutritional supplements.

"The key to health is garlic and onions," he says. "They will pick you up.

Ironman and more

Živný was not always into triathlons. Born in Plzeň, west Bohemia, in 1938, he doesn't recall being much of an athlete growing up. One of his fondest childhood memories, he says, is the beginning of May 1945, when U.S. troops liberated Plzeň.

"Prague had to be liberated by the Red Army, but not Plzeň. As kids, we felt special because we got candy and chocolate from American soldiers," he says.

But his family did not stay in Plzeň long, not even long enough for him to develop an acquired taste for Pilsner. "That came later," he says.

When he was 14 years old, his father got a job as a factory director in Žďár nad Sázavou, about a two-hour drive southeast of Prague, where he has lived ever since.

He blames the picturesque hills of Vysočina (the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands), his preference for being alone and perhaps a midlife crisis for making him into an avid athlete. He prefers the outdoors and doesn't believe in training in gyms or in swimming pools with chlorine.

"Vysočina is ideal. In the summer, I swam and biked. In the winter, I cross-country skied," he says. "Before I knew it, I started doing triathlons for fun."

Živný completed his first Ironman at the age of 42 and finished with a time of 15 hours 8 minutes. Two years later, in 1985, he broke his all-time record and completed an Ironman with a time of 13:51.

Then came the Super Ironman in 1999. It wasn't an easy race. Not only did he fall from his bike before the race, knocking out a tooth and bruising his ribs, it also rained during much of the race.

"I started in the morning and finished in the morning. I started swimming in water, and I finished running in water," he says with a laugh. "But the feeling of euphoria I had when I finished had no comparison."

His wife Věra, 65, is less enthusiastic.

"I was so worried about him," she recalls. "When he finished, he spoke nonsense and could barely walk."

Živný says he recuperated quickly. "I took a hot bath right after the race. That always helps. But my feet hurt for days, even wearing good shoes."

Živný appreciates the power of a good pair of shoes. He remembers the days under communism, when good athletic shoes were not available, forcing triathletes to run in tennis shoes that resembled street shoes.

"It was hard, but we didn't realize it. You have to treat your feet right," he says. "The triathlon is mainly in the legs. "

Of course, some willpower and well-trained lungs don't hurt, either.

'Water is useless'

Although most runners typically "carbo-load" on pasta the night before a race, Živný says he prefers a "sweet bomb" at the local cukrárna (sweet shop). Three days before a race, he goes and eats all the cakes and cookies he can in order to store as much energy as possible.

During the race, he eats protein bars and sports gels to replenish energy. He starts out by drinking sports drinks rich in electrolytes, but after a while, he says, his stomach rejects those.

"Then I drink nonalcoholic beer. It has all the vitamins you need, and is easier on the stomach," says Živný, who virtually never drinks just plain water. "Water is useless," he summarizes.

His favorite segment of a triathlon is biking. He recently purchased a new road bike, which weighs only 8.5 kilograms (18.7 pounds) and is the best bicycle he's ever had. He is glad that biking is the "middle" segment of a competition.

The race always starts out with swimming, which he considers the hardest. "I can only swim the breast stroke, and that makes me slow," he says. Živný regularly swims in lakes that are as cold as 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit).

"The crisis usually comes during running," he says. "But I can always slow down or walk for a while."

During the race, he can't wait to get home, take a bath and get a glass of "real" beer. As a native of Plzeň, he has always favored Gambrinus.

He admits that he is addicted to triathlons. "In a way, it's my drug."

Then, Živný finishes his second beer and asks the bartender to wrap up the remaining piece of pork he hasn't finished. He's starting to get antsy.