Craig Alexander - Three-time Ironman World Champion | EP#461
Apr 23, 2025
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Craig Alexander, a three-time Ironman World Champion, shares his incredible journey and insights from over two decades in triathlon. He dives into his successful training strategies, discussing the balance of aerobic endurance and high-intensity efforts, as well as key workouts for swimming, biking, and running. Craig reflects on lessons learned from his Ironman experiences in Kona, including hydration and pacing strategies. He also offers invaluable advice for age-group athletes, focusing on common training mistakes and the significance of a solid support team.
Craig Alexander emphasizes the significance of a well-structured training regime that combines consistency with a deep understanding of an athlete's physical needs.
His race strategy in Kona hinged on adapting to environmental challenges by prioritizing hydration, pacing, and nutritional management during the event.
As a coach for age group athletes, Alexander advocates for realistic goal-setting, effective time management, and training that accommodates individual circumstances and fitness levels.
Deep dives
Craig Alexander's Triathlon Career Overview
Craig Alexander is a celebrated figure in triathlon, having secured three Ironman World Championships and two Ironman 73 World Championships. Starting his career at the age of 21, he spent 25 years as a professional athlete, transitioning into coaching after retirement. His experiences have shaped his insights on training and racing, which he now shares as an ambassador and coach. Alexander attributes much of his success to consistent, well-structured training coupled with a deep understanding of his body's needs.
Training Philosophy and Techniques
Alexander's training methodology is characterized by frequent repetition and a focus on polarized training, blending intensity with substantial easy work. He emphasizes the importance of developing a solid aerobic base, which he achieved through extensive zone two training. Despite starting triathlon later in life, he used his background in soccer to hone his running skills, applying structured training to enhance efficiency and endurance. His training philosophy not only focused on physical conditioning but also included principles of efficient movement and strength.
Differences in Training Approaches
Alexander observes that contemporary athletes, while benefiting from advanced technology and data analysis, often engage in training that is not significantly different from his era. He acknowledges modern athletes have the luxury of precise tools for measuring and analyzing their training efforts, which were less accessible in his time. Despite these advancements, the core principles of training—consistency, structured plans, and training for specific race dynamics—remain relevant. The continuous evolution of training strategies reflects an ongoing pursuit of optimizing performance for triathletes.
Ironman Success and Race Strategy
Craig's Ironman victories, particularly in Kona, stemmed from a disciplined approach to pacing and nutrition. He learned to manage the unique challenges of the Kona course, adapting his strategy to the rising heat and humidity during the bike segment. By prioritizing hydration and fueling without succumbing to the pressure of competitors, he maintained a sustainable effort throughout the race. His race-day philosophy revolved around understanding his body and accepting that pacing conservatively could lead to better overall performance, particularly during the marathon.
Transition to Coaching and Age Group Training
After retiring from professional racing, Alexander transitioned into coaching through his company, Sansego, where he focuses on age group triathletes. He stresses that successful age group athletes excel through time management, realistic goal setting, and consistent training. His coaching philosophy encourages athletes to balance intensity with sustainability, adapting training based on individual backgrounds and fitness levels. In his view, a structured plan that considers current commitments fosters long-term improvements in performance.
Insights into Mistakes and Learning
Reflecting on his career, Alexander acknowledges mistakes related to overtraining and the assumption that more training equals better results. He highlights the importance of adaptability in training and the need for athletes to listen to their bodies. This adaptability also extends to considering the influence of technology in training without losing sight of fundamental principles. As a coach, he believes that continuous learning, reflection, and the ability to pivot in training strategies are crucial for long-term success in the sport.
Craig Alexander is a three-time Ironman World Champion and two-time Ironman 70.3 World Champion. In this episode we discuss the training and racing strategies Craig used during his career in detail. Craig also shares learnings from his post-racing coaching career on training considerations for age-group triathletes.
HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:
An overview of Craig's training approach during his most successful years
Key principles and example workouts in his swim, bike and run training
How to race well in Kona
Things that didn't work and training mistakes made
Craig's team and coaches
Advice for age-group athletes, including time-restricted athletes and older athletes
Common mistakes to avoid for age-group athletes
Overrated and underrated products and concepts in triathlon
DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES:
We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. Naturally, as great as they are, they do not cover absolutely everything in as great detail as we can do in a 45-90 minute podcast episode.
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