Craig Alexander talks to Slowtwitch
Australian Craig Alexander had an amazing 2007 season and is now finally able to relax with his wife Neri and daughter Lucy. Craig and Neri were kind enough though to give Slowtwitch a few minutes.
ST: Craig, you had lots of great race this year including the Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. Did your season go as you had anticipated?
Craig: You hope when you schedule a season that it’s going to finish up like it did, but you don’t know if it will. The best you can hope for is to be consisant and get a little bit of luck along the way.
ST: Do you think you could still feel the Kona race in your body as you raced the 70.3 Worlds in Clearwater?
Craig: I think it is definitely still there a bit. In the run I didn’t feel as good coming off the bike as I usually do. Kona is the toughest race in the sport. The conditions are hard, the competitors are tough, and it is unrealistic to think you can fully recover in 4 weeks. Nonetheless, I still wanted to take the chance and try to defend my world title.
ST: How big of a difference do you think it was for you to recover from the Ironman versus a 70.3?
Craig: It’s a lot tougher. The duration of the Ironman is so long. A 70.3 leaves you sore, but you can still race the following weekend if you want to. A 70.3 is closer to an Olympic distance race, than an Ironman.
ST: Can you tell us a bit what you do to recover from various events?
Craig: Massage, and I recently started getting ART therapy. I also use ice baths and light exercise is also good to get the blood following through the muscles to aid recovery.
ST: Are there any other Pros you train with on a regular basis?
Craig: Boulder, I train with Bevan Docherty of NZ, as well as Steve Hackett, Craig Walton, James Hadley of the UK, and occasionally with Simon Lessing and Chris Legh.
In Australia I train with some local guys Box (Brett Davidson), Ryan Yates, and James Hadley.
ST: Do you consider yourself a disciplined in terms of training and nutrition?
Craig: Training YES, Nutrition NO
ST: How do you typically spend the off-season?
Craig: I will spend a month now visiting family up and down the east coast of Australia, hanging out with friends, paddling a ski and spending more time with my wife and daughter. A little daddy day care too.
ST: Tell us a bit about your family.
Craig: My wife, Nerida, and I have been together for 13 years, married for 9 of those. We have a beautiful baby daughter called Lucy, who is 2 and a half years old. She celebrated her first and second birthdays in St. Croix with Daddy carrying her across the finish line at the 70.3 Ironman triathlon.
We travel everywhere together as a family and they are the most important thing in my life.
ST: Do you have any idols in the sport of triathlon?
Craig: When I first started I really respected Welch and Lessing and Dave Scott and Mark Allen.
ST: What is your favorite race and why?
Craig: I really like St Croix 70.3. It is a super tough race, in terms of the “beast” as well as the heat and the humidity. It is an old and prestigious race.
ST: Do you follow any other sports?
Craig: All sports.
Neri: Craig would spend all his time glued to “Pardon the interruption” and “around the horn””, as well as the now no longer “SBS world sports” (in Australia) if he could. Craig can talk baseball stats with anyone in the USA like he lives it daily. He’s a super sponge for stats and can remember games and moments that he watched in his early child hood. He is also a big fan of soccer (football) and follows Liverpool in England and Glasgow Celtic in Scotland, as well as the Boston Red Sox.
ST: What sports did you take part when you were younger?
Craig: Soccer, cricket, football, golf tennis and Hockey, and water polo.
ST: What is your favorite food?
Craig: Chocolate, seafood
ST: Can you tell us a bit about what you might have in your fridge?
Craig: Healthy stuff, but it’s all my wife and daughters. I don’t eat veggies except potato.
ST: What is the last movie you saw?
Craig: American Gangster with Pete Coulson in San Diego.
ST: What about music, anything that you play the most on your i-pod?
Craig: 80’s. That was my era.
ST: Where do you think you’ll be in 5 years?
Craig: Living on the water with more kids
Craig Alexander 2007 results:
* 4th 70.3 World Championships (USA)
* 2nd Ironman World Championships Kona (USA)
* 1st Newfoundland Ironman 70.3 (Canada)
* 1st Vineman Ironman 70.3 (USA)
* 3rd Life Time Fitness Triathlon (USA)
* 1st Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon (USA)
* 1st Subaru Muskoka Chase Triathlon (Canada)
* 1st Florida Disney Triathlon 70.3 (USA)
* 1st St Croix Ironman 70.3 (USA)
* 3rd St Anthonys Triathlon (USA)
* 3rd Panthers Ironman Australia,
* 1st Australian Long Course Championships
