The other passion of Alex Lloyd
Alex Lloyd is one of several racing drivers who has been bitten by the triathlon bug. When he isn't working his 650 hp Boy Scouts of America, Dale Coyne Racing IndyCar, you may find him swimming, biking or running. The British born Lloyd resides in Indianapolis, Indiana with his wife Samantha and kids Ava and Bethany and had a few words about his other passion with slowtwitch.
Slowtwitch: When you show up at a triathlon, do you feel somewhat anonymous?
Alex: Yes very much so. In some Indiana triathlons there a few people who know who I am and am interested to see how I do but basically I feel like every other athlete there. Just going out there to push myself to the limit and see if the hard work I have been putting in pays off.
ST: Compare that to showing up at an Indy Car race site.
Alex: IndyCar races are much more intense. Especially at the Indy 500, if you leave your garage to walk to the pits or wherever you get mobbed. There is a feeling of expectation from not only myself but also from every race fan out there. People are there to watch you and the other 27 or so drivers and expect you to perform, as do your race team and sponsors. In a triathlon it is just myself. If things don’t go well there is no feeling of letting anyone else down. Saying that I have been racing since I was 8 years old so you get used to that pressure and learn to cope with it.
ST: Do you think some of your Indy fans are surprised when they follow you on twitter and notice all these swim, bike and run updates?
Alex: Racing is very much a sport where fitness plays a big part. Driving an IndyCar is incredibly physical. You spend over 2 hours with your heart rate probably averaging over 150bpm but constantly spiking up and down to a high of maybe 170bpm when driving a more technical part of the lap. Mix that with the very heavy steering where during some races your arms literally want to fall off and you get quite a work out. Not many people understand the physical demands on a driver and the need to be in top condition. So I think people are probably surprised how much I do train but the truth is I train for triathlon. In doing so that also means I am more than fit enough to handle the race car.
ST: We were not really thinking that your followers were looking for "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" updates, but maybe hoping for some more car and racing stuff.
Alex: During the race season I certainly talk about each race and go into as much detail as I can, but as of right now with the season over there is nothing really IndyCar related going on until next year so all I am doing with my time is hanging out with the family and training.
ST: This year you finished 4th at Indy 500, your best result this year. If you had to pick one to have a nice result, I guess that would be the one.
Alex: The Indy 500 is huge. It’s our Super Bowl. To have a 4th place finish in the Boy Scouts of America, Dale Coyne Racing car was massive. We are a small team without the resources of some of the bigger teams but we showed we can punch above our weight and fight for victory in the biggest race in the world. It was a career highlight for me and also for the team as it was by far their best result in this race too.
ST: How did you get involved with triathlon?
Alex: I took up cycling a few years back initially just to be in shape for racing but I became more and more obsessed with it and eventually wanted to compete and race the bike. My problem was that cycling races (especially crits) can be very dangerous and I obviously can't afford to injure myself but I still had that urge to compete. Then during an autograph session at Watkins Glen race track I was talking to fellow driver Vitor Meira, who is racing in Clearwater in the 70.3 worlds, and he was talking to me about triathlon. Initially I wasn’t sure as I have never been a swimmer, nor did I ever run but the more I thought about it the more it got me excited. I could fill my desire to compete and race, and as I started working towards it I knew that triathlon was for me. A couple of months later and after my first race I was completely hooked and in love with the sport.
ST: Quite a few racecar drivers seem to be involved in various ways in triathlon. Is this turning into a contest of a different sort, or is it really just about fitness?
Alex: I think as drivers we have an inbuilt desire to push ourselves to the limit and compete and see how fast we can go and ultimately beat all our other competitors. In that respect triathlon is very similar. As drivers we need to be very fit so we are all already training hard. Once one or two drivers start triathlons and talking about it, it is easy for others to follow suit and try it themselves. I don’t think any of us are particularly competitive between ourselves in triathlon. We all just love the sport and enjoy being a part of it.
ST: Many think that Michael Schumacher really started to push the fitness aspect for racecar drivers and kept himself in top shape and that is how more drivers became interested in that area. Is that how you understand it?
Alex: I believe it really all started a few years earlier with Ayrton Senna. He saw that his fitness was initially a limiting factor to him in the race car and he then really focused on that aspect and tried to maximize his potential to help him perform in the race car to a level that others could not match. He is arguably the most committed, dedicated and all-round best driver to ever walk this planet. After he found these gains in fitness lots of others followed suit including Michael Schumacher who became famous for his physical fitness in the same way Senna was in his era.
ST: At Miami 70.3 Indy drivers Tony Kanaan and Vitor Meira and F1 driver Jenson Button were all competing with Button ending up with the fastest time. In that crowd, where do you think you might have finished if everything fell into place, ie no flat like Tony Kanaan?
Alex: I don’t know as I have never competed in a race that is anything like that distance. My aim for my first 70.3 is sub 5:15, then after that to mange a sub 5 hour.
ST: Along those lines, I believe you have a Half Ironman event already on your calendar.
Alex: I am planning on racing Ironman 70.3 Racine as my first half, then maybe Miami 70.3 later in the year.
ST: How did your last triathlon in TN go? Were you happy with your performance?
Alex: I finished 29th overall out of around 150. I was reasonably happy with that but my race for sure had some difficulties. It started out with dealing with the 38 degree temperature which was a bit of shock starting the bike after the swim. I forgot my pre race nutrition in the fridge in hotel and so entered the start with no food or drink inside me. Rookie mistake, I know!! At the end of the bike leg, which was very hilly, I began to feel slight stomach pain and straight after my first few steps of the run I knew I was in trouble with huge stomach cramps. I was 19th coming off the bike and really fell back in the run. I felt like I could just not put one foot in front of the other and suffered through that run more than I have ever suffered in my life. Regardless of having a tough run I felt pretty good about the race in general and knew my fitness was not too far from where I want it to be.
ST: The race was in TN quite a good distance from Indianapolis. Why race there versus closer to home?
Alex: My last race in Indy was Sept 11th and after that I had IndyCar races in Japan amongst other places and then the season finale in Miami which included a weeks vacation afterwards so I was unable to find a final triathlon locally and I really wanted to race one more time. I love the Smoky mountains and the thought of a triathlon with plenty of climbing really appealed to me, so I figured this would be a decent race to end my year on. It was a 6-hour drive, which is a fair bit but at the same time it is not too crazy. I drove to a number of races this year including 10 hours from Watkins Glen so I am used to long drives, plus I have my wife to share the driving with me.
ST: You tweeted about a getting a trick new bike so we want to know what you will be riding.
Alex: Next year I will be riding Blue. I will be racing a custom painted 2011 Triad SL. I can't wait to get my hands on it and know that that machine will seriously improve my bike splits. So far I have been racing a road bike with aero bars so this will be a big step up for me. Add that to the blueseventy swim gear, including the 2011 Helix Wetsuit, and Zensah recovery wear and I have all the tools at my disposal to have a great season next year.
ST: Tony Kanaan made some joke about missing his pit crew in Miami. Do you like tinkering with your bike, or do you let someone handle it who knows more about it?
Alex: I enjoy tinkering with my bike but prefer to hand it over to the pros to set it up properly (or fix it after my tinkering has gone wrong).
ST: Have you been fitted on the previous bike?
Alex: I have had a very basic fit but plan on having a full professional fit when I receive my new Blue bikes.
ST: What is your training volume right now in a week, and is someone guiding you there?
Alex: Last season I was around 10 hours a week and it was not correctly structured. Right now I am in the transition stage of a proper training plan with full periodization. I am probably around 5 to 6 hours a week right now but when my base works starts in January I will be over 15 hours a week. I plan on really training long, hard and more than anything effectively for 2011. I have just started working with a tri team in Indianapolis and they will be putting together a plan for me to juggle IndyCar racing and triathlons and still allow me to train and recover correctly to achieve the results I am aiming for.
ST: Tell us about your diet.
Alex: I don’t diet as such I just try to eat healthy. I eat a lot of pasta and always have at least one bowl of Alpen a day. Being British I drink a LOT of cups of tea but I don’t worry too much about that. I don’t limit myself, just try to be smart.
ST: What music do you like?
Alex: Right now I am really enjoying Mumford & Sons. Their music is very original and I like that about artists.
ST: What was the last book you read?
Alex: Joe Friel’s Triathlon Training Bible.
ST: Is there anything else we should know about you?
Alex: I am married to my wife Samantha and have 2 children, Ava (3) and Bethany (1). We are expecting our latest arrival (a baby boy) in under a week! I am also an avid photographer in my spare time (which is very little with racing, triathlon and family).
