With 1 mile left to run in the Boise IM 70.3, Crowie was 57 seconds down on Chris Lieto. A spectator on the side line yelled out the time split and something to light Crowies internal fire. Follow this link to see some amazing finish photos of how the race transpired.

Finish Line Photos

My ride has been seriously pimped.
Yesterday Dustin and the boys in the SHIMANO tech Support van made a trip to my training base in Boulder Colorado and have kitted out my Orbea Ordu with the new Shimano Electronic Groupset DI-2.
I took my bike out for a spin to Jamestown this afternoon, and I really love it.I can’t believe how smooth it is. I think this will revolutionise time-trialling. The aerodynamic advantage of less position changes whilst shifting gears will be significant.
I believe I am the first very lucky triathlete to have the new group set fitted on my bike.
I can’t wait to test it out in a race this weekend at the Boise IM 70.3 triathlon.
Train Safe,
Craig

A new baby, leaving the country for 5 months, a new town and a race win has all been sqaushed into the last month !!
Our lovely little son Austin was born on April 29th, throwing out the window all the theories that athletes don’t have sons. He is doing really well, and is well loved and man handled by his big sister Lucy.
After a mad dash to get the approriate paperwork/passports and visa for Austin to travel, we packed up our Australian life in Cronulla and headed to Hawaii for the IM 70.3 race. After a nice win there, we flew the red eye flight into Denver, and have now started our summer season in Boulder CO.
Our arrival in Boulder coincided with the launch of the new Newton Running Lab in Boulder. It’s a great new concept store combining the legendary orthotics made by Danny Abshire and his team with all the Newton Shoes and products. We heard last night about the new and exciting new shoes and concepts that they are developing as well as the very favourable results that is coming out of the testing that is being done on the shoes.
Let the training begin,
Stay Safe
Craig

As the Crow Flies…

Current Ironman World Champion, Craig “Crowie” Alexander has recorded another scorching victory, this time in the Ironman 70.3 Hawaii. A flying final run leg saw him claw back an 8 minute lead to highly regarded American Chris Leito, to find his way home first and clinch another title on the hallowed shores of the Kona coast.

Fellow Australian Luke McKenzie, Chris Lieto, local Timothy Marr and Alexander were together after the frantic frolic swim in the North Pacific. It was Lieto though who pushed to an early lead on the volcanic cycle route to Hawi as he has done so many times before. Whilst a flock that included Alexander, McKenzie and Marr jostled into the final transition together, assailant Lieto was well out of sight and ensured a white hot run race pace in the Big Island’s steamy conditions.

As Alexander proved last year in October, his foot speed is difficult to match as he seems to float over the hot surfaces of Hawaii and his timing impeccable. A fast finishing run of 1:17:12 and overall finish time of 4:02:52 demonstrated he is well on course to take his 2008 achievements to new heights. Lieto held on for second place in 4:05:34. Whilst McKenzie had the second best run of the day, 1:26:26 and was welcomed across the line third in 4:11:58.

Alexander will now base himself at altitude in Boulder Colorado for the next 4 months, focusing on a hectic North American season before for he and his family migration back to Hawaii for the Ironman World Championships later in the season.”

Craig’s next race is still being decided, but he is anticapating some less taxing temperatures but another tough hit out.

John Minto, the man on the ground in Singapore:

“Current World Ironman Champion Craig Alexander confirmed his credentials as the worlds greatest in claiming victory at today’s Singapore 70.3 Ironman race.

In familiar style to his season opening win in the Geelong 70.3 Ironman, Craig shot out of the final Bike-Run transition to establish an unassailable lead. 2007 winner Reinaldo Colucci and and fellow Australian Chris McCormack could not match Alexander’s early speed in the hot and humid conditions.

Alexander started as he finished, taking the early lead during the first of two laps in the 1.9km swim emerging from the water with recently crowned Australian Long Course Champion Pete Jacobs. The bike saw at least 6 of the elite men’s field taking turns off the front during the very flat and very fast second discipline.

The difference in class was obvious in the first mile of the run leg with Alexander gaping the filed by 30secs. He continued to turn up the heat and extended his lead out to over 4mins before celebrating with an appreciative crowd that included a large number of expatriates and vocal locals.

Chris McCormack was second over the line with 2008 Singapore 70.3 winner Simon Thompson’s personal best time on the course securing him a spot on the podium today.”

Journey of an Ironman: April Diary entry

The Singapore 70.3 attracted a very competitive field this year including defending champion Simon Thompson, Chris McCormack and leading international competitors such as Reinaldo Colucci, so it was a good early season test for me knowing that although I was not 100 per cent fit, physically I was in a good place for that time of year. I swam really well and was second out of the water, then Reinaldo made a break on the bike and three of us were able to respond – myself, Chris and Cam Watt. I made a play at the start of the run and while Reinaldo stuck with me for a while, I was able to open up a 40-second lead by the 3km mark then widen that gap and go on with it to do a 1hr 12min half marathon and win by four minutes. I felt good on the run; it was a bit overcast which probably took away some of the heat, but I was very pleased to kick off the early season with a couple of 70.3 wins in Geelong and Singapore.

From there I went to a training camp in Dubai with Jason Metters and that was a really good week. It was great to have the opportunity to do that as I’d been on a Tri Dubai team for six months before it was disbanded, so it was nice to get there and be involved with what is a large triathlon community.
The last three weeks has been all about volume – good base training stacking up the kilometres on the bike and run. I scheduled things that way so I would not be travelling given that we’re expecting our second child to come along any day now. It’s worked out well and will give me a solid platform for when I look to head back to the States in about five weeks for the season over there.

I tend to plan my year around a couple of races a year and at the moment that’s obviously Hawaii and any relevant world championships. I think there are probably two windows a year where I can expect to be at my best. October is the priority, but I also tend to be in really good shape in the June/July period before taking a one-week break and getting into my build-up for Kona. In planning a season you really need to work out where you want your peak fitness to be, but also give yourself the chance to scratch a few itches in terms of races you really just enjoy doing or can work into your schedule when you’re coming off the boil a bit but still fit enough to be competitive. I’m lucky in that I do quite a bit of work with Dave Scott for my Kona training. I also bounce a lot of ideas off Chris Carmichael and Nick White. I’ll write my own programs, but Nick is quite specific with the training loads and intensity, so he’s fantastic for fine-tuning things.

That’s one thing I’d say to age-group athletes – it all comes down to having a plan, otherwise you’re setting yourself up for a kick in the pants. Know your goal races and be consistent in your approach to training. If you pick your races and work back from there, you can do volume work and build a nice endurance foundation before stepping into some race-pace work and running off the bike; more intense sessions that simulate the race. You’ve got to be flexible and use common sense. Have your checks and balances in place as you build your training, but try not to be too analytical because your body responds differently each year. Listen to your body, adjust and make the most of it.

Train Safe,
Craig

Raining, raining raining.
All very boring for training.

Emma Snowsill further crammed her trophy cabinet by being named Triathlon Australia’s 2008 Athlete of the Year at a weekend ceremony in Mooloolaba, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

In accepting the award, as voted by fellow athletes, she said: “the Olympics had been an amazing experience and that 2008 had been a wonderful year, not only personally, but for Australian triathlon in general”. Snowsill was forced to withdraw from Saturday’s Mooloolaba World Cup due to a cracked rib sustained in a surfing accident in January, but is back in training with a goal of winning a World Championship on home soil at the Gold Coast in September.

Other nominees for the award were Emma Moffatt, Craig Alexander, Courtney Atkinson, Greg Bennett and Brad Kahlefeldt.

Snowsill also walked away with the 2008 Female Performance of the Year – as voted by coaches, media and stakeholders – for securing Olympic gold in Beijing, ahead of the only other female nominee, Moffatt, who secured bronze in the same race.

The 2008 Male Performance of the Year went to Alexander in recognition of his win in Hawaii to be crowned the World Ironman Champion. Alexander, in Dubai on a training camp having recently won the Singapore 70.3, said in a message that 2008 was a “Hall of Fame year” for triathlon in Australia. “The Ironman World Championship victory was the culmination of a season of many memorable victories and a life-long ambition. As an athlete you dream of seasons like this.”

Follow the link to ITU Perth LD Worlds:
www.ldworlds.org.au

CROWIE’S DIARY
Journey of a World Ironman Champion

March: “Planning is part of my Job Description”

My season started in early February with the Geelong 70.3, before which, although I had
done a large volume of work, I had not raced for four months. I had a win and felt really
good actually – exceeded all expectations – and it was nice to race in Australia.

It was a busy time of the year: I had a trip back to the States and went to NZ for Orca. I
actually enjoy the sponsorship commitments because it breaks things up a bit. So I had a
little break and went into Husky (Australian Long Course Championships at Huskisson)
pretty confident, even though I knew I was racing guys who were lining up for Port
Macquarie who would be very fit. But I didn’t have a great day and a poor swim cost me.
I was beaten by a better athlete on the day and Pete Jacobs deserved his win. I think to
win a major race you should have to put all three disciplines together and I didn’t do that.
I was a little disappointed, but I also knew there was no need to panic.

Since then I’ve had three or four weeks of great training, which included joining a swim
squad, which I enjoy doing every now and then. It helps get you going and I think it’s
good to mix things up and train with different people. I race in the Singapore 70.3 this
weekend and then head to a training camp in Dubai being run by (former triathlete) Jason
Metters. It’s a week of quality training in different surrounds and a chance to network in
regard to business opportunities, so it’s the best of both worlds really. I won’t be racing
for six weeks after Singapore and we have the pending birth of our second child at the
end of April, so I plan to make the most of it.

We also just bought a house in Sutherland after a three-year search, so it’s great to finally
get that over the line. With the responsibilities of life increasing more and more once you
have a family, gain sponsorship and have financial commitments, I suppose one of the
things I’ve become much better at is time management. My love of the sport, love of
training and love for improving has always been there, but you need discipline along with
that. I am self-employed and I see part of my job description as being able to plan my
sessions and plan my week. It’s also easier to maintain motivation because I think it’s
harder to miss a training session when you’ve scheduled it into your diary. And I make
sure I factor in family time, such as doing a training session when my daughter, Lucy, is
due for a sleep, but having playtime with her in the afternoon.

I like my footy so it’s good to see the rugby league season roll around again. I spoke to
the Melbourne Storm boys the day after I raced at Geelong – that came about after I sat
next to Craig Bellamy at an awards night – and I spoke to South Sydney in December. I
appreciate opportunities like that . . . but to tell you the truth, I’m actually a Bulldogs fan!
I was in a tipping comp last year and I was going pretty well, but when I was overseas I
would get to the end of the week and rush to put my tips in, only to end up being late all
the time because although it was only Friday in the US it would be Saturday in Australia,
so I’d already missed the Friday night games! That’s my excuse, anyway.
Stay tuned for more,
Craig

We have all just had a week in New Zealand to attend Bevan Docherty’s wedding. We had a great time and it was a blast from the past to catch up with a bunch of athletes from my early racing days in France ( 1997-99), and to see where they have all ended up after their triathlon careers are over. We were the only Aussies that made the trek across from Australia, but enjoyed our time in beautiful Taupo, where we also had a sneak peak at the town gearing up for the New Zealand Ironman that was held the following weekend.

I also took part in a catalogue photo shoot for Orca and got to test run the great looking gear from the 2009 collection. It was at beautiful Bethels Beach in Auckland. If you see me out running around Cronulla you’ll be getting a quick look at some of the new 2009 running gear.

On Thursday I am heading out to Singapore to the IM 70.3 triathlon, and then on to Dubai for the TRI2Aspire triathlon camp with another mate Jason Metters from my early racing days in Australia.

Stay safe,
Craig