Ohno Teams Up With World Champion

Ohno Teams Up With World Champion

Aug 19, 2014 by FloTrack Staff
 Ohno Teams Up With World Champion


Sponsored by Chocolate Milk

By Mitch Kastoff

From the unforgiving, searing hot asphalt on Ali'i Drive, you can see the cool waves break and bubble onto the shores of Kailua-Kona. This picturesque Hawaiian escape is a vacation getaway from some, but for others, like triathlete and three-time IRONMAN World Champion Craig “Crowie” Alexander, it’s home to the single most difficult day in sports: the IRONMAN World Championship.

While he can recall each stretch of the 140.6 mile course, it was Alexander’s debut at the 2007 IRONMAN World Championship that remains his fondest memory. Alexander finished second at his first IRONMAN World Championship, but would return to Kona to claim three world titles, set the course record, and, at 38-years old, become the oldest competitor to win the event.

While Alexander will make his semi-annual pilgrimage to Kailua-Kona this fall, this particular journey has been and will be different. He will be using his vast knowledge and unparalleled expertise to guide Apolo Ohno on his final stop of his Mission Apolo: BUILT WITH CHOCOLATE MILK journey.

“I was honored to be asked to help Apolo, as he’s one of the greatest in his sport,” Alexander told Flotrack. “I always like to meet the great athletes from the other sports because there is something to learn from them also.”

“When someone’s a great athlete, whatever the sport, those characteristics - discipline, drive and competitiveness - carry over,” Alexander added.

Alexander joins eight-time IRONMAN World Champion Paula Newby-Fraser on the coaching staff of Ohno’s Mission Apolo: BUILT WITH CHOCOLATE MILK team. Two of the greatest triathletes of all -time equip Ohno with the tools, physically and mental, to conquer the 140.6 mile challenge.

Even though Alexander is at the beginning of a career change, his philosophy on the sport remains the same: respect the “process.”

First, there’s Ohno’s holistic “process” to making it to the IRONMAN World Championship.

Teaming up with BUILT WITH CHOCOLATE MILK, Ohno, the most decorated U.S. winter athlete in history, has been on a revolutionary journey that will culminate in Hawai'i this October. For the last few months, the eight-time Olympic gold medalist has been making the transition from being an athlete whose focus was power and explosiveness to an aerobic endurance machine that’s prepared to traverse a grueling 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run.

What started out as a dream soon quickly turned into reality, according to Alexander. The experienced triathlete met for the first time before Ohno competed at his first half-IRONMAN in Boise, ID. Alexander was immediately impressed.

“The day we arrived we went out and did a bit of recon on the bike course. His level of attentiveness to his training bike setup and the race was incredible.”

With the boisterous Boise crowd screaming his name as he flew down roads, Ohno finished among seasoned triathletes in 4:59:27.

“He performed unbelievably well in that race,” Alexander said. “He swam right near the front of his age group and was one of the first out. He was one of the first off the bike as well. I think the challenge is always going to be later in the race as the endurance side kicks in.”

IRONMAN 70.3 Boise served its purpose as a litmus test for Mission Apolo: BUILT WITH CHOCOLATE MILK for how the distance would impact Ohno’s body. In order to prepare for the IRONMAN World Championship, which will be twice the distance, Alexander and Newby-Fraser need to make sure that Ohno can handle the increasing workload that lies ahead.

This is Ohno’s day-to-day “process” to the IRONMAN World Championship.

When Ohno began his journey, he seemed a bit impatient during training. Naturally, an athlete whose world had been built upon 40-second bursts on the 400-meter ice rink, now had to pace himself for an all-day endurance event.

To do that, Ohno needed to not only slow down, but ensure that he adequately recovered between training sessions. This is where “chocolate milk has been huge,” according to Alexander.

“Whether you’re trying to win world titles or are racing Kona for the first time, it’s still the same process and requires the same consistency.

“It’s not how well you train for one week, it’s a culmination of all the work you put in. Athletes are going to be better when their recovery is better. That’s where good nutrition, like that found in lowfat chocolate milk, helps.”

Alexander’s preference for chocolate milk doesn’t just stem from its mix of protein and carbs scientifically shown to replenish exhausted muscles, but from his childhood.

“When I was 15-years-old, my stepdad worked at a milk depot and he got me a job as a delivery boy. I just started drinking milk. It was a part of my job.

“When I started doing triathlons there was a lot of talk about recovery and I read an article in a triathlon magazine about how all the big athletes of the ‘80s used to drink chocolate milk. That was their drink of recovery.”

For Alexander, recovery is the fourth discipline of triathlon. As he’s become more mature in the sport, Alexander has been able to focus on the big picture and the big picture is recovery.

This is Alexander’s “process” that resulted in three IRONMAN World Championship titles.

“As a rookie, you don’t really have an appreciation for recovery,” he said. “When you’ve been doing this sport for a long period of time, and you’ve maximized the way you’ve prioritized your training, you realize the improvements come from the attention in the details: how you recover between sessions.”

The IRONMAN World Championship will be held on October 11th, 2014. We’ll be following Ohno’s and Alexander’s journey with Mission Apolo: BUILT WITH CHOCOLATE MILK, and you can too at gotchocolatemilk.com.