Ali Brownlee - from globe-trotting to garage workouts…

Lockdowns haven’t halted Ali Brownlee’s quest for ultimate performance. In the first of three articles based on an interview with GQ magazine, he details the once-in-a-lifetime challenge that’s keeping him focused

Just like many more of us, GB Olympic triathlon legend Alistair Brownlee has had to severely scale back the scope of his training in lockdown.

But the ‘stay home’ message hasn’t meant our most successful triathlete reining in his ambitions. Instead, he’s got another milestone in his sights - becoming the first athlete to complete an Ironman in under seven hours.

While many of us are biding our time, waiting for a sign that will give us at least a competitive event we can aim towards, Ali is building momentum towards a challenge on Jan Frodeno’s world championship-winning time in Kona, Hawaii in 2019 of 7 hours 51 minutes.

That time, Brownlee had led the field up to the final leg, but eventually finished 21st on his first appearance in Kona.

Then, just after the start of the first lockdown last March, he set his sights on finding a challenge that would represent “something motivational that would create a wider audience for triathlon”, he told David Levesley in an interview for GQ magazine.

So he landed on the sub-seven hour target as something that “seems impossible”, but which he could use as a way of showing more regular racers the elements that make up a good triathlon performance.

“That includes being at your maximum physiologically, but also being aerodynamic on the bike, getting your nutrition right.”

But that’s just for starters. Brownlee also wants to show how other environmental and natural factors would all contribute to producing the conditions which could help achieve such a feat - things such as the location, the ideal swimming water and the best road for cycling.

All-round, his aim, he says, is to show people why he remains so highly motivated to continue his success.

To help promote his quest, and his findings to a young audience, he has joined with The Pho3nix Foundation, a not-for-profit group that supports young people participating in sports. “We’re passionate that triathlon is a fantastic vessel to do that through, so we thought this challenge would capture other people’s imagination as much as ours,” Brownlee said.

In the next part of this article, Ali gives us an insight into his exercise programme and the nutrition and sleep routines which are just as important in helping him prepare for his challenge of a lifetime.

We hope you can get plenty of inspiration and ideas from this peek inside the training world of a true champion. We’re always here at MyTriathlon to help you find anything from your first wetsuit to all the items of compression and gym wear you could need.

Picture: Ali Brownlee competing in the World Ironman Championships in Kona in 2019.