A. Name, age, city and state, how long lived there?
Alli LaCroix, 35 years old-leap year baby, Tucson AZ been here since ‘94
B. Place of birth, where did you grow up, high school, college, military, other?
I was born in Albany NY, moved to Sunnyvale CA when I was 1 and lived there until I moved to AZ for college. I went to Homestead High School (same as Steve Jobs!) and I went to U of A for college.
C. Other than running – hobbies, interests, pets, kids, current employment?
I have 1 cat, Diablo, who is still chasing his tail at 16 years old. I teach art at a middle school in Rio Rico AZ. I am currently training for Ironman Arizona taking place in Tempe AZ on Nov 20th. This will be my 8th Ironman. I enjoy listening to books on tape, especially since my drive to work is an hour each way, I’ve recently found cooking and baking enjoyable. I was never good at it, but I took lessons for a chef, and he gave me the confidence to try new things. So far, most things have been successful. Charles has been on the receiving end of this new found hobby.
D. Favorite distance to run or race on trail and on the road?
Well, I really like the 50k trail distance. As far as road, I’m realizing that I can be quite successful at the marathon distance. I’d like to see how fast I can actually be.
E. Favorite race course or event?
Avalon Benefit 50 mile run on Catalina Island
F. Favorite Tucson area trail to train, run, hike?
Gosh, I am not sure I have a favorite, its been a while since I’ve been on trails-training for road marathons have kept me on the road for the most part. I certainly do miss it.
G. Favorite vacation destination?
Vacation? What’s that? My favorite summer trip so far has been riding the coast of CA on bicycles with Charles Denson. We went from the Oregon border to Santa Barbara. It was an incredible experience. Then maybe would be Yosemite. I just can’t describe the feeling of being in that park, all its beauty and grandure makes me feel so insignificant, but also so lucky to be able to experience it.
H. Favorite post-race/run food, drink and activity, ie. hot tub, ice cold river soak, etc?
Right after a race, I like chocolate milk or chocolate muscle milk. I also crave a fountain diet coke. That night I like to dance the night away!
I. Pet Peeves?
Hmmm. Not sure I have one.
J. Current book you are reading or favorite author?
I am reading Nutrition Periodization for Athletes by Bob Seebohar. I am listening to a Michael Connely book on CD currently. I really have enjoyed Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels. Highly entertaining!
K. Favorite quote or saying to live by?
“Don’t ask me why I run, ask yourself why you don’t”
L. Person you look up to, emulate, hero?
I tell people that my hero is Ronnie Lott - his work ethic, his dedication and determination.
M. What has been your worst running injury?
KNOCK ON WOOD!!! I have been very lucky and really my worst injury was an inflamed IT band. It didn’t last too long.
N. If you could no longer run or lost the use of your legs what sport or activity would you pursue?
After I stopped crying and feeling sorry for myself, I think I would become a wheel chair athlete, and continue to do the sports I do currently.
TA: Hi Alli, it’s nice to see you. You’ve been awfully busy lately just completing your 7th Ironman.
Alli: It’s great to see you too. This was my 7th completion out of 8 attempts and my 3rd Arizona finish. I finished in my second best time.
Alli: Overall I had a fantastic swim. I was shocked when I got out of the water in an hour and sixteen minutes. The swim is in Tempe Town Lake. I was shooting for 1:18-20 and was thrilled to beat that. I consider myself a mid-pack swimmer; not my strong event. In the middle of 2800 swimmers I never had my own space. You get beat up the entire way. I was kicked in the stomach and whacked in the face. There is a point when you approach a buoy and have to turn the corner. It’s like a traffic jam. After the turn everyone is trying to reestablish position.
TA: That sounds like a lot work not to mention the distance itself. How is the course laid out for the swim?
Alli: After about a half mile there is a buoy and you make a turn for a tenth of a mile and then go around another buoy and swim another half mile. Then there is a third buoy, another tenth of a mile or so and you do that twice! (which then goes to the finish). I never had a chance to relax; it was a constant battle.
TA: So there is no wave start? No seeding by previous time?
Alli: If you’re faster than everyone else you will be in the front of the pack. Otherwise you just jump into the lake. The pros leave at 6:50, the age-groupers leave at 7am. I usually try to stay in the back and to the side but since I was hoping for a better swim time I thought I would take advantage of the only legal place you can draft in an Ironman.
TA: Wow? Can you really draft swimming?
Alli: Absolutely! I did not put forth any extra effort to swim 4-6 minutes faster. When there are that many people you can seriously feel the difference between swimming on your own versus being in a pack.
The worst part of it was they announced to start making your way to the lake. You have to cross through this arch so we’re standing there waiting and no one’s moving. We finally get through and they say “2 minutes to the start,” and we’re not even in the water yet. There is 200 yards in the water before you hit the start line. So we’re all scrambling over the fence. They warn you to make sure you jump out at least three feet because of the sloping embankment of the lake. You launch yourself into the water without a warm-up; I’m in and I’m going.
Alli: No…62 degrees.
TA: That sounds chilly to me.
Alli: With a wetsuit that’s ok. It wasn’t freezing. St. George was 51 degrees. That was not comfortable. I was cold even with the wetsuit then.
TA: So with the wetsuit, aside from helping you stay warm, doesn’t it help your buoyancy?
Alli: Yes, it helps you float. So when you’re waiting for the start you’re just kind of bobbing around.
TA: Alright, you did well on the swim…transitioned…how did the bike go? I know you’ve been training a lot.
Alli: I’ve been getting better. I was hoping to average around 20 miles per hour throughout the whole thing. There are three loops of about 37 miles long. My first loop was great. It’s a slight uphill for almost 10 miles along Beeline Highway and then you turn around to a gradual downhill. The first loop I averaged 20 mph and that was lovely. The wind hit on the 2nd loop. It wasn’t bad in town but out on the highway there was nothing to block the wind.
TA: At least on a loop you should get it back somewhere…
Alli: Yes, but I had the wind at my back going uphill; which meant I had to push going downhill. My thinking is that I’m already working going uphill, I’d rather have the push at my back going downhill. I had an ok bike; I was hoping for 5:30-45 and I finished in 6 hours. So I was slightly off but not totally discouraged because everyone else had to deal with the same wind that I did. Plus, I knew I had the marathon and that is my strength. But I fell apart on the run.
TA: How much does the swim take from you? I mean, do you feel physically tired from the swim once you’re on the bike?
Alli: Not really, I’m ecstatic when I get out of the water. Once I’m out of the water the race starts. I had an adrenaline kick from going 1:16. The second loop of the bike was the slowest and then I picked it up again on the third loop. So I had renewed motivation.
Alli: There are aid stations but they hand you bottles like a drive-by. You can take bananas, gels, bars, water, Gatorade. They had Gatorade Perform on the course as well as Power Bar Gel. There is one aid station for special needs where they have all the drop bags lined out by number. You raise your hand and the volunteers bring it to you. This race, I lost my bag. Somewhere that morning before I had a chance to drop my bag off I couldn’t find it. I had it with me when I left the hotel. I called my mom and sister and they said it wasn’t in the car. I somehow misplaced it. I had 350 calories in my bottle that I now didn’t have.
TA: Did you find it later?
Alli: Yeah, the next day. It was disappointing but I thought I could still do fine without it. I had just enough to make it through a five and a half hour bike and I was just slightly under where I needed to be. Because it took me 6 hours I was very much under calories. It was frustrating.
TA: Ok, you get off the bike…
Alli: I was happy, I felt great, I had no cramping; everything felt good. I tried compression knickers for the first time in a race. I had done a lot of training in them. I really like them.
TA: Are they for the quads?
Alli: They go down just under the knee. The circulation was great. I didn’t feel fatigue in my legs from the bike at all; I felt it in my back.
TA: Do you ride in the Aero-position?
Alli: Yes, I have the Aero-bars.
Alli: My bike shoes have one Velcro strap so you just throw your feet in and strap it. I have not mastered the art of putting my feet in my shoes while riding. You’ll see the pros do that especially in short races. They’ll hop on their bike with bare feet and then put their feet into shoes that are already clipped-in to their bike. I figure if it’s going to take me six hours anyway then 30 seconds to strap my shoes isn’t going to make a difference.
So you get off the bike; somebody takes it from you and they’re yelling out your number. The volunteers are fantastic. They rack the bike for you and then someone else gets your run bag and hands it to you; then you go into the change tent. I do the entire race in the same outfit so all I have to do is put on socks and a hat and my fuel belt and I’m off. I’m ready in two minutes.
TA: What is the course like in the marathon?
Alli: It’s very convoluted. There are 3 loops and each one is roughly 9 miles. You run along Tempe Town Lake, you run on Priest, and then come back on the walking path that comes back through by the lake again on the north side. You make a loop through a park; you go on Mill Avenue Bridge twice.
Alli: There are little random 100 meter sections on dirt. There is concrete too.
TA: Did you feel crappy on the run from the start?
Alli: From the get-go. The first mile I felt ok and then the energy was not there. I think that had to do with lack of nutrition on the bike and I just never caught up. I didn’t have any GI issues, no cramping; I just didn’t have any energy.
TA: So how do continue to keep going like that? If you’re never getting back on top of it, what keeps pushing you forward?
Alli: I’m stubborn. I ran through most of it. I walked through the aid stations to make sure that I got water. I ran through a couple because I wore my fuel belt but I ate and drank everything I had and then some and I just couldn’t get…I had a little bit of energy every time I took a gel. Pretty quickly after that I would lose that energy. Once my blood sugar is that low; I lose it mentally. I did finish the race under 12 hours. That is a lot of people’s main goal. I was hoping for less than 11 hours.
TA: What was your previous best time…your PR?
Alli: My PR is 11:28. This was 11:50, so I wasn’t far off but I was really hoping for a good run. I came off of a good Long Beach Marathon; I was really hoping to be able to run another good marathon.
TA: So what does your future hold with this event?
Alli: Well, it’s kind of back to the drawing board. Charles and I have talked about some things I can do differently.
Alli: I do have a coach. He’s an Exercise Physiologist at Canyon Ranch and is a triathlete himself. I met him when I worked there. One day I was asking him a bunch of questions and he said, “If you want to talk to me you have to go for a run with me.” So I did and we went running and he said, “Why don’t you just ask me to coach you.” That was four years ago.
TA: Do you have your eye on your next Ironman?
Alli: The bad thing about Ironman is that you have to sign up the day of the race for the following year because they fill up – 2800 slots filled in 18 minutes.
TA: That’s crazy! And they’re not cheap, right?
Alli: $680 for the entry fee. There a couple of overseas races that are open but here in the States; Louisville, Kentucky. Not sure I want to deal with the heat. St. George is open; been there, done that, didn’t enjoy it. Cozumel is still open which is a year away. I don’t know if I’m going to do another Ironman in 2012. My goal is to go sub-11 and to qualify for Hawaii; the top 2% of my age group. In the meantime I’ll really focus on my bike strength and some nutrition changes; do some half and full marathons.
TA: If you make the time for Hawaii then you have an automatic bid to the race?
Alli: Yes, they only give out a certain number of slots.
TA: Very interesting. I know you did a 100 mile race at Western States a while back.
Alli: Yeah, way back in the day, 2003.
TA: You were in your 20’s…at the time I thought that was quite young, very remarkable. I know the mentality of the 100-mile runner. What is it about the Ironman? Is there some similarity? Did you discover something there that took the place of the long trail?
Alli: I learned to hurt. The hurt is not only physical, but mental. I took that experience from Western States, and really, I apply it to many of the events that I enter. As far as WS100, it takes a lot of mental strength as well as physical strength. There are peaks and valleys throughout the entire race. I had to learn how to deal with each. As far as the Ironman, that is also test of mental and physical strength. Sure you are not doing one modality the entire time, but you have to be able to move from one to another, putting the previous behind you and focus on what is in front of you. I learned how to break up the race into more tangible pieces, WS100 really helped me with that. As far as the Ironman, what is the draw to do another? The lure of Hawaii. At first my thought was…can I do it? Then it became…can I do it better? And now it’s…can I get to Hawaii?
TA: It’s really quite a long event. I mean it’s really an ultra. What keeps you going?
Alli: It’s an ultra in every sense. 17 hours is your cut-off time. You train for 18-20 weeks. Your weekends are consumed with your training. You need your long run, your long swim, and then 7 hours on your bike.
What keeps me going? Well, I’m just about done competing in the Ironman. I kind of want my life back. It has taken a huge amount of time away from my family and friends. I have a great support group in my family, friend, and Charles. It’s a very selfish experience. Right now I’m tired. Will I do it again? Yes. A lot more? No. I have maybe one more to qualify for Hawaii. They changed the lottery. You can’t just enter the lottery, you have to have done 12 Ironmans and then you’re automatically entered into the lottery with a very good chance of getting in. With four more to go and entry fees of $800; I don’t know.
TA: I don’t blame you. Talk about your recent success in the marathon.
Alli: I’m really happy with where my running is. I think I can go faster. It’s been enjoyable. I like to see all of my hard work pay off. My coach thinks I can get down to 3:15.
Alli: Because I still do both. Off-season I like to be on trail. In-season I’m back on the road for more focused running. This coming year I need to make sure I have an off-season. I still want to do some trail races; the 50K/50-mile distance. Another 100…maybe…that’s a lot of training, that’s a lot of time.
TA: That’s a different animal. For what you’re trying to do right now, I don’t think the 100 would serve you well; maybe not until your mid-40s.
Alli: And I’ll be able to do that longer than I’ll be able to do Ironman.
TA: Let’s talk about when you started trail running and doing ultras in your early 20s. What influenced you?
Alli: Your wife. I met Trish Duarte while hashing. I wasn’t happy with the direction my life was going and she took me under her wing and we became friends. I started running with her.
TA: On the trail, roads, both?
Alli: Both. We did the inaugural Rock n’ Roll Marathon at San Diego in 1997 and my first 50K at Crown King in 1998.
TA: I remember those road trips.
Alli: Me too. That’s how it all started. That’s how I started running, period! I needed a change in my life and she happened to be that catalyst. I’ve been forever thankful to her for being in my life and your influence as well. I don’t see her very often anymore but when we do it’s like we’ve never been apart.
TA: Trish has expressed those same sentiments.
Alli: She had been running for longer than I had but not the long trail. The biggest turning point for me was when I first met you guys and you were doing the Rim to Rim of the Grand Canyon. I wanted to go and she told me that she didn’t think I was ready. I was really upset.
TA: Trish had run across the Grand Canyon once already when several of us did a crossing in 1996. She was the only woman. The guys took off and left her in the dust; she basically ran across by herself. It was a challenging experience and her counsel to you was probably for your own benefit.
Alli: I didn’t take it any other way. It made me realize that if this is something I want to do I need to get serious about it. So in June of 1997 I ran my first marathon and March 1998 was my first 50K at Crown King. So her telling me that she didn’t think I would make it was an eye-opener. If you tell me I can’t do something, I’m going to do my damnedest to make sure that I get it done.
TA: That’s great.
Alli: Whether she knows that or not or remembers telling me she didn’t think I could do it; I would never have blamed her for it. It was never an offensive thing. She was making sure that I wasn’t going to be stuck in the middle of the Grand Canyon, yelling, “Help, I can’t get out.” Once you’re down there what are you going to do…you have no choice but to get back out. I still have yet to do the Rim to Rim.
TA: We’re working on planning another trip. You guys are welcome to join us now that you’re qualified. What I really want to know Alli, is how have you kept your motivation so high over this length of time?
Alli: My mom asks me the same thing. I’m not sure…maybe because I can. I’m not always going to be able to. I’m doing it before I can’t do it anymore. I’m not a little person; I think I’m built to do the distances. My body handles it pretty well. I can run a marathon and six weeks later do an Ironman and I’m no worse for the wear. How did I keep my motivation…it kind of became who I am. It’s a big part of my life. I fear if I stop doing it I’m going to lose direction. I’m going to lose who I am. I don’t know what I would do with myself.
TA: We’re kind of alike that way. We’re subconsciously lining things up without realizing what we’re doing. I think it drives my wife nuts but it’s what keeps me going.
Alli: That’s how I feel. For me not to have an Ironman in 2012, it’s pretty unusual. I have to have something to work for. That’s my motivation.
TA: You seem fairly competitive. Do you like competition; is it just for fun, or a combination of the two?
Alli: A combination of the two. I’m very competitive with myself. I’m just now seeing that I can be competitive against other women in my age group. When I started that was never a thought. Seeing that I was third in my age group at the Long Beach Marathon, I thought…that’s cool. I realize I have this potential now. I’m just now hitting my endurance prime at 36 years old. I’m in the middle of it and I’m going to use it. I have this fantastic base, this desire; I’m in the best shape of my life and not injured, knock on wood. I need to do something with this right now because when I get past a certain point I’m not going to be able to be competitive.
TA: I would say you’ve got 3-5 good years. Don’t ever let anybody tell you that at 40 you’re old.
Alli: They told me at 30 I was going to get fat. Really…just because I’m 30 I’m going to fall apart and gain all this weight? I was like, no, I didn’t expect to shut down at 30 and I haven’t.
TA: It won’t happen at 40 either or for that matter 50. We’re living in better times.
TA: You can come out to our new run on the Eastside from Camino Loma Alta Trailhead and up to Manning Camp or Cowhead Saddle December 18th. I’m curious about back when you and Trish were running the 50Ks together like when we drove out to Huntsville, Texas and did Sunmart; what was it that then made you want to go to the 100-mile distance?
Alli: Bob Redwanc and Wayne Coates also did Western States the year I did. I don’t really know why I wanted to run 100 miles. What makes other sane people say, “that sounds like fun!” I just thought it was the next step. I signed up for Ironman Lake Placid and entered the lottery for Western States the same year. I wasn’t guaranteed to get into either and ended up getting into both. I did WS100 June 26th and then July 25th I did my first Ironman. It was great; I got off the bike and I said to myself…I only have to run 26 miles! I was thrilled!
TA: It’s amazing how a longer event can make those shorter races seem so much easier and lead to better times. You had run 50 miles prior to Western States?
Alli: I qualified by running three 50-miles races; Man Against Horse, Avalon, and Crown King.
TA: Yes, I remember sharing a motel with the night before the race; 3am start in Wickenburg. I slept a total of 10 minutes that night while Ed and Gail snored across the room. How did Western go for you?
Alli: Yeah, I didn’t sleep much more than that too. Western was a suffer-fest. I was chasing cutoffs after 60 miles. I finished 18 minutes under the final cutoff of 30 hours.
TA: Phew, that’s close! Do you follow any pre-race rituals?
Alli: I don’t and I probably should. I do have to have coffee in the morning and must use the bathroom. Oatmeal or a bagel and peanut butter but not religiously. I had a salad the night before this last Ironman. In retrospect that probably wasn’t enough.
TA: Pasta dinners the night before a race are overrated. You should get some extra carbs in the 2-3 days before the race but a salad probably is a little light the night before. How about clothing?
Alli: I don’t wear a certain pair of shoes or socks although I recently ordered a pair of Asics DS Trainers which should have been white with green accents. They went on backorder. When they finally showed up they turned out to be pink, completely pink. Everything about the shoe was pink; inserts, laces, the sole. I ran my best marathon ever in them. I love my pink shoes. They’re comfortable and I would order seven more pairs of them. This is something new.
I wore compression socks this time and did not cramp at all; throughout the entire 140-mile event. Will I now do everything in compression? Yeah.
TA: So these aren’t necessarily rituals; they’re something you discovered that works for you?
Alli: Isn’t it amazing that you and I can do this for the last 14-some odd years and still find new things to improve?
TA: I agree completely. I’ve picked up more new things since I turned 40, four years ago than I ever discovered in 16 years prior to that. Talk about accomplishments that you are most proud of.
Alli: Western States 100; my recent sub 3:30 marathon. Qualifying for and running the Boston Marathon.
TA: Impressive. What advice can you give to a new trail runner?
Alli: Go out and enjoy it. One of my favorite parts of trail running is that you start in the wee hours of the morning and wake up with the world. You start to hear the bugs, the birds chirp, and see the dew on the cactus. That’s the most special time. I’m not a religious person but I am very spiritual and that’s the closest I’ve ever been to whatever is there. That’s why I love trail running. It makes me happy. Find something about it that makes you happy. Whether it’s being with the people or getting closer to nature.
There is a quote I heard this weekend that pretty much sums up everything. It was based on a woman who was killed by a car while training in Phoenix, “Be relentlessly positive.” Why do I keep doing it…because I enjoy it. When I’m there and I’m hurting and I’m thinking…hmmm, this is my slowest marathon ever at the end of an Ironman…how do I keep myself going? I’m relentlessly positive.
Alli: Learn to pee standing up.
TA: Hahahhah! Very true.
Alli: That was on the way back from Crown King. My life lesson was to learn to pee standing up.
TA: 2011 was your 10th Avalon 50-mile race. What special significance does this race hold for you? Are planning on continuing to attend?
Alli: It’s an amazing weekend. We come from all over; the people I do this race with. My sister comes out every year. It’s fun; 50 miles in the middle of Catalina Island. January 2012 does not provide me enough of an off-season; especially with the goal of a sub-11 hour Ironman. There will always be an Avalon. It will be hard not to do it but there’s nothing saying I can’t go out there and just enjoy the weekend and not run it.
TA: There’s a good bar in Two Harbors. Here we are; last question. What is the meaning of life?
Alli: 42.
TA: You can’t use that. That has already been taken.
Alli: That’s the classic answer. You have to live for the moment. You can’t dwell on the past and you can’t predict the future. You have to live right now. You don’t need to be selfish and forget everybody else and not make smart choices so your future isn’t positive but you certainly don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow; when it’s your time, it’s your time. You can’t think about all of the things you didn’t do in the past.
Love unconditionally, live fearlessly, and be the best person you can be.
TA: Well said. Thanks for taking the time to talk and good luck next year.
Alli: You’re welcome, it was fun.
wow-that's a long interview...have to admit I skimmed it. But that's how I read on line anyway.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to her on an awesome IM AZ time. I completed it in 2009 and am going for St. George at 60. (starting my training for 2013 NOW by getting stronger as after 40 years of running (some ultras way back in the 80s) one's body sometimes doesn't cooperate with one's mind! My swim time for IMAZ was 1:17 so it's nice to know I am "up there" with this younger athlete! Keep on getting out there...I know I will!
Alli is truely an amazing woman. I am blessed to call her my friend. She is an example of how we all should live our lives; conscientious of all other beings. Thank you, TA for hosting this interview.
ReplyDeleteGreat article Chase, good to see you at packet pick-up and congrats on your marathon finish. Alli - As always, you are amazing and I will always remember racing tirathlons with you when you were a "newbie" :)
ReplyDeleteRane