Aline Palloure: Ironman
| 30 June 2010
Aline Palloure is embarking on one of the toughest triathlons in the world. She spoke to CHERRIE about her spectacular quest.
What is Ironman?
Ironman races are endurance triathlons which consist of a 3.8km swim, 180km ride and 42.2km run.
What made you want to enter the Ironman competition?
I was training for a half marathon six months ago around Princes Park in Melbourne when this bright idea popped into my head. I’d heard of the event a few years ago through a friend who was training for one, and I thought that would be a pretty good challenge. I also thought I could use this personal challenge as a vehicle to raise money for Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders), so my goal is to raise $10,000 by the time I cross the finish line in December.
Have you always been an athlete?
Yes, training has always been a big part of my life. I was a competitive swimmer in France before I left for England, so from a very young age I was in the pool two hours a day and going to competitions every weekend.
What’s a typical training day for you?
I do my shorter training sessions during the week. So, for example, Wednesday mornings I get up at 5.45am, I do a 3.4 kilometre swim (drills and main sets). I get to work by 8.45am and leave at about 6pm. After work I get on the mag trainer (static bike) for about an hour and twenty minutes broken down in sets of different intensity. During the week I do two swims, two or three runs and one mag trainer session.
On weekends I do long runs and long rides. At the moment I do a two and a half hour hill ride on Saturday followed by a brick session on Sunday, which is three hours on the bike followed by a thirty minute run.
How do you train mentally for such an event?
If you know you've trained well, that's a good part of your mental preparation. I also tell myself to expect the unexpected and be ready to deal with it on the day. It's an unusual race and anything can happen. I think the last 15 kilometres are going to be hard mentally. By then I will probably have been going for 11 hours or so and the body is likely to say "no more"... When that happens you just run with your heart to the finish line.
So there’s running, swimming and cycling – where are your strengths and weaknesses?
I’m a swimmer, so that’s my strength. Unfortunately it’s the shortest distance so the weaker swimmers have plenty of time to make up for their lost time on the swim during the bike or the run leg. I’m not a bad runner but cycling is a new thing for me. It’s taken me a good four months to get to love spending three to four hours on the bike on a Saturday morning.
What about in terms of diet, do you have a really planned eating schedule?
My diet is quite simple: lean, unprocessed food. Nutrition is very important to be able to sustain my training regime, but it is also crucial during the event, as you have to learn to hydrate and eat properly while cycling and running.
You also work full time and you have a relationship, how do you fit it all in?
A lot of people have asked me that. Of course it takes a lot of my time and it’s time I spend alone. My training time is my ‘me’ time and training energizes me and makes me feel fantastic. I get rid of my worries, stress and bad moods during training so the time I spend with my partner or friends is now real quality time. What’s gone from my life is quite a few hours of TV watching and not very effective gym sessions! So, no great loss there.
Are there ever days when you think the last thing you want to do is train?
If I can’t find the motivation to get up to train, I won’t get through to the finish line... that’s enough to get me out of bed. And I always feel fantastic after a training session. Training is now as routine as brushing my teeth. I don’t spend too much time thinking about it, I just do it.
How many people will you be up against?
There will be about 1,400 participants; however there are a number of categories. There are the professionals and the rest of us are entered into Age Categories. So my goal for this first Ironman is to come up in the top 50 per cent of my Age Group, that is 40-44.
How do you think you will go?
My first goal is to finish in one piece. My second would be to finish in sub 13 hours. But most importantly my goal is to raise the $10,000 for Medecins Sans Frontieres by the time I get to the finish line.
Ironman, December 5, Busselton, WA.
All donations to Medecins Sans Frontieres can be made by visiting Aline's fundraising page at everydayhero.com.au/aline_palloure_8
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