After her stirring duel at the London Olympic Triathlon which ended up .009 of a second short of a gold medal and her subsequent World Championship victory in the ITU World Triathlon Series, Lisa Norden decided she needed a break from the WTS grind. Grateful for the guidance of coach Darren Smith and the inspiration offered by her talented fellow squad members, Norden wanted to do something completely different in 2013. After World Championship wins at the ITU sprint and Olympic distance, she chose to pursue a third world title at the Ironman 70.3 distance. Wanting a break from the relentless nomadic existence with Smith’s squad and the cutthroat competition on the WTS circuit, she asked the 3-time Ironman Hawaii winner and 2-time Ironman 70.3 World champion to coach her. Craig Alexander, fast approaching 40 and still racing the biggest races on the Ironman circuit, agreed last December to take her on and vowed to give Lisa the same serious focus and time he devotes to his own racing.

While Norden was progressing on schedule, a reoccurrence of an early season plantar fasciitis injury after the Stockholm round of the World Triathlon Series led Norden to withdraw from an attempted three-peat of her Hy-Vee title. As she says in this wide-ranging video interview, Norden will have to adapt. She’s got her fingers crossed and coach and athlete hope she will rest and recover enough to contend this weekend at Las Vegas.

This year Craig Alexander and Lisa Norden have formed one of the most talented coach-athlete combinations in the sport.

Craig the coach rides a mountain bike observing Lisa the runner during a session on the Cottonwood Trail in Boulder.

Alexander and Norden remained in close contact throughout the season.