Grace Alexander is on fire this season. She kicked off her year with a strong 6th-place finish at the Pro Series Oceanside 70.3, then blazed through St. Anthony’s Olympic Distance Triathlon with a huge win. But she didn’t stop there. Grace dominated at Chattanooga 70.3—her close-to hometown race—claiming victory in front of friends and family. Most recently, she threw down at Eagleman 70.3, finishing 3rd behind two world champions in what she calls her best race yet.
Grace isn’t just racing—she’s redefining what it looks like to rise through the pro field with power, precision and heart. She’s also sharing her knowledge through her coaching platform and bringing the same elite-level mindset to the athletes she trains.
Follow her journey on IG: @grace.alexander92
Train with her: www.triwithgrace.com
Find her workouts on Strava
Q. What does a typical training week look like for you right now? How do you structure your volume across all three sports?
Well, I have a coach, so that’s his job to structure my volume. Right now, usually I have one day of swim only, and then I think I do five, at least five days of biking a week, at least four days of swimming a week, and then six days of running a week, and a lot of those are short little 20-minute runs off the bike, or a long run. Right now, since we’re in the middle of season, it kinda depends on where I’m racing, but typically we’ll also have, like, a track session, or a tempo session, or sometimes both. And it’s definitely built up to this point where I can handle that kind of load. Earlier in the beginning of the sport, I wasn’t doing this much intensity, but now I’m definitely handling it a lot more, a lot better. So that’s something I’ve had to progress to be able to do.
Q. What’s one piece of tri-gear that you think is underrated, but makes a big difference?
Well, I think the power meter is probably the most important thing to have. If you don’t have a power meter, that would be the thing to invest in, because it just gives you objective data that you can use to structure your training more effectively. It lets you forget about the wind, the temperature—whatever—it’s just power. And it lets you gauge where you are throughout your training cycle. Another thing might be the super shoes, of course. Not just because they make you faster, but because the recovery is so much quicker. It really makes a huge difference in your ability to bounce back.
Q. You’ve gone from amateur to pro; what’s a training or mindset shift that has made the biggest difference in that leap?
With pro racing, it’s so much different than the amateur level. Even in my early days as a pro, I still kind of went out there and just tried to hold set watts, but now that I’m getting more competitive, it becomes like you’re really just racing. And that’s mostly in the bike—there are surges that happen and you have to go with them. Or if you’re leading the group, you might be the one doing the surging to drop some people behind you. It becomes a lot more tactical, especially with the 12-meter draft zone in Ironman racing. You want to use that to your advantage, legally of course. That’s been a big learning curve for me going from amateur to pro.
Q. How do you fuel for long training sessions or races, and any nutrition strategies that changed the game for you?
Definitely just fueling enough and more. One of the things I’ve learned this year is that carbo-loading is very different from calorie-loading. I was eating probably more fat than I needed to be, which was taking the place of carbs. So this year I’ve reduced my fat intake and increased my carb intake, especially around workouts. That’s helped me maintain better energy levels and improved my fueling for training and racing.
Q. What’s your go-to recovery nutrition? Any tools or habits that help you bounce back faster?
After my key session of the day, which is usually my first session, I’ll always have a protein shake. I use a really high-quality protein powder, and mix it with frozen fruit, honey, nut butter; blend it up and drink it quickly after the first workout. That way I can start recovery as fast as possible for the next session or even for the next day.
Q. How do you balance intensity and volume to avoid over-training, especially with your academic background in exercise science?
In general, you don’t want to do too much of anything at once. It’s been a very long process—this is my eighth year of racing, fifth year in the pro field. It’s all built up to the point where I can handle what I’m doing now, but that’s not what I was doing three or five years ago. It’s been a gradual progression of building volume and then being able to handle intensity within that. I’m not a high-volume athlete; I’m not doing Ironman and I don’t want to. I hang around the 20- to 23-hour mark a week and have gotten to the point where I can handle a good bit of intensity within that.
Q. What’s one mistake you see newer triathletes make that could be easily avoided with the right coaching or approach?
Newer triathletes get really motivated and excited early on, and they’re more likely to overtrain and get injured or burned out quickly. So it’s probably more beneficial for them to get a coach. And honestly, that coach’s job is likely going to be to hold them back a bit, help them build their body’s ability to handle the load. Bones, tendons, ligaments—they all need to adapt. If you go from 0 to 100, they’re not going to handle it, and you’ll likely get injured and miss your race. It’s a snowball effect.
Q. What’s your race day mind set ritual? Anything you do that helps you get in the zone and stay focused under pressure?
I actually like to zone out before a race. If I focus on the race too much, I get anxious and nervous. I trust that I’ve done the work to perform well. So I try to be in a good headspace, stay with friends, family, my fiancé—just surround myself with good people and stay relaxed. Trust the training and know I can handle whatever happens on race day.
Q. Your go-to gear?
I have a Cervelo P5 bike, a Wahoo Fitness Elemnt Bolt, a Blue70 wetsuit, a Giro helmet, Lake cycling shoes, Blue70 goggles, a Blue70 swimskin, and Saucony running shoes. But running shoes are super personal—I wouldn’t recommend copying anyone’s choice there.
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