July 20, 2012

Interview: Lucia Thalmann passionate triathlete

Lucia Thalmann, 27, Zurich, Switzerland

Tempo-Sport-exersciences Team – Long distance amateur triathlete.

Photo: Lucia Thalmann, Nelson mandela bay, Spec-Savers Ironman South Africa 2012

dacadoo: How did it start? What was the spark that inspired you to become a Triathlete?
My triathlon career started two years ago when I met my boyfriend Pablo who is a passionate and very successful triathlete. Already in my childhood, I was a very sportive person and soon fall in love with endurance sport. My boyfriend and I met each other at a spinning event and he asked me if I could imagine doing an Ironman event once. With shining eyes, I answered that I would love to do such an event but did not know how to train for it. We had an immediate connection to each other as we both shared the passion for the sport. With Pablo’s whole support, he introduced me to the world of triathlon and since two years I enjoy every day of our joint active life.

dacadoo: As a high performing amateur, how often do you find yourself asking ‘what if’ in terms of committing fully and going pro?
I love my lifestyle that combines work and workout. After a hard and interesting working day, there is nothing I want to do more than training together with my boyfriend. During the training, I can dive into another world, switch off and let out my energy. I am ambitious both in my job and in sports and want to achieve as much as possible while enjoying the process of getting there. When I compete in triathlon, I do it just for myself and for the pleasure and joy it gives me. It is passion that drives me and that passion thrives in an environment free of external pressure. That’s why I cannot imagine starting a career as a professional athlete.

dacadoo: What does a peak week of training look like for you?
I try to train around 20 hours per week. During the week it is sometimes difficult to find enough time to train in the evening. Therefore, my training is focused on the weekends during which I train around 5-6 hours a day. During the winter time, I do a lot of long low-intensity endurance trainings with focus on cardiovascular fitness and fat burning. Before the competition season start, Pablo and I define our goals and speak about our plans with our coach. He will then make our monthly and weekly trainings plan with a systematic build up for the most important competitions. I try to train exactly according to his plans. During the competition season, peak weeks always include hard interval trainings and competition simulations. The hours trained do not increase significantly but the intensity becomes much higher which makes the training so hard. After some days or weeks of hard trainings, there is always a recovery day or a recovery week, where I have to train with low intensity, doing massages and sauna and sleep and eat enough.

dacadoo: What was the one constant motivation that kept you on track in your training?
I love to participate on competitions to see a result of my trainings. It makes so much fun to do races and to go full speed on all three disciplines. The feeling of crossing the ironman finish line after a hard and long day of pushing yourself to the max is indescribable and I would like to relive this again and again. I love to train because I want to be in a good shape and live a healthy life.

dacadoo: What’s the next big goal?
With my victory in my age group at the Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt this year, I realized a big dream. But I am still new to the sport wherefore one main goal is to stay healthy and build a physical foundation for the future. In the coming months, I will train systematically to make good results at the Ironman 70.3 European Championship in Wiesbaden and at two late season competitions in Florida.