When he became just the fourth man to win three Ironman(R) World Championships, Craig "Crowie" Alexander joined triathlon's most elite inner circle of champions. In "As the Crow Flies," the five-time world champion reveals his approach, his training, and the relationships that delivered the record-breaking race performance he says was a decade in the making. In his own words and through striking photographs from acclaimed sports photographer Paul K. Robbins, Crowie shows what it takes to race at the elite level--and how he balances the work of triathlon with his first priority, his wife Neri and their young kids Lucy and Austin. Alexander reflects on influential moments of his early career and his entire 2011 and early 2012 season, bringing triathletes inside his head during key workouts, training blocks, and pivotal moments in big races. Crowie struggles through injury, illness, and changing sponsorships, revealing the delicate balance between elite performance and disaster. Yet hardship on the road to Kona yielded to Crowie's hard work and determination as he won both the Ironman and Ironman 70.3(R) world championships, making him the first person to win both championships in the same year. Epic workouts, grueling travel, record-setting race performance, giving back to sponsors and the sport--these are the tools of Crowie's trade, not to mention sleek wetsuits, cutting-edge time trial bikes, and technical footwear. And while those who know the sport of triathlon intimately will say that performance is determined by how triathletes put the three disciplines together, As the Crow Flies shows that winning major races comes from working toward excellence in every aspect of the triathlon way of life. "As the Crow Flies" offers triathletes and sports enthusiasts a beautiful, intimate, and honest portrait of the life and work of professional triathlete Craig "Crowie" Alexander, five-time triathlon world champion and one of the sport's most successful athletes.