Alexandra Paul prepares  for her most demanding role. Interview by William R. Katovsky. Introduction by Timothy Carlson. July 1997

        Paul got started in Hollywood when modeling assignments left to a role as a model in the 1982 TV movie, Paper Dolls, co-starring with Daryl Hannah, Joan Collins, and Eric Stolz. This led to roles in theatrical films like American Flyers with Kevin Costner and Dragnet with Tom Hanks, and in other movies like Christine and Spy Hard where she has worked with Jeff Bridges, Pierce Brosnan and Andy Garcia. After Baywatch, she did a FOX series which has not aired called Fire Station 132m, where she played a role stunningly like that of her twin sister Caroline, who is a real life San Francisco area fire fighter.

        After that, she produced, edited, and narrated a 45-minute documentary Jam-Packed which premiered in April on PBS which encourages the making of birth control more widely available to confront the world population crisis.

        Paul has been an avid environmental activist growing up in tiny (pop. 1,200) Cornwall, Connecticut. At age seven, she wrote to then President Nixon about pollution, at 11 refused to eat tuna fish because of dolphins, and at 14, became a vegetarian. In 1986, she walked across America for five and a half weeks on the Great Peace March to protest nuclear arms, and she has also been arrested a dozen times for civil disobedience to try and stop nuclear testing at the government's Nevada test sites. She has also leased an electric car since 1990.

        Paul says she was inspired to athletics by the exploits of and swimming races across the local lakes against her twin sister Caroline. She took up solitary running at the age of 13 and has continued to this day. Her swimming skills helped her land the role on Baywatch, which demands all actors pass an informal but demanding swimming test--and yes they all do those stunts with the eyes open. Paul kept in shape by swimming a mile each day in the ocean on the set, which took her a little over half an hour, as well as running and working out with weights in the gym under the tutelage of trainer Jim Garfield.

        Garfield talked her into a stint in swimming in a celebrity relay in Michael Epstein's Malibu Day at the Beach event in 1995. Last year, she participated with Garfield and lifeguard legend Craig Hummer in the Adidas Triple Bypass one-day adventure race at Lake Castaic in southern California where they took turns kayaking, dragging a huge bale of hay, and a 10.8-mile rugged off-road run and a 16-mile mountain bike and the team finished 23rd overall with a time of 6:00:38, one hour 53 minutes behind the overall winners. Later that year, she did Epstein's Malibu triathlon solo miler at a 6:30 pace and recently finished 652d of 5,131 women in the Los Angeles Marathon in 4:15:41 as part of her preparation for the rigors of the Ironman triathlon. She also finished the rugged Wildflower Triathlon long course in 6:24:49 for 768th of 953 overall finishers, with a blazing 1.2 mile swim leg of 31:56, 15th of 52 in her 30-34 age group.

        Knowing the challenge before her, she has cut back all acting assignments until after October. Luckily, her work has given her the freedom to devote most of her time to training for the Ironman.

Triathlete: I know that you are busy. I just woke up from my own three-hour nap. I understand that you're laying down and resting.

Alexandra Paul: I am. I'll have to defend myself here. I'm lying on my bed right now talking to you, but I was actually watching the 1992 Hawaii Ironman Triathlon on TV because I've got a bunch of videos.

T: I don't know if that particular year will put you to sleep.

AP: I'm getting a tape of '82 sent to me since Scott Tinley [Tinley has been coaching Paul since Feb. 97--Ed.] won that year. I want to see it.

T: What has been the reason you got involved in the triathlon?

AP: I got involved because my friend and personal trainer, Jim Garfield, asked me to do the swim leg of the Malibu triathlon relay which we subsequently won for the mixed-gender relay. Six months later I did the Adidas Triple Bypass, which as a multisport thingamajig. And the then the Hi-Tec Challenge. There were all team adventure races. Those last two weren't relay things, but they were long--six hour, four-hour races, mountain biking, not road biking and trail running, so I blame Jim! And then my boyfriend, Ian Murray, was also doing those multisport races. And I guess the Ironman folks knew I'd done those races.

T: Did you ever see the Ironman made-for-TV movie with Penny Marshall?

AP: No, but I heard about it.

T: They used a lot of local triathletes, including Julie Moss, and they filmed it in southern California.

AP: What is it with a woman who trains for a triathlon? Penny Marshall doesn't strike me as athletic.

T: The movie was loosely patterned after a person who did the Ironman back then. She was Millie Brown,  a Connecticut housewife. Have you done a separate triathlon on your own?

AP: On my own, without the boys?

T: Where the boys aren't.

AP: Well, Ian and I just did Wildflower a couple of weeks ago.

T: And how did you do in Wildflower?

AP: Ian went off and did his thing and he did beautifully. I finished feeling fine, feeling good. I was tired. I got a flat, which was my biggest fear, but I was proud of myself. Tinley prepared me well for that race.

T: How did you fix your flat? Did Tinley stop during the race and help you?

AP: I fixed my flat, but it took too long. I need to really work on both that and my transitions.

T: But were you able to finish?

AP: Oh yeah!

T: How did you do the run then? It's a very hilly run. Did you run the whole leg?

AP: Yes, I did not walk at all. I know there were people walking up hills, but I just can't. I'm a really slow runner anyway. I would run up hills and I would pass people who were walking; then on the down hills and the flats, they'd all pass me!

T: Alexandra, I think you ought to revise that strategy when you try the Western States 100 next year.

AP: How do you mean, I should walk?

T: No, but in ultramarathons people walk up the hills and the run the descents.

AP: It didn't matter to me when people passed. I didn't care. I just didn't want to talk. It makes me feel like I'm tougher.

T: Did you go incognito at the race or did people know who you are?

AP: I didn't wear a mustache or anything.

T: That's good!

AP: A couple of people talked to me on the run about being an actress, but other than that I think everyone was too aware of their own pace--and their own pain--to really bother.

T: In a Matlock episode a few years ago, I remember that there was a character who went undercover to do a triathlon and his partner said, "What are you going to do? Why are you doing that? You're going to get killed! You're going to have a hear attack!"

AP: My, you watch a lot of TV!

T: Let me ask you a question about Baywatch. Were you the most athletic actress of the crew?

AP: I would not say that at all. Probably all of them were faster runners than I. Everyone was tough. We did our own stunts. You know, no one ever complained about going in the water. I know David Chokachi is a very, very good athlete and I know Pamela was very athletic in high school. I was not the most athletic.

T: What about David Hasselhoff?

AP: He definitely keeps in shape and works out regularly. His schedule is just amazing. I mean, he's got 10 things on his plate and still manages. He just gets up early and trains on the treadmill or stationary bike. He's a god. I practically worship him. He and Tinley.

T: So what is your day like these days? How do you manage your time?

AP: Well, I'm not working right now. I'm supposed to do a film in June which during my workouts will be cut. But Scott Tinley is coaching me, and he sends me a program every week and I follow it. And basically my training takes first priority.

T: You sound like a Type A personality. Type Alexandra!

AP: I guess I am a little. I've been unemployed too much as an actress to be a true Type A personality.

T: Did you have a rough patch for a few years? Breaking into Hollywood?

AP: No, no. I was very fortunate. I started working right away. I came out here with a job, with a lead in a TV movie when I was 18.

T: Which movie?

AP: It was called Paper Dolls.

T: Weren't you in American Flyers too?

AP: I was in American Flyers; though I didn't ride a bike in that film.

T: You know, Kevin Costner was a dead ringer in that movie for Dave Scott. What role did you play in American Flyers?

AP: I was the girlfriend of the younger brother. I was kind of a hippie. But I've done a lot of athletic roles. I've played a skier, and a dancer, and a cheerleader, and a bodybuilder, an Olympic biathlete and, of course, a lifeguard.

T: Let me back up to Tinley. Can you reveal a little more of the training regimen he has for you?

AP: We generally have one day off a week. Two sports a day, except for on weekends, when on Saturday or Sunday it's three. It's about a two-mile swim, between a six to a 15-mile run and a 35 to 80-mile bike ride. He'll take two of those sports and work them into my day. And then, like today, I lift weights and have yoga for stretching.

T: Do you go on bike with Scott?

AP: He lives in Del Mar so this is done in the '90s way, by fax and phone.

T: Can you speak about your stand on environmental activism and preserving nature? I understand that you've been arrested at the Nevada nuclear test sites.

AP: I'm busy when I'm not working as an actress-- which might qualify me as a Type A personality--because I'm always working at other things, and the environment has always been incredibly important to me. I was supposed to major in environmental science at Stanford, but because I decided to keep acting. I never went. But the environment is still very important to me...it's one of the reasons I'm a vegetarian.

T: If you're a vegetarian, how do you get your protein? What do you do?

AP: It's hard. I eat protein bars and dairy--cottage cheese and egg whites.

T: You don't wash it like Dave Scott does, do you?

AP: He doesn't have to anymore--there's nofat!

T: Lucky man.

AP: Isn't that why he washed it?

T: He washed it because his food used to go through a daily baptism.

AP: He washed it to get the fat out, right? He thought the fat was in the cream. I really don't know if it's the curd or the cream, but anyway, I eat nonfat. But I mix it with peanut butter so there is some fat in it.

T: Do you follow a 40-30-30 diet, either the plan of Barry Sears or Philip Maffetone?

AP: I follow the plan of Kathy Sassin-Smith, my nutritionist. It's about balance--quite a bit of protein and carbs; and a little bit of fat with every meal.

T: When you are racing, and you see people throw their gel wrappers on the ground, do you stop and pick them up or do you scold them?

AP: I understand why the pros might throw wrappers on the ground. But for the rest of us, it's not cool; just like it's not cool for mountain climbers to leave their stuff on mountains. If they bring it up, they should bring it down.

T: I know that in adventure racing you actually have to carry your own excrement.

AP: I have to say that, if I was in a race and I had to go to the bathroom, I wouldn't want to carry my own excrement.

T: Well, this is a side note, but gorillas actually eat their own excrement.

AP: Why?

T: In order to get all the nutrients possible.

AP: I think I'll take my vitamins instead. Speaking of bodily functions, one of my biggest challenges in races is learning how to pee off the bike. In Wildflower I had to get off.

T: How about peeing in your wetsuit? I mean, most triathletes won't admit it, but they pee in their wetsuit before the race.

AP: Right, but by the time I'm halfway through the bike, I have to pee again. I want to learn how to pee off the bike without getting off.

T: I couldn't help you there, Alexandra.

AP: I've done it on training rides, but I have to practice more, so stay away from me during the next race, okay?

T: I'll make sure I keep a safe drafting distance away from you!

AP: (laughing) So you had asked me about the environment. In the last five years or so, I've really concentrated on the global overpopulation issue. I co-wrote and produced a film on overpopulation.

T: Was it in conjunction with Paul Erhlich of Stanford?

AP: No, but I've read two of his books. He certainly is an inspiration to me.

T: Aren't we entering zero population growth in America, but what about other countries, especially in Africa or India?

AP: Those countries definitely have a problem, but in America, we still add one percent a year, which doesn't sound like very much, but it ends up being 2.5 million people. Plus, since our lifestyle in America is so wasteful, Americans do far more damage to the planet. even though we  have a lower population than other countries.

T: Do cars ever spook you off the road? I know that it's a problem with a lot of triathletes; they get whacked on the road.

AP: I do travel a lot on PCH to get to Topanga Canyon, but I really try to avoid riding on PCH because I do get spooked by cars and people opening their car doors.

T: But what about Topanga Canyon? A lot of people go up there in their BMWs like they're training for the Indy 500.

AP: There's a part that's no passing and it's a little tough. But I live in the city, so I have to cope as best as I can.

T: When you grew up in Connecticut were you athletic?

AP: I'm not naturally good at sports--I have no hand/eye coordination. My parents aren't athletic, but they've really been supportive of us. My mom drove us to the games and the practices. And we biked a lot because we lived in the country. We didn't have a TV growing up and there was no movie theater or mall or anything, so that's what you did: You swam, you biked, you played in the fields and stuff like that. Rode horses.

T: Triathletes are notorious for being able to do sports only in a single line, no zig-zagging. You ever see a triathlete on a tennis court?

AP: Forget it! Exactly, that describes me to a T!

T: So how many hours do you think you actually train per week?

AP: I think Ian and I counted 24 and a half hours for this week. I'm really fortunate to have an agent that's supported me through this year of triathlon. I haven't been able to take another series, but that's just the way it is. Everyone makes sacrifices and there are a lot of people who have kids and full-time job who still manage to train for the Ironman---God bless them! I don't know how they do it!

T: I know that Demi Moore trains a lot, two hours a day. Do you ever train with her?

AP: I don't train with her. But when I was working as an actress I still trained. Twelve hours on the set is a short day. I was thrilled if I could get out at 12 hours. And so I would just get up earlier and work out. I belong to a couple gyms, one which opens at 4 a.m.

T: That's a tendency now in California, to belong to more than one gym. You have a twin sister who is also athletic.

AP: We're identical. Her name is Caroline. And in school, she was always really good at sports and I was really good in school. Because she was good in sports, in an effort to keep up with her, I did sports, and she did more school. I consider myself twice the person that I would be if I were not a twin.

T: What is Caroline doing now?

AP: She's a firefighter in San Francisco and a writer. She's very athletic, but she doesn't do triathlons. She's a whitewater rafter, she paraglides, she kayaks...and she's cycled in Bolivia and Vietnam, so she's very athletic. That's part of her life.

T: Are you still very close with her?

AP: Yeah, definitely. Before Wildflower, I was calling her--I was so nervous--so she could reassure me.

T: When did you feel more nervous--before your first episode with Baywatch or your first race at Wildflower?

AP: I had been acting for 10 years before Baywatch came along, so nervousness really wasn't an issue. But it definitely was at Wildflower.

T: Seriously, you had more butterflies?

AP: Being an actress, it's another job. You have butterflies for certain scenes, but you know, with acting and athletics, nervousness does not improve your performance. At Wildflower, I was afraid of getting a flat. And that's what I got! Which is actually good because now I won't be nervous about it anymore--I'll know, well, you just just change it! I'm not nervous about the swim. I enjoy swimming and so it's nice that it's the first event.

T: And your bike?

AP: I have a Kestrel.

T: Are you going to be riding that in the Ironman?

AP: I was on Softride, which I was very happy with, but Kestrel is one of the sponsors of the Ironman.

T: It's known as a sexy bike.

AP: I was just at the bike shop today getting fitted, when some guy came up and said, "Is this your bike? I have a 200, but this 500, it's sexy!" And I said, "Wow! You think it's gonna make me more sexy?"

T: There are some TV viewers who won't say that. One of the raps on Ironman and triathlons in general is that it's a freakish sporting event that attracts a kind of odd cast of characters who are overcoming some personal tragedy in order to be immortal or to try to show that they are not going to succumb to a fatal illness or injury. In the public view, it seems like you're either a marvelous endurance specimen a la Paula Newby-Fraser or Mark Allen, or you're somebody who's overcoming some sort of ailment. How do you feel about that?

AP: Everyone in every sport has got a great story in their lives. If you talk to people, you'll find out that they're usually motivated by something that's so unique and special to them. Everybody has a story.

T: Do you have a predicted finishing time for Hawaii? I'm sure you write it down every night before you go to sleep.

AP: I've never been a fast and I was never a racer in high school or anything like that. So times have never been important to me. Did you have a good time? Did you get through it with dignity and honor?--those are more important questions to me. My first triathlon, I stopped and helped someone with their CO2 cartridge.

T: Most triathletes won't stop, even if their grandmother has a flat on the road. They'll go right past her.

AP: It was probably because I was such a neophyte. But I just couldn't imagine it. I stopped at Wildflower as well because there was an elderly gentlemen who had fallen.

T: Let me ask you an existential question. Because this is the type of crises that people go through during the Ironman. Say you were middle of the race during the bike course and you realized you might not make the cuttoff when you see somebody fall at the side of the road. Would you continue, or think of Baywatch, of helping somebody? Would you think, "I'm here, I've trained all these months"?

AP: I'm a certified EMT [emergency medical technician]. I'd help them if they were hurt.

T: Even if that meant that you would be disqualified?

AP: Well, that's okay, I can still finish the race.

T: No, because if you don't make the cut-off, they'd pull you from the course. What would you do in that situation? It's a tough question.

AP: If they needed my help, of course, I would help them! I would hope I would help them, let's put it that way! And then I would just say to the officials, "Look, let me finish! I helped that person! Let me finish! I don't care if it's over 17 hours!"

T: You've never met the 400-pound race marshals, have you?

AP: Listen, to a woman, with my sexy Kestrel, it doesn't matter if they are 400 pounds. I'd just sweet talk them.

© Triathlete Magazine 1997.
Katovsky, William R. "Kailua Baywatch." Triathlete Magazine. July 1997: 26-31.