but I know that, if anything, working out will help you realize when you can’t work out well—and that tells you that something is wrong. If you can’t exercise properly without quickly running out of breath, get to your doctor and talk to himor her about it and your options, whichmay include walking.
GA: As the face of COPD awareness, you are the very picture of physical fitness. What exercises best address the demands of your sport? DP:Definitely a bridge between cardio- vascular andweightlifting.Our races are between two and four hours long—and you need strength. Indy Cars don’t have power steering, so you use your own force to steer thewheel. Stock cars are very repetitious, and you’re using differ- entmuscles to turn the car. Race car drivers don’t need the strength of a body- builder or the endurance of a triathlete, butwe definitely need a lot of both.
GA: What’s your in-season workout like? DP: I lift three days. I do two days of upper body and a day of lower body. I do cardio for endurance almost every day. Sometimes I like to get out and take a long bike ride. And I walk a lot. Sometimes I do fast and hard cardio, and sometimes I do long and steady.
GA: What about off-season? DP: (Laughs.) There are particular times when I partake in different types of train- ing for swimsuit shoots and things like that. I have to take time off at the end of the season—especially fromweightlift- ing—to givemy body a break. I like to do a little bit of yoga in the off-season. I don’t often get a chance to do it in-sea- son. I takeDecember off, then spend the month of January in the gymso I can take some time being sore. Because you can’t be sorewhile you’re in the car.
GA: How often do you hit the gym when you’re at home and while traveling?
DP: I travel with my running shoes. Running outside is the best way to see a new city or area. I love running—if someone told me I could lose weight by not running, I don’t think I could do it. (Laughs.) Sometimes I use a weight roomif the hotel where I’mstaying has a gym. I try not to use a lot of gyms when I’mtraveling. I’mamember of a gym, and I try to usemy gymat home most of the time.
GA: How else do you stay active during your breaks? DP:My husband and I like to travel and see new places. One of our vacation cri- teria is to go to new wine regions of the world. Last December we went to New Zealand, and Australia a year or two before that. It was all spawned from our first anniversary when we went to Napa.We get to see different cultures, and it’s so fun to go wine tasting.
GA: What’s your nutrition like, on and off the track? DP:My job is very physical, so I need to eat—and eat enough. Because I don’t overeat, I need food every three to four hours. Good snacks are anything from peanut butter toast and turkey sand- wiches to good, healthy protein bars and fruit and nuts.When I’maway from the car and in the off-season, I eat pretty much what I want in moderation. You know what, I can have a cheeseburger
with a fried egg on it—but I only eat half of it. Just eat a salad first and fill up on the stuff that’s good for you.
GA:What do you hope to gain in switching from IndyCars to NASCAR? DP:Well, I’mnot switching—that’s just speculation. I haven’tmade an announcement yet aboutmy future plans. I started NASCAR racing last year. And last year was definitely a learning experience. This spring I placed fourth [at the Sam’s Town 300 Nationwide NASCAR Series race] inVegas, which was the highest finish ever for a female in a NASCAR national. And I was close to winning the Daytona in July. It’s a learning curve, as with anything new.
GA: How do you perceive your role as a woman in a male-dominated domain— and your role in empowering young girls? DP: To be honest about it, I don’t really think about that. I don’t think about being the best girl—I think about being the best race car driver. I don’t think about being a trailblazer, or being a woman in a male’s domain. I just think about being the best me.
GA: And maybe that’s the message for girls right there—just be the best, period. DP: Exactly. That’s the message.
ChrisMann is a writer and editor of the pop culture webzine
Retroality.TV.
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