How About a 17 Hour Training Day?

For Sonja and Anthony, the racing season was not quite over. They both raced in the ITU World Championships in Gold coast Australia less than two weeks after IM Canada. Recovery was of the utmost importance and they were very happy that Steve was chosen as the Team USA coach and thus was in Australia in a coaching capacity. Anthony and Sonja both had good races at their first World Championships, but not outstanding races. Both felt that their legs were a little off, not a lot, but just enough to where they weren't quite edgy. Both Sonja and Anthony enjoyed the challenge of racing so hard at an Olympic distance race so close after Ironman, but agreed that their legs could have used just a little more spunk. The experience was priceless and they are both glad that they were able to represent USA in a World Championship event.

Lastly, the challenges of multiple international travel trips were exhausting and should be noted!

Sonja - 30th in F30-34 in 2:23:18
Anthony - 84th in M30-34 in 2:12:15















That's all for us this year. Look for the next installment of the 17 hour training day crew soon. We know we are onto something big here, and thus we will continue on with a second year of extended distance training, culminating in an Ironman event. Sonja, Steve, and Anthony will be returning members to the crew, and we look forward to introducing you to a new member or two.

Looking back to our first 17 hour training day post here on this blog, our goals were clear.

One of our main goals is to raise our individual fitness level to where touching the ceiling and recovery to repeat performance would not be a huge effort.

We are looking to test the accepted idea in the industry that training above and beyond the Iron distance is healthy for age group athletes.

Ironman Canada was the big test. Could we adequately recover from USAT Nationals to race well at IM Canada? Could we then go on to race well at ITU World Championships two weeks later? Was our training healthy?

All of us stepped on the starting line at IM Canada, healthy, completely recovered from Nationals, and in various levels of stress. We all completed our Ironmans, we all learned different things over the course of the day, and our performances were varied.

Steve struggled towards the end of the bike and into the run, Anthony battled a flat on the bike and a bonk on the run, and Sonja had one of those days where all the stars aligned. Despite our three different performances, we all felt that our training yielded phenomenal levels of fitness. We learned that there are other factors that dictate Ironman success other than training, such as stress levels, equipment malfunctions, and patience.

Steve battled through high levels of stress in the weeks leading up to the race and although he felt his fitness was 100% there, he encountered struggles towards the end of the race. Steve also felt that while his fitness lacked a sharp fast point, his base was very broad and yielded speed simply from this fact. Although disappointed, Steve did a great job persevering through the day and finished in 11:32:46.

Andrea had a great day at the Ironman!  Although she did not race at nationals, she did put together a tough training weekend to try to replicate the efforts she would have put out in Alabama.  Throughout the Ironman race many experiences played through her mind reminding her of just what she was capable of doing.  Even having 3 flats on the bike didn't break her spirit!  Although they did make her a bit nervous about the cutoff time for the bike course which sent her off on the run a little frazzled.  It took awhile to relax and get everything calmed down, but she negative split her run and finished strong and happy.  While it wasn't the 14 hour time she was hoping for she is very happy with a 14:59:12 finish. 

Anthony put together a very strong race, but did encounter a few bobbles along the way. Anthony got a little frustrated and caught up in some Ironman drama as he was overtaken by a pack of drafters. Anthony let it get to him and deviated from his race plan to fight back. This resulted in increased anxiety and yielded some back pain at the end of the bike and into the run. He also changed a flat tire somewhere around mile 80-90 on the bike. After Anthony was able to relieve his back pain his run really picked up. Things were going so well that he fell off his nutrition plan and bonked. A quick visit to an aid station to eat everything in sight and he was out of the bonk and back running strong. Anthony finished strong in 10:21:05, 18th in his age group and missed a Kona slot by 4 places.

Sonja had one of those days where everything worked. She felt strong the entire time and her legs were totally under her. She was able to race her own race, despite some women drafting off her in the bike and a few ladies wanting to race in the run. She had a magical day and finished in 10:47:58, 7th in her age group, 1 spot off a Kona slot, and unsure if she should ever race another Ironman because this one went so well.

The consensus from the 17 hour training day crew was that "We are onto something here". Are there tweaks and changes that we would like to make for next year? Yes. Did we accomplish our goals? Overwhelmingly yes! Did we end up injured or overly depleted? Nope, not in the slightest. We all felt this extended distance training prepared us extremely well for the physical challenges of the Ironman.

The 17 hour training day crew traveled out to Tuscaloosa, Alabama this weekend to compete in the USAT Age Group National Olympic Distance Championships. This is the first in several steps of back to back triathlons for the team. The weather in Tuscaloosa was much milder than fretted over. Temps rose on race day but remained manageable. What none of us expected was an uphill swim.

Due to flooding several days prior to the race the Army Corp of Engineers opened the dam below the race course the evening before the Championships. This resulted in an extreme current. The swim was mostly up-current thus turning the Championships into a "swimmers race". It's a common phrase in triathlon that "the race is neither won or lost in the swim". Saturday was the exception.

The 17 hour training day crew battled through the adverse conditions, remained focused and determined, and persevered through a challenging day. Steve ran over the finish line secure in a 15th place age group finish, Anthony in a 20th age group slot, and Sonja in 14th. Steve and Sonja secured guaranteed slots into the 2010 World Championships in Budapest Hungary. The jury is still out for Anthony.

The goal of nationals for the team was to complete the race in a manner to facilitate a quick recovery. In this goal we were successful. 2 days later Steve, Anthony and Sonja are totally recovered.

Next up? Eight days after Age Group Championships we will stand on the beach next to the Giant Peach, waiting for the bullhorn to begin our first Ironman experience. Canada here we come!

We sat down this month to a tasty meal of grilled salmon, corn on the cob, salad, fresh bread, beer and some nice dessert. Andrea was in California and not able to attend this months meeting, her input was missed. This was to be our final meeting before the mayhem begins. USAT Age Group Nationals is on August 22 and Ironman Canada is on August 30.

Two days prior we biked 225 miles and much of the meeting was spent discussing what we learned. Here is a list of lessons learned:
- We are getting good at turning off our brains
- after 100 miles, things get easier
- hills and rollers pose no emotional threat to us
- having hydration bottles pre made forces better drinking habits
- a change of shorts can become very desired
- two pairs of shorts on top of each other can become very desired
- our confidence was boosted
- a train drove by us and it honked at Steve and made his day
- a REALLY big grasshopper gave Tony the stare down
- we saw: 2 dead owls, 3 dead turtles, and like 5000 dead giant grasshoppers
- we weren't really prepared for multiple flats, luckily we only had one in the group
- expansion joints on a 33 mile stretch become jarring and aggravated our wrists
- we ate almost 100% solid food

We spent considerable time talking about how we plan to execute our Ironman race. Steve, as our coach, spoke about the psychological side of the race. Steve's hopes were that we would accomplish the Ironman as quickly and effectively as we possibly could. He talked about completing the race without having to push too hard, without entering survival mode, and maintaining a sense of calm. This means not compromising your run for someone else's bike. IE, do not react to others on the bike but instead ride your own race. To try to out ride someone stronger on the bike only to find out they are a slower runner was discouraged. We also identified the sections of the bike course where it would be easy to get hyped up and go faster than desired. We talked about those trigger areas on the course and devised alternate plans for those sections, ie assess your nutrition, adjust your clothing, stretch your back. We also discussed the option of eating solid food on the bike portion of the Ironman. We are feeling more confident with the idea that we can eat solid food and not experience stomach distress.

We spent a little time discussing USAT Age group Nationals. Steve urged us to start performing most of our runs in the middle of the day heat, with long sleeves, zipped up.

Lastly we talked a little about next year. Steve is in the market for a Peoples Moped, 50cc, as a pacing vehicle. We had lots of laughs as we told Troy he was going to have to ride around for 14 hours a day on the moped going 25 mpg with cyclists off the back wheel. We talked about our excitement for bringing on several new 17 hour training day members. We also threw a few things out like which IM we will sign up for next year, RAAM, 50 mile races, a New Mexico training camp, indoor buoy swims, and some Colorado Trail action.

Lots of fun lies ahead. Sound like something that would fit with your philosophy? Want to be part of a group that has way too much fun and gets called crazy on a daily basis? Information is here for next season (which starts in October).

We cannot tell you how happy we are with this journey into extended distance training. Many discussions have been had about junk miles, over training, burnout and injury and our belief that we could implement an extended distance theory training philosophy to Ironman training without experiencing any of the aforementioned symptoms of over training. The actual 17 hour training day was designed to be a long, slow, distance effort day. The goal was to be on our feet training for the entire 17 hours. There was no speed to be had this day, and it was important to involve other Practical Coaching teammates to participate in the day.

Tyler spearheaded "Camp 17 Hour Home Base" and did an amazing job keeping the day organized for us. He had people meet us coming out of the water to do the first portion of our bike ride. Others were ready to go for the 2nd half of the bike ride. Once we returned from the 8.5 hours of riding Tyler had burgers ready for us to eat and had people organized to take off on the first lap of the run. In the inbetween times Tyler had activities planned for families so everyone had a great day. Thank you to each and every person out there who offered a smile, food, encouragement, or themselves to us this day. Your support and comittment to teamwork made our day spectacular. And, on a side note.... it was Troy and Sonja's 7th anniversary! Happy Anniversary to them!

Going into the water at 5 in the morning was a pretty cool experience. We owe a thank you to Chatfield State Park for granting us a special permit to swim early. It was a risk for them to allow a group of swimmers to be out there early on a holiday when the park is busy with people doing many different activities. Laura was a rock star kayaker who paddled around the lake keeping an eye on everybody and taking pictures. The general consensus on the lesson learned in the pond this morning was that even when taking it easy we are moving pretty quickly. Our goal for the Iroman swim is to take it easy as to allow for more speed on the bike and the run, but not under-pacing ourselves to come out of the water too far behind. Mission accomplished.

The bike ride was the wild card of the day because the weather forecast was predicting rain. Our goal was to get to LookOut Mountain and turn around and get back for the 2nd group of riders to join us for the 2nd half of the ride. We meandered through Ken Caryl at a pretty easy pace and made it to Golden and decided we had taken it a little too easy to make it up LookOut and make it back to pick people up. Also the weather on top of the mountain looked a little ominous, so we decided to head back and pick up the pace a little bit. The second group joined us and we headed to Deer Creek and finished doing laps around the Chatfield area. Overall we hit approximately 100 miles and felt we could have gone a little bit faster without compromising the run. In hindsight, we would have planned the bike portion of the day a little bit differently...so next year there is a different plan in place. You may be already thinking in your head, "Next Year? Really?" YES!! But even better we are opening up the 17 hour training day to more athletes who are commited to this type of training to join the team for 2010 Ironman Wisconsin training. More information to follow later.

So, after a nice bike ride with the weather holding out perfectly for us we headed out to run 10+ mile laps around Chatfield. Sonja, Anthony, and Steve got 3 laps in while Andrea got 2 laps in. The only issue encountered on the run portion was Andrea getting some blisters that were pretty painful, but totally manageable. The first lap of the run the clouds let go of the rain they had been holding onto all day and believe it or not, it was pretty cool to be out running in the run. It didn't slow us down or affect us negatively in any way. The fact that everybody was running was pretty fantastic. The mental side of Ironman can really real its ugly head and wreak havoc on many people's experiences. One of the goals for the 17 hour group was to work on the mental aspect of training and racing with the extended distance theory. Running at Chatfield on the fourth of July was pretty awesome because there was a panoramic view of all the firework displays in the surrounding cities and mountains. It was too cool to watch the sun go down and run surrounded by firework displays. While we were all very tired at 10:00 at night we were not exhausted. We were ready to be finished but not unable to do things to get ourselves home. All in all, it was a perfect day that ended with huge smiles on everyone's faces!

Ironman is going to be difficult both mentally and physically. Racing for these distances is going to be a challenge, but we think we are going into the race well prepared and with a little bit of knowledge of some of the struggles we may encounter during the day. Going prepared puts luck on our side!

If you are looking to be a part of something remarkable and are commited to your triathlon passion we are opening up registration for the 17 hour training day for the 2009-2010 race season. One of the races we are targeting is Ironman Wisconsin.

OUR MISSION
To prepare passionate triathletes of all abilities with a deep athletic base by capitalizing on their commitment to excel in multisport through extended distance training, while fostering professional, charitable teamwork.

If you believe you you fit into this model please CLICK HERE to go to the Practical Coaching website to begin the application process.

WOW! We did it! July 4th the group began their swim at Chatfield State Park (under special permit) at 5am and finished running at 10pm surrounded by firework displays.

The 4 of us are getting together to have a meeting this evening to go over the experience because we all wanted to go home and go to bed!

We will write more after the meeting but wanted to let everyone know the day was a huge success and we want to say THANK YOU to everyone who came out and supported the day.