How About a 17 Hour Training Day?

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.