How About a 17 Hour Training Day?

Our monthly status meeting was on January 25. Getting together for dinner and chatting about the previous month and looking forward to the new month has been very enjoyable. Steve made a great Shrimp Risotto, Sonja brought a fantastic Spinach salad with goat cheese and toasted walnuts, and Michele and Anthony brought a spiced drink with orange and cloves. The four of us are engaged and focused on what needs to be accomplished over the next months and are impressed with how well we are doing with the training. These meetings give us a chance to discuss what we think is working, what we need to change, and what we want to accomplish in the next month.

January held 2 milestones: The Catalina 50 mile race and the 6000 meter swim. Sonja decided not to run the Catalina race due to her knee causing some issues; she was missed on the course but we have no doubt the day would have been stellar for her if she had run. We were all very happy she was on the sidelines cheering us on and helping with preparations. It is a real challenge to have your team race a race you have also trained for and been excited to do and not be able to race with everyone. Sonja embraced the challenge and showed the true spirit of an athlete by being there with joy in her heart for her team.

The 6000 swim went swimmingly well. Next month is a short month so we have decided to do our 7000 swim on March 1st. Again, we will be at Carmody Rec Center at the crack of dawn ready for a new distance. If you are interested in joining us for this swim, all are welcome and many swim shorter distances; we would love to have the pool filled with happy swimmers!

Steve, Andrea, and Sonja were also able to get out on the bikes and head up into the mountains during Denver's warm spell. Our key workout bike day ended up being cold and snowy, so we were stuck inside once again. The day turned into spinning with the group at International Center for Performance and Health (ICPH). Sonja, Anthony, and Andrea made it the entire 3 hours-Sonja on her trainer, Anthony on a spin bike, and Andrea on the rollers. That is dedication! You ask, "Where was Steve?" Snowboarding in what was supossed to be lots of fresh powder.

One of the discussions we had was about injury prevention. Sometimes it is very difficult to make a decision not to do a workout or change something due to what you think could be an injury. The group is going out to do something adventurous and fun and no one wants to be left out of the reindeer games. However, the decision to participate in a workout or a race when you are compromised may be a decision that keeps you out of the fun for a longer period of time and even worse, could compromise your big goal of the year. For us this is Ironman Canada. We agreed to be honest with ourselves and put our egos in check when it comes to thinking something is wrong. With the type of training we are doing there may be a time where we have pushed too far and too hard. The group discussed identifying those times appropriately and coming up with an alternative plan for a great group adventure so we can stay connected and part of the fun. Sonja implemented this strategy with the Catalina decision. Our number one goal is to stay healthy and remain injury free during our 17 hour training days.

February key workouts will be:

1. Track Mile RepeatsX6-10
2. 2 hour bike ride followed by a 15 mile run
3. 25 Mile Run
4. We are also increasing our swim workouts this month to include several masters sessions, a few free swims, and a couple of workouts on our own.

All in all, it has been another great month for the 17 hour training day group. The month was filled with snowshoe races, travel to California, lots of time in the NormaTec pants and arms, spinning on trainers and computrainer rides. Here's to the next great adventure and getting closer to a 17 hour training day.
AW

The team had not only fantastic finishes this weekend at the Avalon 50 mile trail race, but more importantly Andrea, Steve and Anthony executed very well run races. Steve and Anthony ran the entire race together and worked their way up from 80/81st place at the second aid station to 16th and 17th overall by the end of the 50 miles (8 hours, 43 minutes). Andrea had a stellar performance that was capped off by running the last several miles strong and fast to a 83rd place finish (10 hours, 48 minutes). All three of the team runners negative split their races and finished strong with great attitudes. A big thanks to Normatec, the compression pants were running for hours the evening after the race. Andrea, Steve, and Anthony were all walking well the following day. Thank you Normatec!

Congratulations to Steve, Andrea, and Anthony!

In two days the team is headed off to Catalina Island for the Avalon 50 miler. Due to a recent high pressure cell the estimated high for Saturday is 74 degrees. It should be perfect running weather and ideal for some fast times. Wish Andrea, Steve and Anthony the best of luck as they head out for an epic adventure. Michelle, Troy and Sonja will be there as well to help out in the aftermath and are excited to sit on the beach for some much needed R&R.

FDA cleared, state-of-the-art Massachusetts based company Normatec MVP has agreed to support the 17 hour training day study. We are excited to join team Garmin Chipotle as avid users of the Normatec MVP for Pneumatic Compression recovery.