I hope that you are navigating summer the best you can in the turbulent times, and even sneaking a chance for some fun and adventure as well.  Globally, there are so many different experiences and challenges that we face, from the front-line workers to frustrated parents managing back-to-school obstacles, and athletes seeing races drop from the calendar on a weekly basis.  While some are experiencing much worse things than others, we are all aligned in hoping this thing will pass as quickly as possible.

Over the last weeks, we have begun to outline our targets for each Purple Patch athlete (who so desires) for the back half of the year.  I, and the entire Purple Patch team, felt it important to lean into creativity and carve out a real coming together of us all, and drive toward something.  We want to build programming that optimizes each of your opportunities to thrive within the current chaos -- via mental and physical resilience -- but also develops athletically and lay the platform for improved performance in 2021.  This was the genesis of our fall VR races and Challenges.  Many of you have asked good questions since we began sharing our quest with you, and the truth is that there are some things we just don’t know -- yet.  We are partnering with IRONMAN on this, and are seeking to help them build something meaningful, but also something that works for the Purple Patch team.  With this in mind, here is what we know, so far.  We are piecing together and will share more as we know.

• The Events are complementary.  There will be no cost to enter.

• Initial events.  We will likely commence initial challenges early to mid-September.

• Key dates locked in.  We have firm dates we will anchor the programming around.  These are:

• The week of Kona:  Oct 5 - 11, 2020.  IRONMAN CHALLENGE
• The weekend prior to US Thanksgiving:  November 20-22.  IRONMAN 70.3
• Supporting events.  These are not finalized yet, but will be about every 3 weeks leading into the key events.  Alternate tough workouts offered if you don’t wish to compete/

• Platform.  Key events will be held via IRONMAN, utilizing the Rouvy Platform (used for VR) and Sports Heroes (for the challenges).

• Race / Complete.  Options will be offered for more or less competitive options.  The competitive side of things is designed more for fun and accomplishment than ranking and podiums.  We are finding our next week how leaderboards and rankings work specifically.  The biggest competition will be to get the most out of yourself.

• Club concept.  We are aiming to build a friendly club concept -- with inter-club challenges.  This is a beta program for a more expanding set of programming for IRONMAN in 2021, so I would love to help the concept grow as it is great for clubs, athletes, and everyone.  We will compete against a few other groups -- to be finalized.

• Alternate programming.  You will not have to race.  The training for this passage is the most important thing, and I would like every Purple Patch athlete to go through some form of race-specific training and peak, with the long-term in mind.  We plan to map alternate options for those who don’t have trainer access or desire to participate.  It is highly optional.  With this said, the training points towards these dates as a tent peg in the ground, and if you do not participate you should still train this way!

• Recovery.  We will be integrating recovery protocols and training following the key events, so no need to self-manage.

• What about ‘Real races’?  The beauty of this build is that the training lens is around specificity for racing, so if you are so lucky to have a real race accessible, you can follow the baseline and be well served.  You are also free to apply a race build from the plan library, although that isn’t needed for the majority of athletes.

• What if I am finishing my ‘season’ early?  If you are individually coached, this is no issue.  Your coach will obviously custom program your training.  Squaddies can apply a smart bridge plan into their library, but I cannot imagine why any athlete needs to stop early in 2020.

That is what we know -- so far.  We will outline the final package and deep details as soon as we get it.  We realize you are all hungry and excited for the finer details -- so are we!  We just know it is happening, and we are all in on it.

Cheers,

M