On April 11, 2014 I completed the AVC Elite Training Trans Catalina 50K Trail Run for the 3rd time. This most recent time was the absolute best experience of all because I had such great recovery and wasn’t sore in the least – thanks to Amy’s training and coaching!
When I first learned we would be running the majority of the trails in training and in Catalina, I wasn’t sure just how much my body could do since I had never ran more than 5 miles at a time on a trail. Amy was fantastic in setting the weekly limits and pacing as we began the training and as it gradually increased we were all ready for it when April arrived. Surprisingly, running more of the trails helped to break up the muscle soreness that used to happen after just trekking the same distances.
Amy also spent a lot of time educating us on exactly what our bodies needed to do those extra long distances as far as electrolytes, nutrition, proper recovery, heart rate monitoring, not to mention all of the “home care” involvement such as foam rolling, massage, proper sleep, etc.
Most friends and family members that I have shared this experience with think I’m crazy to want to do such an extreme physical event.
They think I’m even crazier when I tell them I wasn’t sore and it wasn’t that hard. In fact, if it wasn’t for the unusually warm day, I could have gone even further.
But that’s not a testament to me by any means when I say it was easy. I give 100% of the credit to Amy for her coaching and pushing us farther than we ever thought we could go. Would I put this much work into something on my own? I doubt it.
Being part of such a fantastic group of people like the ones involved with AVC Elite Training made the experience fun and motivating. We all have so many funny stories about our experiences and encounters out on the trail this winter.
I will never forget when we were 19 miles in to a checkpoint and the water cooler was gone! A bunch of us hung out, stretched. laughed and shared snacks and before we knew it there came our leader flying down the road in her Jeep to bring us water.
When I look back, I can see the real life 
changing experiences happened during the entire journey and the weekly training. I found joy in getting to know my best friend better as we talked for hours on the trail while receiving encouragement as Amy would pass us and tell us we were doing great.
The bonding and fun we had was wonderful as we shared Margarita Shot Blocks on the trail with friends. It was an overwhelming sense of accomplishment after every single Saturday in our training and then the “grand finale” in hitting the Trans Catalina Trail. Thanks Amy!
~ Chris K.
Do you share our love for trail running? Then stay tuned for an upcoming announcement on the next great AVE Elite Training program and you could star in the next fitness success story!
Chris you rocked Catalina no doubt! This was definitely “your year,” running the Trans Catalina Trail in April. You did amazing! You also contributed a great deal with your prior experience on the trail in Cali….It was incredibly rewarding for me to watch you excel more then ever this time around. You truly made it look like an easy task that’s for sure! I can’t help but giggle every time I think about the “911 call” on my radio from you saying….”Amy there is a buffalo running in the road right towards you!” For me, that was one of the highlights of the day remembering how Kelly and I looked at each other and said “Say what…Buffalo…running…towards us…is that what she said?!” …Only to look up and see a 2 ton buffalo charging straight towards us…”NO FEAR,”
right?” HAHA! Thanks for all of your hard work and efforts not to mention your positive and uplifting attitude throughout our 2014 journey. Hopefully, 2015 will bring even more fun, challenges and adventure our way…Thanks Chris! See you soon! 🙂