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Long before the sun rises in a southern suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, the sound of an alarm clock resonates through the Miceli household at 4:00am. Having already prepared for the day that lies ahead the night before, 41 year old Andree Miceli is out the door in a time faster than
an Ironman T1 as she drives towards the big city to begin the day’s workout sessions. An early run allows her to head to the gym to swim and shower which is followed up with a caffeine blast from the nearby Macy’s Starbucks. The deliberate schedule allows her to get into the office by 9:00am each morning. “Driving in early allows me to avoid the Atlanta traffic and I train closer to work which saves time,” says Miceli.
Once arriving at work, the day is usually jam packed with a variety of meetings, supervision over the 20 employees in her group, and corporate projects in an attempt to get things all wrapped up by 6:00pm. Leaving the office at 6:00pm usually means a one hour commute back home. “Once home, I try to spread cleaning or errands through the week so there is something little to do, and then finally eat dinner and have a little time with my husband before going to bed, which is usually at 9:30pm, “ adds Miceli.
It’s a common question, so we posed it to Miceli, “What is it about Ironman that makes you want to live your life this way?” It doesn’t take long to get an adamant response out of the pocket sized fireball, “Though training may be the most physically demanding part of my day, it is the most mentally relaxing. I am a firm believer in everyone having their, “thing” no matter what it is. Through this “thing,” a person can gain encouragement, satisfaction and the ability to set and achieve goals. In my case, my “thing” is Ironman and triathlon.”
Self described as a “non-gear junkie”, it appears Miceli doesn’t do too bad on her Guru TT bike with Zipp Vuka Bars and Zipp race wheels.
The Early Years
Long after her days playing softball, basketball and soccer in high school were over, the idea of completing a triathlon didn’t arise until 1993, about 3 years after completing her masters degree at the University of Georgia. “My first triathlon was Callaway Gardens which was completed on a hybrid bike. My initial thoughts on a goal for the race were just thoughts of surviving. A friend at the gym who had been racing for awhile talked me into it and I loved it. I immediately loved running off of the bike. So that winter I bought my first road bike,” says Miceli. By 1996, she returned to the small local race to win it, so it turned out to be kind of sentimental for her. She still jokes with a smile, “Of course I have not done that race since. I didn’t want to ruin my streak.”
The Setbacks
There always seem to be stories of success appearing easy for some individuals. That wasn’t the case for Miceli. There were instances of repeated stress fractures. The worst came in October of 1999 when a stress fracture went from bad to worse. The neck of her left femur went from normal stress fracture to open break. The injury required emergency surgery. The result, a permanent rod and six pins in that femur. She was on crutches for four months and couldn’t run for a year. But the bad news became worse. Doctors told the young Miceli in fact that she would never run more than nine miles per week ever again.
The post surgery recovery took two years. What remained were a host of residual problems resulting from being on crutches so long. Some of these problems included the accumulation of scar tissue and her body having to retrain itself to move physically again. In typical Iron fashion, Miceli laugh’s it off, “The rod and pins in my leg makes for a good X-ray.”
Her next Ironman race following that surgery was over five years away when she returned to the racing scene competing at Ironman Brazil in 2004. So much for never running more than nine miles in any given week for the rest of her life.
The Training
When not training for a specific Ironman race, Miceli is all about consistent and dedicated training. Although she doesn’t like a set routine as it tends to get boring for her, a typical training week would be about 14.5 hours of training, with 3 swim sessions, 4 bike sessions, and 4 run sessions and might look something similar to this weekly schedule:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Total |
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| Swim easy 45 min | Swim masters | Swim masters | | | | | 2.75 hours |
| | | Bike 90 min w/4 X 7 min, last 2 min of each in bigger gear on 2 min spin recovery | | Bike 90 min on rolling course | Bike 1 hour of spin | Bike 3.5 hours | 7.5 hours |
| | Run 1 hour w/6 X 2 min hill repeats | | Run 50 minutes on a rolling course | | Run 1:45 w/2 X 10 min at 1/2 IM race pace | Run 30 minute brick | 4.25 hours |
| .75 hours | 2.0 hours | 2.5 hours | 1.0 hours | 1.5 hours | 2.75 hours | 4.0 hours | 14.5 hours |
“There’s more to life than just Ironman,” says Miceli. When she’s not training up a storm, she’s often pursuing her other passion which is shopping for shoes. Sometimes life is full of tough decisions. “When I can’t decide between two pair, I sometimes just buy both…”
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 This pair is a keeper! |
The consistent training week over week with periods of race specific builds results in annual training hours approaching 800 hours annually. All of this is made possible by a very disciplined, strong willed individual filled with personal perseverance.
As a big race approaches, in particular an Ironman, the training shifts gears into specific preparation for the day that awaits her. A typical build week might look like something below:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Total |
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| Swim easy 45 min | Swim masters | Swim masters | | Swim 5k | Swim 45 minutes straight | | 5.0 hours |
| | Bike 90 min spin | | Bike 2 hours w/4 X 7 min hard w 2 min easy then 20 min at IM race pace | | Bike 110 miles with some IM steady pace built in | Bike easy 1 jour spin after long run | 10.5 hours |
| | | Run 75 min w/8 X 4 min build to 20k pace on 1.5 min easy | Run 20 min easy | | Run 45 min transition brick run | Run 20 miles rolling | 5.5 hours |
| .75 hours | 2.5 hours | 2.25 hours | 2.5 hours | 1.5 hours | 7.5 hours | 4.0 hours | 21.0 hours |
When asked if she would describe herself more in the “speed” or “volume” camp of training methodologies, Miceli would describe herself as more of a volume athlete. She added though, “The thing I like about my training for my recent Ironman is that the long rides always have parts inserted whereby the speed changes.”
Her longest runs leading up to her Kona qualifying race was 22 miles on a hilly course which took place about three weeks prior to Ironman Louisville in August of 2007. This is inserted in what is estimated to be about 12k in swimming, 35 to 40 miles of running and 200+ miles of weekly cycling.
There were still moments of breakdown leading up to her spectacular race this past August. Miceli was previously diagnosed with an immune disorder. As a result, she found it best to avoid open water swim environments which increased the probabilities of infection. Although taking every precaution possible, Miceli still ended up with a sinus infection which required antibiotics leading all the way up and including race day. Recovery and careful planning was essential as she was sharing many training sessions with infections, antibiotics, and monthly IV infusions. Her coach, Michael Lovato was instrumental in working around the physical limitations of the individual.
Life Outside of Ironman
With a passion for gardening, reading and spending time with family and friends, Miceli certainly seems to keep Ironman in perspective. Says Miceli, “It’s important to enjoy an off-season and relax and have more of a social life. But training and racing is social too and I have made so many friends that I would not have had it not been for the sport. I know that the sport is not everything. The most valuable things that I have learned have been when I have missed seasons at a time. A sport does not define a person. I have seen many people react as though it is the end of the world when an injury or something else happens which causes a person to miss a race or two. Races aren’t going anywhere. There will always be another one at another time. What may seem like a disappointment initially can actually turn into something very useful and educational.”
Questions and Answers With The Kona Qualifying Andree Miceli
Question #1 - What are the biggest mistakes that you see age-group athletes make related to Ironman racing?
Answer - “The biggest mistake I see is following what someone else is doing rather than doing what is best for your body/your goals/your plan. Because something works for someone else does not mean it will work for you. For this reason, I do a LOT of my key workouts solo so I make sure I am doing my workout...not someone else’s.”
Question #2 - What are three pieces of advice you would give to somebody who is wanting to improve in the sport of Ironman?
Answer - “First have patience. It takes a long time to develop endurance at that level and distance. Second, train consistently. Third, I’m a big believer in positive self talk.”
Question #3 - Is there anybody that you would want to thank for being a main center of support for you?
Answer - “My family and friends are key. I also would like to thank my coach Michael Lovato and my doctors. Without them, I would not physically be able to do this anymore. Finally, I’d thank God for giving me the inner strength that he gave me to get over every hurdle that has been put in front of me.”
Miceli at work as a clinical manager for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia Behavioral Health Services
Contact
You could contact Andree Miceli at - Andree.Miceli@bcbsga.com
Coaching
Andree’s coach leading up to her Kona qualifying race was Michael Lovato - www.michaellovato.com
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