Endurance Nation | Triathlon Coaching, Ironman Training, Half Ironman, Beginner Triathlon

photo credit: andy_carter

The run portion of a triathlon has the highest risk/reward ratio on race day. Go out too hard, even slightly, and you risk a sub-par finish. Run training is really no different; if you are going to get injured or burned out, it’s most likely going to be because of the run.

This is partly due to the high-impact / high-cost nature of running, but also to the fact that most triathletes choose to throw more running at their running problem. Race day fade? Need to run more. Cramps? Must not have run enough. Indigestion? Need to practice running longer and eating more.

When it comes to running, however, more running isn’t always better. The best ways to improve involve training at the proper intensity, at the proper time, and staying healthy season after season so as to keep building your progress. Let’s take a look at how we structure your season to put your run training into better focus.

Macro Level Focus

The Hidden Cost of Volume
We all know that a large amount of even generically aerobic training will have an effect on your fitness; it’s just that most age-group triathletes don’t have the time. But this is not 100% true for  running. Even a high-end marathon program will max out at 10 hours a week of running time, which is very manageable. This means that within the Ironman or 70.3 context, it’s easy for triathletes to exceed what I consider to be a sustainable amount of aerobic mileage. Even Zone 1 or Zone 2 runs, considered easy by most, come with a significant physical cost.

Velocity vs Volume
Inside Endurance Nation we leverage intensity to create larger training stress in a shorter period of time. We can recreate adaptations that might take 1.5 or 2 hours of long slow distance in shorter runs at a higher intensity. Even more importantly, we have realized the value in improving the pace you can sustain at your running threshold. If I can take your 5k time from 20:00 to 18:00, you can bet that your half marathon and marathon times will have improved…perhaps not equally, but the fitness gains are undeniable.

Benchmark & Verify
But we don’t just go out and run hard all the time, despite what the detractors say. We use the 5k test to make sure that we are not only getting fitter (which everyone thinks about) but to make sure we are training at the appropriate paces (what the coaches think about). Up or down vDOT doesn’t matter so much to me as knowing you have the right vDOT.

But 5Ks aren’t enough; we also can incorporate 10k and half marathon results to fine tune our vDOT for longer distances. After all, some of us are simply better 5K runners while others of us have a long history of running – we might have a 5k vDOT difference of 2 points but run very similar times on race day (all other execution and fitness factors being equal). As you exit the OutSeason then, you will do some open running races and we recommend you use those longer event times to calculate vDOT values that will be more appropriate to race day.

Micro Level Focus
Okay, enough of the big picture stuff. Let’s get into what this looks like across your season.

Out-Season Phase
This is the time of year when you do your hardest running, period. Whether it’s on the treadmill, indoor track or outside, you will be putting in some seriously hard work. We can do this since your total training week is only 6-8 hours, with running constituting about 50% of that number (more like 40%)…in other words you have PLENTY of time to recover from this work.

The actual blocks (as of 2010) are laid out as 8 weeks of threshold, 6 weeks of VO2 work, and  then back to threshold work for the last 6 weeks. As the weeks progress, the long run starts creeping up there so you are ostensibly ready to run a half marathon by the end of the OS.

Anywhere between weeks 14-20 you should set your highest 5K vDOT of the season.

Transition Phase
There should be zero running here, or at least zero running with vDOT thoughts. If anything, you will lose a bit of your high-end fitness at this point, but that’s totally okay. In our world, we’d prefer you take a step back on purpose, knowing you can come back stronger…than to be forced to take downtime at a later period that could really affect your race build up.

General Preparation Phase
If you have General Prep on your schedule, this is the time when you start to put some more miles on your legs. The overall interval sessions drop to really just one day, although the focus on intensity remains in place.

For Ironman athletes, this means z4 / Threshold Pace intervals balanced with z2 hard efforts on your longer runs. This will set you up to run z1/LRP on race day. For Half Ironman athletes, this means  z4 / Threshold Pace intervals balanced with z3 hard efforts on your longer runs. This will set you up to run z2 / Marathon Pace on your race day.

Race Preparation Phase
The last 12 weeks to race are what we consider to be “race prep.” During this time we try to make all of your training as event specific as possible. This is where the run volume will really go up, and your ability to hit all the intervals isn’t necessarily as important as getting all the running in (even if at lesser intensities). We fully support you backing off the “work” if that means you’ll be healthy on race day: health and 95% fit beats 100% fit but only 95% healthy any day!

We do our best to offset all of this work by working with frequency to up the total time spent running (instead of two long runs or a mega-long run each week); but regardless your fatigue will be high. And it will be more more evident than on the run.

Your last long run is about 2.5 to 3 weeks out, with the last run of any substantial volume coming no closer than 10 days out.

Conclusion
Our focus in on quality, not quantity, although you can see that there is a lot of good work to be done between day one and race day. Manage your fitness, keep your expectations in check, and you will be ready to rock come race day!

Popularity: 11% [?]

Do You Know What It Takes???

By now you’ve likely heard about our Beginner Open House, this April 13-18, 2010. We’re excited to have you come inside our Team to check out our resources, support, and especially our members. We’d like to take a few minutes here to discuss what TeamEN has to offer the beginner Ironman athlete.

You have a lot of time and money invested in your Ironman, and you have a LOT at stake in this once-in-a-lifetime, life-changing event. You paid over five bills, a year ago, to register. Factor in $$$$ spent on gear, plane tickets, bike shipping, hotels, etc. To this, add the dollar amount to your training time: X hours per week for months and months (How much is your time worth, anyway?). Lastly, don’t forget to add the time cost of your family. They’ve done a LOT to support you, and your training time has been spent away from them. What was the cost of being late to that soccer game or waking up at 4am to run so you could get the kids to school?

Triathlon is expensive in many, many ways. Here is what Endurance Nation brings to the table to help beginner triathletes…

TeamEN Training Plans vs the Others
Our training plans are the foundation of our coaching. These plans are in their seventh generation of continuous improvement, honed through the experiences, results, and feedback of over 3000 athletes. When you compare us to the other guys, ask yourself:

• Do I even know who wrote this plan? When? Has it been touched or revisited, applying the lessons-learned from the athletes who have used it…or the increased knowledge of the coach?
• What results have the users of this plan achieved? Can I find any testimonials?

Rich Strauss & Patrick McCrann vs Other Coaches
Perhaps you want a bit more than a training plan and are looking to hire a personal coach, maybe even a coach local to you. We have been coaching half and full Ironman age-group athletes exclusively since 2001 and 2003 respectively, with over 600 individual Ironman finishers — first-timers, podium, age group winners and Kona qualifiers — between us. Over 3000 athletes have used our training plans. We ourselves have nearly 25 Ironman finishes between us, including Kona.  Google us and you’ll find our training articles featured on Active.com, Xtri, TriFuel and many others. Over 8000 athletes subscribe to our newsletter to receive quality, Ironman-specific training and racing tips.

In short, we challenge you to find two more experienced, Ironman-specific coaches working together in the tri-space. And, yes, Ironman coaching is most definitely a specialty in the field of triathlon coaching, significantly different from coaching local athletes to sprints and Olympic distance races.

When you compare us to other coaches, ask yourself:

• How does this coach’s Ironman coaching and racing experience compare with Rich and Patrick?
• Where are the results and testimonials of his/her athletes? Can I talk to them about the coach?
• Has the coach produced any content (written, audio, or video) that allows me to learn more about their coaching knowledge, the instruction style, etc?
• Will my coach teach me how to race Ironman? See our DVD, Four Keys eBook, and IM Course Talks.
• Finally, what is my monthly fee? TeamEN athletes pay, at most, $99/mo for membership. What does your coach offer to command a 200 to 400% markup?  Our athletes save $3600/yr vs paying for a one-on-one coach. That’s a new bike…a powermeter…a family vacation…you get the idea.

Support and Community
Perhaps you’re considering using an inexpensive training plan and a free forum as support. The training plans used by our team on our proprietary platform are accompanied by nearly a dozen ebooks, dozens of instructional videos, over 100 podcasts and a living online resource wiki. Ask a training or racing question in our forums and you’ll receive an answer from the Team in minutes; from the coaches, in threads we have created for exclusive athlete-to-coach feedback, within 24 hours. Most importantly, EN is a paid community led by experienced Ironman coaches. Everyone has skin in the game of creating value for the community, by providing each other with quality, correct, and polite feedback.

Most importantly, this support and these resources are provided within the framework of a unified coaching methodology. In short, you won’t have to wade through incorrect, conflicting advice in our forums to get the help you need.

When you compare TeamEN to other internet resources:

• Are members paying to be there? We’ve found that the dollar is a pretty powerful filter for weeding out people not willing to contribute.
• Are members required to use their real names? TeamEN athletes are First Name, Last Name, period, no exceptions. No hiding online, and besides, when we meet at a race or a free camp, it’s just better to know who you are!
• Post a question. How good and how prompt is the feedback? Do you receive consistent feedback or does your thread become a debate, with you as the referee to decide who is correct and what advice to use?
• Will the forum have a presence at your race? Rich and Patrick go to EVERY US Ironman. TeamEN will have 35-40 athletes at EVERY race. Our Team dinners are attended by 50+ athletes, friends and family. What’s it worth to introduce your wife and 3 kids to another family and have them taken care of by the team while you race?
• Is there a training camp on your course? Uniforms? Options for your family to hang out while you race?

In summary, the quality of our training plans and the experience, support, and knowledge of the coaches and Team will bring you several years up the learning curve. You’ll do everything right, the first time, without wading through several years and messed up races as you try to figure it out on your own.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Endurance Nation presents the Four Keys of Ironman Execution Talk.

Rich Strauss, head coach and founder of Endurance Nation, will share with you the race day execution tips and mental strategies that have created PR performances for thousands of athletes. Rich has delivered this talk, live, to over 1500 athletes at Ironman venues since 2003. The Four Keys DVD has been purchased by over 2000 athletes. Rich will bring you years, and possibly several wasted races, up the learning curve!

When: Saturday, April 10th, 3-5pm
Where: Manuel’s Tavern, 602 Highland Avenue, Atlanta, GA
Cost: Attendees will be asked to make a charitable contribution to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  In return, each attendee will receive a Four Keys of Ironman Execution DVD, a $37 value!
RSVP to the event on Facebook, and please share/invite your friends!

You will learn:

• Why race day is about Execution, not Fitness.
• Nothing matters until Mile 18 of the run.
• The power of “Racing Inside the Box.”
• The importance of your “One Thing.”
• And much, much more

Beginners:
Rich will host a 15 minute talk on first-time Ironman topics. He’ll get your mind right about training, final preparation and racing YOUR Ironman! As a bonus, you’ll be offered a unique, beginners-only opportunity to join our Team of over 400 long course triathletes!

Veterans:
Rich has trained, raced, coached, and clinic’ed on every US Ironman course. He’s coached uncounted numbers of Kona qualifiers, AG winners, podiums finishers, as well as having created massive PR’s for all athletes, from sub 10hr to 16hr+ finishers. He’ll discuss recommended gearing for each course, the sand in that corner, where to line up for the swim, the best place to have a beer, and much more.

The Coach
Rich Strauss has been training, racing, and coaching the Ironman distance exclusively since 2001. He has coached over 400 individual age group athletes. Over 3000 have used his training plans. He is a 7-time Ironman finisher, including Kona, with a PR of 10:02. His training articles and ideas have been featured in Triathlete Magazine, Active.com, XTri, TriFuel, “Going Long,” and “Training and Racing with a Powermeter.” Rich was an NCAA D3 Swimming All-American at Emory University and a former Marine Corps artillery officer.

Endurance Nation
Endurance Nation is the world’s only 400 person long course triathlon team. TeamEN will have 20-40+ athletes at EVERY US Ironman in 2010, with similar numbers at many 70.3 events. TeamEN members are age group athletes just like you: first timers, women, men, boomers, Kona qualifiers, AG winners and podium finishers, all united under the focus of training efficiently and reaching their goals, while retaining balance in their personal goals.

Georgia Chain Gang
Through their participation in RAAM 2010, a 3,000+ mile non-stop bicycle “Race Across America,” the Georgia Chain Gang has a goal of raising $200,000 for the “The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society” (LLS).  Donations to LLS are made through our partner, Team in Training. If you’d like to help our team fight blood cancer, please donate!

Popularity: 17% [?]

Members of Team EN Staffing the Table!

After a few solid hours at the Multisport World Expo this past weekend, I was officially “tri-ed” out. It’s great to see everyone, but it can get to be a bit much after a few hours! I saw a lot of interesting stuff, particularly from the 10+ events that had tables there (being a race director must pay well), but as I coach I was really only looking at the other coaching groups that were on site.

High-Dollar = High-Contact = High-Value?
Endurance Nation was the only low-cost player in the space, so my viewpoint will be biased for sure. It was really interesting to watch the active groups attempting to communicate value to the wandering tri-consumer. As a high-dollar coach (read $200+ / monthly fee), one has to really justify what the athlete is getting for their investment. This is usually achieved by promising contact with the coach, be it via phone, or email or in person. The more contact you want, the more money you have to pay.

Other ways that coaches were promoting their particular brands included fancy gear / signage (looks legitimate), custom metrics (body fat / body composition testing), and performance analysis (run and/or swim technique reviews). The more you pay, in other words, the more customized things become and presumably the more value you get.

How Much Custom is Necessary?
Of course, the tri-marketing gurus want you to feel special. They want you to pick out the special saddle, the particular wetsuit and the “must-have” brand of nutrition. If we all know that not every one needs a custom-built titanium triathlon bike, why do we assume that everyone will benefit from high-tough one-on-one coaching?

There are times — as in the case of triathlon training + learning — where a large, available sample size trumps one particular niche of knowledge every single time. Will you get more from talking to one person, with one experience, or by connecting with hundreds of other athletes who have been on the same journey? If you are a beginner triathlete with a job and a family, is that coach with ten years and world championship credentials (but not 9-5 gig or family) going to be able to identify with what you need? Will she speak to you?

Then again, perhaps you need a workout reminder? Maybe you need to pay money to be held accountable? Or maybe your life is so crazy you just want someone to tell you what to do and when. If so, then a coach might be right for you. But know that the odds are pretty darn close to zero that you and your training situation are so unique that you need a custom solution.

Know Yourself
Instead of playing the game of comparing pricing tiers, triathletes would be better served asking what exactly it is they need to achieve their fitness and race day goals. Just like everything else in our world, there is a point of diminishing returns on our investment. Take the time to learn more about yourself, and the many available resources out there, and make an informed decision. Without a doubt you are a unique individual on a special fitness journey…but that doesn’t mean you have to pay top-dollar to get top-notch support, help or guidance!

Are you a beginner? Maybe you are re-thinking your training after months of 20+ hours a week, burning the candle at both ends and no results to show for it? Please register for our free April Open House to explore Team Endurance Nation and how our community & coaches can help you take your game to the next level!

Popularity: 16% [?]

Everyone Starts Somewhere! Endurance Nation is a fantastic place for Beginner Triathletes to learn the Ironman and 70.3 ropes for many reasons. We have a culture of support and learning, and a repository of “lessons-learned” built over years of triathlon training and racing. We have a mentor program. We have written, audio, and video resources for you to learn from. We have focused, high-quality plans that build real fitness out of the gate. We treat you like a veteran — we won’t talk slowly to you or make you use giant red #2 pencils or training wheels.

We can help you skip the first 2-3 years of mistake-laden triathlon experience…what’s that worth to you?

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If you’d like to learn more about Team Endurance Nation and how you can be a part of this amazing online community for the 2010 season, please sign up for our Beginner Open House this April 13-18th, 2010 and we’ll give you a firsthand tour of “da Haus” in April!

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Popularity: 15% [?]