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

Endurance Nation’s Triathlon Fundamentals

admin — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:53:35 +0000

It’s Time to Go Back to Tri School — You Ready???
photo credit: mueritz

We initially were going to title this post something like: “Everything I’ve Learned About Triathlon Has Come From Coaching Over 5,000 Athletes, Not From A Random Book” But that wasn’t as catchy and we’re pretty sure no one would read it!The reality is, there’s what you learn from books and then there’s what you learn when you apply that book stuff to your own training (25 IM finishes, including Kona, between us) and the training of thousands of real-world, age grouper long course triathletes. There’s what you learn when you coach 15 people at a time…then there’s what you learn when you guide 500+ athletes per year to Ironman finishlines around the world.

So put down that TriRag with all the sexy models, bling components, and the latest and greatest way to lose 20lbs while training to qualify for Kona in just 12 weeks. Do your best to quell the urge to pull out your wallet and spend your way to triathlon success.

Just because you have a full-time job doesn’t mean that you need to spend 10% of your annual salary in order to be competitive. In fact, as you’ll see below, there are plenty of things the average person can do to improve their fitness, strength and ability to race that don’t involve tons of money or time.

1. Work Is Speed Entering the Body (aka Go Fast to Get Fast)

As a triathlete, you move your body down the road, either by running or cycling. Your body has mass and by moving it at a certain speed/velocity you are performing work.

You and I weigh the same and we run the same three mile course. I average 8:00 miles and you average 9:00 miles. I’ve moved the mass of my body (the same as yours!) over the same distance in less time. I’ve done more work than you. Lets call it 300 units to your 200 units.

All things being equal (conditions, our fatigue level, etc) the reason why I can do 300 to your 200 units is because I’ve forced my body to adapt itself to be able to support a workload of 300 units. Your body will only adapt itself to the workload that you expose it to, nothing more. Doing more work forces your body to adapt. So how do you develop the ability to go from running 3 miles at 9:00/mile pace to running at 8:00/mile pace like me? You need to do more work.

The most time-efficient way to do this is to spend more time running at / under / near 8:00/mile pace: half-mile repeats, mile repeats, pick ups, etc. Hard work plus recovery will make you stronger, eventually enabling you to reach your 8:00/mile pace goal.

A well thought out and proven training program will prescribe work that’s appropriate for your level of fitness, turning the dial up and up, and then backing off a bit just when you need it.

Most importantly, work is measurable. You can measure watts on a bike, or pace on a run. You can quantify the % of level effort you are able to sustain, and then improve upon it on a regular basis. Leave the thoughts of just adding volume or training for 25+ hours a week for your single friends or those TriRag profiled athletes. As an age grouper with a job, a family and other responsibilities, doing more “work” in your training is the most direct way to see improvement.

To put it another way, if your primary definition of “more work” is “more volume,” turning up the dial so that a 12hr week becomes 14hrs becomes 18hrs becomes 20hrs…becomes what? Where does it stop? When you’re divorced, unemployed and homeless?!

We’ve learned, through experience, that our primary tool to impart greater and greater training stress to our athletes is to manage the intensity of the workouts first, volume a very, very distant second.

Weekly training volume for the average grouper is largely fixed by life, family, job, life and life. However, the intensity at which you do workouts within that fixed volume is infinitely flexible. This is why intensity, not volume, is the primary dial our age group athletes use to adjust training stress within each training week.

2. Fast Before Far (aka Volume is Easily Added)

Since 2007 we have been teaching our “fast before far” approach, where we use the winter months to improve our athlete’s speed and strength at threshold. We can afford to do this higher intensity training because in the winter there are no volume demands on our training schedule and there are plenty of opportunities to recover from the hard training.

The net is that our Endurance Nation OutSeason plan has between six and eight hours of weekly training — total! — across four or five months of the year.

So in the winter, roughly October/November through February/March, we drop the volume dramatically, turn up the intensity…dramatically…making our athletes much, much faster. The average Endurance Nation athlete improves his/her Ironman or Half Ironman race pace on the bike by 1.5 to 2 miles per hour, and over a minute per mile faster on the run…often making them 30 minutes faster than last years version of themselves, long before they have even started to ride longer than 90 minutes.

Once the weather turns and we can add volume without burning the athlete out on a trainer, we drop the intensity and add more miles. Spring is our favorite time of the year, when we unleash the Team on their training partners and hear the stories about dropping the pack, putting the hurt on, and leaving lots of folks scratching their heads.

Triathlon training culture and old-school coaching books continue to sell the need for many long, aerobic miles before speed can be properly added. The result is snow-bound, age group athletes doing 4-5hr trainer rides, and 12-15hr training weeks in February, months and months before their goal race. Not only is it an inefficient way to train, the mental cost to the athlete is off the charts. Since we all live in a world where 5-7hrs per week in the winter — when it’s cold, dark, and months and months from goal race — is simply more appropriate, our training approach shifts to low volume/high intensity because it’s simply the best, most time efficient way for real world age groupers to train.

3. Volume is Race-Specific

Just because volume isn’t the means by which we build your fitness over the season doesn’t make it any less important inside Endurance Nation. In fact, we provide multiple options for our Team to put in some epic training: our annual Tour of California Cycling Camp, various Triathlon Rally events on IM courses, member-run camps across the country, and even members-only plans for big bike and big triathlon-specific training weeks.

Each of these different opportunities shares a single common thread: they are all focused opportunities ranging from three to seven days in duration. They are structured to have an impact on your actual race performance, with the timing of the Texas Rally, for example, set to approximately 4 weeks prior to the event.

We’ve found that these relatively short volume pops are a much more time-efficient way to dramatically boost endurance — assuming, of course, that you have the time to do them. Rather than requiring them to nickle and dime their families for multiple 5-6hr training days every week for months and months, we work with our athletes to put a Big Bike or Big Tri Week/Weekend “X” days out from their race.

With your Fast already built, it’s easy to add Far to the equation because volume isn’t actually that hard. If you and I were planning on a 2.5-hour ride, but I rolled up and said let’s go 3.5-hours, it ain’t no big thing. You wouldn’t tell me that you have to train more before you could ride another hour with me…you’d simply go get another energy bar. Done.

It’s not the individual dose of volume that can be damaging, rather it’s the cumulative effect of repeat days, weeks and months of such training that can cause serious issues such as injury and over-training.

For the average age-group triathlete, the weekly volume of training required to complete an Ironman or 70.3 is at or above the basic level of time they can sustain.

By leveraging intensity early in the year and then dialing the focus over to volume as race day approaches, Endurance Nation takes a season of massive training hours and boils it down to a four- to eight-week focused exercise.

Remember, the reason why the Endurance Nation athlete doesn’t do months and months of 5-6hrs long rides, 3hr long runs, 2hr brick runs, isn’t swimming 3x week in January for a race in September, or spending 2hrs/wk in the gym is because Rich and Patrick have learned better through their own training (aka School of Hard Knocks) and through coaching thousands of age groupers just like you. We have done the 3-hour tempo runs, the back-to-back to back 120 mile cycling days for weeks on end, the 25-hour training weeks until implosion.

We’ve learned what works and what doesn’t–through our own extensive training, racing, and coaching experience–so you don’t have to experiment and, frankly, make the same mistakes we did.

4. Race Day is about Execution not Fitness

Conversations in the triathlon space are dominated by discussions on how to train and what $$$$ aero widget to buy. How far/long/hard/often should I bang my head against the wall each week and which $150 bottle is going to save me 15 seconds on race day?

We’ll say it again because it bears repeating: we’ve raced over 25 Ironmans between us. We’ve brought thousands across finishlines in the last decade. TeamEN has 20-45 athletes at every US Ironman. Either Rich or Patrick has been AT every one of those races to support the Team, for years. In short: we’ve made, managed, or observed more rolls of the Ironman racing dice than probably any two coaches on the planet.

Our Number One Observation is that race day is about execution, not fitness. Regardless of how they got there, how they trained, etc, 95% of Ironman athletes at the starting line are very, very fit.

What separates people at the finishline the most is how they drive that fitness vehicle on race day. The race course is littered with the bodies of very fit guys and gals…who just don’t know how to race.

Therefore, we view proper race execution as free speed and about half of our members-only resources are dedicated to teaching everyone on the team how to race with the collective experience of 1000’s of Ironman finishes — an extensive Ironman How-To, webinars in swim, bike, run and nutrition execution, power and run pacing calculators, threads to collect sneaky speed tips on bike set up, gearing, and much more.

It’s important to remember that there are many different ways to get stronger and faster as a triathlete. Endurance Nation’s approach focuses exclusively on the age-group athlete who has real-world constraints and commitments, but the lessons we have learned above can help anyone looking to seek improvement. And who knows, your family might just enjoy being on the sidelines watching you execute the perfect race!

To learn more about Endurance Nation, our triathlon coaching and triathlon training plans, please visit us online at www.EnduranceNation.us.

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Triathletes: Stop Shopping For Speed

admin — Wed, 18 May 2011 11:00:02 +0000

photo credit: Håkan Dahlström

The triathlon world is littered with expensive bikes and fancy gear — part of the undeniable allure of our sport, on some level, is in the gear. Sure there are many triathletes who do without, but most of us enjoy our toys.

The funny thing is, almost none of these things are 100% guaranteed to make you faster. An aero helmet helps — but not if you can’t stay aero for the full 112 miles. Lightweight shoes are faster — but not if they can’t take the beating you lay out over the marathon, reducing you to a walk.

At the end of the day, it’s the training you do to build your fitness and develop your sport-specific skills that matters. Add in the race experience you cultivate over time and you are quickly approaching the upper end of your potential.

On some level, it really makes sense to start significantly upgrading your gear after you have established some fundamental speed. In other words, first look within to find your potential. Once you have done this, move externally to find new ways of maximizing your return on training investment.

Here is a look at each of the three disciplines, and where to draw the line between go do more work and green light for adding gear. Feel free to adjust the metrics to fit your situation or sport; remember our goal here is to get you to focus on the things that you personally can improve upon. If you already have some fancy gear and are looking at more, set a performance benchmark and earn your way to getting faster gear!

The Swim

Swimming is 80% technique, 20% fitness. This means that the vast majority of your swimming, whether early in your year or during your race-prep cycle, should be focused on technique. There are countless drills you can learn to refine your technique that don’t require metronomes, special kicking fins, fist gloves, mono-snorkels, etc. Your best bet is to get into the pool as frequently as possible to drill your technique and become as good as you can.

The Cut Off: The cut-off line is swimming a 500 yard time trial effort in less than 10 minutes (2:00 / 100 yds) or faster.

The Exception: We do recommend investing in a solid one-on-one swim coach or similar learning tool to facilitate your development if you are truly challenged.

The Bike

Cycling fitness is your secret weapon in triathlon. The stronger you become on the bike, the faster you’ll be overall. There are two distinct ways to improve on the bike, and neither one involve dropping cash.

The first is frequency. The more you ride your bike, the better you’ll get at riding. You’ll corner better; you’ll climb better; descending will be second nature; you’ll be able to eat and drink no problem. Soon you’ll be able to ride no-hands. All of this means you’ll simply be better prepared to actually race on race day instead of spending your time focusing on all the logistical things (eating, aid stations, passing, not drafting, shifting, etc).

The second is intensity. The harder you ride your bike, the stronger you’ll get. Given that cycling is such a low-impact sport, almost anyone can get on a bike and start pushing their fitness to the limit. When you get tired, you can coast or shift gears. You can stop anywhere to eat more if required and, in a worst case scenario, you can always use your cell phone to call for a ride.

The Cut Off: This is a flat, time trial effort. The benchmark is 18 miles covered in one hour (for Men), 16.5 miles for women.

The Exception: You do want a solid bike fit. Whether your bike is $500 or $5000, it won’t be worth a dime if you can’t actually ride it.

The Run

On race day it all comes down to the run. You can be the best swimmer or cyclist on the day, but odds are a runner will catch you before the finish line. Success a running is a little trickier than cycling, since it’s a high-impact sport with potential for injury. It’s not as technically challenging as swimming, however, so there is some middle ground.

The best way to improve your running is through frequency and body composition. I mention the body composition stuff only because being lighter means you are faster; how you get there and what is “right” for you depends on a very diverse set of personal factors; I will not cover them here.

Frequency, however, is the most direct way to get faster on the run as a triathlete without risking injury or overtraining. Given the standard training load of swimming and cycling, a high volume run approach will lead to fatigue and breakdown. Instead, break your running up into 4-5 sessions that are mostly less than 45 minutes in duration. Include some intensity and plenty of focus time for running with good form. Add four such runs to one longer session and a few short bricks and you have tons of cumulative run time without the compounding cost of lengthy individual sessions!

The Cut Off: A 5k run in faster than 25:00 (consistent with a sub-4 marathon and sub-2 half marathon).

The Exception: Give the pounding your body takes from running, it’s important to change out your shoes as frequent as every 300-500 miles. Don’t put this expense off; by the time your body lets you know that you need new kicks it might be too late!

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Beginner Triathlon: Avoid These Five Mistakes

admin — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 12:00:57 +0000

Triathlon’s popularity has exploded in recent years. From single-sport athletes looking for a new challenge, to non-athletes interesting in using the sport as a vehicle for lifestyle change, every race sees first timers standing at the starting line next to veterans with years of tri-experience.

As coaches of a 500-member triathlon team, with nearly 20 years experience between us…we’ve seen it all. Rich is a former Team in Training head coach and the founder of the Pasadena Triathlon Club. Patrick started by leading triathlon classes at the local HealthWorks gym and running Masters Swim classes. In short, working with beginners was the foundation of our successful coaching careers.

We’d like to share our experience by telling you what NOT to do, and then offer you a free opportunity to jump several years up the learning curve.

Mistake #1: Investing in Gear, not Yourself
Three sports, each with its own complement of whizzbang expensive gear. Shiny magazines full of ads trying to sell you the latest carbon aero widget or supplement. For whatever reason, triathlon has a culture of buying speed rather than learning how to train and race more effectively. At the end of the day, it’s about the engine (YOU), not the $$$ parts hanging off of your bike. Invest in yourself, your tri-education and your fitness early on; Save the whizzbangery for later.

Mistake #2: Thinking the Swim is an Exercise in Fitness
You’re fit (or not), you can ride a bike and run (or not), so why is that 12-year old girl in the outside lane swimming laps around you?! Because she’s been swimming 1-2hrs per day, 5-6 days per week since she was six. She has the technique…you do not.

For you, swimming is not a fitness exercise, it’s a skill, like learning to play a musical instrument. Rather than just banging on the keyboards for an hour a day, with no idea what you’re doing, invest in quality swim technique instruction to maximize your time in the water.

Mistake #3: Waiting to Get Faster on the Bike
In our experience the bike is a very low risk activity: assuming your bike fits you, and you don’t crash, you’re just not going to injure yourself by riding too hard. There is no need to wait to begin getting much faster on the bike.

If you want to ride faster you need to ride faster and the time to begin is a soon as you throw your leg over the saddle and clip in. Work as hard as you can for as long as you can…then recover and repeat.

Mistake #4: Bringing a Running Plan to a Triathlon
It’s very common for new triathletes, especially those coming from a running background, to insert a run-only training plan into their weekly triathlon training schedule. If not that, then most try to hold on to the running schedule they’ve done for years, but now with the addition of cycling and swimming.

This approach is a surefire way to overtrain and risk injury. You’re training for a triathlon, not a 5k, 10k, or marathon. Ignore the addition of cycling and swimming into your training week at your own peril.

Mistake #5: Forgetting to Have Fun!!
Three sports, three sets of gear, how do I fit X number of workouts into only 5-6 days per week?! It’s very easy to get caught up in how much there is to learn and master, and to get stressed out and often obsessed with your first race.

We’ve got news for you: this is all just a game and it’s supposed to be fun.

Invest in your head, delay $$$ investments in gear, expect to make a LOT of mistakes in your first few races (you won’t be disappointed) and promise to laugh at yourself when you do!

For many triathletes, our multisport passion and pursuit of fitness merge into a singular pursuit: fitness as a lifestyle, not simply an exercise activity. Rather than meeting the boyz at the bar at 8pm on a Thursday, you now look forward to your Saturday ride or Sunday group run…your new social activity where you share your fitness lifestyle with like-minded adults.

Interested in learning more, in skipping several years up the learning curve, and in saving solid buck$ on high-dollar race entry fees?

We invite you to register for our latest FREE seminar: The Beginner Triathlon Seminar

Nine seminar lessons, each with written, audio, and video content.
“Bonus” material: ebooks, webinars, and more
A 10% discount on any training plan.
Finally, a FREE Four Keys of Ironman Execution DVD, a $37 value! While you’re not yet an Ironman, you WILL turn a ton about triathlon race day execution…and did we mention that it’s FREE?!

Register today!

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Triathlon Tip: Internal Goals Yield External Results

admin — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:49:18 +0000

someone’s inside you just trying to get out
photo credit: h.koppdelaney

Note: This post is part of our Annual Training Plan Sale Series. All Endurance Nation Ironman & 70.3 Training Plans are 30% off through January 9, 2011. Visit the EN Store for more details and information.

Inside Endurance Nation, we hear goals all the time. From prospective customers to our own members, everyone has a position staked out that is a large part of what drives them on a daily basis. While goals are a natural part of how we operate as athletes, they are not all made equal. A large part of what we do inside EN is turn your focus inwards, towards elements of your fitness that you can control and improve and away from external metrics that could remain out of grasp for a myriad of reasons.

Sample External Goals:

I want to be on the podium.
I just want to finish.
I want to beat my sister-in-law.
I want to be faster than last year.

These are all solid goals, clearly meaningful to the goal setter. But each of them is, in some way, truly out of the athlete’s control. As a result, you aren’t necessarily rewarded for hard work, and your ability to attain the goals is a function of the race itself…providing you minimal feedback or support or guidance for the months of training beforehand.

Improved Internal Goals:

Improve body composition, drop weight by 5%.
Drop 5k time by 30 seconds.
Increase bike Functional Threshold Power by 15%.
Add daily core strength to my routine.

In this set of goals, the difference is clear. These are all very individual numbers that can be measured, tested, and improved. No one else can affect your FTP, for example, and the final test result will (or will not) show results.

More importantly, we are building your self confidence and internal momentum by putting you in the driver’s seat. Being in charge of reaching your own goals is a critical first step towards being your best. Guaranteed if you can improve your bike and run fitness as well as dial in your body composition, that PR will take care of itself!

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

48 Hours To Go: On Book Launches and Bonuses

admin — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:06:29 +0000

Less than 48 Hours to Go to the official one-day launch of Train to Live, Live to Train: An Insider’s Guide to Building the Ultimate Fitness Lifestyle.

It almost feels like I am getting ready for a big race! The workload has ended, I am making final tweaks and last-minute preparations to make sure that everything goes smoothly. It’s a bit nerve-wracking, but then again these are the final minutes when I personally am really viscerally connected to what’s happening. What is it about feeling scared that is connected to feeling so alive?

Anyway, enough about me. I wanted to reiterate some of the great stuff that will be going down on Friday with the actual launch of the Train To Live Toolkit.

Everyone who purchases on this Friday will:

Save some good money as the final prices will be higher…this is a great deal.
Get access to a conference call with me where I’ll discuss the core concepts of the book and answer any/all questions you might have.
Be entered win a Fuelbelt Backpack or a year’s subscription to the awesome RescueTime tool I recommend.

Remember you can shop with abandon as I’ll be donating 10% of each purchase to the Challenged Athletes Foundation. This do-good initiative lasts beyond the initial one-day sale, but I still wanted to know that your purchase is part of a bigger cause.

Want to know more?
Subscribe to my weekly newsletter here for a free Fit Life PDF that outlines the core elements of the Train to Live philosophy. If you prefer, you can follow Patrick on Twitter to get notification of the full sale as well.

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Your First Kona

admin — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 18:39:43 +0000

Coach P and Family, Back in the Day!

In a little less than two weeks, the world’s fittest triathletes will gather for the annual ritual that is the Ironman World Championships. The week is a virtual who’s who of the endurance world, with the roster of participants and spectators including all manner of superstars. But all the marketing money and hype aside, there’s something else that makes the event unique — it’s the fact that on Saturday, one day, everyone from PROs to lottery winners line up to test themselves against the elements and the world’s best.

There are very few places or moments in our lives where we can honestly say, on this day, I competed against the best in the world and earned my finishing place among them. This is both a monumental challenge and precious gift. Without a doubt, the Ironman in Hawaii is the ultimate personal test of endurance. Here’s a quick set of tips for all of you competing in Kona for the first time. You might get back again, but you’ll never have another first time…think about it.

Do Everything
There is a ridiculous set of activities lined up all race week. Make sure all your gear is ready, etc., but otherwise get out and mingle. Take pictures. Explore the scenery (both human and otherwise). Walk in the parade of nations. Do a luau. Swim at Dig Me Beach. Soak it all up, for there are thousands of other folks less fortunate than you who couldn’t be there.

Set Basic Expectations
Kona is a special place; the combination of barren terrain, brutal winds and stifling humidity amplify the nature of the competition, forcing you to be at your best even just to finish. Going into your first race, know that speed is secondary to the sights and sounds of the event itself. Being able to race here is a lot like being able to wander onto the set of your favoirite TV show — you recognize people and places and feel at home even though you’ve never been. Absorb everything; learn the course, the winds, watch others for tips. Don’t pressure yourself..if you’ve been here once, you’ll make it back. If not, the last thing you want is one big depressing day of memories to carry with you.

Respect the Island
Much is made of the mystical elements of the Big Island and the spirits who reside there. Everyone knows not to take the white rocks that line the side of the Queen K (you did know that, right?). But you can extend this island style to all aspects of your stay from being friendly and courteous to simply wearing a great smile. Try it, it’s contagious. And if you work hard enough, you might just be able to bring some of that aloha home with you.

Take Time to Explore
Wherever you are coming from, Kona is probably a long way from home. Don’t let the race take away from a really unique trip. You can take waterfall tours, explore Hawi, cross the island to explore Hilo, hike the volcano or tour a coffee plantation. You can also chill on one of the many beaches (hint: all beaches have a place for public access), or spend your days eating shave ice. Ask your friends and family what they want to do, and do it. This is your chance to show just how much their support has meant on the journey to Kona.

If you are racing, good luck! Go fast, be safe, and have fun…you deserve it!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Want To Learn More About Ironman Kona? Then sign up to download our 45 minute Course Talk movie where Coach Patrick walks you through the critical elements of constructing a solid race on the Big Island! Register for your FREE Kona Course Talk here.

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Finding Your Triathlon DNA

admin — Mon, 31 May 2010 12:00:49 +0000

photo credit: Andrew Stawarz

Triathlon is an incredibly socially-motivated sport. The values and input of our peers play a significant role in terms of how we as triathletes train and race…almost to a fault. There’s nothing wrong with trying to keep up with Mr. or Mrs. Jones, but if you are going to be a successful triathlete, you’ll need to find your own path.

Look at it this way: if your training partner showed up at your workplace and started talking about how he works and what has made him successful, you’d probably tell him to get lost. But put that same conversation on a bike, and focus the topic on your next race…and you soak the words up like gospel.

A large part of your triathlon journey is about constructing your own unique story. Like any good writer, this story will be flavored by who you know, and the context within which you live. But at the same time, everything needs to have your own unique spin on it.

Here are some things to consider as you continue your triathlon evolution:

Becoming confident at re-mixing the lessons learned from other folks is equally important as experimenting with what you consider to be immutable.
Your hunger to learn should be as strong as your desire to train.
Nothing “works” until you have actually done it yourself in training or racing, preferably in training first!
What sounds too good to be true, probably is.
The longer you play the triathlon game, the better you’ll become. Seek gains, but not at the expense of long-term progress.
Successful racing and successful training are two entirely different things; mastering both is incredibly difficult.
Encourage and facilitate changes in your fitness…don’t force it.
If everything you are doing isn’t working, then you need to try something else.

What other big picture pieces of advice would you offer to a new long-course triathlete? Please post them in the comments below!

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

For Beginner Ironman Athletes: The TeamEN Advantage

admin — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:00:31 +0000

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.

Interested in taking a peek inside and receiving an exclusive invitation to join our Team of over 400 Ironman athletes?

Register for our Beginner Open House Today! ————————————————->

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

More FREE Ebooks From Endurance Nation: OutSeason, Heart Rate Training, and Our Manual

admin — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:00:44 +0000

As you know, we just released our Latest FREE eBook, the EN Introduction to Triathlon Training and Racing with Power. If you like this free eBook, you might also enjoy any one of our many other FREE resources:

Long-Course Triathlon Training Manual (120+ pages) — Never buy another tri training book again!
OutSeason Training Guide (Downloaded over 5,000 times!) — How to get FAST when it matters!
Heart Rate Training eBook — How to make the most of your HRM for maximum fitness!
Free 30-Day Coaching Trial — Get the Team EN experience for FREE, see if the same protocols that make our team of 425+ athletes faster can help you rock the tri scene in 2009!

Thanks and see you at the races!

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!

Kona Travel Tips

admin — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:13:04 +0000

Sitting on the tarmac at Logan Airport in Boston in seat 22D on a United Airlines jet with a 100% female crew (how awesome is that…my daughter Megan will get such a kick when she hears that!!!!), enroute to Kona/The Big Show, I figured I should share some tri-travel related advice. Here are my thoughts in no particular order…

• If flying with your bike, arrive 90′ early b/c you have to wait in line to pay the fee ($125 for me this time!)

• Bring lots and lots of snacks. Nothing is scarier than a fully-shaved, tapered trigeek with a growling tummy!

• Try to buy all your random race needs before you leave so expo shopping is fun, not a job!

• Have contact info/directions to local bike shops for quick repairs if needed (expo is always overwhelmed).

• If you are tavelling with your kids PLEASE bring something for them to do on the plane. Having nothing to do for hours as a kid is actually 10x worse than having to go to a job 5 days a week where someone else tells you what to do for hours. Seriously.

• Only 1 triathlon/ironman related item on display at a time please. Whether you realize it or not, the fact that you are over 30 and aren’t 30lbs overweight with that broken, “I live a meaningless existence stare” in your eyes ALREADY makes you stick out like a sore thumb.

• Wear comfy shoes (that don’t stink like mine).

• Don’t ty to get a workout in on the plane or at the next terminal. No joke I saw a doode running laps in a North Carolina terminal the other month…that has to be worse than actually not getting a workout done.

• Relax and smile! You are in a plane to a race, in this case the race of a lifetime…enjoy it. Smiling is contagious and this is a perfect time to practice for race day!

~Patrick

Visit Endurance Nation to create a FREE Five-Day Trial or Shop our Triathlon Training Plans!