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

Rich and Patrick are committed to continuously improving the quality of the Endurance Nation triathlon training plans. They do this by combining their personal training and racing experience with the feedback and results from their training plan customers and TeamEN members.

In July, the coaches surveyed almost 1,000 training plan customers and TeamEN members asking for feedback on how to improve the plans. In addition, Rich raced Ironman Wisconsin and Patrick raced Ironman USA this season. Patrick took 5th place in M35-39 and earned a slot to Kona; and Rich placed 10th in M40-44 and turned down a roll down slot. The coaches used their own training and racing this summer as a laboratory to explore high volume training and other “fun” stuff.

RnP locked themselves in a small box for the month of September and applied these lessons to their rewrite of the Endurance Nation Ironman, Half Ironman, and OutSeason training plans. These plans are now in their 9th generation of continuous improvement and will be on sale in October during our annual training plan sale and membership recruiting drive for the 2012 season.

Training Plan Improvements — All Triathlon Plans will be on sale at 20% off October 1-31st

Ironman and Half Ironman Improvements:

#1 — No (Weekend) Brick Runs
Our experience is that there is no magical run-off-the-bike running fitness that’s developed by running off the bike. We believe that running a brick off the bike is useful a couple times, as you learn what it feels like, develop a strategy to get your legs back, etc. But after that…you get it. Continuing to do brick run after brick run is, in our opinion, simply another opportunity to run slowly on tired legs.

“I know how to hit myself in the head with a hammer. I get it. I don’t need to practice, especially since continuing to hit my head with a hammer compromises my ability to run faster, more often.” – Coach Rich

In short, we want to create more opportunities for you to run faster on relatively fresh legs vs slowly on tired legs.

What??!! No bricks off the long bike?!! These guys are whack!
Look for a more detailed blog post from us in the near future but in the meantime we’ll leave you with this:

We can keep doing what everyone else does and giving you what you think you need, or we can sit back, reflect on the lessons learned from directing the training and racing of thousands of athletes, over 1000 in 2011 alone, and apply that experience to your training plans.

#2 — Race Specific Long Runs in Final Weeks
We have very effective half and full Ironman run pacing guidance that has created massive run PR’s and negative split performances. In the final weeks of your plan, you’ll rehearse this strategy on every long run, building your endurance and significantly increasing your confidence in YOUR race day pacing and nutrition strategy.

#3 — Increased Run Opportunities
With the Long Run now more race specific and the advice to remove as many “brick” run opportunities as you can (according to your schedule), you have the option to add more running to your training week using the frequency approach. In other words, by separating your workouts we now have the ability to safely add a bit more run volume to your training plan.

#4 — Tweaked Weekend Long Bike Workouts
Using tools from the power-training world, we’ve calculated the training stress (power geekery term) of each weekend ride, tweaking them so that they are more appropriate and manageable for each ability level. This means we have made these workouts even more targeted and effective than the original versions — but not any easier.

OutSeason Training Plan Improvements:

#1 — Tweaked Vo2Max Intervals
We’ve created a way to make these sessions more self-manageable by the athlete, based on their fatigue level, in real time.

#2 — Recovery Week Protocol
Based on the feedback from the Team and our training plan customers, we’ve created a Recovery Week that athletes can insert into their training plans whenever it’s needed.

TeamEN Membership Improvements – We will be recruiting new members for the 2012 season October 1-31st

Training Plan Improvements
All of the improvements above will be reflected in the plans we use to coach the Team, with the following members-only enhancements:

• Training Stress Score Calculations: Training Stress Score (TSS) is a construct of the power training community, an attempt to quantify the training stress that an individual workout imparts to your body, as a function of the intensity and volume (in time) of the training session. For 2012, we will calculate the TSS of every bike and run, and for the training week, display this next to their training plan. TeamEN members will be able to see, in unprecedented detail, the progression of their training plan across the season. They’ll then be able to use this information to adapt their training plan to their individual scheduling situations — need to shorten the Saturday long ride? No worries. Use the information above to see exactly how many TSS points you’re “missing out on” and consult with the coaches and the Team on how best to adjust your plan.
• Integrated Season Planning Guidance and Training Plan Stacking

• Race Survey: All TeamEN members will take a survey, outlining their race schedule for 2012. The coaches will then deliver to each athlete a personalized Season Plan, detailing the athlete’s movement from training plan to training plan across the season.
• Deconstructed Training Plans: the coaches have then broken down these training plans into much smaller units, allowing the coaches and athletes to apply much more details and individual training plan stacking guidance to their seasons.

• Heat Impact Pace Calculator: the product of a member-initiated Manhattan project to analyze over 150,000 (not a typo!) Ironman running splits against the weather data by hour for the day and create a tool to help athletes adjust their Ironman running pace for the impact of heat. The tool has been spooky accurate since it’s debut, often predicting Ironman run split to within less than 1%.
• Intensity Factor (IF) and Training Stress Score (TSS) Modeling Calculator: this tool allows our power training and racing athletes to model different pacing strategies for any race.
• Run/Walk Pacing Calculator: we strongly advocate a run/walk strategy to Ironman racing. This calculator lets you model different strategies: run at pace x for a mile, then walk y seconds at z pace = _this_ resultant running pace per mile, _this_ projected marathon time, and _this_ is the number you should see on your Garmin during your running segments. Then, rehearse this strategy during your long runs (see training plan improvements above) and gain huge confidence in your race execution plan.

• Members-Only Race Execution Seminar
  Our Race Director, John Stark, will take the results of the Race Survey above to better organize and improve the experience of our 15-45 athletes racing every US Ironman and 70.3 event. To this end he, Rich and Patrick will create a Race Execution Seminar — members will register for the seminar about 20 weeks out from their 2012 AAA-race and each lesson will be delivered directly to their inbox. After four years and thousands of race finishes, the mass of race and race execution specific knowledge and resources developed by the community is just…massive. This system will ensure that EVERY TeamEN athlete, from 1st timer to grizzled vet, has the tools they need to race with the collective experience of the Team behind them!

This is just the short list of improvements we have made for our members. There are many smaller enhancements in the works as we continuously work to improve the value and quality of our members-only resources.

Interested in training with an Endurance Nation training plan or joining TeamEN for the 2012 season?
Look for our training plan sale and member recruiting drive announcement on October 3rd, or take one of our free seminars in the meantime to learn more about how we coach our athletes. We’ll even send you a FREE Four Keys of Ironman Execution DVD, a $37 value!

Popularity: 12% [?]

Endurance Nation is 4 years old, growing from 80 athletes in 2007 to over 600 athletes today. We primarily focus on the long course distances of Half and Full Ironman events. Over half of our athletes have been with us for 3+ years, and we’ve seen their endurance racing goals evolve as their interests have changed. More and more of our squad have chosen to focus on short course triathlons this year.

At the same time, our “Fast before Far” approach, embodied in our successful OutSeason training plans, have attracted many full-time short course athletes, and our advice to them has been to use our OutSeason plan as an excellent short course training solution.

So it’s only fitting that we use these OutSeason plans as the foundation on which to create a suite of short course triathlon training plans — bringing to the short course training plan space the same high quality product that our long course training plan customers have experienced, and to support our Team as their racing focus changes and evolves.

Short Course Training Plans, on sale for 30% off through March 13th!
20% off through March 31st!

Short Course training plan features:

• 12 and 20wk versions
  • 20wk plans are 10wks General Preparation and 10wks Race Preparation
  • 12wk plans are Race Preparation Phase only.
• Threshold and Vo2Max focus blocks — improved through 6yrs and 8 rewrites of our OutSeason plans, we’ve perfected when to change up the training stimulus, for bike and run, to ensure you never plateau and your fitness is always building towards a peak on race day.
• Six months access to the Training Plan Support Wiki — a growing repository of resources to support your training plan.
• An opportunity to join TeamEN for only $29/mo, compared to $129/mo. As a member you’ll have:
  • Open access to ALL of our nearly 30 training plans: OutSeason, Short Course, Half and Full Ironman!
  • Access to hundreds of members-only podcasts and videos
  • 24/7 support from the Team and Coaches — plug into the vibe and mojo of an active, knowledgeable, and supportive community that’s grown from 80 to 600 athletes in just 4yrs.

Here’s a sample training week (click the image for the full view):

Popularity: 16% [?]

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

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!

Popularity: 23% [?]

the possibilities are endless
photo credit: cassicat4

Every year people just get faster. Equipment gets better, technology improves, finish times seem to get faster…it’s all part of that seemingly inexorable march to a bigger better (faster) world. But at the same time, we know that nothing is guaranteed. All the fancy equipment in the world won’t put you ahead of someone who has out-trained, out-prepared and/or out-raced you. So shop all you want, but know that if you are truly going to be a better triathlete next season, you are going to have to raise the bar in many areas of your athletic life.

With a combined 20 years of coaching experience, and a toolkit developed from leading a Team of over 500 athletes, we have seen almost every possible combination of money, time and effort in the quest for a personal best. Whether you are racing for Kona, out to set a new benchmark time or just looking to finish, you can benefit from our list of refined tips. Nothing is easy in our sport, but with the proper preparation and focus, almost anything is possible. So without further ado..

#1 — Pick One Race, Just One

It’s really tempting to have a season full of activity and racing. From the perspective of your comfy armchair, all snuggled up with a laptop, a hot chocolate and your credit card, you can easily sign up for a ton of races. And you’ll feel good about it until, say, halfway through your season when you all of a sudden need to do some serious triage — work, injury, family, will all combine to take your pretty spreadsheet schedule and tear it to shreds.

We suggest that you pick one single A race for the year. This is the race that you are training towards; it’s the sun around which all your other races orbit. When you need to make sacrifices and changes, they are all done from the perspective of making this one race be your best.  This isn’t to say you only do one race, or sacrifice everything else, just that there is no doubt in your mind or heart which race matters.

Some folks like to schedule “back up” events, should the former not happen or not go as planned. If you can afford it, the secondary option is a nice-to-have, especially since so many races sell out months in advance.

Side Benefit — Keeping your racing limited, or at least focused, is a great way to save a ton of cash. Triathlons aren’t cheap, and the associated travel, lodging and food costs can make even a sprint triathlon run well over $500 when the books are done.

Train Fast to Go Fast

While everyone wants to get faster, there seems to be some serious confusion in the triathlon space around how exactly that final speed can be attained. Legend and old-school coaching books continue to sell the need for many long, aerobic miles before speed can be properly added…which is all well and good if you are a PRO with 25 to 30 hours a week to train. Since we all live in a world where 14 hours is more attainable, our training approach has to shift if we want to see the same results and keep our jobs, stay married, maintain relations with our kids, etc.

Since 2007 we have been pushing our Fast Before Far approach, whereby we use the winter months to improve our athletes speed and strength at threshold. Once the weather turns and the need to add volume hits, we drop the intensity and add more miles. The net being that 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…often making them 30 minutes faster than last years version of themselves, and we haven’t even started to ride longer than 1. 5 hours yet. Spring is our favorite time of the year, when we unleash the Team on their training partners and hear the stories about dropping the back, putting the hurt on, and leaving lots of folks scratching their heads.

Learn All You Can About the Course & Racing

One of the biggest advantages that the members of Team EN have on the competition is that we have raced just about every single endurance event in the US. Learning about a course, conditions, equipment needs is only a search away for a race report. Some folks take it a step further to learn about lodging, family activities and more…whatever your focus, the more you can learn about your A race the better off you’ll be from a mental and physical standpoint.

Actually training on the course itself is another critical advantage. There is no substitute for actually pushing your bike — or your body — over the race course. From turns to bumps to visual landmarks, you can really build out an understanding of the event that will pay huge dividends on race day.

If you need to, organize your own training weekend on the course. You might consider attending one of our free Triathlon Rallies, or perhaps you’ll be on site to volunteer on race weekend and sign up for the next edition of the race. Maybe you’ll consider one of our Course Talks. Whatever you decide, know this should be high on your list if you have high expectations for race day!

Be Miserly With Your Time

Being serious about triathlon requires a significant time investment on your part. Early morning sessions, juggling multiple schedules, handling fatigue at work and home, these are all part of the race experience that few discuss. You might not notice the difference, living at the center of your own personal storm, but your friends, family and co-workers most certainly will notice the change.

Do yourself (and everyone else!) a favor and really examine your training before you start executing it. Odds are if you are following an old-school program where miles and time in the saddle are the main focus, at very low intensity levels, then you’ll start by putting in 14-16 hours a week. 4-5,000 yd swims, 3 hour bikes and 2 hour runs will be the norm and the numbers will only go up over the course of your year, but with little tangible benefit for your overall fitness (or race performance).

If you can save time by training smarter, go for it. Inside Endurance Nation we do this by leveraging intensity in our training plans to make sure each session is effective and as time-crunched as possible. We’d much rather have you on the start line healthy, happy, and ready to execute than have you show up mentally wasted, physically unstable, and emotionally burnt out from too much training.

Spend Your Money Wisely

Between racing, travel and equipment, the average triathlete can drop a ton of money into their passion. There are many things that money can (and can’t buy), but know this for sure: everyone knows that triathletes have money to spend. You will find coaches out there who will charge you more than $1500 a month (with a six month minimum) for coaching services…for comparison, the annual total is more than tuition at a good community college…all for your hobby!

In our experience the fastest athletes, coached or not, where the smartest and hardest working folks we know. Paying for someone else to do your thinking matters when your input matters little, say for your taxes. But paying someone else to take charge of your passion and dream is another story altogether…and that decision shouldn’t be made lightly.

Instead of buying someone else, consider investing in yourself. From getting leaner to improving your diet and recovery, there are countless ways to spend money that improve your overall performance and well-being. In a shameless plug, we can tell you that our training plans are in their 8th generation, refined annually by the Team and contain access to our online library of learning resources, including podcasts. These plans are on sale January 3 to 9th, 2011 – at 30% off! Learn more in the EN Store here.

At the end of the day, your overall race day performance is the result of countless decisions. If you can get the big ones right, the little ones will fall into place…good luck!

Popularity: 20% [?]

It’s been less than a month since we announced our “Cash for Clunkers” training plan trade-in program and we wanted to give you an update:

We have paid over $4,000 so triathletes don’t have to train with their old, clunker training plans!

Our email filter of these training plan trade-in receipts reads like a Who’s Who of high-dollar, old skool coaches. Exchange reasons vary widely, but include:

• Out dated training methods;
• Ridiculous volume of training across an entire season;
• Injuries and burn-out from attempting to follow the other plans;
• Same workouts (and weeks) across entire seasons, and many more…

Endurance Nation Is Here to Help You Break The Cycle
Let Us Help You Get Stronger & Faster Today!

Many of these customers have gone on to take advantage of our double top secret training plan upgrade option to become full members at a discounted price.

This is how the program works:

• Have you trained with another training plan in the last calendar year? If so, we want to buy that plan back from you!
• Purchase an Endurance Nation OS training plan, on sale through December 31st for 20% off.
• Send us the receipt of ANY competing training plan and we’ll write you a check for 100% of the value of your clunker-plan, not to exceed the purchase price of your OS plan.
• Go here for complete details.

Thanks and stay tuned for another update when the Cash For Clunkers program ends on 12/31/2010!

Popularity: 18% [?]