Endurance Nation | Online Triathlon Coaching & Community

TeamEN had 20 athletes on the course last weekend in Louisville. Many of them are eager to tell their stories and we present them here to you in a consolidated blog post. Be sure to check back frequently as this will be updated over the coming weeks!

Aimee Hendrigan: Listen in as Aimee breaks down her first ever Ironman, from her humble beginnings to a great overall race and awesome finish!  –> Listen to Aimee Here

Michael Johnson: Listen in as Micheal breaks down her first ever Ironman, from her humble beginnings to a great overall race and awesome finish!  –> Listen to Michael Here

Dan Gilliat: Listen in as Dan breaks down her first ever Ironman, from her humble beginnings to a great overall race and awesome finish!  –> Listen to Dan Here

Other Louisville Resources

Video Interviews — We took a bunch of finishline videos from the event. You can view them by checking out the official EN YouTube channel. Here are some direct links as well: here, here, here, and here are a few.

Pictures — We had a lot of pictures come out of the weekend, and they are all posted on SmugMug for your viewing pleasure.  If you are on the Team and need to submit pics, please email them to admin@endurancenation.us.

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Trent, Dave and Mike of Team EN meeting up at the Ironman USA finish line!

Endurance Nation has been promoting its Four Keys of Ironman Execution for several years now. Our macro level approach to organizing your expectations and managing your day has proven successful for thousands of Ironman athletes across the globe. We get e-mails and feedback all the time, and nowhere is the success of the system more apparent than at the finish line. We strive to “catch” all of our athletes and hear their stories right away — the ups, the downs, and more importantly how they handled the challenges to craft their own personal race.  After watching Ironman USA 2010 of this year I learned yet another powerful application of the Four Keys system: it is also very useful as a race review tool.

A Four Keys Review

First, to recap, let’s talk about what the Four Keys of Execution are.  They are, in order:

1. Race day is about Execution, Not Fitness.
2. Nothing matters until the line, which is Mile 18.
3. We get to the line, and we set the conditions of success by Racing Inside A Box. Everything that goes inside that box is what you can control. Everything outside of that box is what you can’t control.
4. Your one thing. At the end of the day, when you hit the line, your body will begin to push back when it doesn’t want to continue, and your mind must have that one thing in place that you can pose a very convincing argument and keep moving forward despite that you want to slow down.

So, what does the above mean from a post-race perspective? When you are evaluating your race, the number one piece of data that you have on hand is your finishing time is.  It’s very easy to know whether or not you achieved your goal time. But that information doesn’t give any detailed description of about how your race day played out.

After all, it only takes one mechanical to throw off your finish time — but you could have still had an excellent race. The true measure of your race is not the final time at the finish line, but how you got there.

The Four Keys Evaluation Approach

Here’s how you can use the Four Keys system to effectively review your race:

Step One: Did you race according to principles of execution or did your fitness dictate your day? This is a decision we all have to make at many points during the day when we have to decide if we want to accelerate away from someone on the swim, if we’re going to be aggressive into a hill, or if we’re going to run quickly for the first six miles.

Step Two: Where did you hit your line on race day? It’s going to show up for all of us at some point in time and perhaps it was at Mile 18 or maybe it came earlier. Knowing where it happened gives us further insight as to how you paced your day: did it happen on he run, did it happen on a bike, was it late or early in the day? Where did you find yourself having the great mental versus physical debate that determines your finish.

Step Three: Did you race inside the box, focusing on what you could control? Or did your find yourself outside of the box focusing on external factors?  There are countless opportunities during the course of your Ironman day where you will be bumping up against elements of friction in the competition that will or will not allow you to operate in a clean, efficient manner. Did you handle them well?  Were you able to do what you needed to do or not?  What was it that forced you outside of your zone and how can you improve upon this next time?

Step Four: Your one thing. The line happens for all of us across an Ironman. When you hit it, you’re going to need that one thing to be ready. How did your one thing work out?  Was it powerful enough? Where you mentally strong enough? How effectively were you able to execute given your condition? All of those questions get at the meat of the issue: were you able to continue your race, and to continue executing, when the chips were down?

Conclusion

The Four Keys is a great starting point for deeper introspection into your race, but it also allows for a very quick assessment of did I or did I not have a good day.  Your ability to hit a specific time or a goal time in a day that is as long as an Ironman is pretty arbitrary.  There’s so many things that can go wrong, but you can quickly scan through your Four Keys list and decide whether or not you had a well-executed race despite the conditions.

Listening to perfect days and tales of massive PRs is nice, but they aren’t educational. It was very powerful to hear how most of our finishers at Ironman Lake Placid were able to process their race in such a way as to understand they still had a fantastic day given the constraints that they faced in terms of the course, the competition, the conditions, etc. You can listen to some of their podcast interviews here.

Seeing them be able to assess their day and emerge from that assessment with an understanding that they still were successful even though they weren’t able to meet their goal time, to me, as a coach is incredibly powerful. It’s a reminder that athletes of all ability levels can not only execute like a professional regardless of how fast they are, but that they can learn from those experiences, incorporate them into their racing schedule and continue to grow as athletes.

I’m confident that the next time these athletes race, they’re really going to crush it out there…and I hope you will too!

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You’ll receive a FREE Four Keys of Ironman Execution DVD, a 10% discount on any EN plan, and an invitation to create a FREE 14-day TeamEN trial membership!

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We appreciate your patience as we update you on our Team’s performance, first with pictures and video (with more on our Facebook page), then with our Race Report Podcast Series, and now with their results and some excerpts from their race reports in our members-only forum.

Some of you have may have been following our Race Tracker on race day, a neat little tool we’ve built that automagically updates itself on race day with our Team splits. The following is an overview of our results with some additional color commentary added! Yeah, Team EN!

TeamEN IMUSA Results:

Trent Prough — 10:36:08; “Although dissapointed only  in my finish time, I realize it is all to circumstances of the day, and my day was not a perfect one, but I did push through and finished one of the greatest endurance events out there and in the top 5% to 7%.  I am very glad I decided to toe the line and do this race.  It taught me so much about how much I miss my family and also how great of human beings this team has and will help an aging old dad come have a little fun at this big game we all play.”

Paul Gaston — 11:40:52

Scott Davis — 11:30:53; Six minute PR!

Sean Begley — 13:07:51

Steve Perkins — 12:12:57; “This race unfolded almost exactly perfectly for me despite an inauspicious accident right before the swim start. I stepped on something (a rock, I think) and cut the outside of my right foot, just below the little toe about 5 minutes before the cannon went off. I didn’t know how bad it was, but I didn’t think about it, I just focused on the race.

Race execution was almost to a T, and the result was a 14 minute Ironman PR, including a PR for the Ironman marathon by 25 minutes. Once again, the 4 Keys point the way to AG success. “

Barbara Pudiak — 15:17:28

Keith Buell — 12:27:31

Dave Halligan — 11:14:38; One hour thirty minute PR! “I was thrilled. I actually was able to run. After all my stops and starts during training, I was able to run the marathon. What a great day, what a great year of training. The journey was complete, and what a tremendous journey it was. The tough parts were hours in the pain cave, winter runs with frozen icicles on my beard, long runs in the 90’s and torrential downpours, and being so shelled after some rides I couldn’t stand up to take a shower. The good parts were those runs that felt effortless, many encounters with deer, fox, turkeys, and hawks, the rides in NH, CA, and my home roads of Essex county all with such beautiful backdrops, and the peaceful open water swims with my sister as the sun was rising.”

Eric Voboril — 12:27:51 “This IM was the race I’d been hoping to have in my previous 2 tries.   At both IMUK and IMAZ, it seems that I had massive nutritional and hydration breakdowns that left me nearly crawling through the run.  This time, I got it dialed in and I was running all the way to the finish.  I have Coach Patrick and Rich to thank, but also the great advice from fellow ENers after my last IM and the staff at Infinit Nutrition.”

Mike Graffeo — 11:53:15, First Timer!

Joe Priore — 11:45:53

Greg Crofford — 11:54:10

Kevin Barr — 12:55:22

Carly Costanza — 14:59:47

Fergus Whelan — 11:38:05

Derek Sumida — 11:19:27; “Thanks to my sister, mother and girlfriend for supporting me and dealing with me all year and week long. Thanks to all the EN peeps from feedback on the forums to all those who were on the course cheering us on. Last thanks to Patrick and Rich you guys are awesome, your knowledge and race experience put me years ahead of where i would be otherwise. You’ve all contributed to making my first IM experience a great one.”

Cary Blanco — 13:30:59, First Timer! “My first Ironman experience was an truly amazing one, I had a smile on my face the whole day. I executed EN style and finished where I wanted to be.”

Dana Sharp — 16:15:31, Mother of one & full-time worker bee in her return to the IM distance! “Congrats to all the EN peeps who participated in IMLP, finisher or not.  It is a super tough course that commands respect and props to all of you for getting out there and doing it! Secondly, thanks to the entire EN family and coaches.  This was one long year and it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the forum and the coaches.”

Terry Wyatt — 11:33:28

Suzanne Kinsky — 12:56:10, First Timer!  “At the top of Papa Bear I saw Dana’s family in their tie-dye shirts. So fun! They whooped it up and made me feel like a rock star. Then I was thrilled to see Chris G after the turn. Seriously, if I think about the highlights of my race, most of them involve the people I saw along the way. Familiar faces became really, really important on race day.”

David Martin — 15:41:43

Kevin Lanahan — 11:29:45

Grant Stauffer — 12:43:30

Atif Malik — 14:24:20

Jed Vanichkachorn — 11:15:25

Jeremy Dodds — 11:27:55

Tom Campbell — 13:57:42

Mike Allen — 12:08:19

Lou Marrero — 14:15:00

And, of course, we get input from folks who aren’t on the Team but use our plans to achieve their race day best. Here’s a great example!

Hey Rich and Patrick,

The subject covers my main point, but I can expand on it a little bit. I did IMLP this past weekend, had a huge PR, and it’s pretty much all thanks to your training plans. I did Placid in ‘08 in the monsoon in 11:35. For ‘09 Placid, I got myself a power meter and trained somewhat EN style based on reading Training and Racing with a Power Meter and did it in 10:38. For 2010, I got your OutSeason and then Advanced IM plans and ended up crossing the line in 9:51:00 last Sunday! It was hands down the best race I’ve ever executed.

I came up to Patrick after the 4 Keys talk last Friday, introduced myself and basically said thanks for putting out awesome products at a great value, but I wanted to just say thanks again. There’s no way I would have taken 1:45 off my IM time in 2 years and still been happily married if it wasn’t for Endurance Nation. I’ve had at least 15 people over the past couple of days ask me what the hell I’ve been doing to get so much better so quickly, and I always point them to EN and say it’s the best stuff out there for age group triathletes because I really believe that it is.

Thanks again!
David

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Would you like to achieve results like this and have a race weekend experience, for you AND your family, like the one we create for our 25-40 athletes at every US Ironman? Join our Team! Our next round of invitations will be sent to our waiting list on August 9th, 2010. Go here to register to receive an invitation.

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TeamEN had 30 athletes on the course last weekend. Many of them are eager to tell their stories and we present them here to you in a consolidated blog post. Be sure to check back frequently as this will be updated over the coming weeks!

David Halligan: Coach Patrick interviews Dave about his race experience at Ironman USA 2010. Learn how Dave really upped his game from 2008 and how his day played out across the bike (only a 3 minute positive split) and where he entered a “world of hurt” on the run course!

Dana Sharp: Coach Patrick interviews the inimitable Dana Sharp, returning to her first Ironman after having a baby. Learn how she used the EN plans to manage her training time, and our Four Keys guidance to manage her race day! Very informative and inspirational.

Eric Voboril: Coach Patrick from Endurance Nation interview Eric about his race day experience. Eric set a big new PR and had a really solid day across the board for a self-described “average” athlete. Tune in to hear how he got it done!

Cary Blanco: Coach Patrick digs into Cary’s race story to learn more about how he leveraged the Four Keys to make his first time IM experience so powerful and rewarding!

Suzanne Kinsky: Coach Patrick finds out how Suzanne recovers from a broken elbow only seven weeks out from race day (!!!) to lay down a great first-ever (marathon) and Ironman!

Other Lake Placid Resources
In addition to the growing list of athlete resources above, there were a few other EN moments captured on audio for your listening (and learning) pleasure!

Team EN IMUSA Dinner Overview: Coach Patrick records his welcome message and quick overview of the Ironman USA course as presented to the Team during our annual dinner. More than 80 athletes, family members and friends descended on Nicola’s to connect with one another and prepare for a great weekend. We hope you enjoy this podcast and take it as an example of how commited Endurance Nation is to supporting the Age Group triathlete – from our renown training plans to fun, family-oriented race weekend experiences!

Four Keys of Ironman Execution, Ironman USA Version: Coach Patrick delivers the Ironman USA version of our Four Keys of Ironman Execution Talk, live at Ironman Lake Placid in July 2010. Patrick discusses the Four Keys, the guidance used by thousands of successful Ironman finishers, and then describes their application, in detail, to the IMUSA course.

Like what you hear? Think you could benefit from the resources, community and support of Endurance Nation? Interested in joining our team of 400+ Ironman and Half Ironman athletes? Go here!

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Derek Sumida smiled all day long during his first IM, finishing in 11:19!

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The following is a quick recap from IMUSA by Coach Patrick. A full report will come later this week, as well as podcast interviews and more photos. For now you can see our pictures online via SmugMug and learn more about the weekend by cruising our Facebook page. If you like the vibe and want to be a part of Team EN, please sign up for our Waitlist — next opening in mid-August!

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The 2010 edition of Ironman Lake Placid went off pretty much without a hitch. Weather reports all week suggested that it would be wet and pretty ugly. But the day actually turned out to be a pretty good day for racing. Still cool in the mornings with a couple quick showers, but the race kicked off under overcast skies with all reports pointing to a rough and pretty fast swim. People said it was brutal in the water. While the additional 800 people didn’t appear to show up so much in the photographs, they were definitely felt by the athletes in the water.

Out on the bike, it definitely was a tale of two races, Lake Placid being cool with some wind and moisture, while down lower in Keene, Wilmington and Jay it was warm to hot. And, I think that combination of cool and hot really wreaked havoc with a lot of folks. Not to mention the variable pacing issues that many middle of the pack cyclists faced as the course was quite full of athletes. All in all, the strong bikers still went fast…including a 5:07 from the eventual female winner. I was able to ride the course backwards and see many of the EN folks, some twice. Very cool.

Entering the run, it was still somewhat overcast. When the sun did come through it was hot, but for the most part it was cool. The wind did pick up continuously throughout the day, and as a result, some of the runners did face some pretty significant headwinds. Again, the temperatures did fluctuate and if you were unlucky enough to mess up your bike nutrition, you definitely suffered on the run. But, overall, for the team, it was a great race. I alternated hanging out with the Team at the EN tent and spending time at Mile 18 before I rolled into the finish line to start catching athletes.

We had people all across the board setting anything from an hour and a half personal bests to not setting a personal best but still having a great race. One of the great things about Ironman is that each day is unique and while you don’t always get what you wanted, sometimes you get something that’s even more rewarding. I think it’s safe to say our athletes experienced that across the board.

Here are a few post-race video interviews from our YouTube Channel:

Another giant thank you to all the EN athletes and families who made race week and race day so special. A shout out to the athletes who stopped to tell me that our Four Keys of Ironman execution really worked for them. All of you have earned some time off…so take it! We’ll still be here when you get back; take the time to write up your race report and process what did / didn’t work for you so you can be better next time!

Until then, be safe out there and see you on the roads!

Coach Patrick

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