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

It’s that time again, when we get to report on the data that really matters. Forget about w/kg, vDOT, or your LTHR…let’s talk about giving real money to organizations that are making a difference in the lives of others and improving the quality of life for us all.

Every month in 2011, Endurance Nation has pledged to award member or training plan athletes who are racing to raise money for a particular charity.  So far in 2011 we’ve donated $6000 to our athletes’ charities of choice. Our 2011 annual commitment is $24,000 — a lot in some ways, but not enough in others.

Please review the organization below and the amazing athlete that supports them. If you have the time and the means, we’d appreciate you continuing what these he has started by adding a contribution via their individual donation page.

Jim Yanoschik, Salvation Army/JCPenny ChildSpree (Help Jim make a difference here.)

ChildSpree is a joint program with the Salvation Army and JC Penney to send needy children into JC Penney to obtain new school clothes.  This year’s event is July 31st and we start at 6:00 am with 200 children standing in line.  The children are matched up with a shopping chaperone and they are given a $125 gift card.  After shopping the children are given school supplies and breakfast and reunited with their parents.  The reason that it matters to me is the FEELING that everyone that is involved with this event gets when a child comes out of the store with a huge grin and the parents have tears in their eyes.

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It’s that time again, when we get to report on the data that really matters. Forget about w/kg, vDOT, or your LTHR…let’s talk about giving real money to organizations that are making a difference in the lives of others and improving the quality of life for us all.

Every month in 2011, Endurance Nation has pledged to award $250 to up to eight (8) member or training plan athletes who are racing to raise money for a particular charity. Our 2011 annual commitment is $24,000 — a lot in some ways, but not enough in others.

Please review the list of organizations below and the amazing athletes that support them. If you have the time and the means, we’d appreciate you continuing what these folks have started by adding a contribution via their individual donation pages.

February 2011 KickStart Recipients

Robert Diday, The Hall Education Fund, Inc.

“The Hall Education Fund provides scholarship funds to nurture and enhance the educational opportunities and goals of students with demonstrated financial need who are residents of New Brunswick, NJ.

This fund has been in existence since November 25, 1808, and has provided scholarship funds to many poor students since that time.”

Shannon Scott, Children’s Tumor Foundation (Help Shannon make a difference here.)

“My 4 year old daughter Scarlett has a genetic disorder called Neurofibromatosis. She was diagnosed a little over a year ago, and has large tumors reaching from her clavicle, up to her eye socket. One tumour wraps around her larynx and throat; she’s already had one surgery to help mimize the tumor’s impact on her breathing, but docs say any more surgery would be far too risky.   Because there is no cure for NF, my husband and I raise funds for NF Research.

We have a blog called www.scarlettscott.com that gives more details about our amazing Scarlet.”

Jim Maas, Multiple Sclerosis Society (Help Jim make a difference here.)

“This cause matters to me because my aunt is battling MS right now. She has lost her vision at times and battles with crippling body aches. She is relatively young (38) and with no cure in sight we know it will only get worse. She is a great person, she worked for an adoption agency for a while and during her time there she worked on a case with four brothers ages 5-13. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t find a home that would take them all in. Not wanting to see the boys split up, SHE TOOK ALL OF THEM IN!!!! Already having two teenage boys herself we thought she was crazy but felt that she was doing a truly heroic thing, now these boys are young men or teenagers themselves and we were fortunate enough to see them grow up before our eyes in OUR family. She is truly a angel in those boys’ eyes (as well as our family’s)and it is unfair she has been inflicted with this disease, that’s why I ride in the Tour De Farms every year. It’s a great organization that puts so much effort into research and comforting the people with this disease. The ride is two days, 100 miles the first and 75 the second. I’m the geek who shows up TT bike, disc rear, tri suit every year and smashes myself, not because it’s great training for Ironman Louisville but because I have the ability to, unlike my aunt. This is why this cause matters to me.”

Joe Roof, YMCA’s Partners with Youth Program (Help Joe make a difference here.)

“I am race director for the Tom Hoskins Memorial Triathlon and a board member of the Columbia YMCA. I also started our Triathlon club three years ago with a mission…a club that gives back! We have grown to over 70 members and held our first event last year. Our goal was twofold, raise money for the YMCA’s charity, Partners with Youth, and raise awareness for bicycle safety. We raised $8000 for Partners with Youth!!  We aso honored the memory of Tom Hoskins, a local cyclist killed on a charity ride in 2007 when struck by a motorist allegedly on her cell phone.
A donation from my team at EN would get us a step closer to our goal this year of raising $10,000 and continuing our efforts to make our roads safer.
For more information on the race series go to www.ytriseries.com.
I appreciate your consideration!!”

Bill Fritton, Irondads for a Cure/Curesearch (Help Bill make a difference here.)

“Mike and I met a few years ago when we both started participating in triathlon. During the past several years we have grown close as friends and our families and kids have become friends as well. Last year when his son was born with cancer this seemed to me the most unfair thing possible. To have a life lost after only 27 days to such a horrible disease just did not seem right. I remember hearing that Mike and his family had decided to stop the experimental treatments because the doctors had so advised. I cannot even imagine having to make that kind of decision regarding my child. Makes one appreciate how much we have each and every day. Anyway, there was not a whole lot I could do at the time to help with the situation. So if doing this race and helping raise a little money along the way to possibly help others facing a similar situation it seems like a good thing to do.”

Suzanne Kinsky, AIDS United (Help Suzanne make a difference here.)

“AIDS United is the organization I work for. In my current position, I manage a grant program that sends money straight to the community to support services to get people with HIV/AIDS into and maintained in medical care. Our goal is to connect 3500 people to care in the next three years. Money raised by this event will contribute to this effort. I am so excited by the innovative programs with whom I’m able to work and I desperately want to see each project succeed.

In addition, part of the funds raised by this fundraiser will also go to the Washington AIDS Partnership, a DC-based nonprofit for whom I used to work. In addition to supporting HIV prevention and care services in DC, where HIV rates are higher than many third world countries, the Partnership runs a critical AmeriCorps program that places 12 volunteers throughout the community each year. The volunteers fill important roles (HIV testers, educators, case managers, etc.) during their year of service, and afterward many go on to medical, law, and public health careers serving the poor and underserved.

Fundraising for this event is through a program called Team to End AIDS (T2EA), which is similar in model to Team in Training. I’d much rather do a triathlon than a marathon, honestly, but it’s really important to me to not only support my organization but also be a part of the team with my colleagues in the first year of this program. I’d love it if my “other” team, EN, could be able to support me in this. Either way, I think it’s really amazing that you guys have committed to giving back in this way. “

Ebe Boettcher, American Cancer Society/DetermiNation (Help Ebe make a difference here.)

“I was working with a patient in my hospital who had bone cancer. He was going to start radiation after the Thanksgiving holiday (great place to be over the holiday…not so much!) when we started talking about riding bikes and a park that he rides through every day I had raced in 2 months before. He started telling me how much he admired my tenacity and drive to do an Ironman. I asked him how he could say that when he was staring death straight in the eye…he told me “Ebe, I don’t have a choice, I am going to die, but I am not going to go out without a fight. You have a choice, and you have chosen to get off your ass and do something amazing with your life.”That statement is what gets me through 2×20 minute/ 4×2.5/ and 2x 15 @85%.
2nd Reason
Uncle Randy. Randy Maifeld was one of the finest human beings to walk the earth. Everything he did made this place wonderful. He was a cycleist, landscape designer, artist, father, husband, renosaunce man…he passed away from cancer and showed everyone he knew how to live life to the fullest.”

Lance Carter, Team in Training/LLS (Help Lance make a difference here.)

“I have been a Team in Training tri coach for 9 years.  When I began coaching I did not personally know any Leukemia/Lymphoma cancer patients/survivors.  (Though I am a cancer survivor – malignant melanoma 1997 diagnosed/surgically removed).  Over the years I’ve come to hear many sad stories of lost loved ones and a few happy stories from the lucky ones.  I was always amazed at the participants for getting out there and asking for money.  It was a prospect that scared the bleep out of me personally.  I finally decided that I needed to become a participant, face a fear, and take my turn fundraising.  So here I am!”

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If you want to join Endurance Nation and apply for your $250 fundraising “kickstart”, please visit our Join Page here. If the Team is closed you can buy a training plan or join the WaitList for the next available opening.

I will be doing my first Half Ironman this year at Oklahoma City OK, and by donating money to my cause you are helping me get to that finish line.“

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It’s that time again, when we get to report on the data that really matters. Forget about w/kg, vDOT, or your LTHR…let’s talk about giving real money to organizations that are making a difference in the lives of others and improving the quality of life for us all.

Every month in 20111, Endurance Nation has pledged to award $250 to up to eight (8) member or training plan athletes who are racing to raise money for a particular charity. Our 2011 annual commitment is $24,000 — a lot in some ways, but not enough in others.

Please review the list of organizations below and the amazing athletes that support them. If you have the time and the means, we’d appreciate you continuing what these folks have started by adding a contribution via their individual donation pages.

January 2011 KickStart Recipients

Zach Copeland, Epilepsy Foundation. (Help Zach make a difference here.)

“I thought it would be cool to race for a cause this year. I picked the Epilepsy Foundation to help my wife Kristen and my Step-Sister Delacey who struggles with Epilepsy everyday. By donating to my cause you are giving me motivation to go out there everyday and Swim-Bike-Run.

Carrie Chavez, Blazeman Foundation (Help Carrie make a difference here.)

“Hi friends and family, One of my dear friends and teammate from FMRC was diagnosed with ALS in 2010. He is a husband, father of 2 boys, an amazing athlete and a sweet friend. Our team had begun raising funds for ALS years before this diagnoses for Pete. This year our ALS team event takes on a whole new meaning for me. Please consider making a donation to fight ALS. We will be hosting a Spin a Thon from 5:30AM-10 PM on 2/5/11, at Club Sport in San Ramon. 16.5 hours. The same amount of time it took Jon Blais to complete the IM in Hawaii in 2005 while battling ALS. Jon lost his battle with ALS 2 years later. A minimum $60 donation will reserve you a bike in any of the classes, you just pick. Sign up soon as the classes are filling up. Steve and I are teaching 2 of the 90 minute classes. 7-8:30am and 8:30-10 am. Please help us find a cure.”

Todd Manning, World Vision (Help Todd make a difference here.)

“Quite simply it is about giving back and being a blessing to others because I have been blessed by God. This is about helping those in parts of the world (this year Africa) who are in desperate need of the basics in life. While I’m fortunate to be able to think about the latest race wheels for my tri bike these people are just looking to have clean water and nutritious food. World Vision helps make that happen and that is why I’m partnering with them and my local church (Canyon Hills) to make a difference.”

Mark Baumli, San Francisco AIDS Foundation (Help Mark make a difference here.)

“I am riding to end AIDS.  I have had numerous friends who have died from this terrible disease and riding 545 miles over 7 days is one small thing I can do to help.”

Scott Davis, National Multiple Sclerosis Society (Help Scott make a difference here.)

“I originally started riding this event because a good friend wanted me to ride with him, but being that this is my 7th year, I have become very involved in helping find a cure for this debilitating disease.

I ride in honor of my wife’s Aunt who has MS, several friends, and as I found out last year, a former classmate from my High School, who is just 42 yrs old, and has MS in its final stages.

I never thought I would be as involved as I am now with this cause, but If we don’t raise the money to support our local chapters, and the national research nobody will.”

Olivia Spytak, Team Sweat Equity/LiveWell Colorado (Help Olivia make a difference here.)

“Team Sweat Equity allows athletes raise money for a number of local charities. My running partner (Monica) and I have chosen to focus our support on LiveWell Colorado.

While there are other worthy charities supporting children’s education and enrichment programs, as we see it, LiveWell’s charter of developing healthy eating habits and active life styles helps ensure a sound nutritional foundation for kids. If kids are well fueled and are getting the physical and emotional benefits of physical activity, they are set up to be more happy and successful in learning, play, and even those enrichment activities supported by other organizations.

By delivering its healthy eating programs and activity initiatives in schools and communities, LiveWell has the potential to have significant impact on the culture and behavior across Colorado which could help slow obesity among our children.

Monica and I are thrilled to have this chance to build awareness for this great organization and bring in solid financial support for the cause. Please help us with your support!”

Martin Whist, Challenged Athletes Foundation (Help Martin make a difference here.)

“I am truly inspired by these people who not only overcome the challenges of living an everyday life with disabilities, but go one step further and take on the rigors of training and athletics.  Their desire to be active and overcome obstacles is awe inspiring. We all know how hard it is to get to the pool at 5 am, but imagine with no legs!! I personally can not. To me they are super human, extra-abled, not disabled! If I can help that child who has to sit and watch from the sidelines get out there a play I want to. Now I can through CAF. CAF is a great organization of which I am excited and honored to be a part of.“

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If you want to join Endurance Nation and apply for your $250 fundraising “kickstart”, please visit our Join Page here. If the Team is closed you can buy a training plan or join the WaitList for the next available opening.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Wicked Smart Members (WSM’s) are TeamEN athletes who’ve been recognized by their peers as being…wicked smart…with wicked triathlon coaching skills. Whenever a WSM speaks on pretty much any topic, their opinions and advice carry as much or more weight as the coaches themselves.

WSM nominations are submitted by the Team, not the coaches, with zero regard for how fast the athlete is. Instead, the WSM is acknowledged and respected for their knowledge and experience, and for sharing those openly with their peers on every occasion.

Winter 2010 Wicked Smart Members

Al Truscott

Al is an age group winner and course record holder at IMCDA and IMAZ…but we don’t really care about that. Al is wicked smart on a range of training and racing topics, and always steps up to the plate to share his expertise with his teammates. 
Listen to Al’s IMCDA’10 race report interview here

Matt Samojeden

Matt, at IMLou, flashing the EN Gang Sign

Matt has gone from the couch to Kona in 2.5yrs, 2 of those with TeamEN…but we don’t care about that. In the lead up to IMLou’10, Matt used his wicked smarts and mad Excel skills to do some wicked smart analysis of historical run performances from hundreds of athletes at dozens of Ironmans, across in a variety of terrain and heat conditions. Matt shared this tool with the team and then applied these lessons to his performance at IMLou: on a wicked hot day, Matt ran down his competition and qualified for Kona…because he’s wicked smart and raced better than everyone else. Matt is now leading a team of WSM’s and smart computer types to create an even more comprehensive modeling and pacing tool for the team.
Listen to Matt’s IMLou’10 race report and “couch to Kona” interview here.

Mike Graffeo

Mike getting it done and looking great at IMUSA'10

Mike has been with us for a couple years now and has really absorbed the EN training and racing philosophies. He’s also a great communicator and always eager to pay it forward by helping his teammates solve their training and racing issues.

Dr Kitima “Kitboo” Boonvisudhi

Kitboo, cheating on her tri-bike!!

Doc Kitboo has lent her medical expertise to the team for years in our all-volunteer, member-led “Medical Help Forum.” This summer she used her skills to create for the Team a wicked smart wiki post on hydration. Finally, she is wicked smart in all things power training and racing related.
Meet Kitima here, listen to her IMWI’10 race report interview here

Leigh Boyle

Leigh in one of her many "hats"

Leigh is an ENOG (Original Gangsta), following Rich over from his Crucible Fitness days. She’s a wicked smart physical therapist in New Hampshire and has used her skills to create a range of core strength, self-help, and injury re-hab goodness for the team. She has also completed two Tours of California with us and is scheduled for a third in 2011. Be sure to check out her website, Athletes Treating Athletes, and share it with your friends!

Hayes Sanborn

Hayes representing EN while getting his cross on

Hayes is another ENOG, also following Rich over from Crucible Fitness. He’s been sharing his training and racing knowledge with his teammates for years, and is an unofficial EN Sleeper Cell Leader in the Midwest, organizing camps and riding weekends on the IMWI course for his teammates

Interested in learning more?
Go here to read about our TeamEN Community Standards, or create a free trial membership below

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At this time, December 2010, nearly all of our 500 athletes are training inside the Team with our OutSeason training plan. They have grouped themselves into October, November, December, and January OutSeason groups, and have begun to share workout results and notes with each other. This is a great motivational and accountability tool, and is just one of the huge value-addedeseses (?) of being a member. But…

As members post their workout data, it’s clear that many are possibly riding harder than the prescribed intensity. So let’s sit around the table, have a beer or two, and I’ll give you my thoughts on how you can apply our experience with this stuff to your job as a self-coached triathlete. But first, lets step back to give you a little power primer. I’m going to speak “power-geek” in this post because it allows us to frame this discussion around objective numbers.

Typical OS forum post by our over-achieving members: “I just rode 3 x 12′ @ 1.08, 1.09, 1.05 IF. Yay me!!”

This doode is riding with power. He did some testing to determine his Functional Threshold Power (FTP), let’s say 200 watts. Intensity Factor (IF) is how hard he rode, as a fraction of this FTP. So an IF of 1.05 means he rode at 105% of his FTP of 200w, or 210w. So…what’s the problem? The problem, or issue, is that the prescribed intensity for the workout was 95-100% of FTP, not 105%. And once you get over 100%, things get real hard, real fast and too much too hard can put you into a hole and compromise your other sessions.

These are my questions and observations as a triathlon coach:

Does Timmy have an accurate FTP?
That is, did he have a good test, is he then using that FTP to calc these numbers, and is his FTP still an accurate measurement of his fitness (ie, has his fitness improved/FTP gone up since his last test)?

Riding 3 x 12′ at those IF’s is doable, given an accurate FTP. It’s a solid session, no doubt, and the drop between the 2nd and 3rd intervals tells me that what’s likely happening is a combination of an accurate FTP, the guy just crushing himself on #1 and #2, and paying for a bit on #3. But he didn’t completely implode on #3 (still above FTP). In short, it’s possible to overachieve on these relatively shorter intervals and get away with it. But if he were putting up those IF’s for intervals of 15-20′, that would be a sure sign that his FTP has likely increased since his last test and he’s ready for a bump.

Should he bump his FTP up?
Our OutSeason plans include power testing about every 4-8wks, so you can test your fitness and move your FTP upwards accordingly. And the “rule” is if you think your fitness has improved, prove it by testing or racing faster and use that proof as permission to then train at higher wattages…but that’s the general rule. Let’s all have another beer and continue to talk to each other smart adults able to manage our own training, pay attention to our bodies, and not drive them through a brick wall…

In general, yes, it’s best to wait until a formal test before you bump your FTP up. The reason is that this workout above doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Far from it. Timmy will follow this up with a hard interval run on Wednesday, a similar bike interval session on Thursday…and more intervals on Saturday and a hard run on Sunday.

So Coach Dick’s Don’t Be Stoopid Rule, to be applied to every situation where you feel the need for speed, and the ability to over achieve a bit in a session, is:

How will what I’m doing right now affect my ability to successfully complete downstream workouts?

So when Timmy has his nose on the dial for the second interval and can feel a 1.09 IF ride in the works, he should ask himself “Self…the workout sez to ride at 95-100% but you’re tracking towards a 110% interval. Is this the smart thing to do, considering the fact that you have to back up it in 24hrs with a run interval session that kicked your ass last week. And the run is your weaker leg…and you’re going to be up late tonight busting out that project for your boss (damn job!!)”

If it were me and the answer was:

• Yes — I would let it ride and consider that my over achievement (and sorta-comfort doing so) = my FTP has increased since my last test. I “might” do some math* to establish a new FTP, and take that for a spin on Thursday to see how it feels. Or I might wait to see if I can repeat the performance on Thursday and, if so, do the math and increase my FTP.
• No — I’ll back off, sit down, shut up, do what I’m told and keep my eye on the bigger game — to do the best I can do with EVERY session, not just hit a homerun on Tuesday only to booger Wednesday and Thursday.

Now within this discussion I’ll say it’s more ok to overachieve on the bike than on the run. The bike is a much lower risk activity and so “can” warrant a little bit of risk-taking. However, the run, especially what we have you doing during the OS, is much different and no joke. You DEFINITELY should wait until your next run test to prove you’ve earned the right to run faster in training. You need to have a much longer term view of your get-faster run project, assigning yourself the task of getting much faster on the run between now and September vs perhaps a now through April time frame for the bike.

“Yeah, yeah, blah, blah…so I can ride harder than the prescribed intensity on my rides or not?”
I’m saying you can be smart, think things through on every ride, keeping your eye on the long term goals and bigger picture: your job is to do the workout today that creates conditions for success TOMORROW and the next day and the next. And if you need help, just ask Patrick and me in the forums, or post your questions to our Facebook page.

*The Math — or how to determine your FTP from a breakthru ride:
One FTP test is to do a 20′ time trial, subtract 5% from your average watts and call the result your FTP. Using one of my own recent rides as an example: every Tuesday since the Dawn of Time I’ve been doing hill repeats on a 5k, 5-6% hill about 2 miles from my house. This week I put up 307w and 1.10 IF on the second repeat, after about 1.05 on the first, and I then comfortably went 1.02 IF on the third repeat. So I multiply 307w x .95 = 291w FTP, call it 290w. I’ll take this FTP for a spin today (Thursday) and this weekend to see how it feels. More importantly, I know myself well enough to know that if it’s set a little too hot, I’m pretty good at managing individual sessions, and sessions across the week, so I can achieve all of my goals for every session.

Rich Strauss
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