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

We have a tradition of catching all of our athletes at the finishline…and then capturing their experiences on video right away, or a few days later via podcast interview.

If you are interested in racing Ironman Wisconsin, these podcasts especially should very valuable for you. It’s one thing to read the race report of a pro, or a super strong age grouper. It’s another to listen to the race experience of an age grouper, like yourself, and a coach as they extract valuable learning points from their race.

If you’re interested in getting a feel for the vibe of our Team, the videos will be helpful, especially the last one, a very “special” creation by the members!

Race Report Podcasts

• Bob Arsenault: Bob is 47yo chiropractor who set a 30+ min PR at Wisconsin to grab 9th in his age group, running a 3:35 marathon.
• Kitima Boonvisudhi: a General Surgeon from Rochester, NY, power training and racing superstar.
• Michele Cellai: shares with us VERY valuable lessons on adjusting run pace for the heat
• Trevor Garson: first timer executes like a vet!

Finishline Videos

The Endurance Nation at Ironman Wisconsin 2010 Video

Interested in Joining TeamEN?
Become an ENFan today to receive a FREE Four Keys DVD, 10% training plan discount code, and an invitation to our next trial membership opportunity.

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One of our members describes the difference between becoming a TeamEN member vs just using one of our training plans on your own.  Much better than we ever could:

Ed, My 2 cents
I do >95% of my training alone – this is driven by my work and travel schedule.

Some of the benefits to me as a full member are:

• I train with a team / family / friends. We do the mostly the same workouts and support each other’s growth though the season.
• We post how are workouts and test go – we have good days and bad days. It is good to be on an up day and be able to give encouragement to those that had a bad day. When I have a bad day, it is consoling to know that everyone else goes though the peaks and valleys to – it’s not just me being a wimp!
• Seeing other people achieve good results gives me confidence that the plans work and that my results will also come.
• Being a member and posting work out results – keeps me honest and motivates be to do the work out when on some days left to my own I would skip it. This has helped me be consistent in my training which is a huge key to results.
• The value of putting up you race rehearsal and race plans and having them critiques by a group with hundreds of ironman races under their belts can quick point you to the areas of improvement that you may never think of.
• Reading the race reports – the great days and the less than perfect days provides more practical information on how to execute an Ironman and info specifically to a course than all other published work I have ever seen. There are years and years of learning’s embedded in these reports. When I prep for an event I go review all race reports for that event and read them 3 times. It is amazing what you miss on a first read.
• As a member via the forums we are provided an opportunity to help others – provide insights, suggestions, tips tricks. Personally that makes be feel good to “give back to the community”

To get the biggest bang for your membership fee you need to be involved. The more you put in the more you get out of the EN house. Now with that being said that does not mean you need to be online 5 times a day posting 10 things a day. I ebb and flow – driven by time available and need for help / feedback or searching for new information.

Good luck in your decision.
Matt

Become an ENFan to create a free 14-day trial membership and experience our team for yourself.

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The 2010 Ironman Wisconsin was a watershed event for Endurance Nation, with so much special stuff happening that it will likely take us several days to process all of it and share it with you. But let me (Rich) set the stage for you:

2009 — Never Bet Against the EN Chickas

Last year, Saturday night before the race, Patrick and I were having a few beers at the Great Dane with some of our members in town to spectate, volunteer and register for 2010. Beth Schwindt mentioned that about 6 women of EN were thinking of signing up and I, like a dumbass, said “If you can get 10 women to do the race next year I’ll be at Mile 18 in a pink speedo!!” Out comes the cellphone, Beth starts to dial and by the next day we have about 12 women registered. Then, over the course of the year, a total of about 20 women were added to our roster of “EN Chickas” now racing IMWI’10. Yeehaw!

A simple race registration became a movement of huge proportions. The short list:

• Back in the early days of EN, Patrick and I created a Women’s Forum for the ladies. We rarely peek our heads in there, probably for the better, but the traffic and mojo in there is off. the. charts. The women of EN have indeed carved out for themselves a special place in the tri world. With so many women training, learning, and supporting each other virtually for nearly a year…it was just stoopid cool, as the founders and coaches of the community, to sit back and watch it all happen.
• Ironman Wisconsin Tri-Rally — the Chickas began to organize their own training camp and were kind enough to let Patrick and I piggyback on our Tri-Rally onto their event. We had 70+ athletes in attendance, with many EN members traveling to Madison to train on the course and, more importantly, meet and train with each other.
• The Chickas mailed a couple Ironman Wisconsin posters to each other to be displayed in their Pain Caves as they trained together, virtually, for the race. The poster was signed by the receiving Chicka and sent on to the next Chicka. Finally, the posters were presented to Patrick and I at the team dinner on Thursday, a total, and very appreciated, surprise gift.
• Chicka Gear: pink visors, “I’m with Her” t-shirts for their family members and much more.
• Custom speedos: lastly…the speedos. Words can’t describe, see the pictures below, but somehow all of _this_ vibe above was enough to convince over 10 EN Doodes to don the pink and bare it all…mostly, thank goodness!

Race Week

By race week our official roster included 39 EN athletes racing on Sunday. Patrick and I flew into town on Thursday to host the TeamEN dinner at Gray’s Tied House in Verona, with nearly 70 people on the dinner list. Always one of the highlights of these weekends, for Patrick and I, this dinner was extra special as we watched many EN members, who had known each other virtually for years, finally meet in person. Again…just friggin’ cool!

TeamEN, Ironman Wisconsin 2010

The EN Chickas

Four Keys of Ironman Execution Pre-Race Talk

On Friday, Patrick and I hosted our team and the Ironman community for our Four Keys talk, our 7th 4k presentation of this season alone, for a total of over 700 athletes. About 25 EN athletes met me near the Ford display and we were soon joined by the 50+(!) who had met Patrick at the KSwiss booth and followed him upstairs. Within minutes of starting the talk our total attendance was probably north of 130 athletes, likely our biggest turnout ever. Patrick and I got everyone’s minds right about racing Ironman Wisconsin and gave them all a free 4k DVD.

Saturday — Train with the Coaches on the Course

With rain in the forecast, Patrick and I were joined by a couple members in town to spectate on Saturday. We were joined by Matt Ancona, M25-29 IMWI winner last year, scheduled for one of his last long rides before Kona, and new member Brian Comiskey. Somehow, I was able to resist the siren call of my traditional Walgreens parking lot brat in Verona.

Next: Race Recap Part II, Race Day

Below is just a preview of what we have in store for you in Part II. Enjoy!

Interested in joining Endurance Nation?

On September 15th we will invite our ENFans to join us for a free 14-day trial membership. Become an ENFan today to receive an invitation and to create your free trial membership.

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Thirteen TeamEN athletes raced Ironman Canada last week. Below are their results, as well as a few race report excerpts and testimonials from our Race Report forum:

Chris Whyte — 10:09:37,  Kona

David Tall0 — 10:11:05

Tavis Yueng — 11:58:32

Wayne Young — 11:59:16

Graig Harris — 12:00:53

Barry Plaga — 12:20:53

Alessandro Commodari — 12:31:56

Dana Laytham-Herbert — 13:11:37

Carrie Sumida — 14:06:47 “I thought I would be satisfied with completing Ironman #3 and retire from the distance, but this race, more than any other has taught me so many lessons and given me many reasons to try again and work on my mistakes.  It was my first IM under the tutelage of EN so I almost feel like the first 2 didn’t count.  The EN community is like no other and I’d like to express my appreciation for everything I’ve gained from all of you.”

Jackie Williams — 14:07:55

Paul Barker — 14:29:56

Lastly, we’d like to send special get-well wishes to an EN athlete who crashed on the bike and unfortunately was unable to finish the race.

Join TeamEN
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! Become an ENFan to get a free coy of our Four Keys DVD and an invitation to check out the Team when we open the doors.  Go here to become an EN Fan!

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