Introduction

Welcome to the Endurance Nation approach to long-course triathlon training! What you find here may surprise you. At EN, we have spent years reviewing training-related research, studying and coaching athletes of all abilities, and training and racing ourselves—all of which has led us to the conclusion that the dominant training theories flooding the Internet, books and magazines are not always the most sound. As well, we realize that our athletes have lives outside of racing and can’t always follow inflexible and mileage-heavy training protocols year-round. So, get ready to sit back and be “wowed” by a new way of training—EN-style—that offers proven results and helps you balance the various demands in your life.

Fitness = Doing Cool Stuff!

Aiming for a really big goal is always inspiring at first. But, since we are human, the realities of preparing for even the most amazing of challenges can become mundane at some point.

In your quest for that finish line—and as you work to get it done day after day—we encourage you to remember that you are creating a vehicle for doing cool stuff. Don't lose sight of the fact that the fitness, confidence, skills, and self-knowledge you are developing on the path to your race can be applied to many other areas of your life.

But First, A Word from Your Coaches…
After six plus years of coaching, we’ve developed a unique perspective of what it means to compete at the Ironman distance. Since the modern world offers very few physical challenges that truly test our mettle, many athletes use the finish line as a way to transform their lives. And in terms of a physical and mental challenge, triathlon—specifically Ironman—is widely recognized as the real deal.

And so the journey begins—laden with training schedules, training zones, gear, gadgets, and how-to books. So much to learn, so much to get done, and only 24 hours in a day! And suddenly they have truly changed—as 95% of our athletes do—they reach the point where fitness ceases to be something they do and becomes what they are. They begin to live fitness as a lifestyle.

As your coaches, we would like to begin our journey together by sharing with you the vision we have for you at that finish line. To hear more about our perspective on the sport, please visit the Beginner Triathlete Project and listen to the Podcast.

Next Up…
This manual is packed with comprehensive, detailed and highly-valuable information to help you plan for and execute your next long-course race. We want to make sure you find the information that is applicable to you, depending on your level of experience both as an athlete and EN member. To help guide you, we suggest the following: ways to work through it all, depending on your experience level.

If you are a beginner or new EN athlete: We strongly suggest you first read these two sections so that you understand why our approach to training is different and why it works. If you skip these sections, you may risk not having the information you need to truly “get on-board” with our program:

If you are an advanced athlete: If you are already familiar with the EN paradigm—you can probably skip directly to Long-Course Training—Strategy & Execution and then work your way into the following sections from there in a linear fashion. However, if you want to review the science and philosophy behind our approach, check out the links above.