The Value of Team EN (aka What I'm Thankful For!)
Looking ahead to Thanksgiving Day and the monumental task of preparing massive quantities of food for the day, I can’t help but think how thankful I am to be a part of Team EN (of course I’m thankful for more traditional things like health, family, the fact that Sandy didn’t put a hole in the roof over my head, Japanese hair straightening and chocolate, to name a few). At the moment, I feel compelled to sit down and note just why I am so thankful for this team.
This is likely pie making procrastination at its finest...
I spent almost two years listening to JW tell me how amazing EN is. How friendly everyone is. What a fantastic resource it is. And of course, how great the workouts are. There was no need to convince me there – his results spoke for themselves. He was drinking the EN Kool-aid heavily and it showed. He committed himself to the process and proved: Work Works.
I still didn’t understand.
I refused to give up my private 1:1 coach. I thought I needed someone to hold my hand, to be accountable to, to review every little detail of my workouts in Training Peaks and micro manage my training schedule if needed. This was Ironman, for cryin’ out loud! I couldn’t possibly self-coach!
But for all of that (and about $250/mo), my training was seriously lacking. My motivation was seriously lacking (I was later diagnosed with Low Mojo - not a motivation issue… ). I may have even *gasp!* LIED about a handful of workouts in TP (which you did NOT just read and I will never admit to doing outside of this forum… ). Despite the fact that I had triathlete friends, very few had done Ironman, and my coach, with a typical “1 e-mail with coach per week” clause was my only source of information and motivation. I had never met my coach in person.
Meanwhile, JW was enjoying a day off every Monday and Friday to focus on recovery during the Out Season (a luxury I didn’t have) and may have uttered the words, “Wow. Your coach is really mean,” when I had a SEVEN hour ride on the schedule before our first IM.
Endurance Nation was looking better by the minute…
I finally took the leap before IM #2, and I will never (ever) look back. It was instant addiction from ‘go.’ The dash, the forums, the Wiki…. It was full on Facebook-like crack crammed with geeky triathletes just like me!!! I was hooked. I learned more in my first 72 hours as an EN athlete than I did in the previous two years and two coaches combined. Names began to become familiar (and faces, to some extent… assuming it was, A) a real photograph of the individual and 
I had a magnifying glass handy). I started to understand the true nature and nurture of the Team. Everyone is supportive. Everyone is encouraging. The coaches and WSM’s are always available to answer questions and give feedback (ALWAYS). It became clear to me that RnP pour their heart and soul into this team.
Oh… and also, the workouts ROCKED. I reached a new level of appreciation for the term “Pain Cave.” But at the same time, they were do-able. I wasn’t intimidated, as I thought I would be. I began to see results very quickly, and even JW noticed (I think he was maybe even a little concerned that he might get chicked by his wife at some point… ).
And then we went to IMFL.
If you have yet to experience a race with your EN Teammates, LET ME TELL YOU - THIS is where life gets good. THIS is where EN is different and MAKES a difference in your Ironman day. I wasn’t racing (which, I admit, COULD be why I had so much fun), but how COOL is it to finally meet 30+ friends, with whom you’ve been training and communicating, face to face??? Instant mojo. Every time you see someone out on the course in an EN kit? Instant mojo. Coaches ON the course cheering you on at the bike mount and mile 18 of the marathon when you need it most??? INSTANT mojo. For those of you who have had a 1:1 coach in the past – were they there having dinner with you two days before your race? Giving you on-site execution advice specific to the course YOU were racing the day before and answering any last minute questions, calming any last minute nerves IN PERSON? I was standing next to RnP while taking pictures at the IMFL bike mount, and the enthusiasm they have for their team and their athletes is unparalleled. The enthusiasm the team has for each other is unparalleled. No wonder EN athletes are laying down huge PR’s all over the place – there is nothing but positive energy and support in this Haus!
So there you have it. I am thankful for each and every one of you - all of your insights, knowledge, and support - this Thanksgiving. I am thankful that JW is the most annoyingly persistent SOB I’ve ever met and finally convinced me that EN was what I’d been looking for. I am thankful that RnP put SO MUCH into this team and are constantly thinking of ways to make it better (and don’t limit us to 1 e-mail/wk). And I am still thankful for Japanese hair straightening.
Happy Thanksgiving, Team EN!
Comments
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving.
And yes, John was RIGHT. And Japanese hair straightening actually HAS been life changing.