How EN worked for you
I see a lot of posts about fantastic race performances - placing in AG, first in AG, ... and I'm truly impressed by the achievements... and to be honest I want to see if I can get there, or at least come close. I have no reason to believe I can, but then, I also have no reason to believe I can't, so I'm here at EN to find out.
Personally, I am a mid-pack racer, and I've worked to get here. When I started, I was well below the fold in AG in short races. Today, in sprints I am typically above the fold in AG, but nowhere near podium. In my first HIM, last Sep, I came in 27/38, but if you take out 10m for the flat then I'm 23 or 24 out of the same 38.
I realize there are no guarantees, but I - and possibly many of us - signed up for EN on the belief that by fitting in the workouts, hitting our paces, taking care of ourselves, keeping injury at bay - we can achieve surprising results. I'd love to hear your stories, from some of you who are reaching podium in AG or even just going faster than you imagined possible for yourself and used to be back here in the mid-pack.
Want to hear through your stories that if I stick to plan that maybe someday I have a shot at standing on a podium for HIM.
Comments
We all have limitations: genetics, athletic background/experience, constraints of family, work, whatever. What EN will do is allow/ help you maximize your performance within your own personal capabilities, thrunseceral means:
Can everyone who goes all in with EN have a shot at a podium placing? Of course not. But you will find out just what you are capable,of, and I guarantee you that, if you stick with it and apply all you learn, you will absolutely surprise yourself someday with how good you've become.
As one who has no realistic chance of being on the podium in a HIM or IM, I understand your concern. Like Al said, EN provides a community of committed athletes that all want to be their best. The power of the community is HUGE. Don't know if you saw the recent post from Jess Withrow, but she very eloquently outlined a lot of the benefits to EN.
I have been a one-on-one coached athlete, completely self-coached, and now am comfortably ensconced within EN. The training ROI, executions skills, and knowledge here to me are what I value. Heck, if RnP offered a lifetime membership I would probably pay it.
Can you be successful without EN? Probably. But will your learning curve be much, much steeper with EN. I guarantee it!
Joe
@Joe, @Al - I get that "individual results may vary" - we even have our own acronym for that (ymmv). I'm also already paying my dues every month in USD, and every day in an entirely different currency, and barring a non-positive professional event (nppe), I'm all in.
BUT THE KEY THING IS NOT THESE STORIES, IT IS DOING THE WORKOUTS. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. IF YOU DO THE WORK YOU WILL SEE RESULTS. IF YOU MAKE EXCUSES YOU WILL NOT HAVE GAINS. AND YOU WILL REALIZE THAT GETTING ON THE PODIUM IS LESS OF A FACTOR THAN PERFORMING YOUR BEST AND EXECUTING YOUR BEST, I.E. MAXIMIZING YOUR PERFORMANCE GIVEN WHAT FITNESS YOU HAVE. IF YOU DO THE WORKOUTS AND EXECUTE ACCORDING TO THE PLAN, I ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE YOU'LL FEEL GREAT ABOUT YOUR RESULTS, REGARDLESS OF HOW CLOSE TO THE PODIUM YOU ARE. (and boy I'd be surprised if you didn't beat the pants off of your prior results).
I started running again, with seriousness, in 2008 for a half marathon. Finished in 1:53 or so, was happy with that given two months of training. Wanted to do a full the next year, and in mid-summer of 2009 got ITB issues. Did an Oly tri in August in just under 3 hours. Went to PT over the winter, started marathon training again for 2010 and got ITB issues again. Did the same Oly tri in August in just under 3 hours - again. The reason for bothering to mention all this is at this time, I was completely self coached, figuring things out as I went along, and trying to learn what on the interwebs was good information vs bad. Most of it was bad. In 2011 I did my first HIM (the Patriot) and finished in 6:20-something. Not a great performance, but mostly happy because at that time my focus was trying to figure out my ITB issues - and doing a HIM was an important step. Incidentally, earlier that month I did another half marathon in 1:50-something again. Whole point of this paragraph is that over the course of 3 years following conventional wisdom, my half marathon time went from 1:50 something to 1:50 something, and two Oly tri's separate by a year of training were both in the mid 2:50's.
That fall I started doing more run speed work, as I started realizing what I would eventually find out to be the EN training philosophy. October 2011 did my first full marathon in 3:50 something, which I was happy about because I was now able to maintain my previous HM pace for a full - so I started to really see the benefits. That November (2011 still) I hung a 1:40 on a hilly half marathon course, a nice 10 minute PR in only a handful of months. February 2012 at the Half of the Hamptons, got another PR of 1:35. Soon after, I heard of EN via their 4 keys, and decided to try it out at the Patriot to see if RnP actually knew what they were talking about. Killed my previous time with a 5:40 something - still not great, but a 40 minute PR and all on the run because of the execution guidance. I was sold, and signed up the next week. I devoured all the podcasts and information I could in prep for IMLP this past summer.
After IMLP, I followed the get faster plan and... got a lot faster. In the middle of the plan I did that same Olympic tri I did in the past and got a 25 minute PR, for the first time finishing in the top 20% of my AG. I did a half marathon in October and beat 1:30 finishing in the top 7% of my AG and 5% overall. So, I kid you not, in the course of 16 months, I went from not being able to beat 1:50 (after multiple attempts over the course of a few years) to putting up a 1:29 and change in a half marathon. I picked the half marathon as a measuring stick because that is the measuring stick I have the most readouts on.
So I'm still a ways away from the podium (the M30-39 AG's are tough!), but I moved from near the back of the back much more towards the front. When I finished the bike leg of the Oly this summer, and saw the racks were empty - it freaked me out a little bit - I had a moment where I thought everyone beat me because noone was around, and after a second or two it dawned on me that most people were still on the course. That was something I wasn't used to
"thrunsecreal" == I'm a terrible typist. I try to catch all my mistakes, but I have no penchant for detail, so they often slip thru. This was: "thru several"
@Russell -- there are two parts to the story. First is, don't totally slack off after the Season -- I let my FTP drop significantly, so I spent the first 4-6 weeks of the OS just getting back to the fitness level I had the previous year. That being said, the difference between pre-OS and post-OS is demonstrated by no-kidding SPEED! There is a local winter TT series here and I have moved from the MOP to the FOP. So, yes, EN has definitely helped me go faster than I could possibly imagine.
Is a KQ in my future? Doubtful. I just don't have the genetics. But I want to see just how far this journey will take me.
The true value of EN is not, though, in the Training Plans. It is the community. You will see on our boards that disagreements are first-and-foremost *respectful*. If someone is using anecdotal evidence, they will preface it as such. You will also see it on the Dashboard. As we get into the OS, you will see posts that look to be a "Yay Me!" kind of post ('..did my 2x15s at 1.01...') There may be some self-aggrandizement going on, but it is moreso to provide accountability to the group, get motivation when required, and just to be social.
You picked a great place to train. Welcome!