First-Time Ironman Athletes: Please Share with Us Your EN Experiences
TeamEN First-Time IM'ers,
This week we will joined by many of your peers, as they stop by to check out the Team during out Beginner Open House. We appreciate it if you could share with them, and with us, your experience with EN.
Specifically, the beginner Ironman athlete is faced with a wide range of training and racing resources -- training plans (free and $$), training articles, internet forums, and more. Please share with us what led you decide on joining TeamEN and how things have gone so far.
Thanks!
Rich
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Comments
I think I first came across EN through Slowtwich.com. I may have been reading a thread and what was being said about EN was making some sense. I checked the website to find out that they were having a promotional free month trial with an option to join if there was room. With nothing to loose I tried it. Well, to be honest, EN has the most sensible, down-to-Earth explanations, reasoning, and time saving plans I've ever come across... there is no time wasted, everything here just gets down to business to give you the best bang for your buck so to speak with training. It has also been a pleasure to be a part of a forum where people truly try to help, not simply make fun of you. And, I've never seen a coaching site where 400+ athletes have unlimited access to their coaches. Just ask a question or make a comment in the forums in regards to them and they get back to you. Very user friendly, giving you all the resources possible to become your own best coach. Absolutely perfect for the age group athlete with no time (I have a full-time job, with 3 children under the age of 6 and the plans are doable). I am very happy, and comfortable here. Thanks EN.
Dan
I came to Endurance Nation after Rich's race execution strategies helped me erase years of frustration at Ironman. If you are early into IM or HIM training and racing, the race execution strategies and practical knowledge here is worth the price of admission many times over, and is probably more valuable to a triathlete with less than 5 years of experience than ANY training plan or piece of equipment you can buy.
First time ENer and IMer! Joined EN to learn how to execute a long course race. In all my previous HIM's, I raced my legs off and died on the run....ALWAYS! So, when I saw race execution on your website, I was compelled to check it out. I joined in Oct of 09 and have learned so much from the coaches and all the other members from bike gearing to racing with power to being able to manage doeable training plans. I love the EN philosophy of ROI= Return on Investment in everything we do from training smart, racing smart and buying gear smart! And I need ROI because I am a mom of 5 with lots of life to live outside of triathlon. The experience thus far has been worth every penny and so much more. Thanks EN!
And I appreciate being able to still have a life, while training my tail off!
Assuming I enjoy my IMLOU in August, I intend to continue being a member of EN for a while to come...
I am a first time IMer and ENer. I found myself registered for IMLP with that 'oh crap now what' feeling. I heard about EN from a friend on the team. I figured since I had no plan to get me through this race that I would give it a try. I got so much more than I bargained for. For a newbie like me (a few sprints and one HIM under my belt) there is so much knowledge to glean from the members here, not to mention the coaches. I'm not really a 'joiner' or 'team' person, but this seems to be the best combination of interaction, the forum, coaches hours are here if you want or you can just get your plan and go to work. Serioulsy the best $ I have spent in prep for IMLP, which I plan to crush because of the support of EN!
After squeaking through two 70.3s in 2009 without any coaching and then registering for IMLP 2010 I knew I would need coaching and guidance if I was going to pull off a full IM. I had been invited to an EN webinar months earlier and what Rich and Patrick said made a lot of sense. I read all I could on the EN blog and from their Free Resources as well as listening to the podcasts and I knew that I could not do an IM any other way than using the EN approach. I quickly purchased the OS plan and then became a full member shortly thereafter. The OS works, my FTP is up 27% from the start of the OS to week 14 tests. Rich and Patrick are incredibly smart about training for and racing long course triathlons, and moreover the help and camaraderie you get from the other EN members is really the icing on the cake.
EN has given me the confidence to know what I'll be going up against on race day in addition to the tools required to execute my best possible ironman.
I'm also an aspiring Iron Woman... and new EN'er (joined in December). I'm relatively new to the world of triathlon, too - having only 1 full season (after my first sprint and OLY in 2008) under my belt. In the 2009 season I did a few OLYs and a HIM and had a pretty good run of it - improving to above the middle of the pack - and that was just winging it while training for a fall marathon. I am hooked and tris and knew I needed to find the right/smart way to train to improve.
I signed up for my first IM (IMFL in November) and knew I'd need a plan. I asked a fellow DC Tri clubber and friend, who, BTW, had a fabulous season placing in 5 of her 6 races, what plan she followed for her first HIM last year (I did my first last year, but sort of winged it with a charity group, tweaking the program because I didn't think it was spot on). She told me about EN... I checked out the web page and bought 2 plans - the OS and the IM. She encouraged me to join - for the info and the accountability but I resisted at first - because discipline has never been a problem for me; I knew I'd do the work on my own.
Anyway, in December the House had a membership sale and I figured what the heck... I'd had a bad bike crash in late August and lost some mojo and figured the support would do me some good - I'm not gonna pay and then not get my money's worth!
It was without a doubt the right decision! I've been absolutely overwhelmed by the amount of information on the webpage - not only the published plans and data but various forums with the EN team members weighing in on what works/doesn't work. I've also been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and encouragement.... I've never met any of my fellow January OS'ers (outseason training group) but I feel like they're my close friends and workout partners. When I'm dragging or having a bad day I log in and post a note and before I know it I've got 5 responses and my mojo is back... when I'm suffering through a workout I know that I need to get through it so I can post my results (to the cheers of my teammates). There is something to be said for accountability... and in the House it's a situation of all boats rise together... when one of my teammates has a great race or bumps up her VDot on a test it's so motivating for the rest of us - we all share in each other's success!
I'm really glad I signed up. I'm still in OS now and it's kicking my butt (and I'm loving it). I'll be transitioning to a HIM plan soon for a race in June, then doing general prep before the IM. I am very glad that I have my teammates and the coaches (who have threads for Q&A) to lean on and ask questions - so many of these folks have been there and gone through it... and never make me feel silly for asking questions. It's been such a great experience for me!
After some furious Googling, I came across the EN open house. EN gives you the plan, and you execute it. But even better, EN also gives you the tools and knowledge to make adjustments based on the fact that things happen in life, and you have to adjust. And RnP are constantly making adjustments and trying to make the plan better. This isn’t your basic, here’s the plan, it’s worked for lots of people, do it and it will work for you. RnP are always listening to the ENers, and I think that’s a huge benefit to being in the haus. As for adding to your tri knowledge, there is always RnP and the rest of EN to help you out when you need it. I’m not a huge poster, but I love that when I do have a question, whether for RnP or for my fellow ENers, I know that I’m going to get an answer, or multiple answers, that I can rely on. The knowledge of this group is incredible, and unlike most other triathlon forums, there’s no sifting through to find the one or two logical answers.
Overall, I can’t recommend EN enough. This past winter, I had the choice to either upgrade my road bike to a tri bike or join EN. After really researching EN during my trial I gambled that joining EN would improve my race more than a new tri bike. I can honestly say after finishing only half the OS, joining EN was obviously the best choice. I’ve already make huge improvements in my bike and run, and that’s even after I had to take a month off for an injury. Add that to the knowledge that I get from my fellow ENers and it’s no contest this was the smart decision. I’d highly recommend joining the haus!
I was a closet ENer. . .
While deployed to Djibouti a friend of mine convinced me to sign up for Cali 70.3 and as I was leaving Ralph Butler who was in the haus relieved me as the general surgeon at the Navy's Expeditionary Medical Facility on the Horn of Africa. He told me about EN, and encouraged me to check out Jack Daniel's book. I got my hands on every free resource from EN, came home in December and bought a bike and trained quasi EN for Oceanside. As a big guy (around 200 pounds) and slow runner (vDot around 40) I did Oceanside in 5:44 with pretty good execution. But I had plenty of room for imrovement
Last fall I tried to get into the Haus and failed but purchased a training plan that allowed me to join EN around the end of November. I did about 9 weeks of the Outseason with the October group, 5-6 weeks of a HIM plan with no problems increasing the volume and was able to shave 22' off of my previous time for the Cali 70.3. I shaved 9 minutes off of the bike for a 2:47 bike split - on a windy day and was also able to improve my run time by 10' to a 1:56. i also saved myself 1 minute on the swim and 1 minute on T1.
After the race I hooked up with fellow ENers - Brian Massey, Peter Carroll, David Ambrose, Matt Ancona and Coach Rich - and had some great beer and pizza. Via the forums I also had the chance to hook up with Jeff Hansen last weekend who was visiting from Illinois for a conference and take him on one of my favorite rides in east San Diego county up Laguna Mountain.
I am now in the midst of preparing for my first IM distance event and enjoying the resources offered by EN. As a fairly busy surgeon and father of three young children I appreciate the real world perspective of good time management, balance and return on investment that EN promotes ( I went from no swimming in the OS to 9000m a week with little difficulty). I watch some of my friends who continue to train more than 20 hours a week (for a HIM) to qualify for Kona (and miss a spot by 2-3') and wonder how they would do with a focused intense outseason and a more intelligent approach to race prep.
Thanks Rich and Patrick!
I came to EN just after completing my first IM in 2007 at Lake Placid. I had trained by myself using a plan from an old magazine and advice from Slowtwitch. My goal was to get faster/race better as I ended up walking what felt like the entire second lap of the marathon, was registered for 2008 and wanted to do better. I was not really motivated by any real time goal just thought that it could be done "better". While I certainly raced faster and "better" the folling year [took 50 minutes off the prior year and ran the whole thing] what I got from being apart of the Nation was much much more. Although spread out across the country and the world, all of us were essentially doing the same workouts and posting about them in the forum. It did not matter than many of us had never met, it was like being part of a real team. It helped so much with motivation and accountability to know that there were others out there doing the same thing even though I was often up way too early running alone in the dark. Also, made it much more fun. When the team [or a small part of it anyway] gets together the Thursday night before an IM for the team dinner it is like meeting hanging out with old friends. All weekend at the races, team EN and support crew are everywhere as are the Coaches. As the Nation grows it just becomes more fun. See you at the races...
I had been doing HIM for several years, just winging it on training. Lots of LSD biking and running, and disappointed that as I aged I was getting slower every year ( I was in my 30's). I had no problem getting out the door to exercise, but I never had a plan.
Folks I had met were starting a local tri club and there I met one of the resident den mothers of EN, Linda Patch. She talked briefly about EN. I was intrigued. When a local iron distance race announced it's debut event later that year (2008), I decided to go for it. I was terrified and wanted a coach. It was already April. I contacted a well known local coach, he charged $$$$$$$$. The response was that his roster was full and he would not take me on. So I checked into and signed on with EN. Best decision I ever made! Not only did the plan get me ready for the race, but it made me FASTER! (It's all relative- I'm still slower than many, but I am as fast as I was 20 years ago in college).
RnP have made plans that are easy to follow, flexible, and intense but short. I am a faster cyclist and runner. My swimming is very steady- again ROI. I have not lost any time/ speed despite not being in the pool for 1 year or swimming open water since 8/09.
This is my 2nd OS and 3rd race season with EN. Best dollar value anywhere. Everyday I thank my lucky stars that the $$$ coach was unavailable.
The forum is a huge wealth of information. I basically knew how to use the data from my powermeter the day I opened the box, simply by reading the forum. The Women's forum is a place to reconnect with the other side of our lives- outside triathlon. We cheer each other on and mourn the sad times. Virutal friends that you know as if from childhood and once you meet in person it is a done deal.
We have a large women contingency heading to IMMoo and I can not wait to get there and share the event with this fantastic group. Thank you RnP for bringing us all together.
How many people get to train for their first IM, knowing they get to race with 17 other amazing ladies, and the impressive NIL (and beyond) Sleeper Cell support crew? And mention a coach in a pink speedo?
I do!
Simply said, this place is amazing. I can ask any question and get intelligent, thoughtful answers from a number of perspectives. Because sometimes you need to hear Coach Rich, sometimes Patrick, and sometimes Linda and Nemo. One of my favorite things that happened here was John Stark conducting science experiments to find out how well the then new Garmen 310xt paired with a powertap because no one -- not Saris, or Garmin, or any forum, had any insight on how these two things worked together.
This place is amazing at cheerleading squad, too. For being a virtual team, I saw teammates at every race I did last year -- from Girls on the Run 5k to Steelhead, EN starred kits and spectator shirts were everywhere.
This place also has great book and food recommendations. And lots of cute pictures of dogs.
I came to EN in October. I am training for my second IM but basically starting over as I have been out of the sport for 3 years and coming back off a broken leg.
Last time I did the long slow distance training and it did work out for me sort of. I over trained, was tired and injured myself working up to a 1/2 marathon. So I got a long run of 6 miles for my IM in 2004. I completed the race in 16:09:03, very long and very slow.
The EN philosophy appleaded to be to build the fast then go far. In 20 week I have build up good cycling speed and combined that with good running gains.
A couple of the best aspect for me is that as mentioned you are on a plan that many others are doing. The out season motivation was great. Additionally the coaches and other members are responsive to quesitons no matter what you ask. Finally in the short time I have been here Coach Rich and Coach Patrick have updated, added and continue to evolved EN based on needs of the group.
Gordon
Simple.
After 3 IM's and not results I wanted, went out to find a quality vs quantity arguement! Workworks.
4th IM = sub 12 and 5th IM (coming up) gonna = sub 11!