Are we becoming a do cool stuff / camp team that does triathlons on the side?

Dave Tallo

I think it's great to see the chatter, and maybe it's because these are what people are doing and talking about at this very moment, but its hard not to observe there are currently active threads on not only the Blue Ridge, Al T Colorado, Spain, Lake Placid and Tour of California camps for 2017, but also for 2018, that are rolling through on the feed of threads at the moment.  I know all of these have gone on in past years, but is this year more vigorous?  Are more people doing these?  Are they increasingly becoming part of the mainstream training schedule for the year?    I just get the sense that they are a bigger part of the EN space.  (which is agood thing, IMO ...  )

Or is this a new strategic direction, and R and P are hoping to give Ken Glah a run for his money? 

scott dinhofer

Dave Tallo said:

I think it's great to see the chatter, and maybe it's because these are what people are doing and talking about at this very moment, but its hard not to observe there are currently active threads on not only the Blue Ridge, Al T Colorado, Spain, Lake Placid and Tour of California camps for 2017, but also for 2018, that are rolling through on the feed of threads at the moment.  I know all of these have gone on in past years, but is this year more vigorous?  Are more people doing these?  Are they increasingly becoming part of the mainstream training schedule for the year?    I just get the sense that they are a bigger part of the EN space.  (which is agood thing, IMO ...  )

Or is this a new strategic direction, and R and P are hoping to give Ken Glah a run for his money? 

I think your observation is more about thread participation than it is about the camps. I am finding a realization of something that @tim cronk complained to me about for 2 years before he finally gave in and joined FB, a lot of the "conversation" has moved to FB, Strava, etc about training. 

I've also noticed (I will probably get slaughtered for saying this) that R is practically non-existent in the forums. I've found his insights to be tremendous and his writing style well pointed. After all, aren't we paying for more than a training plan? 

Yes, I can ring up him or P in my Macro/Micro, but there is so much here they used to be a part of that to my eyes, they aren't as much so anymore. P does seem to show up more so, but even less than in the past. That said, the man is a monster as the Micro threads are clearly a major part of his day. I noticed that the guy could ride 100 miles with 10000' of climbing, have dinner, drink beer like a champ and still get all his micro threads done at the BRC camp  

as for giving Ken Glah a run for his money, I think the EN camps are the most amazing value one can find in destination training outside of guesting with @Al Truscott in Snowmass or @tim cronk in NH...

Dave Campbell

I think there is possibly another movement underway.  When I first moved to Durham NC 10 years ago, I had maybe 30 close training friends doing at least 1 IM and multiple 70.3's every year.  Today, 0 of them are still racing.  We have all checked that box on the bucket list and are enjoying other EPIC cool stuff with the fitness lifestyle we enjoy so much.  Could it be the same thing going on here within EN?  I have only been to the BR Camp, so I can't say about the other camps, but it is such a great training event and a family reunion each year of teammates.  Hard to contain the buzz you feel after it each year.

Paul Hough

I have several friends that have moved on from triathlon to mostly cycling, cycling tours and cycling camps, and even more that have gone from Ironman to couch potato.  I am not there yet although I love training camps and will be riding in La Vuelta PR next year.

As to the forum, yes, not as good as in the past.  The macro, micro stuff has made it more individualistic, but there is still the occasional killer thread that makes it all worthwhile.

Paul Hough

Re Ken Glah, my observation is that his business has shrunk by half, partly because the IM market has cooled and partly because Nirvana Europe has become the dominant tri travel service on that continent.

Al Truscott

See my sig line: "Have fun with your fitness". Two parts: you gotta be fit to have fun. EN gives me lots of ways to get fit, and lots of goal events to have fun with. And lots of people to share both with.

Mariah Bridges

Eating sleeping and breathing the industry I see mainly two ways an endurance lifestyle plays out. 

1. The athlete starts in general fitness, running, cycling etc and then get the "triathlon bug" from there they hang out in that space for a few years then realize they can do some epic sh$t with their fitness and make triathlon second hand. 

2. The athlete is already fit and has an epic endurance lifestyle to begin with. 

As a generality, it usually plays out that way. Either way, @Al Truscott is correct from an EN perspective - EN gets you fit (and for the past 10 years through triathlon mainly) then helps you do any epic endurance event your heart desires through that fitness and the mindset of how we, as a team, approach a goal. 

Remember we are called Endurance Nation..... not just triathlon nation  

I find it encouraging as an endurance community to branch out, but to keep triathlon at its home. 

The way the EN team comes together when one of us wants to do something epic - truly makes me heart smile. 

I think the takeaway is back in the day, it use to be looked at as two different things — triathlon or everything else. Now we know we can be both. 

It’s clear from the action you see in the forums and camp participation - everyone gets so excited about that lifestyle and it helps meld the team together from all sides of the team. 

And it almost makes me want to say.... ok team.... WHATS NEXT?! 

scott dinhofer

Mariah Bridges said:

...helps you do any epic endurance event your heart desires through that fitness and the mindset of how we, as a team, approach a goal. 

Remember we are called Endurance Nation..... not just triathlon nation  

I find it encouraging as an endurance community to branch out, but to keep triathlon at its home. 

The way the EN team comes together when one of us wants to do something epic - truly makes me heart smile. 

I'd stress pretty much all of what @Mariah Bridgessaid up there, but specifically these items.. EN is a great club if you participate and get involved. I go for rides with my buddies who are always saying "let's do a group trip to Mallorca" or "blue ridge" or somewhere cool. Try to organize it, it never happens, dangle the EN trip in front of them (it's certainly not a ripoff) and they pass. Then I see the camps new ones, and old ones, as well as well attended races, and I know I will have my friends there. Friends I interact with throughout the week online and that I am fortunate enough to see a few times a year at TOC, BRC, AL Camp, Ski Trips, and yes, IMs.. When i did go off the IM and did something cool (leadville) I got my EN buddies to come crew for me... 

Coach Patrick

Thank you @Dave Tallo for the observation and for everyone else in participating. The short answer is that Endurance Nation is evolving to support the diverse interests of its members.

Back in the day the general consensus was that being really good at triathlon meant that you only did Triathlon. It wasn't so long ago that EN was critiqued for being too IM focused!

Over time our perspective has evolved as a Team. Nowadays many of you are comfortable doing really fun and cool stuff along the way to achieving your triathlon goals. Some of you do the inverse, chasing your triathlon focus all year and then driving that message to a fun Fall or Winter event.

Whatever you decide to do, there's no denying that putting in the time and the training consistently is what will set you apart from the competition. If the focus exclusively on triathlon is right for you, you can still do that here. If you want to expand your horizons to look at other ways to connect with your teammates and challenge yourself, we hope to be that place as well.

This is also a business decision. The Endurance Nation approach to Training ROI and Race Execution plays out in almost any endurance event you can think of. And we hope to support you as you explore those other areas as well. This is why you'll see highlights in the new Epic Forum about ultra running and cycling and other adventures. Our goal is to do this intentionally and with quality, and most of all with YOU.

Today's EN vibe is less what you are doing but who you are doing it with. Online, in the forums, at a race or suffering at a camp, Endurance Nation is your tribe. 

For all of you out there doing epic cool stuff, we hope you continue to stay a part of the Team and introduce the rest of us to your next challenge. Together we can crack the code and continue making it durance goals accessible to everyone.

Happy to answer any questions here!

~ Coach P

Gabe Peterson

As one of the EN members who does most of my posts in the Epic forum, I personally like the diversification.  Triathlon is a great, fun way to build a fitness vehicle to do cool shit, to borrow from Coach Rich.  I have no plans to tri this year but will certainly come back to it now that it's part of my lifestyle.  I would humbly suggest that many triathletes would benefit from time away exploring MTBing, ultras, marathons, cycling, marathon swims, or any other endurance activity that excites them.  

Have fun with your fitness!

scott dinhofer

Coach Patrick said:

Today's EN vibe is less what you are doing but who you are doing it with. Online, in the forums, at a race or suffering at a camp, Endurance Nation is your tribe. 

This says all! 

Leslie Knight

I've noticed something similar, although I've only been around a few years. I Tri because I like endurance sports and I get bored after a single activity too long. Which is sad for me because I'm so slow! I would  love marathons more if I could do one in 4.5 hrs vice 5.5 hrs. I love a beautiful Century ride. I've wanted to try an ultra, but again- not sure 8-10 hours of suffering is a good day. I have the capacity to suffer, I just don't want to! This is supposed to be fun! 
But I love reading everyone's adventures and I use Tri as an excuse to stay in shape for half marathons and centuries. Without a goal, it's not training, it's just exercising. 

Scott Alexander

I've been around in da haus since early 2008 and have found a shift in two things, touched on above:
1) from tri to epic-ness. I'm one of the longest-participating tri guys in Dallas/Ft Worth, going on 15 years non-stop. While others have come and gone (and come and gone again), I've been around doing it the whole time. The few folks I started with almost 15 years ago, only a few are left, and they've got their own clubs/teams now. While I don't have my own club/team, I participate in two locally (member as one and coach for another) and EN. For me, it's synergistic. 
Last year and this year I'm definitely expanding into epic-ness more and more, and will in the future as I can!
2) from everyone participating in the forums (granted, they were smaller back in '08 with v2.0 (or was that still v1.0?)) to more vocal members dominating because they just have so much knowledge, do so much stuff (cool and even cooler) and some have moved on from full-time employment to post-work life so they have time available. While I don't want to say that R and P aren't needed any longer, the others, especially the WSMs, have definitely filled their spots quite well, and to them - and all peeps big and small - I say thank you!

Dave Tallo

@Coach Patrick : thanks a lot for the candour.   There's lots to think about in your post and the others' comments.     Not on the existential crisis level - it's sports, after all - but lots, all the same!

Robert Sabo

It also goes back to not concentrating efforts on one AAA IM race for 12 months.  Short term goals to be in shape for camp which will be fun in its own right but will be a helpful volume pop leading to race B which sets you up for the AAA race.

scott dinhofer

@Robert Sabo's comment above resonates.. different than a race, you increase your load as a camp approaches and then carry the extra fitness injection forward.. After IM PR 70.3 in March, I slacked off a bit, got it going real for BRC and used the BRC fitness as my launchpad.. now heading into Al's AlT'tude camp with great fitness and know from last year the gains I hope to achieve there. Additionally, the camps are the BEST learning experience. To be able to speak to the pointy end and absorb what they do and to share what I do with newer folks. My biggest learning injections have been in Camps & sharing houses with ENers at races.. 
EN truly is a Team and a family. 

Al Truscott

I got *into* triathlon after doing the sort of stuff which might be defined as cool stuff (with an epic flavor). In the seven years leading up to my entry into triathlon (when I started running for the first time ever) I:

• took three week-long MTB tours in Utah and AZ back country
• Cycled across the country with my family
• did three week-long road bike tours with friends and/or family: Pacific Coast, Oregon Cascades, Olympic Peninsula

I kept that up for another 7 years or so, but gradually got sucked into the Ironman vortex. While I found my results there rewarding, I discovered what I *really* enjoyed was sharing the journey with others. Camaraderie at races, sharing experiences online, helping others take the next step, whatever that might be for them, and inviting folks to come train with me in CO have all given me as much of a kick as winning races. I don't want to give up either side of that lifestyle.