Race frequency and membership benefits

andrewbennett

 As a Trial Member in Perth Western Australia  unless I embark on and expensive travel plan I only have 1 IM and 1 HIM per year  to race.  The IM sold out within an hour....i missed so 2011 leaves me with HIM in May.  There are some sprint events (750/20/5) and 2 olympic events and thats it!  Should I just buy a plan for the HIM or would I still benefit from membership.  I have unfinished business at the IM and will race 2012.  Of course there are a number of run,swim,cycle events throughout the year which could keep me going till the next tri, I'm just concerned from a motivation point of view.

Andrew

jburbatt

Andrew- I think you'll have to consider how active you will be in the online community. While many of us don't see each other frequently, you get the most out of EN when you are involved in the forums. For example, in the January OS forum we've posted photos and videos of our pain caves, in other forums you'll see people talk about season goals, you can use the medical forums, and the specific OS and race forums are great for talking with people doing the same plan as you. So if you are active online you'll get a lot of benefit out of being a full member, even if what you are racing is not something that a lot of others are racing. However, if you aren't active online, you may be missing out on a lot of benefits of EN. Also, there are plenty of people that are doing non-IM years this year, and instead doing 1/2s and smaller races, so I don't think that not doing an IM this year would be a reason to not join EN, you'll still get plenty out of the community. Hope that helps!

Mike Hedman

Andrew, even if you don't race an IM this year, I think there's still a lot of racing to do. I bet there are a couple marathons to choose from, and some long bike rides/races. You could then focus on building discipline specific speed this year, then put the pieces together next year for a killer IM. And do a couple of shorter races to keep fresh, and to work on transitions, etc. Through all of this, the EN community would be a big help.
In the end, you need to decide what your focus will be, and if you want to focus on next year's IM THIS year (which I think is a good idea!).
Mike

andrewbennett

Thanks Jennifer and Mike. Your comments/ideas are very much appreciated. What a target Mike....a "killer IM" in 2012
Andrew

kurshing

Andrew, as others have said...membership is more for the community and the support than anythIng else. The training plans ARE awesome, but, they AREN'T customized to each individual. Learning to manipulate the workouts, how to move things around, how to properly recover, which products to use, what others have experienced with certain races or similar training, how to plan a season, how to structure down time, best ways to meet your nutritional needs, etc...all of these are benefits of partipation in these forums and THIS is the REAL magic of the community!

EN is totally awesome and if you are willing to come in here and ask questions and give opinions out you will fit in great...and you will get a lot out of this membership!