MLK Virtual Training Weekend: Webinar and Podcast

The EN Coaches organized a virtual training weekend for TeamEN as a way to kick off a season of cool stuff!

• Training Weekend Introductory Podcast
• MLK Weekend Webinar: Epic Training Weekends
  
• Webinar Podcast
  
• Member Training Reports
  

Endurance Nation Power Webinar Series: Update

About 65 athletes joined us for the webinar on Sunday. The highlight, for me, was Rick Ashburn's presentation on the fundamentals of power-training, CyclingPeaks terms, etc. That dude is SHARP!

If you registered for and/or attended the first session, Training with Power, you should have received links to the podcast and Google presentation yesterday.

If you didn't register for the first session, you can still receive the presentation and podcast as downloadable files, for only $15. Just submit payment via PayPal and I'll get it to you right away.

If you then decide to register for either or both of the remaining two webinars (Racing with Power, Jan 20 or Analyzing Power Files, Jan 27) we will CREDIT you for the $15 above after your purchase (IOW, I'll refund $15, saves me from having to create yet another host of Buy Now buttons)

Series prices for the remaining webinars remain (before credit above, if you want to go that route):

• TeamEN Members: $49
• Non-members: $99, includes $50 off on Endurance Nation membership.

Go here for additional details and registration: EN Power Webinar Series

After the webinar series:

• Registered participants will receive the webinar sessions as audio files and Google presentations, for no additional charge.
• The entire series will be available for purchase as a downloadable product for those who could not attend. No word on price or date of availability.

Let me know if you have questions.

Strauss Training Log, Week of Jan 7, 2008

Monday, 171 pounds:
Run, 55', 6.5 miles as very hilly, steep climb with Marvin. Hammered the downhill for a good shot to the quads.

Tues:
Run, AM, 45', 5.5 miles, easy run with Sonny and Riley. Sonny did so well! Very proud of the dude!

Bike, Lunch, 1:03, 16.5 miles, 68 TSS, .80 IF, 220 Pnorm, Met Marvin and were going to climb 2 x Chantry as 2 x 20' very solid TT efforts. Gate was closed and rather than risk another trespassing ticket...we did some urban climbing. We were running late so a short ride. Nice to get out out there.

Wed:
Run, AM, 57', 7.4 miles, very hilly and challenging run with Marvin. Riley came along and was a freak, per usual.

Thur:
Run, AM, 1:20, 9 miles, forgot GPS. Thurs long run group leaving from the Rose Bowl at 6:30am. We ran north on the trail to the horse trough. Felt pretty good, no foot pain. Hip tightness but nothing major. Next week will add about 10' as a climb up West and down Salvia Canyon, then add more and more climbing in the last 30'. Will probably top this out at 1:45 for a long time, just running harder instead of longer. Riley joined us, still going more than strong all the way back to the car.

Friday: off

Saturday: Pasadena Tri Club Resolution Ride
49 miles, 2:56, 224 TSS, .86 IF
This is a annual ride we do, intent is to create a wicked hilly and scenic route through the towns here in the foothills. This years route was tweaked from the last 2-3: shorter, steeper climbs, better neighborhoods. Definitely one I want to take people on if they visit me from out of town.

Sunday: Resolution Ride Redo, starting and finishing from my house. We also cut out some of the gratuitous climbs, as we just wanted a ride, not punishment :-)
44 miles, 2:52, 227 Pnorm, 196 TSS, .826 IF

All in all, a great training week and I'm really digging the accountability systems I've created. Week of Jan 14 will be 5 x runs and mid 30s mileage. LOTS of quality and I hope I can keep this up!

As a prelude to this week, today I weighed 169.2lb, so yeah me!

Why the Endurance Training World Needs EN

Much like you, I usually register for races via Active.com and receive their newsletters. So, like you, I received the Active Triathlete Newsletter on Jan 7th, the Active Cyclist newsletter today, Jan 10, containing the articles below:

Triathlete: Base Training Basics
Cyclist: High Intensity Training

Triathlete: the same largely anecdotal thoughts that have been recycled year after year until they have become the foundation of a "seasonal culture" within the sport of triathlon. I know...I've written stuff like this in the past, back in the day before I learned otherwise through talking to smart guys, experimenting with my training and applying those lessons to my athletes.

Cyclist: good article, challenges the cultural norms and expectations of what we are supposed to do in the off-season, or in endurance training for that matter.

The conflict: they're both published by the same organization, received by the same athletes with no context or perspective given to link the two. Neither is inserted into a comprehensive framework of coherent and consistent training advice that gives the athlete that "Ah hah!" moment, enabling them to become better self-coached athletes.

As an experienced coach who's been playing inside the traditional triathlon business sandbox, I can tell you exactly why this is: many, many websites, are in the business of selling clicks on their site, whether on ads, race registrations, etc. At the same time, coaches with decent writing skills who are thinking a little bit outside of the traditional box of attracting local athletes realize these sites get lots of traffic and submit articles for publication, exposing their thoughts, communications skills, training knowledge, and personality to large numbers of athlete. Hopefully, one or more of these athletes become coached clients, buy a training plan, attend a camp, etc.

Content host (website) needs content to attract readers and advertising dollars. Content creator (coach) needs venue to host their stuff where it can be read by lots of potential clients. Site eager to take content + many content creators submitting content = confusing hodgepodge of often conflicting advice that you, the customer, have to sift through. See example above.

How do I know this? Google Rich Strauss Triathlon and see how many articles I have out there on the net. Writing has indeed been very, very good to me.

At Endurance Nation we have made a strategic business decision to step out this sandbox by creating our own. One where we:

1. Create a vibrant network of endurance athletes. Our own team.
2. Provide quality, consistent, and coherently presenting training and racing resources to them. Resources that have been vetted by the science and refined through their application to your training: real people in the real world.
   
3. Leverage the scale of #1 and #2 to create coaching values that simply can not be matched in the current marketplace.
   
4. Do not rely on advertising dollars, click thrus, sponsorship relationships, etc. We are quickly learning that the fewer external relationships we maintain, the more focused we can be on you and your needs, adapting our model and services in an instant.
   

Endurance Nation is the brainchild of elite triathlon coaches Rich Strauss (Crucible Fitness) and Patrick McCrann ( Performance Training Systems), who have combined communities, resources and training plans to create Endurance Nation. Endurance Nation is a growing community of 380+ triathletes educating and inspiring each other, managed within the framework of a consistent coaching and training philosophy. Members can take advantage of free coaching articles and high quality - yet affordable – coaching. The EN experience is augmented by our community platform, bringing experienced teachers to the desktop of every athlete. Finally, Endurance Nation will provide opportunities for the members to meet, learn from and train with the coaches and other members, through camps and clinics, an organized EN presence at national races, and other cool events. Membership in Endurance Nation is open to athletes of all ability levels. Join us today!

Triathlon: Basic Week Webinar

Listen and read along as Coach Rich outlines the underlying philosophy of the "basic week" that is the foundation of all EN training plans. You'll need to open the audio file (below), then go to the presentation and follow along. Enjoy!

View the presentation here; get the audio here.

Note: The audio runs approximately 60 mins, google might prompt you to sign into google docs to access the presentation.

Putting the best tools of EN together = a $13/wk solution

Join TeamEN Today!

Below is an example of how we are working with a TeamEN member to create a high quality, affordable training solution that costs only $13/week. That's not a typo, people: $13/week. This incredible price includes our proven plans, online tools, full community interaction via EN, and all residual member benefits (free webinars, resources, etc.). We have worked together to link the tools of EN across an entire season. I thought this might be a good example for everyone to see not only how to "create" your season via EN, but also of the incredible value we have collected for you in a single place.

Gina joined EN and is now in our ENGroups Off-Season program that began in October and will end in early Feb. Her next A race is a half Ironman at the end of May and then she is racing IMFL in November. She wants to roll from the ENGroups Off-Season program into an ENGroups Half Ironman program for the half in May. Then she needs a solution to bridge the gap between the end of the HIM program and the start of the ENGroup Ironman program for IMFL. She and I have exchanged a few emails about how we will tie it all together for her, a job quote of sorts. So, here it is (Note: When Gina joined the ENG OS program for $189 it included a 1yr TeamEN membership. We've since separated those two elements and I'll use that in my job quote below):

• Gina joins TeamEN for $99, giving her access to our entire library of training plans, etc.
  
• She upgrades her membership by participating in the Off-Season ENGroup for $99.
• When the OS Group ends she rolls straight into an ENGroup HIM program, as 16wks x $15/wk = $240. She gets a 10% discount cuz this is her second ENG for a calendar year, so $216.
• To fill the gap between the end of the HIM program and the start of her IM program, I'm going to take one our training plans and tweak it to work for her for this purpose, cost = $75.
• Finally, she rolls into the ENG IM program for her assault on IMFL. This is 20wks x $15/wk - 15% discount as 3rd ENG in a calendar year = $255.

So, doing the math here, Gina is $744, all-in, for a 13+ month training solution that includes:

• Focused off-season training + focused HIM and IM solutions with full EN interactivity (podcasts, webinars, etc.)
  
• All stitched together so they fit together nicely
• A TeamEN race singlet worth about $40, if you wanted to count that :-)

That's approximately $13/wk for 56 weeks of interactive, on-line, real-world tri goodness. A comparable mid-level coaching deal, with an online plan and phone + email access (without forum, with no podcasts, no webinars, no videos, no 400+ articles), could cost Gina $150 a month -- or $1950 for the full 13 months. With EN Gina gets more and saves $1200. That difference covers her race entry fees for the IM + HIM ($450 + $200), race wheel rentals for both ($300), and a plane ticket ($350).

FWIW, Gina today posted her results for a 10k TT run in the ENGroups forum. She has put up a 3' PR after only 12 weeks inside the house. Looking forward to the final tests in 4 weeks!

Note: That $75 for customization is something you could do on your own via the Basic Block plans that we'll publish soon: a tool to help you fill the gap between plans.

Join TeamEN Today!

Thoughts on AeT Training

Rich's response to an article post here on TrainingPeaks.
If you like, you can participate in a more detailed discussion in the EN Forum

I think it's a complicated way to explain a phenomenon many of us have seen for years and then propose to use that as a training metric or tool. I call it your HR getting more "sticky" as you become more fit. When you come back from a long layoff everyone has seen how your heart rate, PE and watts/pace can be out of whack. In other words, you're riding your bike and you feel Ok, but yourlook at your HRM and its shows a Zone 3 effort. So it feels Zone 2 but HR says Zone 3 or 4. There is a disconnect or "decoupling," as Joe refers to it. As you become more fit this disconnect decreases and Joe's position is that we can use this as a training metric. More specifically, the movement of this decoupling below x% indicates that we now have permission to move on to other training.

I see this as a rehashing of the "you gotta wait to get faster" style of training. It also ignores (unless I'm misinterpreting the article) the science that says the Number One indicator of fitness, at all ability levels, phases of training, whatever, is watts/pace/speed at lactate/functional threshold. I can most easily explain this by using two athletes.

Waiting Walt
Walt throws a leg over his bike or laces up his shoes, does his training at AeT as Joe describes for the prescribed time periods. To frame Walt in our language, his FT at the start of this is 220w and his 10k pace is 8:00. In the beginning he experiences this decoupling. He tracks his data, the gap between the line decreases and at some point the data says he has put in enough time to enter the Build phase, to train more intensely, most likely.

Get Faster Today Tom
Tom's game is much simpler. His FT is also 220w and 10k pace is 8:00. He is completely focused on watts/pace/speed at FT or LTHR. He experiences the decoupling that Walt experiences...but he likely notices it less because he's focused on the objective data of pace and watts. On the bike, he might set himself of goal of x'/wk at Functional Threshold, increasing the watts he dials in on those sessions as he sees his FT increasing through the data in CycingPeaks. He does similarly on the run, focusing on T-pace per Jack Daniels, but is much more cautious than on the bike. He knows that running intensity is more risky than cycling intensity. He still does it, he's just careful.

At the end of 8-10wks our two heroes meet for some field testing and then have a beer afterwards to discuss their training and where to go from here. Walt's data shows that his heart rate is coupled and he can now move on. His FT is 225w, maybe 230w, and 10k pace is 7:45-50. Tom, on the other hand, has lifted his FT to 235-240w and his 10k pace is closer to 7:30. His heart rate has also coupled, though he has to ask Walt to manage the graphs for him, cuz he hasn't tracking it.

I walk in, sit down, pour myself a Newcastle and give our heroes my observations (folks, I think the cold medicine I'm in on is beginning to kick in ).

• With regards to HR's coupling or whatever, our two heroes are both in the same place: sticky heart rates, PE and HR are aligned, etc. Walt was tracking this diligently, holding himself back and sitting at the prescribed intensity. Tom is there too but it "just happened," he didn't pay attention to it.
• However, as Walt and Tom enter the next phase of their training Tom has a 10-15w and 15-20" head start on Walt. That's a lot of catchup, folks. In my experience, even if Walt gets on board the Tom train, Tom will continue to increase this delta even more because he "gets it." He has learned that work works, he's not afraid to work, and he has a significantly different perspective than Tom on what work truly is. Walt's experience, when riding with Tom (mostly likely on his wheel) will be WTF!!!
• More commonly, especially if Walt and Tom are training for Ironman, they now realize (or their little spreadsheets tell them) that they now need to start putting in the volume to get ready for the race.
  • Walt: is now trying to build "fast" at the same time he is trying to build "far." He cannot manage the two simultaneously and spends his lunches sleeping under his desk (I've been there). This is where the Friel Base 1, 2, 3, Build 1, 2 model falls apart, at the IM distance. I learned this first hand as early as 2001.
  • Tom: he has built "fast." He has more flexibility to separate his fast training from his far training. If he wants, he can consolidate his fast, focus on his far, and introduce bits of fast training into or around his far as he assesses his fitness and recovery from day to day. Hell, he has a significant head start on his buddy Walt!!

Folks, I have seen this exact situation played out hundreds of times, year after year between my athletes and their training partners.

Join TeamEN Today!

Eleventh Day Of EN

On the Eleventh day of EN its back to the pool!
Resolution Swim:A Group: 4k total swim including 8x200 (20) in honor of the new year (2008!).B Group: 3k total swim including 8 repeats of 4x50 (5) as 50 drill, 50 free steady, 50 stroke choice, 50 free hard.
Learn more about our training protocols by reading the Endurance Nation Manifesto.

Observations After Wildflower 2005, 1st AG, 8th OA

A friend recently sent me an old email I wrote after winning my AG at Wildflower in 2005.

Race Success = Race Specific Fitness + Discipline + Tools + Execution Skills

I had a good day at WF. Actually, I should say I had a good training day which turned into a good race day. That’s how relaxed I was. I think what came together for me was the equation above. I’ll talk more below about the fitness thing, the stuff that most people want to know, but as I see discussions bounced back and forth on the net and in my head, discipline and execution skills come to the forefront.

Discipline is a product of humility + statistics. Humility is a result of you, as the successful, fit, type A person that you are, saying “this race is a lot bigger than me and will kick my ass if I’m stupid. I’m going to put away pride and just execute a smart race.” That smart race is then defined by your time at the finish line, not a swim, bike or run split.

So let’s take a look at the kind of strategy that has statistically produced a good finish time. Believe me when I say that strategy is one that views the swim and bike as platforms to launch a good run. You’re welcome to try out different strategies all you want, or you can believe a guy who has had successful races, has crashed and burned, and has studied what works and what does not. Statistically speaking, if you set up the run you improve your chances of success. Any other strategy is a roll of the dice. And the longer the race the more this odds concept becomes more valid. You can roll the dice in Sprints and Olympics and still win. In fact, fitness increases the odds when you do roll those dice. A very fit person can even roll the dice a bit in a Half and still get away with it. VERY few people, no matter how fit, can roll it at an Ironman and get away with it. You only need to look at two sets of people to see this:

1. Inconsistent pros: these guys are hot and cold. I think it’s because they roll the dice. Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose and lose ugly, imploding on the course. Mentally they expect fitness to increase their chances for success, and it does. But these are big guys, they race for dough and sometimes you have to take a shot.
2. Consistent performers: the athletes who get on base every time at the plate. Regardless of their fitness, or how fit they think they are, I believe they go with a plan that shifts the odds to their favor. And the even smarter ones work years to build the fitness to a point where they think they can apply that fitness to a roll of the dice.

Humility and belief in the odds combine to form the discipline required to execute a good race. How do we express that discipline on race day? Usually by not racing J. Simply execute a plan that has a higher probability of success. Let others around you do their own thing and you play the odds that they will come back to you before the finish. In short, put the blinders on, don’t be “tactical,” just race your race, do your thing.

To this discipline we apply the proper tools and the knowledge to use them in the execution of a race. Tools:

• Powermeter: folks, simply the best thing out there to help you race the bike correctly and set up the run. I can only try to help you understand how dialed in I was to the WF bike course and how I was riding it. Having a meter and knowing how to use it can create a fast bike split using the least amount of energy. I can’t think of any mistakes I made on that course, not a single pedal stroke that did not have a purpose.
• Bike fit: from my knowledge of the meter I just have the feeling that I get a lot of speed out of the watts I produce. After talking about watts for so long you just get a feel for what speed is produced by watts x and body comp y. I’m an inflexible guy riding comfortably in an aggressive position, producing slippery bike speed. No reason why you can’t do the same.
• Simplicity: from race day routine to transition setup to bike setup, etc, everything is simple, clean and efficient. I just got off the phone with the owner of Infinit and told him about my plans to try to standardize everything I do and then publish that to the crew. In the manufacturing world we would call this a process sheet of how to produce a good race: set your bike up this way (picture), race with this mixture in a feed bottle (formula), set up your transition area this way (picture), wear this and here is why (picture), take your wetsuit off like this (video), mount your bike like this (video), etc.
• Aerodynamics: a product of this simplicity. A simple plan means less stuff on your bike to catch wind, weigh you down on climbs, etc.

TeamEN Webinar: The Basic Training Week
Sunday, Jan 6, 5pm Left Coast, 8pm Wrong Coast. Please note time and time zone!

Periodization, spreadsheets, tables, Base 1, 2, 3, Build 1, 2, Peak Weeks...it doesn't have to be that complicated! Coach Rich and Coach Patrick will share with you how REAL coaches schedule REAL people in the REAL world!

They will discuss:

• How to manipulate and extend this week across the season
• Templates for General Prep, Race Prep, Test/Recovery, A/B/C Race Week, Post Race and Between-Ironman weeks.
  

The presentation will be about 40' long. Rich and Patrick will then answer questions from the audience for 10-15'.

This webinar is FREE for all Endurance Nation members, friends and training partners. Please invite them to attend our FREE webinar.

Register

	Attendee Quick Reference for Mac® Users (PDF)
	Attendee Quick Reference for PC Users (PDF)

Tenth Day Of EN

On the Tenth day of EN lets talk about training time. As 2008 gets rolling and the deadlines start filling the 'In' box we'll feel like there is less and less time. Check in with Coach Patricks' article in the ENLibrary here as he explains how "Less is More" when it comes to hours of triathlon training.
Resolution Run:
A Group: 105' total run @ z2 with a strong finish over the last 3 miles.
B Group: 75' total run @ z2 with a strong finish over the last 2 miles.
Review Coach Patrick's Long Run Recovery Protocol.

Ninth Day Of EN

On the Ninth day of EN we suggest you add some Core work to your weekly routine in 2008. Coach Patrick has shared 4 different core workouts with you in the ENLibrary. I count 18 different exercises to choose from among the different routines - chose a few to do two days a week and you are sure to see the fruits of your labor come race day.
For the Core resources in the EN Library :go to library, click browse, search for 'core'.
Blog today: OK Holidays over. Time to start getting serious. Let's hear about those resolutions for 2008. Bonus points: add your own resource for core exercise to the EN Forum.

Eighth Day Of EN - Happy New Year!

On this Eighth day of EN, it's time to talk recovery. Remember those maids a milking... ringing in the new year may have you looking for the milk jug this morning. Lets talk about those post-hangover remedy / recovery drinks today. Follow up your blog entry with your best recovery beverage recommendation and recipe, if applicable. Post your drinks in the forum as part of our 12 Days Thread.
Hangover Run:
To keep with the theme of "Eight", you have to run 8 minutes for each drink you had on New Years, with the shortest run being 30', no longer than 96' (that's 12 drinks!!). Blog how the run was. Big bonus points for posting a finish photo!

Seventh Day of EN

On the seventh day of Endurance Nation we give you seven gifts of knowledge with the the ENLibrary, ENBlogs, ENMembers, the ENForum, ENNews, ENPodcasts, and ENVideos.
Connect, Learn, Achieve!
Blog on one new piece of knowledge you gained from browsing the EN Library, blogs, forum, news, podcasts, videos, or finding a new member.
Day Seven: Fit Circuit as 5-8 reps of the following seven - quick and easy as you prepare to usher the new year in:
5' spin on trainer
10 push ups
20 jumping jacks
30 sit ups
40" wall sit
20 burpees
10 push ups
Have a safe New Years Celebration!

Sixth Day Of EN

On the sixth day of EN, it's time to hit the road for a long run. Nothing beats a good long run in the offseason, especially one on a new route. Do yourself a favor and start plotting a new place to run!
Do the right thing and stretch a bit after your workout. Either search the ENLibrary for a stretching resource or find one online and add the link to the ENLibrary yourself!
Resolution Run Recon:
A Group: 75' total run including 2x12' in z3 (8' z2).
B Group: 45' total run including 2x8' in z3 (4' z2).
Mini ReCap: we've given you six days of creating some fitness: some biking, some running, and we got you to the pool. 'And on the Seventh Day' expect something a little lighter so you'll have plenty of time to primp for an evening of Cheers!

Fifth Day of EN

On the fifth day of EN - as we build you toward the start of 2008 and a new year of training and racing we want you to be mindful of common pitfalls to a successful triathlon season. Check in with Coach Rich's Primer for the Self-Coached Ironman Athlete. Resolution time is coming. Reflect on your recent training and racing season. Do you have a training or racing 'pitfall' you'd care NOT to repeat in 2008?
We also start pointing you towards preparing for next week's longer ride. If you are in a warm weather location, start scouting a cool new course; you indoor folks can start brainstorming a good video to get for the trainer ride.
Resolution Ride Recon:Outdoor Group: 2.5-3 hour steady ride.Indoor Group: 75' as 25' WU in z1-2, the twice through (15' @ z3, 5' @ z1, 3' @ z4, 2' @ z1).
Post a picture of your awesome bike; consider adding as one of the 10 pics you can have attached to your EN profile!

Training and Racing with Power Webinar Series

Training and Racing with Power, for Multisport, presented by Endurance Nation

• Do you own a powermeter but have difficulty finding quality information on how to apply the tool to multisport racing?
• Are you a power wannabee, interesting in learning more about these cutting edge tools?
• Are you ready to take your power training and racing to the next level?
  

Endurance Nation announces a webinar series focused on the unique power training and racing considerations of multisport athletes. The presenters are leading authorities on power meter use for multisport athletes, with years of experience teaching age groupers how to use these tools to further their multisport training and racing.

In the end, any powermeter is only as valuable as the investment YOU make in learning how to use it effectively. Augment your $2000 whizbang gadget with our $99 webinar series and get the most out of your training and racing power investment!

SPECIAL OFFER!
Register for the series by January 15th and we will include a one year membership to Endurance Nation, a $99 value!

• Open access to 25 training plans, proven across 3 years and 1000+ athletes, available in TrainingPeaks, WorkoutLog, or Google Doc.
• Training plans include a wide range of power-based plans already used by hundreds of successful athletes.
• Weekly podcasts and monthly webinars on a range of endurance training topics.
• Advice from expert coaches with hundreds of Ironman finishers to their credit.
• And more!!

Special Offer Registration, $99, expires January 15

Schedule and Registration

Sunday, January 13, 2008, 5pm PST: Power Training, for Multisport, FREE

• The specifics of power-training as they relate to multisport, with special attention to the concepts put forth by CyclingPeaks: Functional Threshold Power, Intensity Factor, Normalized Power, Training Stress Score, etc.
• Everything you need to know, explained in a language you can understand.
• Training protocols to make you a stronger triathlon cyclist.
• Transcript and podcast of this event will be made available afterwards in the Endurance Nation Library.
• Register Now!
  

Sunday, January 20, 2008, 5pm PST: Power Racing, for Multisport, $55

• We will introduce the concept of your legs as a bank account, with successful racing simply an exercising in spending from that account wisely so you have $$$ left over to pay the Man on the run.
  
• We will give you a proven power race strategy for your next event: from Sprint to Iron Distance, hilly or flat, windy or calm, we will explain the art of racing with power.
• Register:

Sunday, January 27, 2008, 5pm PST: Analyzing Power Files, $55

• Power files with their many lines and numbers can be overwhelming. We teach you how to analyze the data, from rides and races, so you get what you need, and only what you need.
• Tracking performance over time is about analyzing data trends. We cover what a multisport athlete should watch and what it means for their training and racing.
• Register:

Power Training and Racing, for Multisport, Full Series: $99, includes Endurance Nation membership, offer ends January 15th.
$89 for Endurance Nation Members

• Special Offer Registration, $99:
• Current TeamEN Registration, $89:

The Presenters

Rich Strauss, founder of Crucible Fitness and Endurance Nation. Rich has been training, racing, and coaching with power since 2001. Hundreds of athletes have use his power training plans to PR in the HIM and IM distances. Rich has distilled his experience into a simple, easy to understand and implement power training and racing system.

Jason Digman, Coach and Founder of Dig It Triathlon and Multisport. As an expert in power based training and racing, Jason coaches individual athletes of all levels and abilities in using power to its fullest advantage. Dig It athletes not only use the latest technology to train effectively, they have a good time doing it.

Kurt Perham, Coach and Founder of Personal Best Multisport Coaching . Kurt has trained/raced/coached with power since 2000 and helped to guide athletes from first timers, to Ironman World Champions. He specializes in integrating power data into the day-to-day training of his athletes.

Rich Ashburn is an age-group triatlete (M45-49) from Lafayette, CA, competing in all distances since 2002. He has been using power data in his training and racing since 2003, and has brought is day-job skills as an analyst to bear on some of the number-crunching aspects of using power data for training and racing.

Registration Process: after we receive your payment for Sessions #2, #3, or the series, we will email you a link to actually register for the webinar.

Refund Policy: Sorry, we have a very strict no refund policy. If you can not attend a webinar we can apply your registration towards a future webinar or Endurance Nation membership.

TeamEN Webinar: Off-Season

Join us for a Webinar on December 16 Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar Seat Now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/607964673 Did you come off a great season but wonder what to do now? Tired of building your fitness 9mos a year, only to see it be torn down and need to be recreated from scratch...every...year? Confused by all of advice that's about there about what exactly you should be doing this time of year? Using the training and results of the ENGroups Off-Season platform as the model, TeamEN Head Coaches Rich and Patrick will discuss their thoughts on the elements of a successful off-season. They will be joined by TeamEN members, like you, who've "drank the OS Kool-Aid" and will share their experiences and observations with you. The presentation will be about 40' long. Rich and Patrick will then answer questions from the audience for 10-15'. This webinar is FREE for all Endurance Nation members, friends and training partners. Please invite them to attend our FREE webinar. Please also note time and time zone. Title: TeamEN Webinar: Off-Season Date: Sunday, December 16, 2007 Time: 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PST System Requirements PC-based attendees Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista Macintosh®-based attendees Required: Mac OS® X 10.3.9 (Panther®) or newer Would you like to see more webinars in the future? Please post a comment and let us know what you'd like to see!

Podcast: Planning Your Triathlon Season

Podcast: Planning Your Triathlon Season

Wed, 12 December 2007

EN: Planning Your Triathlon Season

Coach Rich and Coach Patrick talk for 20' about how to lay out a proper triathlon season. The main points are:

• Conserving Your Head Across a Long Season
• Focus on Short Term, Consistency
• Epic Weekends to Boost Fitness
• Cool Events to Maintain Fun Factor

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EN: Four Keys to Ironman Execution

The Endurance Nation "Four Keys" To Ironman Execution

I'm flying home from IMFL, the last Ironman of the 2007 season, and the end of a long season of Ironman coaching, speaking, clinic-ing and spectating. I'd like to take this time to deliver to you, one last time, the end-all, be-all of how you should race Ironman. Frankly, because after six years of full-time Ironman coaching I'm tired of seeing people screw it up! We're absolutely, 100% convinced that what we're going to share with you works. Our observations this season -- and the results of our athletes -- speak for themselves. Note that we're writing this a little tongue in cheek, using humor to get our point across. This is the style of our live schtick, delivered to you in pixels.

First, our CVs...
Rich: Ironman coach since 2001, has personally coached 200+ Ironman finishers. Over 800 athletes have used Crucible Fitness training plans since 2005. I have delivered pre-race talks at 2-4 Ironman races per year since 2003 to about 50-70 athletes per talk. This year alone I've:

• Conducted race specific training camps (ie, how to train and racing Ironman) on the IMLou, IMLP, and IMWI courses for over 70 athletes.
• Delivered pre-race talks at IMCDA, IMLP, IMWI, and IMFL to over 200 athletes.
• Ridden motorcycle support for IMCDA and then stood at the turnaroud at mile 7 for three hours. Rode the IMLP course backwards during the race, then stalked the run course on my bike. That is, I've seen, first hand, hundreds of athletes hammering up a hill at mile 60, and the same athletes walking at mile 10.
  

Patrick: Triathlon coach since 2002, with over 150 one-on-one athletes and 400 training plan athletes sucessfully hitting the finishline in the last five years. I have conducted over 15 race-specific and epic training camps. My personal best is a 10:01 at IMUSA and a 10:37 at Kona 2007.

In short, we have a lot of experience with what works, what does not work, and we've honed this message through the results of our athletes, our observations while being ON the course during the race, and the feedback we've received from pre-race talk attendees.

This is the official Endurance Nation Ironman Kool-Aid, we hope you enjoy it. Help us help you!

The Four Keys

1. Execution, not Fitness. All you've done for 9 months is build a vehicle. Ironman racing is about how you DRIVE that vehicle, it is NOT about the vehicle. The majority of athletes on race day are fitness-focused (look at my T-shirt, look at my abs/veins/etc, look at how fast I can go in the first hour of the bike, etc.) As coaches we can make you stronger, but we can't fix stoopid if you decide to race your own way.
   
2. The Line. Nothing on race day really matters until you reach The Line on the run. The Line is the point at which continuing becomes very, very difficult. You define success as simply not slowing down at The Line. EVERYTHING before The Line is simply about creating conditions for success for when the Line comes to you. Additional Kool-Aid flavored thoughts we'd like to put in your head regarding this point are:

• A successful race = a good run. There is no such thing as a good bike followed by bad run, period. In our world, if you showed up with solid run fitness, had a "good" bike and a poor run, we will ALWAYS assume you boogered your bike pacing unless you are missing a limb or are in the ICU with an intestinal parasite.
• If you think you can ride faster than we're telling you, prove it by running well off the bike first (preferrably not attempted for the first time on IM race day).
  
• Ride your "should" bike split vs your "could" bike split. Your Could split is what you tell Timmy you could ride on a good day, when you're out together for your Saturday ride. If you say you "could ride a 5:50," your Should split is likely 6:00 and defined as the bike split that yields a good run (see above).
• Don't eat the paste. Ironman in general, but especially the bike leg, is at best a special ed class: you only have to show up with your C game to be at the head of the class. If you find yourself doing the opposite of everyone else, you're doing the right thing. If Jimmy and everyone else is in the corner eating the paste, don't join them! Sit down, do what we're telling you, and don't eat the paste! Lots of people passing you in the first 40 miles? That's good, don't eat the paste. Going backwards through the field on a hill? That's good, don't eat the paste.
• Think you made the mistake of riding too easy? You now have 26 miles to fix that mistake. Make the mistake of riding too hard? That mistake now has 26 miles to express itself, to the tune of X miles at 17-18' walking pace vs X miles at 8-10' running pace. Do the math. How is that bike split going to look as you are walking/shuffling the last 10 miles of the run?
• Every time you feel yourself about to get stupid, look at where you are. Are you at The Line? No. Then sit down, shut up, do what you're told and don't be stoopid. Please. :)
  

3. The Box: all day long you are going to race inside a box defined by what you can control. Ask yourself "What do I need to do right NOW to create the conditions for success at The Line? Is what I'm doing right now counter to this goal? From what we've seen first hand on the IM courses this season, we believe you should ask yourself "Am I participating in some short-term tactical masturbation?" If yes, STOP!!

On the swim, the Box is the space your body occupies in the water: focus on your form and the rest will come. On the bike, the box is probably about one aid station long. On the run, the box begins as 2-3 aid stations long but often diminishes to "from here to the next lampost/manhole cover/mail box." Regardless:

• Keep the box as big as you can for as long as you can.
• Keep in the box only the things you can control. Let go of the rest.
• Exercise this decision-making process inside your box: Observe the situation, Orient yourself to a possible course of action, Decide on a course of action, Act (OODA Loop).
  

4. The One Thing. If you swallowed the Kool-Aid we're serving you here, you will show up at the Line, in your Box, ready to git'erdun and simply not slow down. But we're not done yet. There is still some psychological stuff you need to address.

During the course of your race day, expect your body to have a conversation with your mind: "Look, Mind, you've had me out here slogging away for 132 miles. This is really starting to get old and very painful. You need to give me a good reason to keep going forward. If you can't give me a good one, I'm gonna slow down and you can't stop me!" Before the race, you need to ask yourself "Why am I doing Ironman?" In other words, you need to determine what is the One Thing that put you in this race? To finish in the daylight with a smile on your face? To run a 4:10? Whatever your One Thing is, be absolutely clear and rehearse your mind/body debate beforehand. But be warned: your body can be a helluva good negotiator at mile 18, especially if your mind hasn't prepared its rebuttal arguments beforehand.

Unity of purpose creates clarity of focus, yielding breakthrough performance.

What have we not talked about so far? The things you are likely most torqued about: heart rate, pace, speed, watts, how to eat, what to drink, etc. We believe that if you can keep yourself focused on the Four Keys above, the rest of the day is relatively simple and you don't need to worry about these relatively small details. In other words, all the whizbang guidance in the world can't help you if don't have your mind right about the Four Keys above.

But because you're a Type A Triathlete and you want the details, here they are:

• The Swim: Swim only as fast as your ability to maintain form. When you feel your form go, slow down. Counting strokes is an excellent technique for bringing your mind out of the race and into the Box of maintaining your form.
• The Bike: JRA (Just Ride Along) for about 45-60'. Then shift from JRA to Easy (5:45+ should split) to Steady (sub 5:45 should split). Guage how well you're doing by how well you're NOT doing what everyone else is doing. REMEMBER: Don't eat the paste!
• The Run: Jog for 4-6 miles, with a jogging, do-no-harm pace and heart rate cap. Jogging is defined as a pace you could sustain for hours if we kept feeding you. After 4-6 miles, shift from jogging to "running," running comfortably, getting what you need, and preparing yourself for the Line, where things become very uncomfortable. At the Line, just suck it up and giterdun.
  

Conclusion
That's it, that's as complicated as racing Ironman needs to be and we can't say it any more simply. We've basically given you a Vegas betting strategy, having managed and observed many rolls of the dice. If you sit down, shut up, do what we tell you, you will have a good day. But as you stray towards the Ricky Racer side of the execution scale, you begin to rattle the dice.

Still not convinced?
The results and feedback of our athletes speak for themselves:

"First, the things Rich and Coach P preached were a lot of common sense, but somehow they seemed to hit home.

1. There is generally not failure to train, but failure to execute an effective race plan. Test your plan prior to race day, know it, use it.
2. Don't get caught up in other people's "stuff", e.g., trying new things 24 hrs before the race. Do the things you have tested long before race day
3. Race your race. If the other guys want to blow past you on the bike, let them. You WILL see them again. Know your training data and use it.
4. Prepare yourself mentally for the arguments your mind and your body are going to have toward the end.
5. Swim: only as fast as form stays good.
6. Bike: pace within your ranges (power/hr) ignore "speed"
7. Run: start SLOWLY, you don't want to have to walk 26 miles,the real "race" starts @ mile 18
8. Enjoy what you've worked for and know that while you are suffering Rich and Coach P are somewhere sucking down a Starbucks!!"--Gina

"I passed 20% of the field in my first Ironman marathon, and I am far from being an elite runner. I credit the EN masters with allowing this to happen. Simple, repeatable concepts & key words helped me to remain patient, focused, and detached from other competitors. Look out, ‘cause I’m taking another sip of their Kool-Aid in ’08." -- Dan

"Pre Kool Aid - I had completed 3 previous IM without Kool Aid. They were each about survival rather than completing the event with confidence. I walked the majority of the marathon in each of these events. I honestly thought that maybe I wasn't cut out to run the IM run.
Post Kool Aid - An hour run PR. I ran the whole run. Finished with confidence and absolutely "flew" on the second half of the run. Thanks to the EN pacing guidelines, I ran a 10 minute negative split. It seemed surreal, to think I could actually enjoy the IM run. What an incredible experience! More coaches need to preach execution just as much, if not more than the training phase." -- Alex

Have you had a great race after listening to or reading our drivel? If so, please post your comments and experiences!