Training Options

I'm still on the fence about how to approach training for the Ironman this coming season. I'm not sure how much I've shared about my frustration with training this year, but in late July I decided, at the urging of Will from Toga Bikes, to contact Robert and Spencer from Terrier and let them know the issues I was having in hopes of resolution, or just letting them know.

This is the email I sent:

Hi Robert and Spencer,

As you know, I signed up to race IM Mont-Tremblant next year, and I've started exploring training options for next year as well.

I would have loved to sign up for Terrier's discounted 2012 program which you posted in June, but because of my experiences thus far this year, ultimately decided not to commit to the 2012 program at this juncture.

As was pointed out to me recently, however, if I don't at least express my frustrations to you, I can't expect anything to change. I will say honestly, that I'm not sure that it will make much difference to my decision-making process either way, but feedback might make for a better experience for current/future Terriers.

At the end of last year, when looking for a coaching program, there were a number of things that made me ultimately decide on Terrier, and specifically the IMO/Half program*. The first was convenience- 75 West End Ave. is close enough to my home that I can ride or run down, plus the promise of workouts being posted in 2 week increments would allow me to shift things around as necessary to accommodate my daughters' schedules. Because I was new to triathlons, I thought I'd be better served by receiving coaching rather than try to learn three new sports as well as a training regimen on my own. Another draw was the option of being able to do the workouts either with the group or individually. Though I had been following a free online program at that point, it only told me for how long to work on each sport each day, saying nothing of intensity, heart rate, goals for the day, etc. Additionally, I liked that there would be open water swims in May, June, and July, all before NYC Tri, so that I'd be prepared for that. In the intro meeting we were also told about monthly time trials for the three disciplines, which would be used to track our progress. And of course, the price seemed reasonable as well.

Unfortunately, my experience has been less than satisfactory. Over the course of the season thus far, the IMO/half group has received a maximum of three 2 week blocks of workouts posted. Far more of them weren't posted until very late Sunday night, or even on Monday, with a bunch listing the Monday as a rest day (and still another subset of those being a copy and paste job from the week before edited later in the week). The thought that came to my mind on each of those occasions was that rest days ought not be dictated by a failure to post the schedule in a timely manner.

Case in point is this week's workout which as of 7:42 pm on Monday night still hasn't been posted. Many of us are racing Sunday in the NYC Tri, and a little notice of how this week is supposed to shape up would have been appropriate.

I've asked some Terriers if they were experiencing the same frustrations. It seems like some are resigned to the situation, and others are equally frustrated.

Too, there was no OWS in May, and though 2 were offered in June, the one I signed up for was cancelled,after the prior one already happened, so there is no way of making up the cancelled swim. While I've taken my training into my own hands by joining NYC Swim for two of their events, neither offered instruction, and instead merely highlighted my shortcomings in the OWS.

Now I know that I will perform adequately on the remainder of my races this season, but that just doesn't cut it for me, since like most of us who choose to compete in triathlons, I'm pretty Type A, and want to improve and not merely get by. I'm so frustrated at this point that I've been avoiding group workouts so as not to inappropriately express my anger there. Obviously this is a bit counter-productive. I feel like I could have received more specificity and professionalism from an online program for half the cost, or that the time that I've wasted reloaded the Training Peaks page on Sundays and Mondays would have been more effectively spent on researching and writing up a training program, and that the $225/month going towards the Half program certainly did not offer its money worth, especially when compared to the relative value of the GCM. It's unfortunate, because I enjoy many aspects of being a Terrier and have met some really nice people.

Hopefully some of the issues that I've brought up will be addressed, not even for my sake, but for the sake of your business. It seems like poor business practice to over-promise and under-deliver. Rather, one would hope to be pleasantly surprised to receive more value than originally expected.

Best,

Galit Einy



Neither bothered to respond. In truth, considering the poor communication skills that were exhibited up until that point, I wasn't too surprised. (Let me say also that this wasn't an issue that was mine alone. I spoke with many current and past Terriers who experienced the same issues that I did.)**

So it was time to approach another group. Asking around, several people had very positive things to say about TriLife. I reached out to Scott, head coach, and asked several questions about the group. Although still on the fence about whether I wanted to commit to a team to such an extent, their training structure and camps sounded incredible, as did the smaller size of the group, so I filled out the application. And waited. And waited. Ultimately I heard back that they had many applicants for a limited number of spots, and that they could not offer me one. While disappointed, I was also relieved not to have to deal with the social pressure of befriending an entire group of people or the rigidity of sticking to the plan.

Of course, that still leaves me trying to figure out who to train with next year. Asphalt Green has programs similar to the Terrier programs - their general membership program also has 2 swims a week, a long ride on Saturday, long run on Sunday, as well as a brick, ride and run mid-week. The fee for that is nt outrageous, and was cheaper than Terrier's GCM fee for last year. Apparently Terrier was hurting, though, and must have lost a lot of it's members, since it's slashed fees for it's GCM program next year to $400. Whether or not I buy into one or both remains to be seen. Since coming back from Israel, I haven't even gone into a drop in swim, ands I still have 8 classes on my class card with them.

And still under consideration is individuated coaching - whether I want local, online, or self-coaching leading up to Ironman. There are many factors at play, from cost to benefit, to how much I'll be able to follow a program someone else assigns vs. one I self-assign, and will in part depend on how disciplined I manage to be now in the off-season.
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*the IMO/Half program had a fee of $225 per month associated with it above the GCM program fee which was $600 or $700 last year. Getting one to one coaching from other local coaches runs about the same amount - from $175 to $250 per month, and is a much better bargain in terms of specificity of training than a non-individualized program.
** oh yeah, btw, shortly following my letter, Terrier hired itself a Communication Director who seems to be in charge of letting Terriers know what's going on in terms of workouts, changes in programs, coordinating social events, etc. Good to know that my complaints were valid. Too bad they couldn't acknowledge my letter. The whole situation has left me feeling pretty bitter. The question is whether I can gcm with them and use their services and discounts to my advantage without identifying with them...