General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Membership worth the Money Rss Feed  
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2005-12-16 10:26 AM

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Subject: Membership worth the Money
I have been a member of beginnertriathlete.com for about 4-5 months now (prior to this I had no endurance training). I have completed the 20 week sprint training(3x Balanced) program that is free on the web site. I am trying to decide what program would be the best for me to continue my training. My goal is to complete a sprint triathlon, May 13th of 2006 in St George, UT and then complete in June in the Sprint at Salem, UT. I have been looking at the bronze/silver/gold membership plans and wondering what plan to use and also if the plan I choose will be worth upgrading my membership to the required membership to view that plan. Any suggestion are greatly appreciated

Thanks masontwo


2005-12-16 10:46 AM
in reply to: #306871

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Subject: RE: Membership worth the Money

As you already use the logs, I would say "yes" that it is worth the money to be able to take advantage of the different membership levels (for a full listing, go to the membership section on the home page).

I particularly enjoy the ability to import that plan into my logs so that I can do planned vs. actual. 

Outside of the benefits of subscribing as a member, you also get the benefit of supporting the continued operation of a qaulity website + resource.

Good luck with your training!

2005-12-16 12:10 PM
in reply to: #306871

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Champion
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Subject: RE: Membership worth the Money
not only is it worth it, it's your DUTY! those logs are complicated and it takes a lot of cash to pay for the servers, the maintenance, not to mention all of the development. I think logs should be for payers only.... you also get access to free support from MIke Ricci who will help you reach your goals.
2005-12-16 12:53 PM
in reply to: #306871

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Subject: RE: Membership worth the Money
Of course you will get two different camps here from people that have been here awhile and have paid and the people that have not. I personally think you can do fine with the amount of FREE information you can get here or for that matter, any of the other competing triathlon boards. Can you get other sorts of training plans and advice for free on the internet? Yes. But it's very convenient to have everything in one place and whatever all the member people say.
2005-12-17 2:00 AM
in reply to: #306871

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Subject: RE: Membership worth the Money
I think the Silver/Gold levels are well worth it.  I use my 15% Trisports.com discount on a regular basis and the access to the training plan support forum has been a huge help to me.  I can't afford to hire a personal coach just yet but being able to interact with Mike Ricci about my training is the next best thing.
2005-12-17 2:21 AM
in reply to: #306871

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Subject: RE: Membership worth the Money
I've been here since before the performance memberships were invented, and personally I don't see any additional need for the benefits they provide. I certainly think supporting the site is good, but the memberships are kind of expensive (for me) and the extra features aren't essential. For a sprint distance, you can find lots of plans online and in books for free. There isn't a whole lot of rocket science to sprint distance races. The same themes you see in the free plan will probably appear in the membership plan. I'm doing ironman training right now, and there is even plenty of free material available on that distance. If the plans are what you are worried about, then I would argue against upgrading your membership.

-dave


2005-12-17 8:17 AM
in reply to: #307478

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Subject: RE: Membership worth the Money

skavoovie - 2005-12-17 3:21 AM I've been here since before the performance memberships were invented, and personally I don't see any additional need for the benefits they provide. I certainly think supporting the site is good, but the memberships are kind of expensive (for me) and the extra features aren't essential. For a sprint distance, you can find lots of plans online and in books for free. There isn't a whole lot of rocket science to sprint distance races. The same themes you see in the free plan will probably appear in the membership plan. I'm doing ironman training right now, and there is even plenty of free material available on that distance. If the plans are what you are worried about, then I would argue against upgrading your membership. -dave

Fair enough, Dave, but I think it really depends on what your goals are, and what your background is. I come from a completely un-athletic background, and it gives me confidence to know I'm following a plan designed by a real tri coach. I also disagree about the content of the paid plans. Many of the plans that are available to a paid membership were designed by Mike Ricci, and are far more detailed than the free plans. With the gold membership, I have access to Mike for questions, plan modifications, evaluation of how my training is going, hi-level injury questions, etc.,  and like TH3_FRB said, $130/year for the gold plan is FAR cheaper than what it would cost me to have a once-a-week phone call with Mike.

2005-12-17 9:33 AM
in reply to: #306871

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Elite
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Subject: RE: Membership worth the Money
I don't know why anyone wouldn't go at least go bronze if they are using the training plans, logs, and forums on this site for more than a few months.  $4.17 a month.  With how much work Ron, marmadaddy, infosteward, the coaches, and members of this site put in to keep it running it's nice to give a little back and help support it.
2005-12-17 11:51 AM
in reply to: #307517

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Pro
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Virginia Beach, VA
Subject: RE: Membership worth the Money
I agree.  Even before I started using the training plans and support I felt a sort of obligation to contribute to the BT community.  There is so much more beyond the standard forums here and Ron is constantly responding to our requests and inupt...it just feels like the right thing to do and I'm hapy to support the site.

PirateGirl - 2005-12-17 10:33 AMI don't know why anyone wouldn't go at least go bronze if they are using the training plans, logs, and forums on this site for more than a few months. $4.17 a month. With how much work Ron, marmadaddy, infosteward, the coaches, and members of this site put in to keep it running it's nice to give a little back and help support it.
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General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Membership worth the Money Rss Feed