Continuum Performance

BE ABOUT IT

What's In A Name?
Eric Belliveau • Jul 21, 2017

Since launching 18 Maple Endurance Training in February of this year, I've received numerous inquiries as to why I chose the name 18 Maple. Just this past weekend, while out in a training ride with the new tri kit, I was asked by fellow riders and perfect strangers why 18 Maple?

My first, and easiest, answer is always that it is the actual physical address of where we are located. As a sister brand of Continuum Performance Center, it just made sense and was a way to affiliate the brands.

However, what seems as an easy answer actually means more to me than just the address. The thought process I went through to land on 18 Maple Endurance Training was far deeper than a physical location.

18 Maple is indeed an address. As subscribers and staff know, it is a space where we have been able to find a new level of fitness, camaraderie, challenge, and support. Before joining the staff, I was a subscriber. I was a regular at Wednesday morning boot camp. The more I went, the more I was pushed to a new limit by those around me and the crazy guy (said with the utmost respect) instructing class. I saw a direct benefit to the triathlons I trained for and raced in each summer.

Kieran, Brendan, and I in Kona for 2014 IRONMAN World Championships

In 2014, I had qualified for the IRONMAN World Championship and came onboard as a full time staff member. My personal and professional worlds were beginning to merge and the support that I received from my employer, co-workers, clients, and subscribers was something that meant more to me than words can express. The decision to use the name 18 Maple Endurance Training is a reflection of my gratitude and a tribute to where everything began to fall into place.

Now, I know you're thinking - that's great, totally get it, but I've seen your logo. What's up with the maple leaf and the pink? 18 Maple is as much a tribute to where my professional and personal career in endurance training began to take off, but my roots lie in the maple leaf.

A solid brand is represented not just through its name but through its look. I was lucky enough to work with an incredible local graphic designer, Scott Gordon-Decoteau (also an avid cyclist), who was able to capture exactly how I wanted the brand to be showcased. The maple leaf was a must.

For as far back as I can remember, my Father would spent the late winter/early spring months making maple syrup. My brother, Kieran, and I would anxiously ride the bus home from school looking for the cloud of smoke coming from our little Shaker Hill Sugar House located next to the drive way. We would bust into the small shack asking if it was time to draw off because that was the best time to get a taste of the freshest, purest taste of THE BEST maple syrup we would ever have. The childhood and family memories that have come from the creation of maple syrup are forever rooted in me.

Training for an IRONMAN can be a lonely sport. It's you and the road. Being an endurance athlete can be a selfish pursuit. To be successful, whatever that means to you, requires time and effort. The cost of that is often at the expense of your family.

This guy! Kieran my younger brother who's rockin' the 18 Maple jersey at home in NH. Thumbs up!

Having strong roots with family and friends supporting your aspirations make the many miles and long hours worth it.

Ironically enough, I was out on a training ride in a tiny little town on the east side of the Quabbin Resevoir this past weekend in the new 18 Maple Tri Kit. A stranger asked me what 18 Maple was and why the maple leaf. Before I could answer, he told me he makes maple syrup in town and loved the maple leaf. I was dumbfounded by how a perfect stranger, knowing nothing about the brand, could see right through the tri bike, pink and blue kit, wavy lines, a crazy lady riding in the middle of nowhere and see the true meaning behind 18 Maple Endurance Training.

18 Maple Endurance Training isn't just a name I pulled off of a mailing label. 18 Maple is a tribute to my roots and to those who have had my back from the beginning. There may come a day when our physical address is no longer 18 Maple Court and that's okay because we’ll continue to honor our history.

The Meat Hangover

By Eric Belliveau • 07 Oct, 2020
When it comes to taking meat out of your diet, some people have the idea that they will only see positive changes immediately following this choice. While those positive changes are definitely part of the deal, so is an adjustment period for your body.

We're Trying

By Eric Belliveau • 23 Sep, 2020
We were all thrown on this crazy ride together. Emotions were running high but so were patience, empathy, inclusion, and respect. Most of us could rally behind the #WeAreInThisTogether manta. We wanted to do right by each other - donate to charities, lend a hand, check-in on one another. Do our part. As the days turn to weeks and the weeks into months these dispositions decayed rapidly. I know that this Quarantine order has been going on for a long time. I know that a great number of us do not agree on the why. I know an even greater number of us are “over it”. I am painfully aware of the difference of opinions surrounding the pandemic. It is impossible to NOT be aware of this. This leads us all to frustration, anger, resentment, and the feeling that you are not being heard. Very real and very human emotions! It is okay to feel this way. I am not only writing this from the perspective of a fellow struggling human. I do find myself struggling with everything I mentioned above. Not just daily but multiple times a day. My ability to focus has been challenged by my worry. My ability to create time for myself and focus on self-care has been derailed for fear of other things becoming more pressing. I work on this every day. I am not only writing this from the perspective of one of the business owners who were never given a playbook for this. For weeks on end I thought WTF happened to the business and how would our model need to change and remain viable, how each business owner had to either weather a period in which we were completely shut down or allowed to operate under capacity restrictions, etc. The unknown of what the timeline would bring and whether we would be able to continue our dreams or make an extremely difficult decision of not continuing. This still haunts every one of us daily. I AM very much writing this as a service provider! I am writing this as an impassioned human who genuinely loves what I do for a living. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to have built a career surrounding something I get excited about every day. I am making a stand for all of us that make their living in the service industry. To the receptionist, hostess, waiter, cook, dry cleaner, teacher, technician, barista, utility worker, automobile service technician… It is truly impossible to be inclusive of everyone here.  No one human mentioned above asked for this ‘situation’ we are in. We are sure as hell trying to provide a level of normalcy, service, care, and happiness to the lives in which we choose to serve. With added restrictions, added expense decreased capacity and the fear of being fined or shut down for doing it incorrectly, everyday.

The Meat Hangover

By Eric Belliveau • 07 Oct, 2020
When it comes to taking meat out of your diet, some people have the idea that they will only see positive changes immediately following this choice. While those positive changes are definitely part of the deal, so is an adjustment period for your body.

We're Trying

By Eric Belliveau • 23 Sep, 2020
We were all thrown on this crazy ride together. Emotions were running high but so were patience, empathy, inclusion, and respect. Most of us could rally behind the #WeAreInThisTogether manta. We wanted to do right by each other - donate to charities, lend a hand, check-in on one another. Do our part. As the days turn to weeks and the weeks into months these dispositions decayed rapidly. I know that this Quarantine order has been going on for a long time. I know that a great number of us do not agree on the why. I know an even greater number of us are “over it”. I am painfully aware of the difference of opinions surrounding the pandemic. It is impossible to NOT be aware of this. This leads us all to frustration, anger, resentment, and the feeling that you are not being heard. Very real and very human emotions! It is okay to feel this way. I am not only writing this from the perspective of a fellow struggling human. I do find myself struggling with everything I mentioned above. Not just daily but multiple times a day. My ability to focus has been challenged by my worry. My ability to create time for myself and focus on self-care has been derailed for fear of other things becoming more pressing. I work on this every day. I am not only writing this from the perspective of one of the business owners who were never given a playbook for this. For weeks on end I thought WTF happened to the business and how would our model need to change and remain viable, how each business owner had to either weather a period in which we were completely shut down or allowed to operate under capacity restrictions, etc. The unknown of what the timeline would bring and whether we would be able to continue our dreams or make an extremely difficult decision of not continuing. This still haunts every one of us daily. I AM very much writing this as a service provider! I am writing this as an impassioned human who genuinely loves what I do for a living. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to have built a career surrounding something I get excited about every day. I am making a stand for all of us that make their living in the service industry. To the receptionist, hostess, waiter, cook, dry cleaner, teacher, technician, barista, utility worker, automobile service technician… It is truly impossible to be inclusive of everyone here.  No one human mentioned above asked for this ‘situation’ we are in. We are sure as hell trying to provide a level of normalcy, service, care, and happiness to the lives in which we choose to serve. With added restrictions, added expense decreased capacity and the fear of being fined or shut down for doing it incorrectly, everyday.
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