2011: 5k PR by 30 seconds, PRs in sprint and Olympic races, multiple top-3 finishes in Age Group

I approached Joe to lay out an overview of training for the summer to help me reach some seemingly reasonable goals for 2011.  As a baseball player, coming from a background not including swimming or road cycling, I soon realized that there was a lot to learn. I had done a few triathlons in the 1990s, a few marathons, and about 2 years of triathlons without any focused training. I chose to focus on the Olympic distance triathlon and we set some pretty lofty goals for an “A” race.

I then elected for Joe’s ongoing coaching, and over the course of the summer, my training went through predefined periodization which resulted in zero injuries, speed that I did not know I had, and, best of all, I remained excited about training.  My wife and I decided that the first time I said “I HAVE to go ride…. or run…” , then I would probably give up the training plan.

I never felt obligated to train or dreaded any of the sessions, although some of them did sting a bit.  There were measurable and reproducible gains.  The training and training periods were dynamic and flexible, down to the day.  Joe was readily available for suggestions when I could not make a certain workout on the plan.

Times and place finishes from prior years were substantially improved, and over the summer the training got faster and remained enjoyable.  I felt that Joe had a good grasp of my family and work priorities, and he realized that training was third. I never missed any kids’ activities. We used consistently high intensity and shorter duration training and this resulted in progress greater than I could have gained with my traditional sessions.

My goals were to keep my weekly training to a reasonable, predefined volume and avoid any low yield training that would distract from any time with family.  His insight and experience were readily available and invaluable.  As a medical professional, I appreciate his incorporating sound physiology and biochemistry into coaching.

I am anxious to build on the lessons learned and strength gained in 2011.