How Our Coaching Can Help You

We will take care of all of your training planning and scheduling. This frees you to do what you love to do—train for your sport! You can put the planning of your training in our hands, giving you one less thing to worry about. This also creates tremendous peace of mind for you. You will know that you are training in proven ways that will allow you to constructively work towards your personal goals.

We will plan your training around your life. We have coached dozens of people just like you—people with demanding careers and families! We coach nurses, teachers, engineers, personal trainers, computer specialists, construction workers, business owners, doctors, accountants, lawyers, college professors, undergraduate and graduate students, moms, dads, sisters, brothers—people from all walks of life! People just like you! We understand the demands of training in a balanced fashion and we will help you train in a way that balances the various facets of your life!

We will be here to answer all of your questions. The more you get into endurance sports, the more confusing in can be to understand not only how to best train, but how to take the best approaches to nutrition, sports nutrition, recovery, mental skills training, equipment, and race strategy. We will be here for you to answer all of your questions in these and any other areas that will be of help to you. We will communicate in a few regularly scheduled ways, and in addition to our scheduled interactions, we welcome and invite you to call or email us ANYTIME with questions—that’s what we are here for! In this way, we will be your "go to guys" for any and all help you need!  

We will provide an objective assessment of your training response. For highly motivated endurance athletes, this is very valuable. We will continually assess your training response and continually determine the best courses of action with your training. As an example, a great athlete we work with recently said to us, “That mini-break you had me take in August really helped me. I’ve had my best workouts of the year since then and I am really confident going into the Ironman. Thanks! That is something I never would have done on my own.”

We will help you make adjustments to your training plan “on the fly” as needed. Maybe you have an unexpected business meeting or trip. Maybe you have an unexpected family gathering. Maybe the weather in your area presents some obstacles to your training on a given day. When you encounter these scenarios, you can let us know, and we will help you to adjust your training in the most appropriate ways. Life is dynamic, and we can help you keep your training on the best course, as you meet the ever-changing demands of your life.  

Frequently Asked Questions About Our Coaching

Q: Will you guys help me with strength/power training?

A: Absolutely! Strength/power training (also commonly referred to as strength training, weight training, or resistance training) can be an extremely helpful part of your overall training as an endurance athlete. We are long-standing members of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and we have each held the NSCA’s Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certification (CSCS) for nearly 10 years. We actually spoke to coaches from around the world at the NSCA’s Annual Conference on the topic of Optimizing Endurance Performance a few years back! We LOVE strength/power training! As appropriate and best for you, we will use strength/power training in your training to help you work towards your personal goals! And the strength/power training we have you do will be of the highest quality anywhere in the fitness or performance industry! We use a simple, straightforward, extremely effective approach that you will enjoy! We also use an awesome Strength/Power Training Appendix as part of your Tri-Hard Athlete Binder, complete with pictures and descriptions of the exercises that will make up your strength/power training workouts.

Q: Will you guys help me with nutrition and sports nutrition?

A: Definitely! Nutrition and sports nutrition are important components of what you do as an endurance athlete. We’ll help you right off the bat when we start working with you to constructively work to make improvements to your nutrition in the ways that will best support your health and help you reach your performance goals. We’ll also help you with sports nutrition issues such as recovery nutrition and race nutrition. As you work towards your races, we will help you formulate a personal Race Nutrition Plan! We’ve helped dozens of people formulate personal Race Nutrition Plans for races of all distances. We’ll help you with this by using sound science, years of experience, and working with you to customize your plan based on your personal response to various approaches and your bodies demonstrated need for various nutrients. We also employ the services of Dina Berlin, MS, RD as our Nutrition/Sports Nutrition Advisor. Dina helps us to provide the most expert nutrition and sports nutrition advice to our athletes.

Q: Do you guys help me with other areas outside of just training and nutrition/sports nutrition?

A: Yes! As appropriate and best for you in each of your training plans, we will also advise you on recovery, mental skills training, equipment, race strategy, and any other areas we feel we can help you with at that time.

Q: What if I have questions about my training?

A: We’ll answer them! We invite our athletes to call or email us ANYTIME with ANY questions! With both our Professional Coaching I and Professional Coaching II services, we invite you to contact us ANYTIME with ANY questions.  

Q: How many people do you work with?

A: Between the two of us, we work with about 32 athletes at any given time through our two ongoing coaching services. With each athlete we work with, either Jason or Will assumes the role of that athlete’s primary coach. Your primary coach will have the most direct communication with you and will be the one who delivers your training plans to you. Behind the scenes, the two of us will work together on various aspects of your coaching, from creating your training plans, to putting our heads together to help you work through an obstacle.

Q: Will you guys help me plan my race season?

A: Yes! When we start working with you, one of the first things we will go over with you is your schedule of races. We’ll help you to create a schedule of races or fine-tune your plan for races to optimize your chances for success in your peak races. We’ll help you to balance the fine-line between under-racing and over-racing to ensure your best performances in your peak races.

Q: Do you guys have any experience with the mental end of things?

A: Yes, we love the mental end of things (sports psychology)! It’s actually one of our biggest passions! We’ve both been informal students of sports psychology for many years! If you are looking to improve your mental skills we can help you! But be ready to work. Real mental skills training takes patience, dedication, and a desire to grow and change, just like all forms of physical training! We also employ the services of world-class sports psychologist Dr. Alan Goldberg, PhD, as our Sports Psychology Advisor. Alan helps us to provide the most expert sports psychology advice to our athletes.

Q: Can you guys help me with my athletic injuries or other medical conditions?

A: We are not medical professionals. So we will not diagnose or treat any medical conditions or athletic injuries. If you want to start working with us and you are ill or injured, what we can do is help you to train in the most effective ways that will help you best maintain your fitness as you treat your condition or injuries under the supervision of a medical professional. We can also help you with mental skills training workouts that will aid you in your healing. Finally, we will help you ease back into full training as you heal. We can communicate with your medical professional(s) and we will use their advice in how to best design your training. We also employ the services of Dr. Rob MacNeal, MD as our Medical Advisor, and Carol Tshirpke, PT as our Sports Medicine/Physical Therapy Advisor. Rob and Carol help us to provide the most expert advice to our athletes.

Q: I have a few regularly scheduled group workouts that I like to participate in. If I work with you guys, can we work these into my training plans?

A: Yes, we can definitely make this work for you. We’ll assess what your group workouts are like and then use them in your overall training plan in the ways that best compliment your overall training.

Q: What kinds of athletes do you guys coach? How old are your athletes? What distance races do people you work with race in?

A: We coach all kinds of endurance athletes. We mostly coach triathletes, duathletes, road cyclists, mountain bike racers, and runners. We’ve coached people from their late teens to people in their 70’s. We coach people who race in all distances of endurance events.

Q: Where do your athletes live?

A: We coach people all around the world. We’ve coached people in five countries on three continents. A good majority, however, are here in the United States and a good portion of them are local to us here in New England.

Q: How can I learn more about your coaching to see if it is right for me?

A: First, give us a call. Speaking with us is the best way we can answer all of your questions and help you learn more. It also allows us to speak with you and get an understanding of where you are coming from and how we may be able to assist you. We can also provide you with copies of some of our published articles to help you learn more about our coaching and conditioning philosophies. In addition, we can provide you with samples of training plans to show the level of detail and customization that goes into them. Lastly, we can set you up to speak with some of our current athletes so that you can gain their perspective on how our coaching is helpful for them. We feel our athletes are the best representation of our coaching, so speaking with them will allow you to see from their perspective, what our coaching provides for them. If there is anything else we may be able to provide you with to help you learn more, just ask us! In addition, we do not require our athletes to sign long-term contracts with us. So, you can try our coaching and decide to stop at anytime. We are extremely confident that you will be pleased with our level of SERVICE and with your personal RESULTS, and that you will continue working with us on those merits. From that confidence, we do not feel the need to lock you into working with us for any period of time. This gives you the full opportunity to see if our coaching is a good fit for you!

Q: How often can I contact you?

A: You can contact us as often as you like. We will have regularly scheduled opportunities to communicate (see the specific descriptions on Our Ongoing Coaching Services page for more details) and these are very valuable in our working together. In addition to these scheduled communications, we welcome and invite all of our athletes to call or email us ANYTIME. Sometimes you may have a lot of questions. Other times, you may have very few questions. It does not matter to us—when you have a question, let us know! Typically, if we do no hear from you in a few days, we will check in with you to see how you are doing and how your training is going.

Q: Do I have to sign up for a certain period of time?

A: No, you do not have to sign up for any period of time. We feel that the quality of our service and coaching are top notch. We feel that after you start working with us, you will want to stay with us because you find that we help you train in ways that are fun, productive, and get results. You’ll also be pleased with our availability to answer your questions and our ability to help you reach your goals! We want you to keep working with us for those reasons, not because you feel locked into a long-term commitment. This approach has worked very well for us to this point, with many athletes staying with us for as long as five years and counting!

Q: I’m just beginning as an endurance athlete. Do you work with folks like me?

A: Yes, we sure do! Although we do work with some very high-level endurance athletes, we also work with beginners and everyone in between. We’ll work with you and design your training to precisely meet your needs! Plus we’ll work to make it fun for you! We take pride in the fact that our coaching is precisely tailored to your individual needs, so you can rest assured that we will assist you in the best ways we feel are just right for you!

Q: I’m really busy with my job and my family? I have a limited amount of time I can spend training each week. Is your coaching right for me?

A: It can be. Many people feel that if they hire a coach to help them with their training, the coach will require them to complete training loads that are not realistic for them. This may be the case with some coaches, but it is definitely not the case with us. If your time is limited (and who’s isn’t?), what we can do for you will be very valuable. We’ll help you to use the time you do have for training very effectively. We’ll help you get the most “bang for your training buck” with effective, streamlined, purposeful training sessions. It’s a misconception that you need tons of time for training to race well. We’ve coached very busy individuals (i.e., medical students, working mothers, etc.) to great success in demanding races such as Ironman triathlons. The key is making the best use of the time you have, not asking you to do more than they can realistically do.

Q: Do I need any special equipment to work with you guys?

A: No, not at all. Although we are very adept at using training tools to help a person train effectively, we will work with you based on what training tools you have available to you and enjoy using. This means some of our athletes use power meters, heart rate monitors, pace meters, and other similar tools, but others do not. We’ll work with you in the ways you feel most comfortable, and the ways that are most fun and helpful for you.

Q: Do you guys assess and help me train my movement skills?

A: Yes! As part of your Start-Up Process and at regular periods where we have you perform performance testing, we will have you compose a video of yourself performing your sport or sports disciplines (for triathletes/duathletes). We will then perform a video analysis of your technique and skills and provide advice and workouts for you based on our analysis.

Q: Is any of our work in person?

A: For local athletes or visiting athletes, we often do your initial meeting as part of your Start-Up Process in person instead of on the phone. We also attend several races per year and tend to meet up with our athletes who are also there, the day before the race. Finally, we hold an annual Tri-Hard Barbeque each fall, which is not really “work”, but is a chance to socialize and hang out with our athletes. We are also available for in-person lessons on a on a time-available and fee-for-time basis.

Q: What is the difference between Professional Coaching I and Professional Coaching II?

A: Professional Coaching I is what we feel is the most optimal form of endurance sports coaching available. We have found that creating training plans in 2-week blocks is ideal in that it is frequent enough to make consistent alterations to your training course based on your response, but not too frequent that we don’t have the adequate chance to assess your response to your training before adjusting. The consistent, scheduled phone consultation every other week also allows for what we feel is the ideal monitoring of your training response. For many years, Professional Coaching I was the only way that we worked with people. We created Professional Coaching II as a more economical version of the most personalized endurance sports coaching available. The difference is that your training plans are created in 4-week blocks and you do not have a scheduled phone consultation. All other features are EXACTLY the same, as described on Our Ongoing Coaching Services page.

What Makes Our Coaching Unique

When you decide to work with us, we do not lock you into working with us for any period of time. We also do not offer discounts of coaching for those who commit to coaching for a period of time. Instead, we do not obligate or entice people into any length of commitment. Instead, we provide TOP QUALITY SERVICE and we help you GET RESULTS! In this way, we have found that many athletes stay with us for many years out of choice!

We do not limit the amount you can contact us in any way! We have regularly scheduled communications with all of our athletes. And beyond these scheduled communications we welcome and invite our athletes to call or email us at ANYTIME! 

Our focus is on helping real people with real lives train effectively and get results! Although we have extensive experience in exercise physiology laboratories and as elite level endurance athletes, we have crafted our wisdom over the years into working with moms and dads, teachers and engineers, doctors and students, just like yourself who live and train in the real world! We use our extensive background and ongoing learning in the sports sciences and apply our knowledge and wisdom in real life ways to help you! See our Real Results from Real People Just Like You section for some great examples of people like yourself who we have helped achieve great things!

We are a small company with no desire to get bigger—just BETTER! With years of experience and an extensive resume of seminars and publications in scientific journals and popular magazines, we are internationally recognized endurance sports coaches. Yet we remain a small “Mom & Pop” company coaching a modest amount of athletes. Our aim is to deliver great service to each person with whom we work—not to coach the masses! Every experience you have with Tri-Hard will be directly with Jason and Will. Outside of our Medical Advisory Board, Jason and Will are what you get at Tri-Hard. So all of your work will be directly with us, fostering great athlete/coach relationships! Our goal as coaches is to simply keep getting BETTER at what we do—not bigger! With us, you get top quality coaching on the most personalized level available!

Real Results from Real People Just Like You

Here are just a few examples of people we are coaching or have recently coached, and the great results they are getting!

In 2005, Tri-Hard athlete Wendy Mader of Fort Collins, CO, a 31-year-old Fitness, Wellness, and Aquatics Director, changed from training for Ironman triathlons to Olympic distance triathlons and went to her first Triathlon Age-Group National Championships. There she qualified for the World Championships and October 9th, 2005, at the age of 32, she attained her goal of becoming a World Champion! All this in a year where she also won seven local races, was 6th at the Best of the U.S. Championships, and got married! Balancing her time training to become a world-class athlete, she holds many responsibilities as the Fitness, Wellness, and Aquatics Director at the Fort Collins Health Club, manages a small coaching business, and is the head coach of both the Colorado State University Triathlon team the Fort Collins Youth Triathlon Team.

In 2004, two Tri-Hard athletes came to us with the goal of qualifying for the Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Kona, HI. Both athletes successfully reached their goal and qualified! Dave Gworek, a 48-year-old business owner, husband, and father of two grown children, from Southington, CT, qualified at the Florida ½ Ironman. Ali Azarbayejani, a 37-year-old engineer from Boston, MA, qualified at Ironman USA Lake Placid.

In 2004, seven Tri-Hard athletes from around New England and the United States raced at Ironman USA Lake Placid. All seven athletes finished the race, and six of seven athletes met their aggressive time goals for the race. One Tri-Hard athlete, Ali Azarbayejani, a 37-year-old engineer from Boston, MA qualified for the Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Kona, Hawaii at the race!

In 2004, John Donlon, a 33-year-old real estate developer from Roslindale, MA improved his ½ Ironman time from the year before on the same course (FIRMman ½ Ironman in Narragansett, RI) from 5:37 in 2003 to 5:14 in 2004! John’s time for 2002 at FIRMman was 6:15. So John had a huge 1-hour and 1-minute improvement on the same course in two years!

In 2004, Karen Stone a 40-year-old hairstylist and flute instructor, wife, mother of two children, and grandmother of one, from Blandford, MA, had a great year in triathlon! Karen had a great Ironman race at Ironman USA Lake Placid with a time of 12:50, feeling great, having fun, and finishing strong! Karen also added a 1st place in her age group at the Journey for Sight Sprint Distance Triathlon to her great accomplishments for the year, all while staying injury free!

In 2004, Heather Wark, a 39-year-old physician, wife, and mother of two young children had a great year in triathlon! Subjectively, Heather improved her swimming and riding tremendously, building upon her strong running background! Objectively, Heather won the FIRM Grand Prix Triathlon Series for her age group and attained the 3rd overall ranking in the USA Triathlon Northeast Ranking System. Heather placed in the top three in her age group in every race she entered and strongly completed her first ever 1/2 Ironman at the FIRMman 1/2 Ironman in September! 

In 2003, Matt DuFresne, a 37-year-old personal trainer/life coach, husband, and father of two children, from Southwick, MA, improved his ½ Ironman time from the year before on the same course (FIRMman ½ Ironman in Narragansett, RI) from 5:19 in 2002 to 4:57 in 2003. Matt had a giant 22-minute improvement helping him reach his goal of going under five hours!

In 2003, 11 Tri-Hard athletes raced an Ironman Triathlon. Tri-Hard athletes successfully raced at Ironman Wisconsin, Ironman Canada, Ironman USA Lake Placid, Ironman Florida, the Great Floridian, Ironman Germany, and the Ironman World Championships in Kona, HI. Ten of 11 athletes finished their race with nine of these 10 meeting their aggressive time goals for the race. Of the 6 athletes who had already raced an Ironman Triathlon, five set a personal record for the distance!

Contact us to learn more about any of our coaching services! If you feel there is something we may be able to help you with, but you do not see listed among these services, please contact us. We may be able to arrange a custom service just right for you. We will also do in-person lessons for local or visiting athletes on a time-available and fee- for-time basis. Contact us to see how we can work with you.

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We are proud to offer a continual discount on all of our coaching services to all members of the following teams as part of our sponsorship of them: the AIMTRITEAM, the Bay State Triathlon Team, the Pacific Swim Bike Run Multisport Team, Team Bikesenjava, Team EnVision, TriFury, the Wheelworks Multisport Team, and the Competitive Edge Masters Racing Team. If you are a member of any of these teams, you receive a 20-percent discount on our coaching services.