Welcome. I’m C.J., and here’s a bit about me
Endurance is in my soul, it has been a huge part of my life. Let me share my experience, my education, and my passion with you. I am here to guide you in achieving your goals in your personal journey, whether that is to begin, to get back to fitness, to peak for a race, or to qualify for a world championship. I enjoy helping athletes of all levels from first timers to professionals, and have a variety of experience to contribute.
I started as a runner, for pure enjoyment. You could find me on the trails in the front range and Boulder CO on most days, often for hours. In my early 20’s I gravitated toward triathlon, and over the years worked hard enough to enjoy some success after undergrad. After retirement from racing professionally, I went back to graduate school, and earned a M.S. in exercise science. My athletic pursuits shifted at that point, as I began to find enjoyment in mountain bike racing. My focus honed in on endurance mountain bike events like Whiskey, Leadville, Breck Epic etc. Of course with my history in triathlon, and enjoyment of mountain biking, Xterra was the next logical evolution; I have enjoyed the ride thus far.
I have spent over 2 decades in endurance sport, many of which have included racing triathlon professionally. I coached the University of California Santa Barbara triathlon team for many years, as well as private clients for over 20 years. I have been fortunate enough to make lifelong friends, stand on top of podiums, wear large belt buckles, and travel to amazing places for incredible events. I have incorporated these experiences, my education, and my passion to deliver a training model that puts the person first, and manages the balance of life while reaching our goals. My experience with athletes spans first timers, college athletes, husbands and or wives with busy careers, elite age groupers, and professionals. I have raced or trained on many of the North American Ironman and 70.3 courses, seen many of the marathon and endurance mountain bike courses, and have enjoyed numerous different stage race venues both on the bike and in my running shoes. Let me help you achieve your next challenge, whatever, wherever, and however you decide to pursue it.
My Approach
There is buzz everywhere these days in the training world as to what approach people gravitate toward. We hear words like periodization, polarized versus a pyramidal approach. While I believe in all of these philosophies, I do not believe that they need to be mutually exclusive. I believe in training the person first. That means that there may be portions of each of these approaches that seem to be applicable for certain people at certain times. Through lactate, power, and pace analysis, we can identify the logical approach and physiological targets that are most suitable for specific training blocks.
Balance
There is no one right way. There is science, there is physiology, there are metabolic markers that are specific to training, adaptation, and performance; these help guide our training and workout prescription. There are the needs, commitments, and stresses of each individual athlete: family, friends, work, and hobbies. I am passionate about fitness, health, competition etc, but there needs to be balance. I am here to help navigate that balance while supporting your goals.
TTE Coaching
As a general rule, I believe in an approach that most closely resembles a polarized approach. The caveat is that polarized training inevitably leads to fitness plateaus. A coach should be able to recognize these plateaus and change the stimulus to break through. I also believe that many races and events will find us in zones that surpass traditional polarized training models; we need to be prepared for these intensities. My general philosophy employs a heavily polarized type approach as we begin building toward our event, then starting to work at or near race paces (which would suggest some smattering of a pyramid approach), and then finding the right taper for each individual.
