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"In only five months Coach AJ made 2007 my best racing season ever with a PR at the half-IM distance by 25 minutes and a PR at the IM distance by 1 hour and 12 minutes. That's really saying something considering that I'm 43 and have been racing on and off for twenty years, so I didn't think I had those kinds of gains left in me. He created a plan around the scheduling constraints that come with working more than full time and raising two young children. He adjusted the plan as the season progressed based on my strengths (few!), weaknesses (many!) and early season performances. He showed me how to push myself harder than I'd ever pushed before and rest more than I'd rested before so I could race hardest of all. Most importantly, he worked closely with me on pre-race planning and post-race evaluations, and identified and fixed a couple important race management problems. It was by far the best investment I have made in this sport in 20 years! Thanks AJ!"
Craig McSavaney
IMFL 2007
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Craig McSavaney
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"Mike,
"What’s happening Mike? I just want to let you know what a fabulous Coach AJ Johnson is. Since 2000, I have been competing in triathlons, mostly sprints with a couple of marathons. With AJ as my coach this year, I was able to PRs in every event I did in 2007. I can not even explain how it makes me feel after not be able to walk by myself from December 2005 till April 2006 due to a back injury which lead to major surgery.
"During that time frame AJ, as my neighbor, was there before and after my back surgery. I was not able to do anything by myself. AJ took me for walks, drove me to and from appointments, helped out around the house, and most important, he gave me a ton of support and guidance. He did all this while being a friend from the goodness of his heart!
"This past January I hired AJ as my coach. AJ was a little concerned about my health. Therefore, he created a schedule that gave me the greatest amount of recovery from running and other impact type workouts. He even went the extra mile and took me skate skiing to show me other low impact sports I could do during the off-season.
"My first event for the 2007 season was the Boston Marathon. However, another life changing event took place just six weeks before the marathon; I became a first time father. AJ was able to coach me to a 4 minute PR (3:03) in some pretty epic conditions on a challenging course. The more amazing twist to this is that AJ’s schedule was structured around my 9-11 hour work day: 2 hours and 20 minute round trip commute, as well as being a father and husband.
"As the tri season approached, AJ took advantage of my commute by having me bike to and from work a couple days throughout the week. That’s 56 miles in a day and only extended my commute time by 30 minutes. How awesome is that? When I was at home I was finished with my training, so my little girl and wife could not have been happier. AJ also worked swim and run workouts into my lunch hour. When I was home it was 100% family time.
"I did the 5430 tri series and set PRs at all of them including a 30 minute PR at the 5430 Long Course-Half Ironman. To end my season, I finished Ironman Wisconsin in 11:13:02 which is a PR of an hour and 31 minutes from when I completed the event in 2004. I improved on the swim by 7 minutes, improved on the bike by 20 minutes, and negative split the marathon with a 3:45 which was an hour PR!!!!! I finished 290 overall which is pretty amazing because I came out of the water 1700.
"I highly recommend AJ if you want to set new boundaries for your triathlon season. AJ is a professional coach operating at a very high skill level and one that will contribute to your triathlon success. Thanks again AJ!"
Kim Nickel
2007 Ironman Wisconsin
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Ari Melmed
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"Coaches are just for super-serious triathletes."
"I'm just doing it for the fun...I'm just not that competitive."
"These are some of the rationalizations I used, during the first 6 years I dabbled in triathlons, to avoid signing on with a coach.
"Eventually I realized that every triathlete has a competitive core to them. Be it a 1st time sprint distance competitor, or an ironman veteran, there's something in every triathlete that wants to do more, push oneself a little harder, take on a greater challenge. I also realized that no matter how many books I read about the sport, and how many web sites I explored, it would take a coach to get me beyond the level at which I had plateaued.
"I signed on with D3 with the goal of finishing my first Ironman distance event. Thinking of the event was overwhelming. Every workout I set out for myself seemed like spitting in the wind. I wanted a coach who would make a plan for me which I could trust would work. I wanted to know that if I just stuck to the plan, day by day, that eventually I'd get there. Mike set me up with AJ, a young triathlete superstar who did just that.
"The plan incorporated the crazy work schedule of an ER physician, including night, evening, and weekend shifts. He took into account my travel plans and my family responsibilities as a father of 2 young boys and a working wife, and put together a plan that worked well for me.
"The training plan took into account my starting strengths and weaknesses, adjusted for setbacks and limitations along the way, and ultimately got me to my goal.
"At the end of my year with D3 I have managed to take 39 minutes off my California half Ironman time, 14 minutes off my Olympic distance PR, and saw me complete my first Full Ironman distance race in the top half of my age group. I did all of this while maintaining a sense of balance in my life, and have come away with a sense of being a much more informed and knowledgeable athlete.
"I would wholeheartedly recommend D3 coaching to any triathlete who is interested in improving their experience as a triathlete."
Ari Melmed,
Vineman Finisher 2006
Denver CO
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"Mike,
"I have been wanting to email you to let you know how much I have appreciated the coaching support I received this past season. When I first contacted you about the prospect of getting some online coaching help, your phone conversation with me, convinced me to get back to get back to a more active lifestyle. The support I received from AJ has been wonderful. The adjustments he made with my schedule and the email contacts got me to a point where I felt like I was enjoying myself again. I was able to complete several 5 and 10K runs, participated in a weekly duathlon through June and July, and even completed a small triathlon in August.
"I plan to continue with my training throughout the winter and hopefully will find myself in a position to complete longer distance races in the summer. I live only 1 hour from Lake Placid, maybe the Ironman there is a possibility in a couple of years.
"Again, a big thank you to you and especially coach AJ for the support."
Bruce Tubbs
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Gary Holt
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"I started triathlon in 2004 with a sprint and an Olympic distance race. I knew I wanted to do an Ironman, but after those two short races I knew that I needed some additional guidance and training. Training alone was not enough--I needed to train right, train smart. It was at that time that I contacted AJ to help get me to the next level. For me the workouts were custom fit--which was essential because I have a very odd work schedule. It was great to not have cookie cutter programs emailed to me, but rather have workouts that were long when I was off and have short workouts on long work days--I no longer had to try and shift the long workouts around to my off days. AJ paid close attention to my schedule and make the workouts fit accordingly. A big bonus for anybody with a demanding job or if time is critical.
"Anyway, I then completed a half Ironman in Arizona in 4:44 in October, but I knew that I had a lot of training ahead in the long winter months to prepare for the whole Ironman in April. AJ was great during this time whenever I had questions, concerns, problems, etc. He prepared me for the race so I was physically prepared, but also mentally prepared because I had the confidence that comes from completing a rigorous training schedule. I felt ready race day thanks to AJ. He was also very helpful in suggesting rims, wheels, nutrition, etc. and even helped me stretch my first set of tubulars.
"The race was wonderful. I finished in 10:09 in Arizona--just missing my age group Kona slot. I decided to go after Kona. I made a plan with AJ to race CDA and I got to the line in the best shape of my life. AJ had designed a plan that allowed for some down time after the AZ race and that allowed me to have time for work, family, etc., but also maintained a base fitness level. Then, after this base phase, we went into a peak period. I got to CDA very confident that AJ's plan would bring success. It did! I went sub 10. It was a great feeling. 9:57! I was Kona bound. Thanks AJ and D3! Kona was beautiful. I am very thankful that I was able to go to Kona in my second season of tri and I am certain it was possible because of the great coaching that I received. I completed Kona in 10:32 and I felt great. Thanks."
(Dr.) Gary Holt
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"AJ has helped me more than I could ever imagine. After 2 years of getting in shape and 1 season of Tri, I felt like I was just spinning my wheels. AJ listened to my goals and gave my workouts a focus I was unable to find on my own. I went from a few sprints to completing my first half within a year. We are now working on getting me for Ironman Wisconsin next year, my first full-length IM.
AJ is a great coach. He is: responsive, understanding, and attentive. Everything I could want in a coach. I honestly would not want to trust my training to anyone else."
Joe Vrablik
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Joe Vrablik
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