Savage Triathlon Camp Announcement!

I am happy to announce that I will be joining close friends, training partners, and fellow Pittsburgh-area based coaches, Chad Holderbaum, Kim Schwabenbauer, and Matt Mauclair for the inaugural Savage Triathlon Camp in Deep Creek Maryland over Memorial Day weekend of 2012! As far as I know, this camp will be the first of its kind in the Mid-Atlantic region and more specifically in the beautiful mountains and pristine training grounds of Western Maryland, and the camp will be hosted by some of the the region's most elite long distance triathletes and coaches. We have been heading to the Deep Creek region for personal training camps for years and have found it to be an ideal training venue during the summer months - we have covered many miles of Garrett County Maryland by stroke, pedal, and stride, and know that this will present a great challenge and incredible training/learning experience for all lucky athletes in attendance!

The camp will be run by USAT and ITCA certified triathlon coaches with decades of cumulative coaching and racing experience, and is sure to be a key component to a successful 2012 build toward your racing goals, while also an invaluable learning experience for new and established triathletes alike. Please take a look at the camp's homepage for a tentative itinerary and pricing structure. Camp cost includes swim video analysis, pool access to the Community Aquatic and Recreation Center, bike fit assessment, and running gait video analysis. In addition to the individual attention received, you will attend coaching lectures on nutrition and training as well as participate in group swim, bike, and run sessions with fellow campers of comparable skill/fitness levels. The cost for the camp does not include food, lodging, or transportation. Savage Tri Camp is a USA Triathlon sanctioned camp, therefore athletes must either have a USAT annual membership or purchase a one day USAT license membership for $10.00.

I hope all of you will consider joining us for this ultimate, Savage training experience next June in Deep Creek, but act soon as camp attendance will be capped at 30 athletes! Please comment or contact me for additional details. Happy training and preparation for 2012!

-Jeremy

New Year, news, and big changes

Well it's been two months since my last post, and a lot of things have transpired in that window, but instead of trying to catch you up on everything that I have been up to, I will just leave it that things have been good and busy. Not so busy in November, things accelerated into December, and now life is as busy as ever! The holiday season was very nice and Thanksgiving and Christmas very happy and joyous as they should be, training was very spotty throughout Nov/Dec, but then mid-way through December I got off my butt and started getting serious again. This probably all kicked off around December 18th, a busy triathlon themed day where first I (and just about every other triathlete in Pittsburgh!) attended a swim clinic with Sheila Taormina that was hosted by Team Pittsburgh Masters and Coach Jennifer at CMU. This clinic (old news by now in the blogosphere) was very informative and helpful, even for a "lifelong" swimmer such as myself. Sheila was teaching her style of swimming, which in my opinion is the best adult targeted and taught swimming method out there, which is characterized by a high stroke rate with a high elbow and protracted catch, and is more propulsive than gliding in nature. I picked up some good instruction and mental cues, and from this video that was taken of me, shows I need some work. Next up on the day was a tempo run with Chad afterward, and finally went out to a sportsbar in the North Hills and watched NBC's Kona Coverage. This day very effectively served to jumpstart my motivation and flip the switch in my head for 2011. After a longish two month offseason/transition period, it was time to get back to work.

The following Monday, I ventured out into the unknown and decided to take the leap and start out with a coach for the first time in my triathlon career. After much research, emailing, and interviewing potential coaches, I decided to go with Justin Trolle of Vanguard Triathlon, the coach of my good friend and teammate Kim. Kim had nothing but great things to say about Justin, his knowledge, teaching/training style, and of course results since working with him. In the previous 11 years of triathlon, I was self coached and self directed and while I am totally pleased with my results and progression, and never really had a setback to speak of, I just thought that if I was ever going to get a coach, now would be the time. Call it greed for speed, maybe an early mid-life crisis, who knows, but as I am knocking on the door of really taking it to the next level within triathlon, I thought I would entrust my development for the next year to someone more knowledgable than myself and perhaps more importantly, take me out of my comfort zone. So far things have been going very well and my fitness is coming back and progressing very rapidly. Look out, I have a feeling this is going to be another fun year!

Last Saturday (1/8) kicked off the season with indoor group trainer rides at TopGear, our local Pittsburgh area tri shop.
In attendance was of course Jocey, myself, Burrito Bill,
Matty Mo, and Lisa.
We got in a solid 2.5 hours on the CompuTrainers and the time just flew by. This past week there was more hard running and cycling, but the recovery was still where it needed to be and each session was still high quality. The one drawback was this darn cold that I have been fighting for the past few weeks, but it is somewhat manageable and it isn't really affecting my sessions at this time. Saturday (1/15) we were back at the Holderbaum's for the first time this seasom with Chad, Jen, Whitney, Lisa, Jocelyn, and myself, for a good strength focused 2:20 and then a great brunch, some laughs, and then an afternoon swim.

Today I woke up and did a tough 1.5 hour run with some quality and my legs are feeling a little trashed right now. Thank goodness I have nothing to do but relax for the rest of the day and an active recovery day tomorrow, so it can all begin once again for the new week. The year begins anew and the cycle of work, rest, repeat starts up in full effect!

In other big news, Team Ballou Skies has expanded its roster for 2011 and have added good friends and local rockstars Matt Mauclair, Jason Jacobs, Chad Holderbaum, and Beth Shutt. If you thought the Ballou Skies team was impressive last year, look out once again - 2011 is going to be a banner year for the charity and the team with a record amount of funds raised for the Ross Heart Clinic at OSU and amazing race results out on the triathlon circuit. Here's to a great 2011 for everyone out there and I hope you all are off to a great, consistent start with your training!

Announcing Cornman Multisport Coaching

Today I proudly announce the launch of my coaching business, Cornman Multisport Coaching. I have been thinking of starting my own coaching business for some time now as I have become something of an informal coach and sounding board for many of my triathlete and endurance athlete friends and acquaintances, but now is the time that I make it official to the world! I have been involved in the sport for 11 years, progressing from an injury-prone beginner that suffered from lack of motivation, to an elite amateur competitor that dreams of going pro, completely as a self coached athlete. I have lived and breathed both failure and success, so I know what works in training and racing, and what doesn't. Since I have been self-coached and guided, it was necessary that I become an ardent student of training theory and practice. As a result of this learning process, I have experienced all of the resulting highs and lows that one would expect - from broken bones and overuse injuries, to overtraining syndrome; and then conversely, long periods of health corresponding with satisfying race outcomes and strings of personal bests.

I offer monthly coaching plans, catering to triathletes and single sport athletes (swimmers, cyclists, runners) alike, from true beginners to advanced competitors, with a minimum of a three month commitment. Payment for the first 1 month block of training must be received before the training plan is sent to the athlete. Once purchased and setup, individual training plans and details of the program will be delivered and workout interaction made via TrainingPeaks. Yearly plans are available upon request and at a discount.

My coaching plans are unique and customized to each client, reflecting your unique needs as both an athlete and also a working individual with your own demanding life. I will work with both local (metro Pittsburgh area) athletes, and also out of area clients over email and the phone.

Check out my website and let me know what you think! And if you have been looking for your first, or a next triathlon or multisport coach, drop me a line and we'll talk!

Best-

Jeremy Cornman