Q+A with USA Triathlon Coach, Justin Chester
This week’s blog Q+A is brought to you by Justin Chester, a USA Triathlon Level 2 certified coach, CSPT partner, and Lafayette resident. He is the Head Coach of the Lafayette and Parker Triathlon Teams. You can learn more about him and his coaching offerings via his website!
1. How did you get into triathlons? What did your transition from athlete/competitor to coach look like?
My introduction into endurance sports was in early 2003 when a friend suggested that we do this multi-day bike ride called Ride the Rockies. I had no idea what it was, but I said “sure”. So, I bought a road bike and began training. Completing that biking event fed into into a bigger idea…to compete in a triathlon. I had plenty of swimming experience having swam in high school, and I was training for this giant multi-day bike tour, but I had never run. As a matter of fact, running was considered punishment for all of the sports that I played as a kid, and trust me, as a general goof-off I ran plenty. That year, I ran my first ever 5K (Cherry Creek Sneak) and my first 10K (Bolder Boulder), and having completed Ride the Rockies with a moderate amount of swim training, I completed my first ever Olympic Distance triathlon.
Very few folks get hooked on triathlon after their very first race. Instead, it's by doing their second race and seeing such vast improvements, that their competitive juices really get flowing. The following year, I did the exact same race and improved quite a bit, simply by training a little smarter and a little harder, and eliminating some of the rookie mistakes that I made on my first race (I still have no idea what I was doing for 7-minutes in T1 on my first race… Was there a barista? Did I order a latte?). In 2006, I did my very first half-Iron distance triathlon and then in 2007 I did my first Ironman distance triathlon.
During this entire time evolving as an endurance athlete, I read everything that I could about the sport. During the 2008 racing season, a friend in my local triathlon group asked me to help mentor him on his journey through a half-Ironman. I was honored that he asked me and I did my best to give him a plan, monitor him, hold him accountable, and help mitigate some of the mistakes that I had made early on in my racing career. He was successful in his race, but some of the blunders that he had during his race (Little Debbie snack cakes are probably not the best nutrition choice for a half-Ironman) made it evident that I needed quite a bit more information to become an effective coach. In 2009, I did my first coaching certification through USA Triathlon to become a certified USAT Level 1 Coach. I have since done USAT Level 2, American Swim Coaches Association Level 2, and Training Peaks Level 2 certifications along with being a Slowtwitch Master Coach.
2. What do you love about coaching? What are some of the biggest challenges you face?
I absolutely love seeing the smile and the tremendous sense of accomplishment that athletes have when doing something that they didn't think was possible. I also enjoy seeing the progress that athletes make -- this is most evident in the pool where the technical skills far outweigh strength and endurance. For the "adult onset swimmers", there's always an “aha” moment when they start to move effortlessly through the water instead of fighting with it.
One of the biggest challenges that I have with coaching is athlete communication. In order to effectively train athletes, coaches need two types of information. First, we need the data and with many systems, data retrieval is automatic so we can see how the athlete performed for a particular workout. However, we also need the subjective "feel" of the workout. These two pieces of information together give us a complete picture of the athlete including the mental side of their training and how life's other stresses may be affecting the objective data.
Another challenge is one that is just the opposite of one of my biggest joys: seeing and dealing with the disappointment when training and/or races don't go as planned. Interestingly, the conversation is easier if it was something that can be corrected next race, it's far more difficult when something goes wrong that is out of our control (e.g. worldwide pandemic).
3. Locally, where are some of your favorite places to train?
Having just moved to Lafayette last August, the only pool I've had a chance to get familiar with is at the Bob Burger Rec Center in Lafayette. It's a decent pool for doing most swim workouts, but it definitely is not designed for competitive swimming (stick to lanes 2 and 5 if you have the option). For open water swimming, nothing can beat Boulder reservoir -- I've done plenty of racing and training in that reservoir.
4. What are 3 pieces of advice you would give to someone looking to get into triathlons?
Get yourself a decent road bike. It doesn't have to cost thousands of dollars, but a road bike is a universal tool that can be used for all triathlon distances and can also be used to do various organized rides like Ride the Rockies, Pedal the Plains, Elephant Rock, or even the Triple Bypass. Riding a bike is a fantastic way to explore your town or other parts of this beautiful state and you'd be amazed at what you see, smell, and hear on rides that you just can't get when you're in a car.
Learn to swim. Swimming is the most technical of the three sports and if you don't know how to do it, you'll consume quite a bit of energy fighting the water. Get a coach to help you figure out your body position in the water first and how to effectively maintain that position while breathing. Then learn how to use your core and leverage to move yourself through the water.
Be careful what you read and who you ask with respect to the sport. Friends on Facebook or Google will give you 100 different answers to your tri questions, of which probably 90 are right, but there are only about 2 or 3 that are right for you in your particular situation. It likely doesn't cost anything to ask a certified coach a few questions regarding the sport. You can also find quite a bit of information on USA Triathlon's website.