The day before the SOMA half Ironman I had the most nervous stomach I have had since I was swimming at FSU back in the day. Just as I was going crazy my phone rang and it was you. You told me to race smart, hard and have fun. Hearing your voice and reminders of the months of training was just what I needed to hear. This was the first half Ironman I was going to race, the others I had planned to finish. Thanks to your great plans, communication and friendship; I was able to crush my goal time. I finished in 5:33 my best prior was 6:13. All I wanted was to go under 6:00. Now I am having to rethink my ability and goals! Thank you Marty for reminding me of how it feels to race again, and how it feels to succeed.Jennifer Hazard Davis
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"I had a great race...the moon and stars were all aligned! I followed the nutrition plan and had no problems at all with that. At the swim, the water was a little rough but I managed to do well. The bike course was a different course than before. I liked it a lot better and hit all the hills, plus some. My back did not bother me too much. The extra core work and therapy seems to be paying off. I did find myself pushing to hard a few times. I made myself pull back and I am glad I did. The run was good. I learned a great trick of mixing water and Gatorade. The last few miles was tough but I finished strong. I ran the entire race but walked through the water stations. At the end of the race, my legs were tired. But, I felt good overall. I felt tired late Sunday night.
Thanks for the great coaching,"
Dave Tatersall, on his 47 minute PR at the 2007 Florida Challenge Half
----------"I could not have been more prepared for Ironman Coeur d’ Alene. Your program kept me focused and on schedule throughout my training. As a result, as I crossed the finish line it was a great feeling knowing that I did the best I could possibly do. In addition, all my races this year showed dramatic improvement over previous years. All future triathlons will include One Step Beyond."
Macall Dyer
-------"Thank you very much! I don't know where to begin except by first saying thanks. You're one cool dude Marty and a great coach. 2006 was a really interesting year on many levels. You prepared me for 3 IM races this year and we finally got to toe the line and start the Great Floridian in October call 2006 a success. I'm a perfect example, if there are doubters, of someone that can raise a daughter work long hours and still be competitive in triathlon. I appreciate your patience, understanding and willingness to work with my schedule. I did personal best times at the half marathon and oly, half ironman and Ironman distances. I'm looking forward to 2007 with as much excitement as I did 2006."
JD Strickland
-------"I started training with Marty in February 2006 with the goal of completing Ironman Florida in November. Prior to this goal I had completed 3 Half Iron distance races, all of which I barley finished due to poor training. I knew I was going to need help to properly train for this race, and I really felt that Marty was the right person to train with. He has always been an accessible person, who isn’t full of himself as a top age group Triathlete.
During the 9 months I trained with Marty he had me compete in 2 half Iron distance races to prepare for the Ironman. The first Half was the Gulf Coast Half in May and I finished in 31 minutes faster than any other half I had previously completed! The second was the Duke Liver Half in Raleigh, NC. I didn't PR at that one due to the hilly course, but I felt I could have kept on going after the race, which told me that I was really getting into shape for the Ironman. As the race was approaching, I prepared my race plan and anticipated finishing in 15 hours. During the race I felt better than expected and ended up finishing in 14 hours and 12 minutes, much faster than my goal!
I found that training with Marty helped me stay focused, I didn't have to worry about what to do next, he laid it all out for me and I always knew what I was doing in advance. Whenever I had a question, he was quick to respond, and he was also very flexible and realistic with my busy schedule which included a lot of traveling for work. I enjoyed training with Marty so much last year that I have signed up with him again this year in hopes of getting some more PR's and possibly doing another Ironman in 2008!"
Beverly Currin
-----"I just want to tell you how much I appreciate you as a coach. There is a great level of confidence and trust that you have established even with you being on the other side of the world. What a great feeling it is to know that you are there when I need you. I can have a concern and email you about it and fully know that when I wake up the next morning your reply will be there when I need it. Awesome!! THANK YOU...You are the BEST!!"
Debbie Darr
-----"I have had the pleasure of working with Marty since I entered the realm of triathlon several years ago. As a bumbling newbie, Marty helped me immensely on the basics of the sport, from cleaning up my swim stroke, smoothing out my run stride and down to the critical time-saving details of quick transitions. I immediately shaved over 5 minutes off of my sprint triathlon times.
Marty's premium coaching was instrumental to me preparing last year for Ironman Florida, and eclipsing my time goal of 13 hours by finishing in 11:53 (comfortably). Marty's planning enabled me to maximize my minimal available training time, averaging about 11 hours weekly, while balancing an average weekly workload of about 60 hours. Marty also structured plans that built up an otherwise weak run without sacrificing a strong bike. He accomplished this by focusing on reverse bricks, broken bricks and flipping the otherwise conventional notion of riding long Saturdays and running long Sundays. These techniques had me running on fresh legs, making the runs quality sessions and making me less prone to injury. My run split at IMF was 45 minutes faster than expected. Importantly, Marty was available at all times to keep me motivated, answer training questions, develop my overall race plan, and was enthusiastic about my race and goals. His commitment to the sport and to his friends and students is a priceless intangible. I am working with him again this year to prepare for another late season Ironman."
Robert Alfert
-----"Since becoming an OSB coached athlete I have made huge strides. After only three months I was crowned the 2003 Clydesdale National Champion, finished the first Steelhead half ironman in 4:37 for a 10th place overall finish, 2nd in my age group, and completed Ironman Florida in 10 hours flat. Just this year I have had three age group 1st places in a row. Marty's planning and knowledge have allowed me to reach levels I never thought I could."
Ken Mantei
Michigan Outlaws Triathlon Team
-----"I decided to do the Florida Half Ironman this year and it was my first half. I knew I wanted to get serious about my training so through word of mouth and his proven race record I decided to have Marty Gaal design my training workouts for the 5 months leading up to the race.. He designs the workouts based on ability, goals, and time commitment. I must say the workouts Marty wrote had me in the best race shape of my life. He really mixes up the different workouts and makes them challenging, but most of all he keeps them fun. He also designed the perfect race taper for me and helped me to reach my two goals I had for my 1st half ironman. I was able to finish in 5:30 and came in 9 place out of 65 guys in my division (clydesdale). I will continue to use Marty's services as I make the switch to the sprint races and highly recommend him to anyone looking to take their training to the next level."
Train hard, Mark Snead
-----"Thanks for your help. Although I just did not have it today, I still qualified for Boston. The qualification that you use the age of when you will run Boston (race must come within 12 months of you run Boston) allows me to move to 3:20.
Thanks to you, I shaved off 14 minutes from last years run and this year was harder due to the heat and humidity (15 degrees warmer than last year and 90% at humidity). I know, compared to Orlando this is not hot, but the temp's over the last few weeks were averaging 20 degrees colder than today."
Greg Cardelli
