Background:

Cycling has been part of Randy’s life forever. What started as rides in the neighborhood to friend’s houses, “races” around the block, and RAGBRAI, has now evolved into a passion for promoting competitive cycling and developing cycling skills in riders of all ages and abilities.

Over many years Randy has amassed a wide range of knowledge as a coach, race promoter, and director of a nationally-recognized amateur team noted for developing rider talent.

Randy has worked with hundreds of riders new to competitive cycling. He has helped them learn cycling skills and develop confidence to have fun racing. Many of the riders compete locally, while a few with loftier goals have competed at the national and international levels. Randy has a special interest in working with masters riders, juniors, and riders with unique challenges, including those with Type-1 diabetes (insulin dependent).

Randy started racing at the age of 34. He now competes in age 50+ master’s races including road races, time trials, criteriums, and cyclocross. He also devotes time to working with his race team, promoting races, and helping new riders of all ages develop the skills and confidence necessary to have fun racing.

He attended college at Iowa State University where he earned a B.A. in communications, Drake University where he earned an M.A in marketing, and currently is pursuing a masters in exercise science at A.T. Still University (graduation 2010). He is married (25+ years) to Terri, has two grown sons, and also lives with two hairless sphinx cats. Randy is also retired from the Air Force Reserve. Family, cycling, and learning are his passions. He works as a customer satisfaction research analyst for a large insurance company.

Coaching Philosophy:

Riding a bike should be fun. How each person defines “fun” is unique to that person; what makes a ride or race fun for me may be different than what makes a ride or race fun for you. And certainly, some rides or races will include more “fun” than others, but overall, riding should be fun.

My job as your coach will be to help you maximize the “fun factor.” Each of you are different; some of you are extremely competitive, and a race may not be fun for you unless you finish in the “top 5,” or maybe “in the money.” Many of you are motivated to train, ride and race just for the experience; knowing you gave your best effort that day, and having fun with friends, are the primary rewards.

Regardless of what motivates you, nearly all athletes have one thing in common: they want to improve. And the best way to get faster and stronger is to follow a structured training plan, one designed using published knowledge on training, and guided by a knowledgeable and experienced coach (that would be “me,” and my colleagues at Peaks).

The training plan is like a detailed “road map”, and I will be your “tour guide”. There will very likely be unexpected detours along the route, and together we’ll figure out how to get around the obstacles (communication is important) and back on the path to our destination, which is improving your cycling. Eventually we’ll reach our destination, which is improved cycling ability (measuring your progress toward improvement will be an important aspect of our plan). If we arrive at our destination of improvement sooner than planned, we’ll add additional “destinations” or goals; if it takes longer, then we’ll adjust our “route” or training plan.

Qualifications

• USA Cycling Level 1 Coach
• National Strength and Conditioning Assoc. Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist
• Attended Level 1 Triathlon Coach Training
• Attended USA Cycling Power Coaching Seminar
• Attended USA Cycling Strength Training Seminar
• Director of a USA Cycling Development Foundation “Center of Excellence” Team
• Coach for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Cycling Teams
• Coached at USA Cycling Midwest Junior Selection Camp
• Directed Iowa Games and Iowa Senior Games Cycling Competitions

Testimonials

I contacted Randy in March of 2005 to become a member of the club when I decided to take up cycling to help prepare me for Ironman Florida the following year. He started coaching me in October of 2005, and he worked with me on all elements of the event—swimming, cycling, and running. His coaching was instrumental in the following areas:

• Protecting me from injuries and overtraining;
• Increasing my speed and endurance;
• Motivation;
• Goal setting; and,
• Helping me balance my training with family and work responsibilities.

Many first-time Ironman aspirants can be prone to over-train, which can result in injuries and getting sick—the latter generally manifesting itself in catching colds with longer than average periods of time to recover. I did not have a serious illness or did I lose appreciable training time because of sickness during the 12-months training regimen leading up to the November 2006 event.

My speed and endurance improved significantly over the training period. This was especially true for my cycling. (Note: prior to my training, I had completed seven marathons). My average speed for a 100-mile bike ride increased to 18.5 mph for that Ironman event, from 13 mph on a similar course one-year earlier.

Randy is a great motivator because he is a great leader. He encourages you when you’re down, and praises you when you excel. Motivation was especially important during the final three months of training when 15+ hours of weekly training can get a bit “old.”

We set training goals every week, with a “fall back” week every third week. And, he modified my training regimen to fit my age (56). This was especially helpful since most Ironman training programs one finds on the Internet are not age-adjusted.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, he helped me balance training with my other responsibilities. What good is finishing an Ironman if you alienate your family or let down fellow team members at work?

In conclusion, I highly recommend Randy. What better evidence of his coaching skills than the fact that I finished my first Ironman in the top half of my age group. Terry Grapentine

Thank you Randy! Thanks for being such a hard charging proponent of bike racing in Iowa, and more importantly, Central Iowa. It was a well organized event, and was a blast to take part in it. I was glad to help and I was glad to have a race my family could come watch that was close to home! I can't wait to do it again next year!

Jeff Mertz