Coaching Services

Running, Cycling and Multisport Coaching and Consulting

I offer private, remote-based coaching and consulting for runners, cyclists and multisport athletes. I enjoy working with athletes of any level of experience, fitness or ability. Helping others enjoy sport, challenge themselves and pursue their goals brings me a great deal of happiness. 

Who am I?

I'm Albert Harrison - most people call me Bert.




I grew up running and racing bikes. I ran cross country and track at Berry College from 2007-2011. And I found duathlon as a post collegiate athlete.

I am a four time USA Triathlon All-American in duathlon, a three time national champion, two time age-group World Champion and I finished 6th at the 2018 ITU Powerman Zofingen Duathlon World Championship. As of 2021, I am still competing as an Elite Duathlete and Cat 2 cyclist.

I received a master's degree in exercise science with a concentration in strength and conditioning from Appalachian State University in 2015. In my time at App State, I worked closely with coach and physiologist David Morris to examine the effects of different oxygen concentrations on training intensity and cycling performance. Environmental physiology, fatigue, strength training for endurance sport, bioenergetics and sports nutrition remain my primary interests in exercise science. My experience as a scientist has had a profound impact on my training and coaching philosophies. I also have a USA Track and Field, level 2 coaching certification.

I've had the opportunity to coach with two NCAA cross country and track and field programs (men's and women's teams). I've worked with numerous post-collegiate runners and cyclists and at all levels; from elementary school kids to weekend warriors, state champions, Boston qualifiers, ultramarathoners and Cat 1 cyclists.

My coaching philosophy centers around the athlete's overall health and enjoyment of sport. I love helping athletes challenge themselves and pursue their goals. I enjoy applying my understanding of exercise physiology and biomechanics to prescribe productive workouts and training plans.

Whether you want to improve your sprint speed, raise your threshold power, run a fast mile or marathon - I'd like to help! Pricing is negotiable. We can create a plan tailored specifically to your needs. For more information, contact me by email.

Thanks!

Popular posts from this blog

Lactate, Lactic Acid and Acidosis

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With respect to exercise, what do you think of when I say, “Lactic Acid?” Legs burning? Acidosis? Horrible stuff that slows me down? Lactic acid and lactate typically get a bad rap from athletes, but what if I said that rather than slowing you down, lactate production enables high-intensity exercise? Well, it does. Lactate vs. Lactic Acid      First, let’s discuss the compound itself. Lactate is not lactic acid. Lactate is a carboxylate, whereas lactic acid is a carboxylic acid. This means the carboxyl group of the lactate molecule is deprotonated and cannot contribute further to acidosis.  The image below shows the difference between the two molecule types.      The reason lactate does not exist as it's protonated acid form in the body is because the pKa of lactate is a low 3.9. This means is that in a solution with a pH higher than 3.9, the compound will exist as the deprotonated carboxylate, lactate.  As shown below, in Table I from Cairns ( 2006 ), the
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Fractional Utilization, Low Carbohydrate Diets and Running Performance

Fractional utilization refers to the fraction of VO2max that an athlete sustains during an event. It varies between events and between athletes. An athlete can sustain a greater percentage of VO2max for a shorter duration (5000m vs. 10,000m). Fractional utilization is sometimes referred to as lactate threshold. While the concepts are related, they are not the same. Consider an athlete with a VO2max of 70 ml/kg/min: If we find that he can average 90% of VO2max over the course of a 5000m run, he averages 63.0 ml/kg/min for the race. If he averages 86% of VO2max during a 10,000m run, he averages 60.2 ml/kg/min. Athletes may train for years, increasing fractional utilization. By increasing fractional utilization, an athlete will be able to complete a distance at a greater percentage of VO2max. For example, if that same athlete increases his fractional utilization during the 5000m to 93%, he can now average 65.1 ml/kg/min. That 2.1 ml/kg/min increase in utilization means more O2 is cons
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Relationship between aerobic and anaerobic metabolism

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Some coaches will speak of the elements of performance as exclusive concepts. Aerobic and anaerobic metabolism for example. Traditionally, the two could be separately defined, but we've known for some time now that the two are essentially bound in a symbiotic relationship. They're both a piece of the pathway that creates ATP. A typical physiological response from high intensity intervals, sprints, a finishing kick or a high intensity (<30 min) race is an accumulation of lactate and H+ ions. We know an accumulation of H+ ions (acidosis) will decrease performance capacity. The table below from Cairns, 2006 lists some proposed mechanisms through which acidosis inhibits performance. If only there were a mechanism in place to remove these pesky ions... Then, we could perform at a higher intensity for a longer period of time. But wait, there is! Oxidative phosphorylation, more commonly known as the electron transport chain or "aerobic metabolism," consum
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