Tag: USAtriathlon

Rockstar Triathlete Alex Holland

Coach’s Notes:
Alex reached out to me 12 months ago and set his goal for Ironman Florida 2019. We got to work, but honestly not much work was getting done. His skills were improving because he would show up to classes and do the drills and form work but, the volume of training was lacking to be successful for Ironman.

He did great at a Sprint, then at Olympic, but I knew it would take the 70.3 to wake him up to the reality that some work needs to get done to be successful at Ironman Florida. It worked, I knew he had enough of a base that he just put in a super serious 5 weeks, he could finish well. I was not about to let him quit, NO WAY! He totally stepped up, he dug in and hit all the training. It was so great to see him finally step up and his accomplishments were growing.

He had 2 goals for race day, just finish feeling good and sub 14 hours; Guess what, he did a 14:02. I am so proud of him for so many things, the most important one in believing in himself and trusting me that he could do it! Congratulations Alex, you indeed are a Rock Star Triathlete, Way to go!

Age: 32

Profession: Owner of a Pool Service / Real Estate Company

Why you chose FCC to help you on your triathlon/health and wellness journey? End goal was to complete a full Ironman (in 12 months), needed major help… especially the basics like learn how to swim, bike long distances and then be able to run.

What is your “A” race for this season? It was IronMan Florida 2019

Please share your BIG goals:  My ultimate dream/goal was to complete a Full-Iron Man

Tell me about your successes so far: I just did a full Ironman over the weekend… it was an indescribable feeling.

What were some of your biggest Improvements in performance for the each of the following? Swim: Bike: Run: Nutrition/Health: Please include any Personal Records and Goals achieved:

At Augusta 70.3 I had a bit of a wake up call. I was really under prepared in my training but Erinne suggested I still participate as a training day. I ended up cramping after the bike and bombed the run, which is my strength. I was really defeated and wanted to quit, thinking there was no way I could do a full Ironman. During our post race call, Erinne assured me I could do it if I stayed disciplined, and hit every training session for the next 5 weeks. So I went balls to the wall and started taking training seriously, dialed in on my nutrition and went long on the weekends which ultimately got me there.

Biggest improvement – learning how to swim and bike. Erinne helped me so much. Nutrition was a huge part of the bike and run. The biggest improvement was being able to increase my distance over time, listening to Erinne’s game plan for interval repetitions and nutrition.

Name 2 or 3 things that have made the biggest difference in your journey:

1. Nutrition for actual races switch to bloks instead of gels, and electrolytes in one of my water bottles.

2. Cutting tennis completely out of my life (which I love) and then alcohol, one month before to focus only on triathlon.  

3. Recording stuff in my training peaks and actually committing and doing the works outs… especially long stuff on the weekends leading up to races.

What excites you the most about being involved in triathlon?  Sense of personal achievement, committing to an IronMan and completing it.

What would you say to another person who was on the fence about joining our training program?  There is no better program. Just show up. Worth every penny. Eternally thankful for Erinne / Dennis/ Dany and what they did for me to help me achieve what I set out for. 

P.S. This could be you! If you are interested in learning more about Full Circle Coaching, call us at 786-586-6057 today, or click this link to schedule a complimentary triathlon strategy call: http://www.scheduleyou.in/5ZIsVaU

Erinne Guthrie is a USA Triathlon Level II Certified Coach since 1999 and Chief Motivating Officer at Full Circle Coaching, LLC since 2010. She has been training, racing and coaching triathletes since 1997, Member of Team USA and Competed in over 150 races. She is also a CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach Level 3, USMS Level 2 Master’s Swim Coach, Metabolic Efficiency Expert and Motivational Speaker, Mom, and much much more.

Rockstar Triathlete Claudia Abreu

Coach’s Notes:
Claudia is extremely dedicated to everything she does. We started with working on lifestyle to get sleep and nutrition dialed in so she had the energy for the training and racing.

Being a great mom is her number 1 priority and I created a program that fit around her schedule with her son. Having to train alone sometimes can be a little more difficult to hit the intervals and be consistent, but this was not the case for Claudia. Every lap was hit based on the testing we did, and the zones we created and she really knows how to deliver on race day- She is hyper focus and gets the job done! Having a Personal Record at both 70.3 and Ironman in the same season is amazing – SO proud of you girl- Let’s get to World’s even stronger!!!!!

Age: 40

Profession: Fitness model and mom

Why you chose FCC to help you on your triathlon/health and wellness journey?

This past year and half has been a very tough time for me.  I battled depression and anxiety that came from my divorce.  Finding a healthy healing place to build a stronger me was crucial and necessary.  I found that in Full Circle.  Erinne guided me to find healing through nutrition, exercise and meditative exercises.  

What is your “A” race for this season?  I think I had 2 “A” races.  The first one was the Augusta 70.3 and Ironman Florida.

Please share your BIG goals:  

My big goal was to qualify for the 70.3 World Championship in New Zealand in 2020.

Tell me about your successes so far:  

My successes so far have been qualifying for the 70.3 World Championship in New Zealand and achieving a PR of 40 minutes in IM Florida.

What were some of your biggest Improvements in performance for the each of the following? 

Swim: Being able to control my fear while swimming in a race and not to panic when getting smacked around by other swimmers.  

Bike: Being able to consistently hold higher wattage for longer. 

Run: The track workouts have significantly increased my speed. 

Nutrition/Health: I finally learned what foods work for me.  I cleaned up my act and let go of my favorite “toxic” drink, my beloved Red Bull.  

Please include any Personal Records and Goals achieved:  My personal record was completing Ironman Florida in 11 hours and 22 minutes. 

Name 2 things that have made the biggest difference in your journey:

1. Training with an amazing group of people that I’ve met through Full Circle. They’ve been so welcoming, supportive, kind and so much fun to be around. 

2. The nutritional advice from Coach Erinne has been instrumental to my success. 

What excites you the most about being involved in triathlon?  

I love the excitement of racing and the endorphins.  However, my absolute favorite is that I can eat whatever I want that is gluten free, sugar free and dairy free…haha

What would you say to another person who was on the fence about joining our training program?  I would say “Do it!”  Seriously, it has been one of the best decisions I’ve made.  Grateful to have had Erinne’s guidance.  She’s truly someone that genuinely cares about her athletes and is incredibly knowledgeable about nutrition, wellness and training. 

P.S. This could be you! If you are interested in learning more about Full Circle Coaching, call us at 786-586-6057 today, or click this link to schedule a complimentary triathlon strategy call: http://www.scheduleyou.in/5ZIsVaU

Erinne Guthrie is a USA Triathlon Level II Certified Coach since 1999 and Chief Motivating Officer at Full Circle Coaching, LLC since 2010. She has been training, racing and coaching triathletes since 1997, Member of Team USA and Competed in over 150 races. She is also a CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach Level 3, USMS Level 2 Master’s Swim Coach, Metabolic Efficiency Expert and Motivational Speaker, Mom, and much much more.

Rockstar Triathlete Mary Liz Olazabal

Coach’s Notes:
Mary Liz is so awesome to coach and has made me better. She is a teacher and a good one because she asks me the why and how for everything I give her. I love it. It reinforces my skills as a coach and makes sure I’m giving the information in an understandable way either visually or through my words. She then takes the information and gets to work.

It doesn’t have to be hard but there is a necessary understanding required to get faster. What a gift for both of us. Her consistency and drive are what have allowed for some great improvements in swim and bike, while she is healing from running injuries. She won the overall Trilogy series Aquabike to prove it! Way to go Mary Liz – Another great Rockstar Triathlete!

Age: 51

Profession: Teacher

Why you chose FCC to help you on your triathlon/health and wellness journey?
I’ve never trained with a group before or been coached. Friends from work, in particular, Vicki Koller, decided to compete in the Mighty Mujer race in April. I hemmed and hawed, having trained several years ago for triathlons. I couldn’t figure out how to fit in the morning workouts and get to school on time. Did I really want to jump back into this fitness world? I watched over the few weeks as they managed to get it all done. They were so fresh faced in the morning, full of excitement about their morning practice. I felt like I was missing out. About a week before the race, I did a trial week with Erinne. I raced Mighty Mujer and it was fun. What made it particularly special were the others from Full Circle who were competing, too. I loved feeling part of something beyond myself.

What is your “A” race for this season? Competing in all four of the trilogy races in the Aquabike, was my goal. The swim was something I always feared and I never felt strong on the bike. The run was always my savior. Committing to an entire summer of swimming and biking was going to be an accomplishment.

Please share your BIG goals: My swim time came down by nearly 5 minutes for the International distance. My bike time decreased by almost 8 minutes. It felt good to see progress.

Tell me about your successes so far. What were some of your biggest Improvements in performance for the each of the following?
Swim, Bike, Run, Nutrition/Health. Please include any Personal Records and Goals achieved:
I’m still working on my swim stroke. Sometimes I feel it’s a one step forward and two steps backward kind of thing. It’s certainly a work in progress. Yet, some of the drills and speed work now seem doable and while I still have a lot to learn, I’m making progress.

On the bike, I’m happy to keep up with the heavy hitters and survive some of the long rides. At times I’m amazed that I ‘m now able to pass people on Key Biscayne when I’m biking. This was never the case before.

Looking forward, I’d like to improve on nutrition and strength and continue to work on my swim stroke. These are my goals for January, as well as, getting rid of my Tendonitis so I can start back to running.

Name 2 or 3 things that have made the biggest difference in your journey:

1. Consistency is definitely helpful. When I take a few days off it makes both getting up harder, as well as having an effect on performance. The coaching during practice and the focus during drills on technique, have also vastly improved my swimming and biking.
2. Seeing everyone work so hard is motivating. And the fact that everyone cheers each other on and posts the small victories as well as the big ones, makes it exciting.
3. Lastly, I like the way I feel when I leave practice. It’s as though I’ve taken it upon myself to make it the best possible start to the day.

What excites you the most about being involved in triathlon?
I love being part of a group and showing up at races and seeing all of the other athletes. Whether it’s my day to win or not or have a great race or not, I’m excited to be a part of the experience. I also feel that showing up, stepping up to the start line, and overcoming the fears and nerves has crossover into so many other aspects of life.

What would you say to another person who was on the fence about joining our training program?
I would tell them that Full Circle provides not only a great group of coaches but a terrific team of athletes. Like I said, I never had a coach. I always thought it was simply about getting from start to finish in as little time possible.

There’s a vast difference between training for stamina vs the coaching at Full Circle. At Full Circle it’s about the mechanics of the sport, the nutrition, the mindset and the camaraderie. You’re never alone. The coaches are right beside you as coaches and athletes themselves.

P.S. This could be you! If you are interested in learning more about Full Circle Coaching, call us at 786-586-6057 today, or click this link to schedule a complimentary triathlon strategy call: http://www.scheduleyou.in/5ZIsVaU

Erinne Guthrie is a USA Triathlon Level II Certified Coach since 1999 and Chief Motivating Officer at Full Circle Coaching, LLC since 2010. She has been training, racing and coaching triathletes since 1997, Member of Team USA and Competed in over 150 races. She is also a CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach Level 3, USMS Level 2 Master’s Swim Coach, Metabolic Efficiency Expert and Motivational Speaker, Mom, and much much more.

Rockstar Triathlete Hunter Tully

Coach’s Notes:
Hunter lives in Weston, Florida, so even though we train together mostly online, he is able to make it down occasionally for us to get some video analysis to improve form and technique.

Since he had already raced the distances before, I needed to analyze him to find out where we could get performance gains through form and technique. Video does not lie and gets straight to the point of any inefficiencies an athlete has. It is essential to be able to get faster.

If you can swim, bike and run better with form and technique you will be faster with the same effort. Then we focused on the actual training of his energy systems above and below his race distances. We also did some mental skills about what he thought was possible. If you don’t believe you can do it faster, you are right!

He is now a believer in his own potential and that is a huge accomplishment besides the actual race PR’s.

Way to go Hunter. You are a true Rockstar Triathlete. Let’s go get some more!

Rockstar Triathlete 3x’s Daniel Kaminstein

Coach’s Notes: Daniel holds a special place in my career as a triathlon coach because he was already a super fast athlete who was on the podium in almost every race he participated. But he wanted to be 1st overall and go to World Championships. We met at the race I have every year (The Ride On Ryan Triathlon in honor of my deceased boyfriend Ryan Williams) and he was 3rd place overall.

We connected over the phone during our Discovery Session and got to work long distance. Daniel lives in Georgia and I’m in Miami, so I train him online. I will tell you a huge part of Daniel’s success with my training program is our communication and his attention to detail. He is a full time physician, husband and father to 4 kids under the age of 12!

He asks the right questions, never misses a coach call or video analysis review and every week all you see is GREEN in Training Peaks. We have tweaked every detail of his training and equipment and video analyze several times every year. The improvements Daniel has made over the last three years is really amazing and I am super proud of these accomplishments as I know he is, although he does not mention any numbers below, I will!

1:15/100 for a 1500 Meter swim test 2 weeks before Switzerland World Champs, 23 MPH average speed on an extremely hilly and technical 40K bike course and running a 39 min 10k off the bike to come in 1st American in the 40-44 age group! Way to go Man, I know you have more, Ready when you are!

Age: 41

Profession:  Emergency Medicine Physician 

Why you chose FCC to help you on your triathlon/health and wellness journey?   Three years ago when I was first looking for a coach I wanted someone who would help me in my development as an athlete in all three disciplines while allowing me to balance all of the other priorities in my life.  I wanted to be able to train hard but I did not have four or five hours a day to dedicate to training.   I had been a successful age group triathlete for years but I wanted a coach that could get me to the next level.  My priority was finding a coach that was personally committed to me as an athlete and could design an efficient training program that would allow me to improve without requiring massive amounts of training volume.  After meeting Erinne in person and talking to her on the phone I was impressed at  FCC had to offer.   Erinne’s investment in her athletes lives from both a training standpoint but also a health/wellness mindset is what convinced me that FCC would be the right choice for me. 

What is your “A” race for this season?  My A race this year was ITU age group world championships in Switzerland. I race the international distance. 

Please share your BIG goals:   My BIG goal was to finish as top 5 in the world in my age group.  My other BIG goal is to have the fastest bike split in my age group at every race that I do.    

Tell me about your successes so far:  I am not all the way there for either of my BIG goals.  This year I did have major success in both of these areas.  I was 15th in my age group at worlds and only 5 minutes off the fastest bike split.  I have made huge progress in the last 2 years.   It has been incredible to see the improvement and to enjoy the journey not just the destination.  Some other successes in the past three years with FCC have been several overall victories in local triathlons.  I was always in the top 10 but I am now consistently winning not just my age group but overall which is not bad for a 40 year old in my view.   I think my improvement in my bike split and swim form have also been huge successes that I am extremely proud of. 

What were some of your biggest Improvements in performance for the each of the following? Swim: Bike: Run: 

Bike – Consistently being one of the top bikers in my age group at every race – this is big step up from where I was two years ago

Swim – My technique has improved dramatically.   I was always a strong swimmer but I can feel myself going faster based on technique improvements that Erinne and I have refined over the past few years. 

Run – this has been the biggest challenge for me – my run speed has been solid but working more on staying injury free when my run volume ramps up.  This year it was down to the wire before my big race but turned out amazing.   Was helpful to have a coach who knew my injury history and could help me stay on track even when I couldn’t do all of the run workouts I wanted to. 

Nutrition/Health: Please include any Personal Records and Goals achieved:

Name 2 or 3 things that have made the biggest difference in your journey: 

1.  Eating healthier – this has been huge.  I went from a relatively healthy eater to someone who thinks quite a bit more about how I am fueling myself.  It made a huge difference in my energy levels and my ability to perform on hard workouts and race day.  I have avoided the “easy” carbs and now focus quite a bit more on good protein sources, healthy fats and a modest amount of more complex carbs. 

2.  General focus on mental skills has been a huge help as well.  Focusing on the mental side of racing at the high end of the support has made me enjoy the races more but also made me faster. 

What excites you the most about being involved in triathlon?  I love that it is both a team and individual support.  You can be racing someone but also encourage them at the same time.  I also enjoy the complexity of the sport.  There are so many different aspects of being a good triathlete so there is always an area to improve.  It is not just about being fast on the swim, bike, run.  Knowing your equipment, knowing the race course,  getting fast through transition are all essential components of making you faster.   No matter how long I compete in triathlon there will always be more to learn and improve on which makes it a great life-long pursuit.  I have also loved seeing my kids get involved.  My three oldest have all competed in triathlons and it is now the family sport.  

What would you say to another person who was on the fence about joining our training program?  Almost all of the coaching I have had through FCC has been remote.  I have had some in-person coaching sessions but most of what I have accomplished with FCC has been a combination of great planning, great communication and dedication to an individual approach to my training and racing.   There are lots of programs and coaches out there but if you truly want to improve in this sport you need someone who sees you as an individual and thinks holistically about your progression as an athlete.  FCC does an incredible job on all of these accounts.  If you are local to Miami you have a huge opportunity to train and race with some of the best of our sport.  If you are thinking about joining and doing most of your coaching and training remotely I can attest that Erinne and her team can make it work for you!   

P.S. This could be you! If you are interested in learning more about Full Circle Coaching, call us at 786-586-6057 today, or click this link to schedule a complimentary triathlon strategy call: http://www.scheduleyou.in/5ZIsVaU

Erinne Guthrie is a USA Triathlon Level II Certified Coach since 1999 and Chief Motivating Officer at Full Circle Coaching, LLC since 2010. She has been training, racing and coaching triathletes since 1997, Member of Team USA and Competed in over 150 races. She is also a CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach Level 3, USMS Level 2 Master’s Swim Coach, Metabolic Efficiency Expert and Motivational Speaker, Mom, and much much more.