About the Coach

The mission of my coaching business: Inspire and develop the athlete that is inside all of us.

Triathlon and endurance sports are profoundly powerful paths for building and engaging with a whole, healthy life. I have experienced this journey myself, and through my work as a coach, my goal is for you to be empowered to travel this path with success and fulfillment too.

My background in triathlon: this upcoming season will be my eighth year doing tri's. I have done races from the sprint distance up to the Ironman distance. I also like to do XTERRA, cycling time trials, the occasional cycling road race, mountain biking, trail running, and running road races (5K to marathon).

During my first year of multisport racing, I won my age group division in the HFP Triathlon Series for the sprint distance. The following year I achieved the same in the Olympic distance. The past few years I haven't been able to schedule in the entire HFP series (a group of 5-7 races over the course of the season), but across the broader selection of local races (triathlon, cycling, and running) it is pretty typical for me to place reasonably high (top 10% or higher) in my age group. Depending who shows up, of course... you know who you are! ;-) Cycling is my strongest discipline; in 2008 I was the first female finisher of the Sunflower Revolution Ride with a Platinum Level finishing time.

I'm looking forward to doing more races in 2011, after rebuilding across the latter half of 2010. Late 2008 and 2009 brought extended setbacks, with multiple injuries and other factors interfering with my training and racing. After having to pull back for a while, I can certainly say that nowadays, time on the bike and on the run feel like such a joy and a privilege... never a chore, that's for sure! This past year I improved a lot as a mountain biker, so I'm especially looking forward to doing more off-road triathlon and trail races!

I work hard to be a strong athlete, but do not consider myself among the lucky few who are "gifted" in sport. However, rather than viewing this only as a limitation, I think that from a coaching perspective this can be a genuine asset. I am usually fast enough that I can appreciate the thrill of placing well in a race; but at the same time, I need to work hard and train smart for the successes I do enjoy. As this situation is what most of us need to deal with, I think my life as a "non-gifted" athlete is rich ground for learning and perspective, and I strive to pass this on to the athletes I coach.

Before getting into triathlon, I worked as a PhD-level research scientist and lab manager in immunology (I completed my PhD in 1993 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison). I started the career transition from science to sports about six years ago, beginning with successful completion of several courses in athletic training at UC, and building from there with a range of work experiences as a personal trainer (University of Cincinnati and Blue Ash YMCA). The past four-plus years I have worked independently as a personal trainer through my own business, providing strength training in clients' homes or at the studio at my house, as well as conducting small group outdoor workout sessions.

I began formal triathlon coaching three years ago, in early 2008, after completing my USAT Level 1 certification. I still offer and enjoy doing personal training, but as time goes by, I am finding my focus is shifting more and more toward the endurance sport coaching side of my business. At this point my primary client base is triathletes who are training for Sprint, Olympic, and 70.3 triathlons, as well as full Ironman events. Along with triathletes, I also coach a handful of pure cyclists and runners... one of whom recently took an hour off her previous best marathon time and qualified for the Boston Marathon. :-)

In addition to my coaching work with individual clients, the past three years I also have been the affiliate coach for the Cincinnati Triathlon. For this event, I provide a multi-level training program for race participants, as well as a series of workshops for swim, bike, run, transitions, and open water swimming. And the spring of 2010 brought a new partnership with the Mayerson JCC to offer triathlete-oriented swim instruction and other integrated workout programs for triathletes at their beautiful facility... so the offerings are continuing to grow!

From science to sport... the "lab" I work in now is different, more fun in many ways, but as ever, oriented toward excellence in every aspect of my coaching services. I am an avid learner, and always seek to find and apply the best knowledge to my clients' training. I approach workouts and programming for my clients with questions: "What?", "Why?", and "How?". As in, "What specific exercises would address the individual needs of my athlete?", and, "Why should I put this particular workout on the schedule at this particular time?", and, "How can I help my athlete improve their overall health and well-being?". I strongly emphasize individual attention, training with purpose, and balancing competitive goals with health and other areas of life. Triathlon is a wonderful challenge and an empowering experience. Build your strength and create the life you imagine. Come join the fun!