Katie @ Clermont Tri Race #3 as the top Girl and 2nd OA Finish!
Lauren and Joy racing in the Mud...Girls Just Wanna Have FUN! AWESOME!
Racheal Wood Coaching
South Florida's Triathlon, XTERRA and Cycling Certified Coach
Welcome to Racheal Wood Coaching
News and Upcoming Events
Congrats to Lisa Galloway for a rock solid performance today at FL 70.3 in Haines City. She finished the race in 5:32:08 with a strong 1:48 half marathon run finish! Great way to pace the race and finish strong. Way to go Lisa, so very proud!
Congrats to Hannah Fowler, Shea Whitacre and Katie Pinnell for their outstanding performances at IronKids FL in Haines City! The girls had great races, executing all the skills they learned to prepare for the race really well. They all qualified for IronKid Nationals in Des Moines. Way to go TEAM South Florida Lightning!
Lisa Galloway and I had a great weekend training in Haines City, Lake Louisa and Clermont. We were able to check out the ride the FL 70.3 and IronKids race course. The lake is small and water level kind of low, should make for an interesting swim. The bike course is a mix of flats, false flats, some hills, smooth, rough, country and busy roads. The run course has some good hills in it at the start of the loop and then flattens out a bit for the second half. Venue site is beautiful at Lake Eva with awesome play ground and water park for the kids (very family oriented), beautiful green lawns, amphitheater and banquet hall. Should make for 2 great events. Good luck to all competitors on May 19th and 20th!
Lisa riding for the first time in Clermont at the top of Sugarloaf! Looking forward to going back with her to train again.
Congrats to Katie Pinnell for her outstanding performance at the Stars Kid's Triathlon in Cocoa Beach on Sunday the 22nd! Katie placed first in the girls 11-12 age division and was the top finisher (boys and girls) for kids aged 10-15 for the second race in a row. She won a cool trophy and surf board. Nice job Katie!
Congrats to Joy Braun for a strong finish of 5:50:45 on a tough course at the Clermont Challenge half iron distance race! That is an improvement of 1.5 hours since she did her first half ironman on that course 1.5 years ago. She placed 3rd in the 35-39 age group. Joy has worked on her biking skills and improved tremendously. Nice job Joy!
Congrats to Sue Endicott, Rich Hoffman, CK Nickoson and Robert Jimerez for completing the FAU Wellness Triathlon!
Due to rough conditions, the swim was cancelled and replaced with a 1 mile run out and back on the sand. It definitely changed the dynamics of the race for all my athletes that were so prepared for a rough water swim, making it much harder in many respects. They all did a great job in over coming the change. Sue came in 4th place with a time of 1:09 in the tough 50 to 54 age group improving her average pace on the bike and run dramatically (check out the note she sent me after the race below). Robert Jimerez finished his first tri race (well duathlon), having a bit of a tougher time with the run on the sand first (he prepared so hard for the swim), but gutted it out all the way to the finish. Rich Hoffman finished stong with a 1:02 in the 40 to 44 male division missing his mark of breaking an hour, but still having a good day. CJ also did well in the Clydesdale division with a 1:07 finish. Congrats to all that raced.
Athlete Sue Endicott sent me an email about her race experience at FAU. She completed her first tri in 2005, one more in 2006 and then again one in 2011. She had tried to train on her own (winging it)without getting much results. FAU was her 4th tri. Below is part of her note:
Sue is on the left with her friend Mary that came in 2nd in the 60-64 age group.
Sue has been an amazing athlete to coach, follows the plan well and appreciates all the guidance I give her including when she strays every so often:). Thanks for doing so well with all your training.
--------------------
I had a great crowd of about 60 athletes for the First Timer's Clinic for the FAU Wellness Triathlon on Saturday before the race. The clinic included a powerpoint presentation on how to prepare for their first race and what to expect for the FAU race. I also went over many tips I have learned through the years from coaching and racing. Many of the athletes were concerned with the windy conditions, mainly for the swim. Good luck to all the athletes!
I attended the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) Certification course in Atlanta March 24 and 25th. It was a great course with a lot of good information and presented very well. I learned a few new things, but mainly was a great reminder of tools we can use as coaches. Plus it was unique in that it centered around just running and not also training for a tri. Looking forward to using some of the info while coaching my athletes:).
Congrats to Katie Pinnell for her age group win at the FitKidz Triathlon in Clermont on March 24th. She won the 11-12 year old age group by 5 minutes and also placed first for all kids aged 10-15 including the boys. Way to start out the season Katie! Go Team Lightning!
I have been holding Open water swims and transition practices for some of my coached athletes. They have learned so much about how to deal with rough conditions and how to be fast in transitions!
Welcome to New Athlete CJ Nickoson
CJ has been involved in the sport for a couple years and is interesting in taking his training to the next level. He is slated to race at Nautica and FAU, and then stepping it up to do Miami 70.3 in October. Looking forward to helping him balance out his training with his full time job as a restaurant manager (JB's on the Beach) with his family (wife and 2 children) while training smart and hard!
I volunteered to help out with a FLIPPANY Adventure Camp for kids over spring break. Rode with some of the kids on the trails at Markham park. They all did great and were so much fun to work with and give a few tips!
Took a road trip to Clermont with my athlete Sue Endicott to teach her how to ride in the hills. We rode all through Clermont, Cherry Lake, Ferndale, and Monteverde conquering almost all the big hills. We also did repeat loops at Lake Louisa State Park and did a small transition session, and visited the National Training Center to recover from the riding and work a tiny bit on her swim form. Was a great and FUN couple of days!
Congrats to Joy Braun for her top 5% female finish at the Sparten Race in Oleta River State Park on Saturday. She did the race for fun after a long season of Ironman training straight into Miami Marathon race.....and had a blast smiling the whole time:). Great job Joy!
Welcome to new athlete and beginner Robert Jimenez. He is training for his first triathlon at FAU Wellness Sprint on April 15th. He also has a goal of completing the Miami 70.3 in October! I am really looking forward to working with him and helping him acheive his goals!
Congrats to Joy Braun on her 3:48 Miami Marathon finish which put her in the top 30 of the 35-39 age division. She did an amazing job recovering from Ironman Florida back in November, to training for the event and building back up some speed. She is ready to rock in 2012, signing up for the Clermont Challenge Half Ironman in April, then Ironman Louisville in August and Florida in November.
Joy Braun with a strong finish to the line.
Welcome to new athletes that have joined my coaching family over the past 2 months!
Welcome to Sue Endicott who is from Toronto Canada and spends winters in South Florida. She is working on a improving her speed for a little competition with her friend in the River Bridge 10K in Charleston and also has registered for the Mont Tremblant 70.3 in Montreal in June. After she retired, she became is a personal trainer as well as sports nutritionist and has been a lot of fun to work with.
Welcome to Lisa Galloway from Boyton Beach. Lisa is in her first year of training for tri's after several years of running. Her goals this year are become faster at the Half Ironman Distance and complete her first Ironman at IM FL this year. She is off to a good start with a 22:48 1st place age group finish at the South Florida Fair 5K on December 31st!
Welcome to Harris Thompson from Coral Springs. His goal is to work on his speed and then focus on getting faster for the longer distance training in 2013 while juggling his time for her wife and 2 young boys. He will be competing in the SurfCity Half Marathon in February and a host of other Sprints ending the year with Miami 70.3.
Welcome to Rich Hoffmann from Boca Raton. His goal is to get faster at the sprints with some serious training and also complete an Olympic Distance race (or a few). He has competed the FAU race a few times without any serious training and would like to take it to the next level this year. I am looking forward to seeing what he can do!
----------------------
Congrats to Alfredo Forero on his second place Finish at the Key West Triathlon! Great way to end your season:). Good luck to you in 2012 and your upcoming marriage!
Team South Florida Lightning Took I Tri'ed Kids Triathlon at BCC by Storm!
Three of our team members competed today and took home 3 First Place Age Group Finishes in the 7-11 Wave! Congrats to Katie Pinnell, Hannah Fowler and Karly Ruskin for their outstanding performances! They all did awesome and had a ton of fun! Katie aged 11 had the fastest time for all the competitors (boys and girls) for the 7-11 division which included a 100 yard swim, 2 mile bike and .5 mile run with a 1.5 minute cushion with a time of13:27. Hannah aged 8 was 2nd overall in the same distance and wave (7-11) with a time of 15:01! 1,2 overall finish is amazing! Great way to end the season....looking forward to working more with the team in 2012.
Congrats to Hannah Fowler, Shea Whitacre and Katie Pinnell for their outstanding performances at IronKids FL in Haines City! The girls had great races, executing all the skills they learned to prepare for the race really well. They all qualified for IronKid Nationals in Des Moines. Way to go TEAM South Florida Lightning!
Lisa Galloway and I had a great weekend training in Haines City, Lake Louisa and Clermont. We were able to check out the ride the FL 70.3 and IronKids race course. The lake is small and water level kind of low, should make for an interesting swim. The bike course is a mix of flats, false flats, some hills, smooth, rough, country and busy roads. The run course has some good hills in it at the start of the loop and then flattens out a bit for the second half. Venue site is beautiful at Lake Eva with awesome play ground and water park for the kids (very family oriented), beautiful green lawns, amphitheater and banquet hall. Should make for 2 great events. Good luck to all competitors on May 19th and 20th!
Lisa riding for the first time in Clermont at the top of Sugarloaf! Looking forward to going back with her to train again.
Congrats to Katie Pinnell for her outstanding performance at the Stars Kid's Triathlon in Cocoa Beach on Sunday the 22nd! Katie placed first in the girls 11-12 age division and was the top finisher (boys and girls) for kids aged 10-15 for the second race in a row. She won a cool trophy and surf board. Nice job Katie!
Congrats to Joy Braun for a strong finish of 5:50:45 on a tough course at the Clermont Challenge half iron distance race! That is an improvement of 1.5 hours since she did her first half ironman on that course 1.5 years ago. She placed 3rd in the 35-39 age group. Joy has worked on her biking skills and improved tremendously. Nice job Joy!
Congrats to Sue Endicott, Rich Hoffman, CK Nickoson and Robert Jimerez for completing the FAU Wellness Triathlon!
Due to rough conditions, the swim was cancelled and replaced with a 1 mile run out and back on the sand. It definitely changed the dynamics of the race for all my athletes that were so prepared for a rough water swim, making it much harder in many respects. They all did a great job in over coming the change. Sue came in 4th place with a time of 1:09 in the tough 50 to 54 age group improving her average pace on the bike and run dramatically (check out the note she sent me after the race below). Robert Jimerez finished his first tri race (well duathlon), having a bit of a tougher time with the run on the sand first (he prepared so hard for the swim), but gutted it out all the way to the finish. Rich Hoffman finished stong with a 1:02 in the 40 to 44 male division missing his mark of breaking an hour, but still having a good day. CJ also did well in the Clydesdale division with a 1:07 finish. Congrats to all that raced.
Athlete Sue Endicott sent me an email about her race experience at FAU. She completed her first tri in 2005, one more in 2006 and then again one in 2011. She had tried to train on her own (winging it)without getting much results. FAU was her 4th tri. Below is part of her note:
I am thrilled with my results. My coach rocks!! I hired a triathlon coach in November to help me prepare (safely and correctly) for the Mont Tremblant Half Ironman. When I started with Racheal, I was averaging approx. a 10:30 min per mile pace in my running. I was averaging a 15 mph bike pace. My average swim pace was approx. 2:30 min for 100 meters. With Racheal's guidance, motivation and support, my abilities for each of the 3 disciplines have improved drastically. Here are my results from yesterdays race:
I placed 4th in my age group out of 24. (50-54 years) and 295 out of 566 competitors.
I did the beach run in 8:30 min. I did my bike ride in 30:43 min (average pace was 19.5 mph) I did my 3.1 run in 27:24 min (average pace = 8:49/mile)
Sue is on the left with her friend Mary that came in 2nd in the 60-64 age group.
Sue has been an amazing athlete to coach, follows the plan well and appreciates all the guidance I give her including when she strays every so often:). Thanks for doing so well with all your training.
--------------------
I had a great crowd of about 60 athletes for the First Timer's Clinic for the FAU Wellness Triathlon on Saturday before the race. The clinic included a powerpoint presentation on how to prepare for their first race and what to expect for the FAU race. I also went over many tips I have learned through the years from coaching and racing. Many of the athletes were concerned with the windy conditions, mainly for the swim. Good luck to all the athletes!
I attended the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) Certification course in Atlanta March 24 and 25th. It was a great course with a lot of good information and presented very well. I learned a few new things, but mainly was a great reminder of tools we can use as coaches. Plus it was unique in that it centered around just running and not also training for a tri. Looking forward to using some of the info while coaching my athletes:).
Congrats to Katie Pinnell for her age group win at the FitKidz Triathlon in Clermont on March 24th. She won the 11-12 year old age group by 5 minutes and also placed first for all kids aged 10-15 including the boys. Way to start out the season Katie! Go Team Lightning!
I have been holding Open water swims and transition practices for some of my coached athletes. They have learned so much about how to deal with rough conditions and how to be fast in transitions!
Welcome to New Athlete CJ Nickoson
CJ has been involved in the sport for a couple years and is interesting in taking his training to the next level. He is slated to race at Nautica and FAU, and then stepping it up to do Miami 70.3 in October. Looking forward to helping him balance out his training with his full time job as a restaurant manager (JB's on the Beach) with his family (wife and 2 children) while training smart and hard!
I volunteered to help out with a FLIPPANY Adventure Camp for kids over spring break. Rode with some of the kids on the trails at Markham park. They all did great and were so much fun to work with and give a few tips!
Took a road trip to Clermont with my athlete Sue Endicott to teach her how to ride in the hills. We rode all through Clermont, Cherry Lake, Ferndale, and Monteverde conquering almost all the big hills. We also did repeat loops at Lake Louisa State Park and did a small transition session, and visited the National Training Center to recover from the riding and work a tiny bit on her swim form. Was a great and FUN couple of days!
Congrats to Joy Braun for her top 5% female finish at the Sparten Race in Oleta River State Park on Saturday. She did the race for fun after a long season of Ironman training straight into Miami Marathon race.....and had a blast smiling the whole time:). Great job Joy!
Welcome to new athlete and beginner Robert Jimenez. He is training for his first triathlon at FAU Wellness Sprint on April 15th. He also has a goal of completing the Miami 70.3 in October! I am really looking forward to working with him and helping him acheive his goals!
Congrats to Joy Braun on her 3:48 Miami Marathon finish which put her in the top 30 of the 35-39 age division. She did an amazing job recovering from Ironman Florida back in November, to training for the event and building back up some speed. She is ready to rock in 2012, signing up for the Clermont Challenge Half Ironman in April, then Ironman Louisville in August and Florida in November.
Joy Braun with a strong finish to the line.Welcome to new athletes that have joined my coaching family over the past 2 months!
Welcome to Sue Endicott who is from Toronto Canada and spends winters in South Florida. She is working on a improving her speed for a little competition with her friend in the River Bridge 10K in Charleston and also has registered for the Mont Tremblant 70.3 in Montreal in June. After she retired, she became is a personal trainer as well as sports nutritionist and has been a lot of fun to work with.
Welcome to Lisa Galloway from Boyton Beach. Lisa is in her first year of training for tri's after several years of running. Her goals this year are become faster at the Half Ironman Distance and complete her first Ironman at IM FL this year. She is off to a good start with a 22:48 1st place age group finish at the South Florida Fair 5K on December 31st!
Welcome to Harris Thompson from Coral Springs. His goal is to work on his speed and then focus on getting faster for the longer distance training in 2013 while juggling his time for her wife and 2 young boys. He will be competing in the SurfCity Half Marathon in February and a host of other Sprints ending the year with Miami 70.3.
Welcome to Rich Hoffmann from Boca Raton. His goal is to get faster at the sprints with some serious training and also complete an Olympic Distance race (or a few). He has competed the FAU race a few times without any serious training and would like to take it to the next level this year. I am looking forward to seeing what he can do!
----------------------
Congrats to Alfredo Forero on his second place Finish at the Key West Triathlon! Great way to end your season:). Good luck to you in 2012 and your upcoming marriage!
Team South Florida Lightning Took I Tri'ed Kids Triathlon at BCC by Storm!
Three of our team members competed today and took home 3 First Place Age Group Finishes in the 7-11 Wave! Congrats to Katie Pinnell, Hannah Fowler and Karly Ruskin for their outstanding performances! They all did awesome and had a ton of fun! Katie aged 11 had the fastest time for all the competitors (boys and girls) for the 7-11 division which included a 100 yard swim, 2 mile bike and .5 mile run with a 1.5 minute cushion with a time of13:27. Hannah aged 8 was 2nd overall in the same distance and wave (7-11) with a time of 15:01! 1,2 overall finish is amazing! Great way to end the season....looking forward to working more with the team in 2012.
Congrats to my athletes that completed Ironman Florida November 5th!
I had 4 athletes compete...all career women that juggled all the training with their full time jobs to become Ironman. Photos
Congrats to Joy Braun who less than two years ago did not even own a bike nor have much skill in riding one. She was also not very skilled with her swim. She trained with such dedication,listening and doing just what I told her to do. The result was a phenonmenal first Ironman Race in a time of 11:49, pacing it just right so she could finish strong with a 4:10 marathon. It was more than a joy to watch her running strong at the end negative splitting the run. Joy is a perfect example of what you can do with tons of determination. Amazing race.....she is also hooked, signed up for next year. Can't wait to see what she can do!
Joy on her way out for her second loop of the run! Looking STRONG!
Congrats to Lauren Braunswick who did an amazing job of balancing her job as a lawyer, tons of travel with more than a few of her friends having showers, spendng time with her fiance and the training. Her goal was to break 13 hours and she did it in 12:15! It was awesome to see how pumped up she was going down the finishers chute! Woo Hoo Lauren!
Congrats to Monica Smiciklas who decided to toe the line and complete the race even though she didn't have the time she had hoped to train for it. She starting a new position within her company with Microsoft back in April, traveling half the month and dealing with some stressful events as well. Given all that she still PR'ed from her first Ironman and pushed the run at the end to break the 15 hour mark with a 14:48 finish. Way to hang tough Monica...looking forward to next year, training hard!
Congrats to Tina Marie Pereira! Tina is the queen of balance in her life. She lives LIFE to the fullest and then some and still manages to train...but not making it so huge that she doesn't have time for other things. She has a demanding job that requires long hours as a Engineering Project Manager for Community Asphalt. To train for Ironman meant that she would have to step up the volume by quite a bit and give up some of her balanced life. As the months went by, I was amazed how well she did this. Her goal was to just finish...and she did it well. She ended the day in 15:01. Had a solid steady swim, bike and run....and would have been faster if she didn't spend 30 plus minutes in transition:). OK, having to change your contacts takes time:). Best of all, she is still the most balanced and awesome triathlete I know! Awesome job Tina, so PROUD of you.
I had a great day following them out on the course and watching them put together these beautiful races. So PROUD to be their coach!
I had 4 athletes compete...all career women that juggled all the training with their full time jobs to become Ironman. Photos
Congrats to Joy Braun who less than two years ago did not even own a bike nor have much skill in riding one. She was also not very skilled with her swim. She trained with such dedication,listening and doing just what I told her to do. The result was a phenonmenal first Ironman Race in a time of 11:49, pacing it just right so she could finish strong with a 4:10 marathon. It was more than a joy to watch her running strong at the end negative splitting the run. Joy is a perfect example of what you can do with tons of determination. Amazing race.....she is also hooked, signed up for next year. Can't wait to see what she can do!
Joy on her way out for her second loop of the run! Looking STRONG!
Congrats to Lauren Braunswick who did an amazing job of balancing her job as a lawyer, tons of travel with more than a few of her friends having showers, spendng time with her fiance and the training. Her goal was to break 13 hours and she did it in 12:15! It was awesome to see how pumped up she was going down the finishers chute! Woo Hoo Lauren!
Congrats to Monica Smiciklas who decided to toe the line and complete the race even though she didn't have the time she had hoped to train for it. She starting a new position within her company with Microsoft back in April, traveling half the month and dealing with some stressful events as well. Given all that she still PR'ed from her first Ironman and pushed the run at the end to break the 15 hour mark with a 14:48 finish. Way to hang tough Monica...looking forward to next year, training hard!
Congrats to Tina Marie Pereira! Tina is the queen of balance in her life. She lives LIFE to the fullest and then some and still manages to train...but not making it so huge that she doesn't have time for other things. She has a demanding job that requires long hours as a Engineering Project Manager for Community Asphalt. To train for Ironman meant that she would have to step up the volume by quite a bit and give up some of her balanced life. As the months went by, I was amazed how well she did this. Her goal was to just finish...and she did it well. She ended the day in 15:01. Had a solid steady swim, bike and run....and would have been faster if she didn't spend 30 plus minutes in transition:). OK, having to change your contacts takes time:). Best of all, she is still the most balanced and awesome triathlete I know! Awesome job Tina, so PROUD of you.
I had a great day following them out on the course and watching them put together these beautiful races. So PROUD to be their coach!
South Florida Lightning Developmental and Performance Youth and Juniors Triathlon Team based out of North Broward and South Palm Beach County
Thanks to all the parents that came out to the Informational Meeting. It was a wonderful meeting with awesome parents/kids attending. Flyer for Club
For more information about the team and membership, click on the Youth and Junior Team Links. As always, please feel free to contact me if you have questions about the program. I am really looking forward to sharing my expertise and helping the USAT's initiative in building pathways for our youth to start out on the right foot. They are the growth and success of the sport of triathlon!
On Line Registration is up for the 2012 team! Thanks to all the parents that came out to the Informational Meeting on Sunday. For more information about the team and membership, click on the Youth Links . As always, please feel free to contact me if you have questions about the program. I am really looking forward to sharing my expertise and helping the USAT's initiative in building pathways for our youth to start out on the right foot. They are the growth and success of the sport of triathlon!
Thanks to all the parents that came out to the Informational Meeting. It was a wonderful meeting with awesome parents/kids attending. Flyer for Club
For more information about the team and membership, click on the Youth and Junior Team Links. As always, please feel free to contact me if you have questions about the program. I am really looking forward to sharing my expertise and helping the USAT's initiative in building pathways for our youth to start out on the right foot. They are the growth and success of the sport of triathlon!
On Line Registration is up for the 2012 team! Thanks to all the parents that came out to the Informational Meeting on Sunday. For more information about the team and membership, click on the Youth Links . As always, please feel free to contact me if you have questions about the program. I am really looking forward to sharing my expertise and helping the USAT's initiative in building pathways for our youth to start out on the right foot. They are the growth and success of the sport of triathlon!
Congrats to my athletes that competed at Augusta 70.3 on September 25th! All of them posted Personal Bests for the half ironman distance. Leading the team was Joy Braun with an awesome 5:26:08 race finishing with a strong half marathon and 45 minute PR over last years Miami 70.3 race. Lauren Brunswick was close behind with a 5:38 finish, also a PR by about 40 minutes. Monica Smickilas and Kerry Whitacre improved their time by 30 minutes over their time from last year at Vineman. Looking forward to seeing how they all do at Ironman Florida in a few weeks! Way to go girls:)!
Joy with a solid bike, Lauren running strong, Monica and Kerry riding strong!
Joy with a solid bike, Lauren running strong, Monica and Kerry riding strong!