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Hanging with Natasha Badman at the Ironman World Championships!
Kona Hawaii 2001

 

 

Standing in front of the leader board with 1st Place Trophy 2002
Fastest Female Master Finisher with Top Masters Run Split!


 

Brian and I at the Hospice 100K Mountain Bike Race!


Ellen with Mom at Morikami Japanese Gardens Spring 2008

About Racheal

I am an ordinary person that has had the opportunity to do extraordinary things.  I started competing in triathlons and running road races as a graduate assistant and student  in the Exercise Science Department at Florida Atlantic University.  Like many athletes, after my first race I was absolutely hooked. I loved the training and it was a great way to become physically fit.  Through a lot of determination and hard work, I went from being an middle of the pack age grouper to racing in the Elite divisions.   I also took up mountain biking and off road running.

After a few years I turned my sights to longer distance racing, qualifying for Kona by winning my age group in my first Ironman.  I finished the 2000 IM Florida with a 10:09:15 finish, good enough for 9th overall including the pro women.  I went on to compete in 4 more IM's, all of which I was in the top 5 in my age group, with my best being a 2002 Age Group and overall Female Masters win at the World Championships in Hawaii.

In 2004, I decided to take a break from serious training to  spend more time with my family; daughter Ellen aged 10  and my husband of 20 years Brian.  I also had a strong desire to do more mountain biking.  My dream has always been to do the AA Hawaiian double; to compete in the IM World Championships in Kona and than a week later go to Maui and do the XTERRA World Championships.  I joined the Ford Team and focused on improving my mountain bike skills.  At the same time I wanted to give back to the Triathlon community in our area and did so by starting a new Triathlon Club;  The Gold Coast Triathletes.  I also wanted to focus more on coaching along with teaching health and physical education at a K-9 school.  

In 2005, my coaching really took off and I opted to pursue it full time.  I gave up my teaching and athletic director job.  My husband became quite the mountain bike racer and I focused more on my athletes.  I started coached training groups (open water swims, running drills and speed sessions with instruction, brick and transition workouts along with various clinics related to bike skills, transitions, open water swimming, etc.).  I also continued to do a little more  mountain bike racing. 

2006 proved to be a very busy year.  I took on being President of the Triathlon Club The Gold Coast Triathletes.  I had many of my athletes helping me out with the club.  We worked very hard and accomplished a great deal over the course of the year.  At the same time my coaching really took off and my training groups doubled in size.  I was able to compete in a couple mountain bike races, 2 Florida XTERRA races and raced for fun with a bunch of my athletes at The Escape to Miami at the end of the year.  I had hoped to race IM Florida, but could not find the time I needed to train properly for the event.  Instead I went to the race as a Coach and supported the athletes.  I was so inspired, I signed up for IM Florida in 2007!

In 2007....I returned back to training for triathlon and continued to coach full time.  It was a tough year trying to just build a base back after being out of the sport for 4 years.  Plus I had some great athletes I was coaching and training groups!    I was only able to complete in 6 races in 2007, but it was a good start in trying to get back to racing and in shape.  I had a rough start of the year having a difficult time with races at Florida Great Escape and IM 70.3, did fairly well at XTERRA in Miami, had a pretty decent race (all things considered) in the Cancun 70.3, did the Tradewinds race as a C practice race for IM.  I was able to complete IM FL and do well enough to qualify for Kona for 2008!   However it was a tough day out there....and I learned a lot about what it was like to do an Ironman without having the huge fitness I had back in 2000-2003.   I think in the end it made me able to relate so much more to the average athlete.  It was a great experience and just GREAT being back out there again!  Very motivating!

2008 is going to be a super big year for me racing wise.  I plan on limiting my personally coached athletes to 12 or less so I have time to devote to them and my training. I hired a strength coach to help me build back up my strength and fitness.   I will hold training groups, but they will not be as elaborate as in the past which will allow more flexibility for athletes as well as myself.  Instead of having a huge training group that meets a few days a week, I separated out the groups so that athletes can sign up for them separately along with the training program.  It allows much more flexibility with scheduling for both me and my athletes.    I am hoping to qualify for XTERRA in Maui and try to do the AA Hawaiian double this year if possible.   It is going to be a FUN and EXCITING YEAR all the way around!     You can check out my race schedule below! 

 

 
  Contact Information
E-mail info@rachealwoodcoaching.com

Phone: 954 263 4588

 

 




Check out my racing history!

 
About Racheal Wood Coaching
Each athlete is unique with not only their strengths and weaknesses as an athlete, but also their time constraints due to family and work obligations.  I try to get to know each of my athletes as well as I can, taking all the various aspects of their life into consideration before helping them with their goals, and setting up their training programs.  I take a very individualized approach to my coaching by offering my athletes as much attention as they want and need.  Often as the coach/athlete relationship develops and issues related to training come about; changes must be made related to an athletes goals or circumstance.  I strive to be very flexible in making as many adjustments that are needed in order to ensure a positive experience for each athlete.  Each program is a mix of the scientific approach, schedule reality and most importantly to enjoy the training.

I believe that my success as an athlete has centered around the concept of "play".  Although the training included a lot of hard work and  sheer determination; the bottom line has to be about having fun.  When you train smart, and play hard....you will inevitably enjoy the sport and take it to the next level. This is what I  try to convey to my athletes.


Racheal Wood Coaching History
 I formally started coaching multi sport athletes in 2002, but I have over 10 years of teaching and coaching experience.  I have coached over 200 multi sport athletes, mainly with personalized coaching and over 100  middle and high school athletes in tennis, soccer and swimming.  This year I will be limiting myself to 10 to 12 personalized athletes at a time in order to provide the attention each athlete deserves.  I also have several training groups to help my personalized athletes and athletes in the community to train together, namely for ocean swims and to work on their running  efficiency and speed work.  I also have offered several clinics working on various triathlon related topics and areas.  I have also taught Fitness and Physical Education (for teachers) courses for the Exercise Science and Wellness Department at Florida Atlantic University along with high school health, mathematics and middle school health, science and K-12 physical education and swimming.  I strive to combine my teaching expertise with my athletic ability and coaching in order to present informative, hands on as well as educational clinics and training group sessions.  

Qualifications
USA Triathlon Level II Certified  Coach
USA Cycling Level III Coach
Masters  of Science in Exercise Science and Wellness
Bachelor of Science in Health Education and  Athletic Training
Certified Water Safety Instructor and Lifeguard
Certified Johnny G. Spinning Instructor
Certified Florida Teacher Science, Health and Physical Education
President of the Gold Coast Triathletes Club
2002 Ironman Hawaii Female Masters World Champion
Five Time Top 5 Age group finisher Ironman  Hawaii/Florida (2000-2003)
Five Time USAT All American
Ranked #1 in USAT National Ranking 2001
South Florida Female Athlete and Triathlete of the Year 2000, 2001, 2002
XTERRA SE Regional Champion 2001


 

 
 Check my Racing Schedule for 2008!
Tour of San Felasco- 50 mile mountain bike Jan. 12th- FUN Trip, loved the trails there!  NEW BIKE.....Titus Racer X with shifters on the brakes.  Took a bit of riding to get use to...but is going to be a FUN Bike!

Coconut Cup Mountain Bike Race in Markham Park-  January 27th- First race back mountain biking in a long time.  Nice to get my feet wet again and enjoyed the day.  Need to start riding faster and harder in order to race hard! 

Fort Lauderdale A1A Half Marathon- Feb. 17th- Decided to skip since I was dreading going out for my long runs and figured I would have plenty of time later in the year to do it!

Coconut Cup Mountain Bike Race in Oleta
February 24th
- Amazing Race with an Overall Female finish even after getting a flat and riding an extra trail.

Hospice 100K Mountain Bike Race- March 2nd- AMAZING EVENT!  My first long distance SOLO mountain bike race.  Felt great.  Finish the full 100K with lots in the tank....2nd female, 19th overall!  Need to learn not to save it for the run though! 

 

XTERRA in Miami- March 30th
FUN race!  Did well and felt better on the run this time!  Tired for the swim and bike though!    1st Female and 11th overall.


Didn't get much sleep for a few nights leading in (I hosted a big clinic the day before which left me super tired) and wasn't able to warm up due to setting up transition issues with the earlier race which really hurt me especially on the bike.  Too much air in my tires.  Had to stop a couple times to let air out given the dusty conditions.  Fell on the run portion and severely cut both palms on my hands on some coral rock in Rocky mile and also sliced my foot a bit on corral rock during the start of the swim (hole and rocks at the beach start).   BUT still had a GREAT time and enjoyed the race a lot!  Felt fitter than last year!

Great Clermont- April 6th- Could not race because of my hands and feet from XTERRA.  Could not hold on to a handle bar or swim.   Rescheduled for Tri America Race in a few weeks.

FAU Wellness Triathlon- April 13th-  too much going on with 2 big clinics and Gold Coast Triathletes club to be able to race and not able to train for a few weeks due to big gashes in my hands.  NEXT year I am definitely racing though!

XTERRA - Fort Yargo in Georgia- April 27th- Wanted to do but just was able to get back on my mountain bike to ride in time. Still dealing with major cuts on my hands.   Will do Fort Myers instead.

Tri America Series- Port Charlotte May 4th, 2008- May 4th- Training Race or C race, tired before the start-  Beautiful course, nice beach and swim (although most of it was into the current).  2 loops on the bike very scenic along the beach for half of it.  Beautiful out and back run along the ocean....hot run though!    Very nice course and venue.    Finished 2nd overall female and 6th overall.  Small but very nice field of athletes!  Not quite ready for the longer  distance yet, but felt surprisingly better after the turnaround on the run.  Ran the second half faster than  the first which was a bonus! 

Stopped on the way there to ride the XTERRA bike course in Fort  Myers on the day before and then again after the race.    Trained with Liz, one of my athletes!  We had a great training weekend!

XTERRA- Fort Myers May 18th- Very nice race and great for beginners!  Well organized and lots of fun.  Next year I think I will camp out right there at the course.   It would be super fun!  Did it as a training race to help prepare for XTERRA Regional's in June.   Not a great race for me....but was lots of fun.  Had trouble with my tire the day before which create problems and kind of took me out of the right frame of mind to race.  Need to get back into the rhythm and training hard in all 3 disciplines.  Too many setbacks since XTERRA Miami. 

Did not feel so great on the swim.   I have not been swimming much since I tore up my hands in Oleta and the fresh water and no wet suit made me realize just how much I have not been swimming!   Had an okay bike.  The course was super easy with a lot of turns to slow you down (which I am not so great at since am so tall).  My new bike is bigger and I am higher up (not as aero as before), which makes the turning much tougher.  Really need to work on that.   I had to worry about not going off the trail too much since I thought my air pressure was lower than desirable due to my tire problems.  It turns out the air pressure was actually much more than I thought which might have contributed to my troubles with the cornering even more.  On my pre ride with my tubeless tire and lower air pressure, I was cornering so much better.    I never felt very fast and the course was not technical to get much of an advantage (I am much more of a technical rider these days then speed demon).    The run course was nice with some grassy sections, wooden walkways and nature trails.  We did 2 loops on the 4 mile course.   Super tired for the run.....no legs today.  Finished this race 2nd overall female, 22nd overall out of about 90 athletes.   Need to get my focus back the next couple weeks for Regional's!
 
It was great to see a nice group of adventure racers competing from Miami!  Thanks to David Gomez for helping me with my tire the day before.  All the SoFLAR were super nice and did very well! 

XTERRA South Regional Championships in Alabama June 8th
Vineman 70.3 in California- July 20th
XTERRA Jacksonville- July 28th

IM World Championships- Kona HI October 6th
IM Arizona- November 23rd



 
    Home |  About Racheal  |  Coaching Services  |  Athletes  |  Bricks, Clinics and Trips  |  Training Group Opportunities
Training Group Information  |  Registration for Training Events  |  Calendar  |  Testimonials  |  Links and Resources  |  Gold Coast Triathletes   |  Forums