Coach Liz
Kona World Championships 2022
Santa Rosa 70.3
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Katy Trail 50K
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Alpacas!!
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Liz grew up a competitive swimmer holding distance freestyle collegiate records > > > post- college she moved to Hawai'i & then New Zealand where it became clear her stoke was far more suited to open water than the pool. What her stroke lacked in the calm waters of the pool, were an asset in the choppy less reliable open bodies of water often placing her first female out of the water. After coaching age group, high school and collegiate swimming for 20+ years, she switched her focus exclusively to triathletes in 2009 > understanding
triathlon swim fitness and technique is not the same the same as 'swimmers' (even distance freestylers). Triathlon requires specific swim skills and fitness > it is not Red Cross or USA swimming!
Early in her triathlon career, Liz gave being a pro athlete a shot > ignorance is bliss (until it's not) > under the 'guidance' of an unknowing coach, she proceeded train to TBA (total body annihilation...meh). As fun as this might sound (ha), it was no rainbows & cupcakes. Big sliver lining > the invaluable lessons that come from hard falls and long ass climbs back out to find racing success (with the help of her now amazing coach :). These are lessons no book will teach & no facebook will post > they come from doing and they are, by far, the most valuable in understanding the hows & whys of performance training and racing. These lessons are at the cornerstone of Liz's coaching philosophy and why our athletes stick around, stay injury free, and continue to improve year to year.
Over the last decade, we've helped hundreds of athletes improve in triathlon and single sport races > we qualify for world championships, run ultras, swim open water 10Ks, run back to back marathons, ride Triple By Pass, take on Ultraman (IM x 2), conquer open water (even the ocean!), crush FTPs, learn to love running, & tackle the so important and underestimated mental side training. These aren't zero to hero stories > we're about long term smart training. We'd love to have you join us - contact us here : )
Liz mentored under Brett Sutton's Trisutto performance coaching development program to become a certified Trisutto Coach and works full time as a triathlon coach in Kansas City and surrounding areas. She is also a sports massage therapist (info here).
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Education
Awards
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Racing
2023 And now for something completely different!! 1st Annual goal: touch my toes by December. Currently I'm about mid-thigh but with each hot yoga class, I approach my knee caps so I'm staying hopeful (at least we know it can't get worse). #2 Unbound - 50 mile gravel ride, #3 Pikes Peak Ascent (13.1 miles up Pikes Peak in Colorado....between the rocky trail and the altitude, I expect a proper smack down. My left knee is still numb from the last time I went trail running in Colorado), and last but not least a 10 day RUNNING ADVENTURE IN MOROCCO!!! HOLY CRAP!! With so much going on in the world, I ask myself daily how I got so lucky. Damn. So excited & so thankful. On a completely unrelated note - but totally awesome - my running buddy from college, Meghan Hicks, won the Marathlon De Sables in 2013 > it's a 150 mile stage race across Morocco > she writes about it here : ). (To be clear - the run adventure I'll be having in Morocco is 100% for fun and absolutely nothing like what Meagan did. eik!). 2022 Argo 13.1 Winter Version, Triple ByPass in CO > oops, we finally got nabbed by the COVID and couldn't go!, Kona....it happened this year! This was the year they raced women on Thursday and Men on Saturday in order to handle the COVID back log....this was the first year they separated men and women on 2 different days - and the only year they did this in Kona (starting in 2023, they still hosted men and women on different days - but only one day takes place in Kona > the 2nd day rotates internationally). It was also Mike Riley's last World Champs > Casey and I both qualified for Kona at Tulsa in 2021....it was pretty amazing we both got to race at Mike Riley's last Championship event. It felt like the closing of an era in many ways :). It was a hell of an experience - race blog here. 2021 Ironman Tulsa > 1st overall female out of the water (8 / 26 pro women), AG 3rd and a Kona slot ;-) So fun! ....most exciting tho is that my hubs also go a Kona Slot - he's missed KQing by **literally** seconds over and over and over > I am over the moon for him (and pretty cool we both did it on the same day ;). He works his tail off and I'm so darn proud of him for staying the course - he was a basketball player through college and making the move to endurance sports has required endless patience and determination. Knowing how hard he works - that he would *NEVER* dope nor draft on the bike course - he just puts in the honest hard work every single day - it's been hard to watch him come so close to KQ so many times - but it made the reward even sweeter : ). 2020 Katy Trail 50K > first ultra run > 1st female & 7th overall. yea! Well, 2020 was suppose to be Tulsa Ironman.....but now? > isn't that the question for all of us! Third year in a row I've registered for IM and had massive unforeseen life circumstances reroute those plans. yikes. Onward we press! Let us rally together and focus on what we CAN do to get ourselves and our communities through CV-19 in tact. Relentless Forward Progress, together! #RFPT 2019 - REDMAN 70.3 REDEMPTION! After an epic botch in 2018, I was thankful for redemption this year by properly coming in 3rd Overall Female :) It was a seriously tough day - we stood in the rain waiting on race delays >the swim was ultimately cancelled and the wind + rain on the bike were outrageous. Athletes and spectators were awesome and rose to the occasion to make it one hell of a fun day! HUGE kudos to Redman for managing a tricky race day like pros. ----- Early in 2019 my sister was diagnosed with advanced stage 3 Cancer > she's doing brilliant and we have so many things to be thankful for - so many. Needless to say, I pulled out of racing the full IM distance this year - an easy decision giving the circumstance. 2018 - Redman Triathlon - The Epic Botch! For the love. I accidentally cut 1/4 of a mile off the run course...numnut. I turned myself in, of course...this day hurt like a mother > and I was second overall but I had to DQ myself. Boo! (KNOW THE COURSE!) It was actually quite a fitting end to the week as my dear husband was also suppose to race but "whiskey throttled" a motorcycle into a wall (he's fine > go ahead, laugh) at the beginning of the week so tho we both registered, we had a DNS + DQ. yikes! Santa Rosa 70.3 AG 4th even tho they canceled the swim (my strength). A tough but fun day! I'm not usually a confrontational person but there were 2 women drafting like I'd never seen > BUH-BYE. ... it's crazy how hard it is to stay in your HR zone when you're screaming bloody murder about the inequities of cheating! Broke up that sugar train shiznit in a hot minute! ---------------- Change of plans re: Boulder Full this year (2018). In March 2018 my mom passed away - I aimed to press on with the training for Boulder Ironman but in the end, it was too much. I decided to regroup and focus on the 70.3 at Santa Rosa. Lots going on w/ this race so was super happy to squeak out a 4th place (even tho they cancelled the swim!) I've learned from hard lessons in the past the difference between persevering and destroying one's self -so here's to IM in 2019 instead! yikes! Shawnee Mission Park Tri Sprint, KS 2018 - overall female winner :) yea! ouch. Stroke & Stride (Boulder, CO) - 3rd overall female and 8th overall athlete. Not a huge race but the competition in Boulder is legit so I was happy :) This buggar hurt more than any race I've ever done for real. Sprinting is so awful anyway - doing it w/o O2 is death! BLEH! 2017 Started coaching Mentorship with Brett Sutton & shoulder surgery. Trying to practice what I preach on actually doing my PT! #pt #everyday. Racing will have to wait until next year.... 2016....IM Texas & IM Louisville Texas done! whew, one adventure after the next :) More about it here IM Lousiville was a great day for me - one of those days we all hope for but are really pretty rare. I dropped over an hour off my time coming in at 10:34 and placing 4th in my AG and 14th overall. Made all the hard work worth it! 2015 - 70.3 Lifetime PR! Muncie 70.3 ....wow! was this fun - set a PR at 4:53! #excited Jackson County Olypmic - 1st Overall Little Apple Sprint - 1st Overall Redman - 4:59 - this was a tough race for me, but I learned some good tidbits and was very thankful to squeak in under 5 hours : ) Computrainer..... #embracethesuck I'm excited for this year...got a phenomenal coach who has helped me tremendously. Get a coach who knows what they are doing and DO WHAT THEY SAY. Everyday. 2014 ....a year to remind myself why Ironman is preferable to sprints :) OUCH! Trolly Run 4 mile run - 27.19, 4th / 524 Age Group Four on the 4th, 4 mile run - 3rd Overall, 28.18 SM Park - cancelled :( Mother nature was out in force this year! Matt Mason - cancelled :( Kansas City Half Marathon....whew! Working on getting a base for racing next year. Should (and did) prove to be rather painful : ) woot!! Does Tap Dance class count? SO FUN! #dowhatyourbadat 2013 so...I took a rest and got a dog! : ) #necessary However...I also started experimenting with power on the bike. wow! also #necessary confession....I decided it would be just fine to run the Kansas City Marathon with a friend....untrained. What?! She needed a buddy! #noredleftbehind. And, yes, it was painful, unwise, and unadvisable. Loved every second of it! ha! (don't try this at home #injury). 2012 Ironman Lousiville - 11:46 KS 70.3 - 5:05, 70.3 World Champ Qualifier...didn't take the slot but it was fun to get : ) 2010-11 Ironman Louisville - 11:51 Did lots of small races this year just to torture myself into being sprinter! :) #workonyourweakness 2009 - oops...I was traveling....learned to appreciate safety standards in our swimming pools (think Malaysia...electrical wires coming out from would be light sockets in the pool (yes, under water). Swimming laps wasn't dull!). Also came to appreciate completed sidewalks...some harrowing potholes with false covers on them in Thailand. oh my...I've learned to love the gouge that remains in my shin :-) Life must be an adventure! 2006 - 2008 I had the pleasure of living in New Zealand these few amazing years...they had all kinds of fun race series. Waiheke Wharf to Wharf 25K (hello hills), Stroke and Stride (a run/swim race series - pure joy for those of us who LOVE swimming & running :-), Auckland Harbour Swim, Auckland Swim Series, Adventure racing, Rotorua Marathon, Taupo Great Lake Relay (think 10 of your best friends running around a clear fresh water lake in New Zealand....yes, it was freaking awesome!!) 2005 - 2007 mm....well one learns a lot when they move around...and I learned I did not necessarily love New Mexico...however, I had some great adventures there.... I think the biggest highlight was winning overall amateur at the Milkman Triathlon and qualifying to be the female rep for New Mexico at The Best of the US Tri in New Hampshire. By no means was I close to the best athletes racing at The Best of the US, but I'll take it. It was just pretty darn cool to get to race with them :-) eik! 2004 My first triathlons! Right here in KC. Yikes was I scared! But as with most things, I jumped in feet first like a screaming madperson and had an awesome time : ) I was hooked! Shawnee Mission Park Tri, Sprint - 58 minutes, 1st AG, 2nd Overall MM Half Ironman, Kansas City, 5:12, 1st AG, 3rd Overall 2000 - 2003 mm...after living in Wisconsin, I decided clearly it was time to move some place warm and awesome. And what's more warm and awesome that Hawai'i?! I loved it then and I still love it more than anyplace I've ever been (don't tell, but someday I'm moving back :-) Talk about a racing mecha - holy smokes. Ran my first marathon here - Honolulu Marathon ; ) woot! Main highlights were the Maui Channel Swim - yes, please, may I swim between 2 of the most beautiful islands in the world, Lanai and Maui!! Second was the Ohau Perimeter Run - just like it sounds, you run on a relay around the island. Best race ever. And, I don't like to brag but our team did win "best relay name" AND "best baton". Drum roll please.....Sharks with freaking Lazers on their Heads. BOOM!! Clearly there was no contest on who the winners should have been. Waikiki Roughwater Swim, North Shore Swim Series, Honolulu Marathon (my first....ouch), Great Aloha Run, Mid-Pacific 30K.... Got some great experience coaching in Hawai'i - swimming & tri clinics. College Years...so I swam 4 years and ran track 1 year (why not?!). It was surely no fancy fast school but indeed was just right for me. I loved it. And that one year of track was my first indicator that I am not, in fact, a sprinter (probably why, in swimming, my event was the mile :). Death by sprinting has continued to haunt me into my triathlon years....geeze that fast stuff hurts!!! Best part of this was becoming the assistant coach for the swim team after graduating and working with their distance athletes and developing their dry land program. A sign of things to come! : ) Beloit College - Junior Athlete of the Year, Swimming, Beloit College - Senrio Athlete of the Year, Swimming Beloit College Record Holder - Swimming, 500, 1000, Mile Academic All American 1996-2000 Beloit College Blanket Recipient - highest athletic honor at Beloit Growing up I swam for Swim Academy in Kansas City....this is where I learned the value of hard work and definitely learned how to press on even when you're not the fast kid. Many hours I spent sputtering and gasping for dear life trying to hang on (and often not able to) to the feet in front of me. There is nothing like flip turning through missed intervals for 3 hours every night to teach you perseverance!!! #nevergiveup ! : ) |
Coach Harley Rooington: Hall Monitor & Team Enforcer.