Today we’d like to introduce you to Erinne Guthrie.
Erinne, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I woke up in a pool of sweat-soaked sheets, aching all over- I guess I wasn’t racing in a few hours, I could barely get out of bed! How can this be, I’m in the best shape of my life ready to take first place overall at my favorite triathlon race tomorrow. I was so disappointed. I shook it off, rested a few days and got back to training and WHAM! Again I was sick. I had not been sick in years. What is going on? This can’t be happening I love training, and racing, why won’t my body let me. This continued for six months. I felt so much fatigue and sadness. I finally just gave up and stopped training altogether and then depression set in. I was not in a good place. I had a one-year-old and literally no energy to even take care of her or get through an easy yoga class! Doctors called it extreme adrenal fatigue and wanted to put me on hormones prescribe prescription medicines, but I chose to go a different route. I wanted a better way to heal. I knew there had to be a better way to get better. The universe delivered on my request. I stumbled upon as an ad for a course.
I signed up for a CHEK Holistic Lifestyle coaching class. My first day of the three-day course, I knew I was there to heal myself. This was the answer I was looking for. So, let’s back up to how I started in triathlon. I’m a 3rd generation “Miamian”. I was studying exercise physiology at the University of Miami and I participated in my first triathlon in 1997 at the age of 26. I fell in love. I had no clue what I was doing and just signed up with a few friends. The feeling I had after crossing the finish line was like nothing I had felt before and I loved it. I felt alive and vibrant and I wanted more. I wanted to get better, stronger and faster. I hired a coach and found out there was a triathlon coaching education program through the governing body USA Triathlon.
I signed up, got certified at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and became part of the first 60 triathlon coaches in the country in 1999. I continued to train, race and coach other athletes just like myself. Over the years, I began to develop my own system of coaching adults to learn how to swim, bike, and run better. In 2007, after having my daughter, I got back into racing and hit a brick wall. I drove my body into the ground. Triathlon can be an addicting sport and I found out about it the hard way. Its three sports in one and can take some time to train for. When I came back after pregnancy, I was taking care of my daughter, working full time in my coaching, and training hard to get back to my racing performance.
After healing myself with the help of Paul CHEK and the CHEK Institute naturally. I was so happy to be back in my life- thriving. I learned some amazing tools and how food, essential oils, homeopathics and alternative and functional medicines can heal, I got back into racing at the top of the sport again. I wanted others to know about what I had learned. I wanted to create a community or TRIBE of like-minded people who were interested in getting healthy through the sport of triathlon.
In 2010 I created Full Circle Coaching which melds my holistic lifestyle coaching with training and racing for triathlon. There are a lot of things in triathlon that are actually unhealthy, like the sports nutrition and overtraining, and triathletes are constantly getting injured, so including holistic nutrition and lifestyle practices along with sport-specific strength training from the beginning with my athletes is the key to long term success in the sport. I work with athletes of all ages and shapes and have seen some amazing results. On my website blog Fullcirclecoaching.com/blog you can see all of my ROCKSTARS. Men, women, and kids. My favorite part of passion is seeing people who never thought that it would be possible to cross the finish line in a triathlon looking and feeling healthy vibrant and alive. When they have this confidence it transfers over into all aspects of their lives. I call it Triathlon Transformation!
I feel so blessed to be able to share what I have learned over my 23 years in the sport and I learn from each new person I work with. So we are all constantly improving together. I love my Full Circle Coaching Tribe!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Definitely not smooth. Struggles with adrenal fatigue, divorce and then the death of my boyfriend all shaped who I am today. My daughter Kaia Blu, along with my Holistic Lifestyle Coaching and Triathlon definitely pulled me through. My community of triathletes is so incredibly supportive and inspirational. It is a lifestyle that isn’t for everyone, but it works for me. To get to see the sunrise most mornings and swim in the ocean, bike, run and race around the world. All the struggles have helped me become a better mother, coach and mentor.
Please tell us about Full Circle Coaching.
Full Circle Coaching was created after I decided to combine my Holistic Lifestyle Coaching with Triathlon Coaching. In my story, I explained how I became ill from overtraining and burnout in the sport I loved. I healed myself naturally with real food and alternative functional medicine and I’m about to turn 50 and still currently race and train competitively in the sport. I specialize in teaching people how to swim, bike and run to complete a triathlon. But I always include a holistic lifestyle and nutrition coaching in the program. I work with all levels – beginners to advanced. Everyone can improve their skills no matter what level of triathlete they are. I can help you cross the finish line in your first triathlon or qualify for a World Championships. I also work with people solely on holistic lifestyle coaching as well.
What sets Full Circle Coaching apart is we coach the skills of the sport as well as the supporting holistic lifestyle aspects you need to stay in the sport long term. Most people come to me because they have a goal to complete a triathlon and then fall in love with the sport and want to go right to an Ironman. In my opinion that is a mistake that will get you injured and burnt out quickly. Triathlon is three sports in one and it takes some time to develop the skills in all three sports and put them together for the ultimate performance.
I can get most beginners across the finish line of their first race in just six weeks, but after that it is important to develop your skills. A lot of coaches just train athletes for volume and they think more is better. I believe less is more, I believe in skills first, then get strong and fast and then add on the volume. If you start long, you will be slow and injured quicker. Fast before Far, Strong before Long.
I also encourage my athletes to give back to the triathlon community and we race with challenged athletes to help them participate in triathlon races with us. Every year we race with Team Thumbs Up International. I also do Free race clinics every month to help more people learn about the sport of triathlon and feel confident to get out there and complete their first race.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Of course, I wish triathlon coaching was a thing in high school or college like it is starting to happen now. I love to train and race and perhaps if my skills were learned at a younger age, I could have been a professional. I was a competitive equestrian and volleyball player, so I’ve always loved to be active.
But other than that, I think my journey, although painful at times has made me who I am and definitely helped create my vision for my company. I’m really proud that as a single mom I have come this far and I’m not finished yet. I’m still growing the Full Circle Coaching tribe. I have a yearly Ultimate Triathlon Training Camp and will soon be offering 2-3 camps each year in the future as well as developing my online platforms.
Pricing:
- I have 23 years of knowledge and I give a lot of value to my coaching programs. I offer group programs from $99/month – $999/month depending on the level of commitment and attention you seek.
Contact Info:
- Address: 9101 SW 97 Terrace
Miami Florida - Website: www.fullcirclecoaching.com; www.ultimatetricamp.com
- Phone: 786-586-6057
- Email: info@fullcirclecoaching.com
- Instagram: Full Circle Coaching
- Facebook: Full Circle Coaching; Triathlon Obsessed Face Book Group
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