Coach Michelle

Aloha! I’m Michelle Simmons. I’m a wife, a mom, a coach, and with a lifetime background in swimming, I am a long-time (20 years!) endurance athlete living on Oahu. I’m also the Head Coach and founder of TeamBSC Triathlon, which is a team of dedicated triathletes from across the country who like to get a little crazy while they work to reach their SwimBikeRun potential. Now going into my ninth year of coaching, I find myself just as passionate as ever about helping motivated athletes reach their goals!

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Over the years I’ve learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to triathlon training and racing. I’ve had some success in my own triathlon career, with 16 Ironman finishes, including 3 in Kona, but I am more proud of what I have recently helped other athletes achieve!

With a primary focus on Iron-distance training/racing, I’ve been able to apply my (sometimes hard-earned!) knowledge to help many athletes push past their own perceived limitations and go longer/faster than they ever thought they could. I thrive on working closely with athletes as individuals to figure out how to help you get you as strong and fit as possible, thereby in a position to reach or even exceed your goals on race day.

I’m pretty proud of the stats TeamBSC has achieved in the last two years:

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~TeamBSC had 16 athletes finish 19 Ironman races… 100% finisher rate!

~12 of the 16 athletes achieved lifetime PRs at the distance (75% PR rate).

~Add one Kona qualifier and 4 Vegas qualifiers and we called it a successful year!

 

2013

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~TeamBSC had 21 BSC athletes finish 24 Ironman races… once again with a
100% finisher rate!

~16 of the 21 athletes achieved lifetime PRs at the distance (76% PR rate).

~Two Kona qualifiers and 7 Vegas qualifiers. Boom! How fun was that!?!

 

Read Coach Michelle’s Blog

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What Coach Michelle’s Athletes Say:

I continually go back in my mind and remember when I fist met you during your spring IM Camp in AZ.  I was in awe of all the things you discussed that I had no clue about (most of which I still don’t know much about ;).  I started by stating I would love to have you as my coach someday……not because you were what I wanted, but rather you were what I needed.  Well, in hindsight I could not have been more WRONG!  You’re exactly what I wanted and needed! 

I asked that you provide me with a “plug-n-play” strategy/training plan because of my work & family commitments.  You did that with flying colors!  People around me told me you were tough (BSC didn’t derive out of nowhere).  Well, I don’t have that viewpoint.  I don’t think you’re tough at all…I actually think you got the “best” of what I had to offer and you obtained that in the most supportive manner.  Your words of encouragement and positive reinforcement are second to none and vastly appreciated.

Scott B.

Michelle stays update with the latest triathlon news, has years of experience coaching and has seen what works and what doesn’t. She is REALLY invested in each of her athletes and really works with each athlete as an individual.  Michelle gives detailed feedback on TrainingPeaks within hours of uploading a workout.  I very much appreciate the personal attention.  Michelle pushes me to work hard and also to take it easy when I need to.  For the six months I have been working with Michelle, I have earned 1st female overall 3 out of 4 races I’ve competed in (the fourth race I got a flat tire!). I could not be happier with my decision to switch over to Michelle and I am looking forward to what the 2017 triathlon season has in store for us!

Carly K.

I have been training with Michelle since May of 2014. I learned about Michelle online and heard great things about her coaching from other tri friends. I decided that I should give her a shot since I wanted to up my game and thought personal coaching would help. Michelle has helped me develop a passion for the sport that will remain with me for the rest of my life, and has improved my ability tremendously in the 2.5 years that we have worked together. In this period she has prepared me for three full IMs, eight half IMs, a slew of marathons, swim races and Oly/sprint tris.

Recently, Michelle has shown great patience, tenacity and creativity in training me in some of the most challenging, inhospitable and unideal environments (Baghdad, Iraq for a year and now Port-au-Prince, Haiti for the past eight months). In these locations, where I can no longer can train with a group or ride my bike on the road, and frequently must swim in 25yd (or smaller) hotel pools, Michelle regularly crafts workouts for me that have not only made me physically stronger, but mentally tougher as well.

Michelle has been extremely understanding since I have had to deal with a Category 4 hurricane in Haiti in October, which shook up my training schedule (and my spirits); she continued to virtually nudge / take out the whip on me to ensure that I was staying on track and not fall into a ‘blob’ state, which would have been very easy to do! Best of all, I now consider Michelle not only a coach, but a dear friend. She is brilliant on so many levels, and a true gem for the sport of triathlon. A total inspiration and a wonderful human being!

Victoria C.

Not only am I appreciative to Michelle for designing workouts that fit my needs, but she also for helping me realize the potential that I didn’t think was within me.  I was regularly pushed beyond what I would consider a comfort zone, and always came out just fine on the other side! With TeamBSC, I found a training plan tailor fit to me.  Between custom heart rate zones which shifted during my build and power numbers which increased throughout the season, I really felt as though I was getting something that was unique to me.

Kris P.

I rode my bike for 10 years and never got faster – 6 months with Michelle and my 70.3 split went from 3 hours to 2:38!!  I’ve worked with lots of coaches and it’s worth every penny to hire one who knows what they are doing and Michelle does.

Liz W.

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