Team PHenomenal Hope meets Sally Edwards

September 22,2012

While there has been a lot of work behind the scenes in launching Team PHenomenal Hope, charity RAAM team for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, last night was our first meeting with Sally Edwards, Gene Nacey, and Tom Scotto. After an evening of discussing cycling, fitness and training philosophies, the team left truly inspired.

First, you might ask, who is Sally Edwards? When you meet her, you’re first struck by her energy and genuineness. She is an amazing person, with a vision of fitness being attainable by everyone. Her resume is truly impressive (see box below), as she is one of the biggest contributors to the fitness world, responsible for how many endurance athletes around the country train today. She was the first to develop heart rate training system using target heart rate zone methodology (written the the Heart Rate Monitor Book, 1993). She uses her passion for getting America fit to lead The Sally Edwards Company, a media company dedicated to uncommonly vibrant lifestyles, and Heart Zones USA , an international training, education, and coaching company. She works closely with Gene Nacey and Tom Scotto at Cycling Fusion to help educate indoor cycling instructors on principles of heart zones training and thus share her passion for getting fit with America. And, on Friday night in an Oakmont pub over some beers, she shared her passion with us.

Team PH meets Sally Edwards

After introductions, we sat and heard Sally’s story of her 1997 RAAM, how she trained (in 30 days) and raced in honor of a friend, and ended up finishing first in 7 days, 21 hours, 57 minutes, her team setting the 4-woman team record at the time. She described RAAM as one of the most difficult races one can imagine, and reinforced that this is no casual task we are undertaking. We heard about Gene’s personal evolution from spinning into cycling, and then how he developed his passion for Cycling Fusion. He strives to create an indoor training experience that trains cyclists indoors using heart rate zones, and as he calls it, evidence-based training, to build athletes ready to ride and race come Spring and Summer. And the two of them then described a training model based on becoming a “quantified athlete,” setting goals, tracking one’s performance, utilizing biometrics, and learning as an athlete to interpret one’s performance using these metrics, so that each athlete ultimately can drive her own training. While power-based training has recently taken over, leading some people to even discard their heart rate monitors, Gene and Sally talked about the value of utilizing multiple biometrics (heart rate and power and more). Ultimately, Sally has this vision to empower every person to learn how to build, understand and manage their own fitness. By teaching core principles, she strives to reach more people all across the country who want to be fit and live a vibrant lifestyle. We know that with her help in guiding us in our big picture goals, and Gene’s help in Winter Training and providing local guidance beyond, by RAAM 2014 we will be in the shape of our lives, and a whole lot smarter about it too. We realize with their guidance, we are not only athletes but now are empowered by becoming students in this training process.

Walking back to the studio, I talked to Sally and realized the parallels between heart rate-based training and how many patients in pulmonary rehabilitation likewise monitor their heart rate in their workouts. As we train for RAAM, we share this aspect with those for whom we ride, connecting us with our friends in PHA, and reminding us that this is not just about the bike…

[box type=”info” style=”rounded” border=”full”]Sally Edwards, MA, MBA – Brief Resume

  • Professional triathlete and 16-time Ironman finisher
  • Member of the Triathlon Hall of Fame
  • Past winner of the ultra-marathon, the hundred mile Western States Endurance Run
  • Winner 1997 4-Woman Team Race Across America
  • Founder the Heart Zones Training proprietary and branded training system
  • National Spokeswoman for the Trek Women’s Triathlon Series
  • Completed over 130 all-women’s triathlons during the past 20 years, volunteering to finish most as the “final finisher” so that no other woman has to finish last.
  • Best-selling author with more than 20 books and 500 articles on health and fitness
  • Author of Heart Rate Monitor Guidebook (sold over 1,000,000 copies), The Heart Rate Monitor Book for Cyclists, and Heart Zones Cycling
  • For more on Sally Edwards, check out her website here. [/box]

 

One thought on “Team PHenomenal Hope meets Sally Edwards

  1. It’s an honor to be involved in this very ambitious endeavor. There is no doubt each of you will be transformed in some way through this process, and I know that your mission for raising the awareness and understanding of PH will be accomplished along the way.

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