PK Performance Coaching

PK Performance Coaching I work with athletes that have some race experience + are looking to improve. My specialty is working with menopausal women.

I work with women that are passionate about their sport, whether that's triathlon, running, cycling or a mix of all three. Personal coaching for triathletes and runners looking to improve.

Every year, I give athletes some version of the same warning:Off season is coming.And unlike Ned Stark, I would really l...
09/08/2026

Every year, I give athletes some version of the same warning:

Off season is coming.

And unlike Ned Stark, I would really like everyone to listen to me. Because your off season isn’t just the bit between your last race and the start of your next training plan. It’s one of the best opportunities you have to actually develop as an athlete.
Once race-specific training starts, there are only so many things we can prioritize. Volume increases. Long sessions get longer. Race-specific work becomes more important. And your recovery budget isn’t unlimited.

The off season gives us room. Room to get stronger. Build power. Work on speed. Improve technique. Address mobility. Become a better cyclist. Work on the limiter you’ve successfully avoided for the past three years.

After a proper break, I don’t want my athletes simply doing a smaller version of their in-season training. I want to know: what would make you a better athlete next year? Then we go build it.

Race season is where you get to show off all of that work. The off season is where much of it begins.

Off season is coming. Use that time wisely.

09/04/2026

Your feet are doing a hell of a lot more when you run than just hitting the ground.

Every running stride depends on how your foot interacts with the ground. It has to absorb and manage load when you land, then give you a stable platform as you move forward and push off.

Your big toe is a big part of that. You need enough mobility to move over it as you progress through your stride, but you also need strength and control.

The small muscles within your feet matter too. They help support the foot and control it under load. And because running happens one leg at a time, your ability to manage all of this on a single leg matters.

And what happens at your foot doesn’t necessarily stay at your foot. How your foot moves and manages load can influence what’s happening farther up the chain at your ankle, knee and hip.

If your foot isn’t doing its job well, your body may have to find another way to manage the load. That’s why foot function was #1 on my list of ways runners over 50 could be leaking speed.

This isn’t about doing a few toe exercises and magically getting faster. It’s about making sure the thing that connects you to the ground every single stride has the mobility, strength and control to do its job.

We train our glutes. We train our hamstrings. We train our calves.
Don’t forget about your feet.

Come back for part two in this series - calf strength.

August: Not as awesome as July but there were some most excellent highlights. Watching two of my athletes finish their f...
09/01/2026

August:
Not as awesome as July but there were some most excellent highlights.

Watching two of my athletes finish their first Ironman in the pouring rain.

Watching The Femmes 🚴🏻‍♀️. Best 9 days I’ve bike racing I’ve watched in years.

Crash Test Dummies on a perfect summer’s eve.

Rush 50 Something Tour. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. Easily the highlight of my summer.

Haircut 100, Adam Ant + Squeeze: a night of nostalgia that I didn’t know I needed.

Milestone Birthdays, coffee with friends, doing what I can strength wise. Running…until I couldn’t. That’s a story for another day.

Still dealing with an uncooperative shoulder. Also dealing with an unhappy hip, probably due to the uncooperative shoulder. Such is life.

Bring on September.

Michelle Michelle Schooley is a fairly new addition to the Crew. She came to me to help her train for Muskoka 70.3 last ...
09/01/2026

Michelle Michelle Schooley is a fairly new addition to the Crew. She came to me to help her train for Muskoka 70.3 last year and now she has fully embraced the triathlon lifestyle. She’s ALL IN. It’s been a real treat to watch her progress over the season. I can’t wait to see how 2027 unfolds for her.

📆How long have you been working with Coach PK?

Since November of 2025

🧠What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned from training with a coach and specifically from working with PK?

I feel like I have learned so much working with PK but the biggest things are:

Workouts or races can look crazy, hard, or scary on paper but it doesn’t mean you cannot do it, you have done the training and are more than capable of crushing it.

That having a slow day or bad training days are okay and they still count towards training, not every day can feel like a good training day (the rule of thirds)

🏁How did you first get started in endurance sports?

Sport has always been a big part of my life, growing up I was an artistic swimmer (synchronized swimmer) and trained many hours a week. After I stopped swimming I continued with high school sports, recreational lane swimming and then finally got back to running last year. Now that I was swimming and running, I thought what’s a third sport and some big goals...and hey, if boys can do it, girls can too!

🏆What’s been your proudest racing achievement to date?

Completing my first Ironman 70.3 and feeling strong at the end

🔮What are your future racing goals?

70.3 Texas and a full marathon next year. Continue to enjoy every race and chase some PBs, it’s a race after all

❓What’s one fun fact about you that people might not know?

As a kid I did a couple of the kids of steel triathlons and duathlons (maybe that’s how I got started in endurance sports)
The pic is in here to prove it too - swipe to see 😄

I can’t believe this is the last Medal Monday of August. Where did the summer go? I know, I know it’s not officially ove...
08/31/2026

I can’t believe this is the last Medal Monday of August. Where did the summer go? I know, I know it’s not officially over yet but when pumpkin spice nonsense starts making it’s way into the world, you know fall isn’t too far off.

On Saturday, Michelle S Michelle Schooley did her second Olympic distance of the season in Wasaga. Her first was Gravenhurst and since it was a few weeks out from her A race, we had a specific game plan for that day, which meant being selective about what discipline she could push. This time around she was free to race the entire thing. This resulted in a 6 minute PB and a second place in her AG. She was thrilled but also sad the see the end of her first season of triathlon. She’s already planning 2027!

On Sunday Tyler M Tyler Meyrick raced the Sydney Marathon. He had a short build due to a nagging injury that took some time to resolve but we made the best of the time that he had. He was pretty happy with how his day went - in his words: “It was really fun. SO hilly which took a lot out of my legs, but ran the entire thing and pushed through, finished strong and smiling” Ultimately that’s what it’s all about.

Amy H Amy Herskowitz swam the Welland Ultra 15 km - this was her redemption race after DNF-ing this race in 2024. This time, she nailed it. She tapered well, she nailed her fuelling (and her gut cooperated!) and she finished in just over 5 hours. 5 hours of swimming. That blows my mind. She truly is a mermaid.

Well done crew!!!

Where are the crew racing this weekend?

Michelle Michelle Schooley is making the most of her summer and heading up to W...
08/28/2026

Where are the crew racing this weekend?

Michelle Michelle Schooley is making the most of her summer and heading up to Wasaga Beach to race the Multisport Canada Olympic. This will be her second Olympic distance of the season. Safe to say she has gone all in on triathlon.

Tyler Tyler Meyrick is in the land down under, getting ready to race the Sydney Marathon. He had a bit of a bumpy road to get there but he’s made it to the start line healthy and ready go.

Amy H Amy Herskowitz is tackling the Welland Canal Open Water Ultra 15 km swim. This will be her second attempt at this distance. The weather is looking good, she’s got her fuelling figured out and this time she’s actually tapered!

GO GET IT TEAM!!

to running down the final stretch at the 70.3 World Championships in Nice in 2019.Racing here was a dream of mine. Th...
08/27/2026

to running down the final stretch at the 70.3 World Championships in Nice in 2019.

Racing here was a dream of mine. This was that moment of realization, when I realized that my dream was actually about to come true. I got completely overwhelmed with emotion. I often do when it’s a finish line that really means a lot to me.

That race was tough. Definitely the hardest bike course I’ve ever ridden, but also the most beautiful. And the run...what can I say? Running along the Promenade des Anglais is iconic. It was pretty special.
I’m SO excited to be heading back there next week, this time as a spectator and coach.

I promised Amy Amy Ehrhardt De Domenico that if she qualified, I’d go with her. So next Sunday we’re headed to Nice for “La Grand Hootenanny,” and I’m looking forward to being there with her while she gets to experience all the magic of a World Championship race week.

I love coaching athletes with big goals. The ones that scare you a little. The ones you’re not entirely sure you can pull off, but you’re willing to find out.

Maybe it’s your first Ironman. Maybe it’s qualifying for a World Championship or Boston. Maybe it’s a time or performance goal that’s been kicking about in your head for the last few years.

I have one spot open on my 1:1 coaching roster right now, and I’d love to fill it with someone who has a big goal on the horizon and wants a coach in their corner while they chase it.

If that sounds like you, send me a DM and tell me what you’re dreaming about.

If you’re a runner over 50 and you want to keep some speed in those legs, running more isn’t always the answer and neith...
08/26/2026

If you’re a runner over 50 and you want to keep some speed in those legs, running more isn’t always the answer and neither is adding more intensity.

Some of the physical qualities that help us run well can decline as we get older. That includes strength in the small muscles of our feet, calf strength, overall strength and especially power.

The good news? These are all things we can train.

We can work on foot strength and mobility. We can stop treating calf raises like the thing we do for 30 seconds at the end of a workout and actually load them. We can lift heavy (this is relative, it doesn’t always mean barbells). We can add plyometrics and power work. We can sprint up hills.

Will doing these things guarantee you’ll run as fast at 55 as you did at 35? Of course not.

But there’s a big difference between accepting that some change comes with age and allowing physical qualities to decline simply because we stopped training them. You don’t necessarily need MORE training as you get older. You need to be more intentional about *what* you’re training.

Save this as a reminder. And tell me: feet, calves or power...which one could use some work?

Looks like there are a LOT of new faces around here lately, so I figured it was probably time to reintroduce myself. 👋🏼T...
08/24/2026

Looks like there are a LOT of new faces around here lately, so I figured it was probably time to reintroduce myself. 👋🏼

The funny thing about putting almost 30 years of your athletic life into a handful of slides is realizing just how much sport has shaped who you are.

I started running because I wanted to lose weight. I had no idea it would eventually change my career, introduce me to some of my closest friends (and my spouse), take me all over the world, and teach me that I was capable of doing some bloody hard things.

And I’m still finding that out.

At 55, I’m still training (when my body allows me to), still setting goals (although they look a little different now), still learning what my body needs (definitely a work in progress), still screwing things up occasionally, and still ridiculously excited about helping other people discover what they’re capable of too.

So that’s how I got here.

Now I want to know who’s hanging out here.

What sport do you do, and why did you start?

After doing a duathlon in July, Amalia Maria A Terzaghi was looking at doing one more race this summer. So tomorrow she’...
08/21/2026

After doing a duathlon in July, Amalia Maria A Terzaghi was looking at doing one more race this summer. So tomorrow she’s taking on the Toronto Women’s 5 km.

After that the focus is going to be on building some strength before she starts training for the Chilly Half.

Go get it Amalia!

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