#heatherjackson

 Heather joined the GoPro family a few years back as she began her triathlon winning streak at Wildflower and Escape from Alcatraz. We were with Heather when she took 5th at IRONMAN Kona in 2015 and recently met up with her again in San Diego as she embarks on a summer journey of intense tri training.

Her ultimate goal?

Earn a qualifying spot for Kona, Ironman World Championship (October 8th) and the most prestigious Tri race in the world.

This summer we’ll be chronicling her journey, sharing chapters of her training as she works towards her goal. 

Training for a tri of this magnitude takes a village. A team of dietitians, coaches, sponsors and supporters, not to mention a healthy dose of self-motivation, have brought Heather into the spotlight as one of the world’s top triathletes. But before the champagne showers and Wattie Ink tri-kits, Heather was a 22-year-old, tattoo-less, high school history teacher, playing hockey in New Hampshire. Her parents first introduced her to Triathalons in her early 20s and with their encouragement, she completed her first race in her hometown. Her competitive nature had found its new best friend.

Not long after, Heather met her now husband, Sean Wattie, of Wattie Ink. You can see his last name featured across her kits, he is her biggest fan, husband and manager. The tattoos and the wins started rolling in, starting with the sparrows on her chest representing the different members of her family and her first Wildflower win in 2012.

Heather uses her GoPro camera to train with her coach and to share her journey with her friends and fans on social media. It was only fitting that we kick off our What It Takes social series with Heather’s story as we get tips and tricks from the seriously talented (and all around amazing) triathlete.

Follow the What it Takes hashtags and dive into her journey. 

Have you met HJ? Check out Chapter 1.

The beauty of the HERO Session is that it lends itself well to getting a unique POV shot from the pool. Heather spends hours in the water every week perfecting her form, building endurance and getting faster. The tiny waterproof camera is easy to use and hold during a training session as Heather needs to focus on her swim stroke. She jokes, “My legs are heavy, I swim at such an angle!”

Heather explains, “Any swimmer can capture a shot like this as the Session is a one button click and go. It’s so simple and easy that I can hold this in my hand and still focus on my stroke, although when I really need to train and get to work capturing a pool selfie is far from a priority”

How The Shot Was Captured: HERO Session, Burst mode, 30/3

ICYMI: Chapter 2

This year, Heather doesn’t want to settle for 5th at Kona, Heather wants to attack and win. This means she needs to step up her swim game:

“The biggest thing for the pro-field is getting out as fast as you can and knowing you’re going to hurt the most in those first 300 meters of the swim. I’ve been training in the pool for that and knowing that if you can get out with that front group I can then draft with people around me. Now I’m going to attack and go as hard as I can for 5 or 6 minute, rather than just getting through the swim at my steady pace like I have in the past.  That’s the most painful part of the day then you get in a grove.”

How The Shot Was Captured: HERO Session, Burst mode, 10/2. 

Pro Tip: We swam to bottom and held our breath to capture this shot, so if you don’t have a willing and able friend, try weighting the camera to the bottom of the pool.

 Any coach, training mate or willing friend can follow along by the edge of the pool using a 3-way mount to take a closer look at an athlete’s stroke.

How The Shot Was Captured: HERO4 Silver, 1080/60 for all video clips in the 6-sec edit.

Pro Tips: Swim: To capture the swim footage in our 6-sec video clip, Wattie walked alongside Heather in the water with his HERO4 Silver mounted on a 3-Way for the 3rd person POV.

Bike: The Strap is a handy mount that you can use almost anywhere. Wrap it around your water bottle to mix-up the shot.

Run: Keep your running content fresh and hands-free by setting up your tripod mount in interesting locations and jog right by. Fool-proof way to get the shot.