
Throwback Thursdays: Silver Lining
August 2, 2012 was a day and a race like no other I have ever experienced or will ever experience. It holds a special place in my life's journey. It was the pinnacle of my athletic career. One day, one opportunity to lay it all on the line. We trained, practiced, and prepared for anything and everything. It was our preparation that gave us the ability to seize a medal on our day. The Americans took the gold, but we left what we had out there and I cannot be and would never be


Focus on Fitness: Spinning
I often get asked what I like to do for working out now that I no longer spend my days rowing. One of my favourite workouts is spinning or indoor cycling. I am actually in training to teach classes of my own soon! I love music and I love to get a good sweat in a day and spinning offers both. In Vancouver, my studio of choice is Cadence. I like that there is a community feel at the studio. It is welcoming to all and it is nice that you get familiar with the people you are trai


Transition From Sport: Inspiration in Images
Images can express many things. For me, they express what I love, what is important to me, where I have been and where I am going. Family, sport, travel, fashion, art in imagery and music are all key parts of what inspires me. Since retiring from a career in sport, I have felt like I lost my identity. I have had dark moments where I struggle with having a strong sense of myself. When I have been asked what makes me happy, there have been moments when I couldn't answer. I put


Transition from Sport: Exposing the World Beyond the Finish Line
I can speak for myself when I say that transitioning from a 13 year career is sport has been one of the most challenging and confusing times of my life. Although many people struggle with transition and job finding/job satisfaction issues throughout their lives, the shift from high performance sport is a very heightened version of this experience. Going from top of the world to a needle in a haystack is a real shock to the system and can leave athletes, like myself, feeling l


Vancouver Events: #GuloienGirls attend Vancouver Canucks Season Opener.
I love to go to hockey games here in Vancouver. I can't say that I know all of the ins and outs of hockey, but I am a sports fan and I love to go to a stadium to cheer for any team that represents our city and our country. Last night was the Vancouver Canucks season opener and although San Jose took the win I am hopeful and excited for a solid upcoming hockey season. It is also always so fun to have a night out with my sister. I am glad she got to have a sport experience in o


Guloien Girls Blog Series: High performance in different sports.
I am often asked how I started rowing and it was actually because I copied Leah! I suppose I am copying her again now that I have taken on riding my bike a bit more. She had started rowing up at Simon Fraser University while she was completing her Bachelor's degree in Kinesiology. At the time, I was at Douglas College in Coquitlam, BC working towards transferring to Simon Fraser as well. Something clicked for me when she started rowing. Something told me that this might be "m

Guloien Girls Blog Series: Three women, three passions.
A family of three sisters and although we have many similarities, we also have some differences, ie. where we have devoted our passion at times has been different. Leah has become a successful cyclist and is now parlaying that success into a coaching career. She has a gift of working with athletes and has built up a strong knowledge base with her career as an athlete and a Kinesiology background. Marla (click here to check out her site) has had upwards of 100 celebrities dawn


Throwback Thursdays: From London to Vancouver
It's hard to believe that this past August marked the 3 year anniversary of my Olympic silver in London, my homecoming celebration and the beginning of my new journey(s) beyond a career in sport. Vancouver Sun's article by Yvonne Zacharias captures my homecoming well. "At the airport, the crowds rang cowbells, waved flags, chanted "Ca-na-da!" and erupted into spontaneous singing of O Canada. It was a sea of confusion, tears and sheer joy." - To read the full article click her

GranFondo Whistler: Year Over Year Improvement
I did it! My second GranFondo from Vancouver to Whistler is under my belt! Not only that, but I achieved my goal of beating my first Fondo time. With Leah's help, I went from 5:08:43 to 4:49:21, which is almost a 20 minute improvement. Aside from getting on the bike a bit more than I did the year before I have some other tricks that helped me to improve. Time on the road, combined with indoor spinning classes at Cadence Spin Studio helped to condition me for the ride. I used

Beastmode: Getting my Fondo On
Since I retired from rowing, I have taken on a few new challenges. Specifically, challenges in the endurance department. Last year I did the GranFondo from Vancouver to Whistler for the first time and on Saturday, September 12th I am going to go after it again! My superstar cycling sister, Leah Guloien, is my idol and coach when it comes to riding (she is pretty awesome all around). She has managed to get me out on the bike a few more times this year and I am feeling strong