"I have dived and documented climate change firsthand for decades. How we plan for it and adapt to it in the next few years will determine the future of our civilization. That’s what draws me to scuba dive under the ice in the northern reaches of my homeland, Canada.”-Jill Heinerth wrote for the LA Times this week. Jill Heinerth © Under teh sea ice near Bylot Island Spending the first half of the year on the Underwater Canada Expedition, Heinerth uses her adventures to connect people to their water planet compelled to demonstrate how their lives impact the source. Jill and her team successfully visited every province and territory in Canada to dive and tell the tales of water from her experiences in each region. ⁠ Unstoppable in her plight explorer, cave diver and Suunto Ambassador Jill Heinerth is currently travelling and speaking to audiences and media platforms across Canada and USA on her book tour. Released in August, Into the Planet is a thrilling insight into places inside this earth you may not have imagined existed, that Heinerth has dived while bravely illustrating intense political issues and presenting hard evidence about the impacted ice caps and beyond. Photo Courtesy of U.S. Deep Caving Team/Wes Skiles⁠. © Diving with the US Deep Caving Team at Wakulla Springs, I felt like I was involved in a space shot. But there is no Mission Control to call for help on a journey that can reach miles into the earth.⁠ With the upcoming DEMA Show fast approaching on the diving event calendar, Suunto Dive are super excited to announce Jill will be joining the Suunto stand to sign copies of her incredible adventures in documenting climate change, cave diving and film making for the past 30 years on 13th and 14th November 2019 in Orlando, Florida. Into the Planet is a riveting account of one of the most dangerous yet exhilarating pursuits in the world. ⁠ Jill Heinerth © Ice Formations “As one of the most celebrated cave divers in the world, Jill Heinerth has seen the planet in a way almost no one has. In a workday, she might swim below your home, through conduits in volcanoes or cracks in the world’s largest iceberg. She’s an explorer, a scientist’s eyes and hands underwater—discovering new species and examining our finite freshwater reserves—and a filmmaker documenting the wonders of underwater life." Into the Pla Often the lone woman in a male-dominated domain, she tests the limits of human endurance at every tight turn, risking her life with each mission. To not only survive in this world but excel, Jill has had to learn how to master fear like no other.” -Into the Planet by Jill Heinerth

Doctors told her she would never run or race again. Kelsey, then 31, was lying in a hospital bed, her body battered and bruised after a truck hit her, and her vision for her life in ruins. She decided to prove the doctors wrong. After recovering from the accident Kelsey drove herself hard. She refused to give up. While the determination was admirable, she now admits it bordered on reckless. “I spent the next year trying to come back, but was plagued with more injuries and frustration,” Kelsey explains. “I gained a lot of weight and fell into a depression where I coped by going out at night, drinking way too much, and just not really living life as a pro athlete.” Kelsey began swimming competitively when she was six years old. Later at college, she competed in Division 1 before moving to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs as a member of the USA Triathlon National Team. She completed her first triathlon as a senior high school student in 2001, and was hooked. With her life in tailspin after the accident, Kelsey got close to quitting triathlon. But then she met Mike, her now coach and boyfriend, who helped her turn everything around. “The new path I chose to go down was life changing, but not easy,” she says. “Mike got me healthy for the first time years. But when I did decide to start racing again, I was in for a rude awakening. I moved up from ITU (International Triathlon Union races) to the 70.3 distance and finished dead last in most of those races.” She was going in the right direction. But some old bad habits were holding her back. Eventually Mike gave her an ultimatum: get a job and make triathlon a hobby or commit 100% and make triathlon her job. “It took a good week for me to decide to go ‘all in’, but when I did, everything switched for me,” she says. The decision empowered her; in 2017 she won her first Ironman 70.3 at Victoria, then backed that up with a win at Ironman 70.3 Manta the following weekend. She has been on the podium at almost every race since, securing her first Kona slot this year at age 36. “This just goes to show you that if you work really hard and don’t give up, amazing things can happen!” she says. Kelsey takes over our our Instagram stories this weekend. Follow along as she prepares for Kona!    READ ALSO How (not) to qualify for Kona Road to Kona: Cody Beals' clear race strategy Road to Kona: 5 tips to train effectively as a couple

You can do this. That’s what Suunto multisport team athlete and coach Trista Francis wants you to know. She has prepared a 12 week training plan to get you to the start line in fighting form. “Stop waiting for the perfect moment,” she says. “Take the moment you have and make it perfect!” The plan is available for free as part of Suunto Value Pack via TrainingPeaks, one of Suunto’s key partners, and provides easy to understand, week-by-week, session-by-session, training guidance. Your end of the bargain is doing the work. Trista has a degree in sports medicine, is a long time triathlete, and has coached everyone from total beginners to Olympic hopefuls. She knows well what it takes to pull off a long distance tri. To inspire you to get going, Trista shares her favorite inspirational training quote: The masters in the art of living make little distinction between their work and their play, their labor and their leisure, their minds and their bodies, their information, their recreation, their love and their religion. They hardly know which is which; they simply pursue their vision of excellence at whatever they do, leaving others to decide whether they are working or playing. – James A. Michener Click here to access Trista’s 12 week triathlon training plan! Designed for those with a solid fitness base and who are looking for guidance on doing a long distance triathlon, the plan has a four week cycle: three weeks of a progressively heavier training load, followed by one week with a lighter load. There are three of these four week training blocks. “Fitness gains happen during recovery,” Trista says. “Work hard during the three weeks then repair and regenerate during recovery week to bring your fitness to a higher level. “A general rule of thumb is to get the training hours in,” she continues. “If you find the intervals are too much, drop the intervals and just complete the time so you are ready for the next day’s sessions.” On average, each week consists of eight training hours, with the heaviest weeks reaching 11 hours. You’ll be training the three disciplines every week. The swimming average is 1h30m per week, cycling is 3h50m and running is 2h40m. The longest run is two hours and longest bike ride is four hours. Throughout the 12 weeks, every Monday is a recovery day. Trista recommends sleeping more on Mondays, or getting massages to prepare you for the coming week’s training sessions. “These things that assist recovery are called the 1%,” she says. “Athletes that put an emphasis on this philosophy around recovery tend to stay injury free, and see greater gains compared to their peers.” To download Trista’s 12 week training plan, login or sign up to TrainingPeaks and find the plan here. LEARN MORE ABOUT SUUNTO VALUE PACK AND HOW TO GET THIS TRAINING PROGRAM FOR FREE

Suunto Dive are super excited to announce Alex Kydd is joining the Suunto Ambassador family. Photographer, marine biologist and diver originally from Melbourne, Australia, Alex now proclaims to being “based on” Ningaloo Reef Western Australia honoring the number of hours that he spends exploring underwater capturing his breath-taking images. A rare shot of Alex Kydd in front of the camera taken photographer Alfred Minnaarr. © Alex trains like an athlete in his discipline. Practising every day, editing all the time and descending beneath the surface has led him to achieve artistry in his images. Alex's photos stand out above the rest with his dedication and passion aiding his continued development as a photographer enabling him to produce his unique shots. “The ocean is my happy place. Every time you enter the water you never know what you might see and it's such a misunderstood ecosystem. Everything is connected and the more time you spend in it, the more you appreciate.” Alex Kydd by photographer Alfred Minnaarr © Beginning his diving journey with snorkelling at 16 in the cool waters off Melbourne where he grew up, he later began scuba diving on a trip to Thailand in 2009 where he firmly solidified his love and respect for the ocean. Exploring his passion further Alex studied Marine Biology at university and four years ago he started his journey into the world of underwater photography and has had not had a chance to look back. “At age 16 I first started taking photos. I had a very basic 2m waterproof camera for snorkelling in Melbourne. I progressed slowly to more upgraded cameras over the next few years. Eventually I had enough savings and I got myself a DSLR and housing. I was going out taking 500-1000 photos per day and editing them every night. This I believe, fast tracked me to learn. The best advice I can give for underwater photography is to find a mentor or like-minded people to learn from.” Alex’s next stops on his extensive adventuring are Raja Ampat, West Papua, French Polynesia and Fiji where he will be exploring with his new dive computers including the Suunto EON Core, Suunto D5 and Suunto Tank POD. Alex’s favourite device at the moment is the Suunto D5. He also represents Fourth Element and Ocean Positive as a team diver. Alex Kydd: Instagram

The good news for Janne Kallio is it’s going to get easier. Now 44, it’s his last year in his age group, and qualifying for Kona gets easier in the one above. “That’s because the competition is older and I’m getting faster,” he says, laughing. One thing Janne definitely can’t say about the last few years of racing is that it’s been easy. In May, Suunto HQ threw a surprise party for him to congratulate him on finally, after years of irritating setbacks and disappointment, earning a spot on the Kona startline. “Even though I’ve had disasters, it’s all a learning curve,” he says. “Even though it’s been frustrating, I always felt positive because I was progressing in my training, and felt I was reaching a higher level. The race should be the goal, not just to qualify.” Janne has been competing in tri for almost 30 years, and wrote a book about training for triathlon with the help of technology. He started racing full distance Ironman in 2010, and began trying to qualify in the last few years. “You can’t really ‘qualify’,” he says. “All you can do is train as best as you can and then the qualification will come.” Janne’s 12 lessons from his long road to Kona Slippery when wet Frankfurt, July 8, 2012 Janne was feeling good, racing well, and pushing it on the ride. Maybe a little too much. It was raining hard, and he slipped and crashed resulting in a broken hip, and a loss of training time. Lesson: Be careful in wet weather. It’s not worth risking injury. Be grateful Arizona, November 17, 2013 Hamstring surgery in fall 2012 meant Janne was out for the rest of that year. He wasn’t ready to race again until nearly one year later. It wasn’t pretty, he hobbled through the marathon, but made the finish line. Lesson: Be grateful to be on the start line. It’s already a great achievement to start an Ironman race. It’s all learning Mallorca, September 27, 2014 Despite not qualifying, Janne was happy with this race. He says it was the first time he felt he was really able to run well during an Ironman marathon. The competition was faster. The feeling of having mastered the full distance compensated for not qualifying. Lesson: Be patient with long distance Ironman. Each race is a learning experience. The next one will be easier. DIY doesn’t work Vichy, August 30, 2015 This race hurt. Janne felt confident he could qualify for Kona. To compensate for a loss of run training in previous months, due to injuries, he “smashed the bike like a lunatic”. He had the second fastest bike time, but destroyed himself in the process and ended up walking the marathon. “All the confidence of mastering the Ironman I’d gained in the previous year was lost,” Janne says. “I decided to get a coach; it’s better to have someone to look from the outside into your training.” Lesson: Get help – find a coach. Adapt quickly Cape Town, April 10, 2016 With a new coach on his team Janne felt ready to rock this race. But alas, after a good swim, a bumpy road meant he lost his drink bottles on the ride. The liquid at the aid stations wasn’t enough to compete with the intense African sun. He bombed on the marathon, and missed qualifying for Kona by 40 infuriating seconds. Lesson: Learn to handle surprises – they are bound to happen. Never neglect proper fueling or hydration. Keep your distance Florida, November 5, 2016 Janne finished seventh and missed a slot at Kona by 90 miserable seconds. All because he was given a five minute penalty for drafting. “This was the only time that has ever happened to me,” he says. “When the guy passed me, I kept riding with him. I kept the legal distance, but from the referees perspective it wasn’t long enough.” Lesson: Your perception of distance might differ from the referee. Penalties hurt; be extra sure and keep your distance. Shit happens Cape Town, April 2, 2017 He’d put in the training, was feeling strong and ready, and then caught a cold a few days before race day. “I was shivering on the start line and when I was cycling and running I couldn’t push,” he says. “Shit happens.” Lesson: Things happen you have no control over. Don’t let it phase you – that’s life. Stick to the plan Florida, November 4, 2017 Janne arrived two weeks before the race to adapt to the heat. He was in good shape, had a great swim and a good ride. On the run he was in third place and feeling good. Except, for some inexplicable reason, he felt the urge to consume more liquid and gels than he’d planned. “My stomach shut down,” he says. “I was putting too much in. Somehow at 20 km I was sitting on a toilet and flushed out everything I’d consumed.” His energy crashed, and didn’t recover. He missed qualifying for Kona by a few disgusting minutes. Lesson: Have a clear nutrition plan for the race and stick to it. Know the route Tallinn, August 4, 2018 This is one race where Janne muttered a very long list of expletives. The first two stages went well. He started the run in second place in his age group. Then he came to a corner and wasn’t sure which direction to run in. He asked an official who pointed, but Janne misunderstood, and took a wrong turn. It was over: DNF. Lesson: Study the course in advance and add a route to your watch. It’s the athlete’s responsibility to know the route. Easy does it Copenhagen, August 19, 2018 Still feeling disappointed the day after Tallinn, Janne wasn’t ready to give up. He discovered the Ironman Copenhagen was two weeks away and jumped at it. Because he was in good shape and didn’t run the marathon in Tallinn, he thought he would be fine. Not so. “On the bike, I couldn’t keep the power where it should have been. When I started running, I ran really fast and my pace started to plummet. “My legs were fine, but I was mentally tired. I felt unfocused and totally deflated.” He withdrew on the run. Lesson: Be prepared and focused. If you aren’t, you won’t get the result you are after. It’s only a sport Florida, November, 2018 After a string of disappointments Janne was psyched and ready for this race. But then Hurricane Michael swept across the Florida Panhandle leaving a trail of destruction in his path. It was the first Category 5 hurricane on record to hit the region, and the third most intense Atlantic originating hurricane in history to make landfall. The race was cancelled. Lesson: “You can’t control everything,” Janne says. “And it’s only a sport; a race doesn’t matter when people have lost their homes and even their lives.” You never know Texas, April 27, 2019 After a year of racing absurdity, Janne hoped things would turn around in 2019. Then he got the flu 10 days before the Ironman Texas. “I was out of training completely, especially swimming,” he says. “I was close to not even flying there.” After everything, Janne roused his inner tri warrior and decided to go. On race day, his symptoms were gone, but his heart rate and power numbers until then had been rubbish. And sure enough, he couldn’t push as much as he would have if fully fit. There were seven Kona slots available in his age group. Incredibly, Janne finished sixth, and finally qualified! Lesson: Never give up.

Well known now for his higher-level training of professional and technical divers, along with a wealth of experience Johan began life in Netherlands and completed his first dive in Tunisia with CMAS in 1996. Immediately impressed he purchased all his own equipment and rose to instructor level in a short time. He concentrated on specialising so he could broaden his knowledge which is where Johan developed his passion. After divng on the wrecks in the North Sea he found his calling and continued training in wreck diving and Trimix so he could explore deeper sites that hadn’t had their treasures pillaged like the wrecks at shallower depths. “At greater depths I found the wrecks were more intact. I am talking about wrecks 80 meters and these wrecks are less exposed and also in better condition because they are not so exposed as those at shallower depths.” Johan de With selfie. To help him explore even more depth, his dive training led him onto rebreathers. He realised the limitation of many of his open circuit dives was the number of cylinders he could carry it seemed only natural for him to transition from open circuit. “In 2015, together with Markku Diedrich, I dived a world record mixed team in Lake Thun, Switzerland (fresh, cold water) I was on OC and Markku on CCR where we travelled to a depth of 166.5m.” Recording of the team’s deepest dive in a book of records. Johan’s deep accolades do not end there. “On the rebreather I dived into caves to a depth of 14m. On open system in the caves up to 103m. On the rebreather in open water up to 183m. Open water on open system 166.4m.” Johan now works as commercial diver and an instructor at the only private institute of commercial professional diving in the Netherlands. He also teaches deep technical diving and has his own gas filling station, Techduikschool Nederlands. An important part of his diving is communicating information to the dedicated team of Dive Engineers at Suunto HQ as he puts computers to the test in the field and ensures they meet strict performance targets. The infomation Johan feeds back allows the engineers to improve and fine tune devices allowing for the best user experience and in turn lets divers focus on the action and rely on their robust companions in the toughest conditions. In action training professional divers in the Netherlands. “I dive and test a lot for Suunto and share as much information as possible and give feedback about these computers both positively and negatively. I currently dive with the EON Steel and the EON Core and with the also since its release, the Suunto D5. I use this during all my dives both OC in open water and caves and CCR in open water and in caves. As a backup I have my bottom timers with wet-note, and a spare computer in my pocket. Everywhere and always, even with commercial diving I take the Suunto D5 into the water. I do this so that I also have a digital log of all my commercial dives.” Suunto Dive computers stand the test of these extreme adventures alongside Johan. Johan is not just an Ambassador for Suunto Dive, he represents brands including Ursuit and Bare drysuits, Tecline, Ammonite for lighting and Paralenz to capture the action on camera also with great satisfaction and pride. "Regardless of environment depth or length of the dive or type of dive OC or CCR, technical diving must be feasible for everyone regardless of their financial status. These are brands that certainly think of the customer with price quality. I notice these companies listen and do a lot with the feedback given by us as Brand Ambassadors and testers of these materials.” Jyri Vehmaskoski, Suunto EON Steel product team: "You don't dive if you don't trust your equipment. Everything we build is tested by real-world divers like us. Our gear is functional, accurate, and built to take a beating – and has hundreds of test dives to prove it." Learn more about Suunto Dive products at suunto.com