Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

We have approached the "less than 5 week" countdown until Kona!!!  After we returned from Boulder, I mentioned that  I was overly exhausted  after our 9-day train-cation in Boulder. After taking several days to recover, I was able to get back to my planned training but I did have to make some modifications.  With so much climbing and hard efforts in Boulder, I came back with a body that was not very happy. Nothing new to me with many years of back issues but with less than 6 weeks left until Kona (at the time), I did not want to take any chances for a tight back to turn into a back injury to turn into a hip injury (which I have had much experience with in the past - 6+ years to be exact from 2007-2013). My right scapula was so tight/inflamed that I was barely able to swim last week. Additionally, because of the tightness in my upper back, it was tugging on my lower back and hip area and my right leg felt very weak (again, nothing new to me from past hip issues).

There are two things that I love about Friday night cooking - creating a delicious meal to fuel the weekend workouts and having delicious leftovers.  Last Friday I made this delicious eggplant lasagna. No recipe, just a bunch of delicious foods in the refrigerator for me to use.  Plus, Karel and I had just shopped at the Tomato Vine early that day, so we had lot of local, fresh produce to use.  With two endurance triathletes in our household, a lot of food needs to be in our house to keep us well fueled and happy. We shop a lot, we cook a lot, a lot of dishes get washed, we eat a lot and we yum a lot.  The weekends are often hard for endurance athletes when it comes to meal prep and planning. Endurance athletes have every reason to feel too exhausted to prep and cook food but that is no excuse not to do it. If you want your body to perform and stay in good health, you have to nourish it on a daily basis - especially on the weekends when you expect your body to

After a few years of working as a clinical RD (PRN) while also working as a registered and licensed dietitian specializing in sport nutrition, I was finally eligible to apply and take the Board Certification exam in Sport Nutrition from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. With two application and exam window periods available every year, I applied to take my exam back in February 2015 and spent all of the spring and early summer studying to take my exam in the late June 2015 testing window. This has been a big goal of mine for several years.  I'm a big believer in higher education and I enjoy advancing my knowledge in specialty areas. Certifications and advanced degrees also force me to stay educated in my specific areas of practice.  The CSSD (or Board Certified Specialist in Sport Dietetics) focuses on fueling athletic performances. Unlike other nutrition certifications, the CSSD is a highly credible specialty certification.  Content area for the CSSD exam

If you want to conquer yourself and reach your goals, you have to believe in yourself. It’s human nature to enjoy doing things that you do well in and enjoy the most and to put off things that are uncomfortable or difficult.  Don’t be afraid to fail when trying something new. Many people resist making changes because it is uncomfortable to change. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. If you believe in yourself and your own ability to be successful, you will put yourself into a position to be eligible to reach your goals. Beliefs drive behaviors. If you believe in yourself and your abilities, you will succeed. If all an athlete had to do was to follow his/her training plan to be successful, “coaching” would be an easy job. One of the most important, yet overlooked, areas of fostering performance gains is the mental side of training. Many athletes let their mind get in the way of the body. As a goal-driven, hard-working and dedicated athlete, it’s ve

If I had to give only one tip to an athlete who was training for an endurance race (marathon, half or full Ironman), my suggestion would be to always have a plan.  Now, I am guessing that most athletes who are training for an endurance race, have some type of training plan to help ensure that the training provides the most appropriate training stress to induce performance gains without risking injury or burnout.  But what about a nutrition plan? I'm not talking about a meal plan that tells you to eat the same thing every day but instead, a plan that you create for yourself, on a daily basis, that assists in making sure you meet your health and energy needs. This plan doesn't have to include percentages, grams or calories but instead, it is a plan that you create, describing how you will nourish and fuel your body, dependent on life, training and the past.  There are some endurance athletes who are excellent planners when it comes to the diet. They prep food a