Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

When it comes to food, I'm a believer in special occasions and enjoying a little of everything. When I work with athletes on daily and training nutrition, one question in my write-up asks "what are you least looking forward to with your improved/new eating habits". I'd say, on average, most people say "giving up my favorite foods". I think we all have favorite foods. Perhaps some aren't so healthy for the heart but hopefully, you have a long list of heart friendly, performance enhancing foods. If your favorite food is a chocolate chip cookie, 1 cookie, once a week, is no big deal. But if your favorite food becomes a daily indulgence you may have difficulty reaching your training and weight goals. But even if you have your favorite food in a small portion, every day of the week, it's important that you are still consuming a balanced diet and not just saving your calories so that you don't have to give up your favorite treat. Not sure if it is due ...

Have you ever eaten watermelon until you physically couldn't stomach another bite? Certainly watermelon is not a high calorie food (46 calories for 1 cup diced) and it would be silly to tell yourself that you would get fat from eating too much watermelon. Now, think about the last time that you ate a piece of cheesecake, had pizza, pasta or ice cream until you physically couldn't stomach another bite? As opposed to a nutrient-dense food like watermelon, it's very easy to feel stuffed after eating calorie-dense foods because it is easy to continue eating due to a delayed feeling of fullness due to quick digesting sugars. Although some calorie-dense foods offer health benefits like nuts, all foods should be consumed in moderation to give you a healthy and balanced diet. I recently bought a giant watermelon from Publix for $3.99! Nice deal! I also picked up blueberries (2 x $3), 2 lbs cherries (1 lb for $1.99) and bananas. I just love summer fruit! When I was a vegetarian athl...

My morning workout was a toughy on Tues. Trainer interval workout + run. I entertained myself by watching Ironman Wisconsin (for the 20th time) on my DVR during the beginning part of my workout. Karel is making me work hard but the hard work is paying off. My cadence has increased by a good 10% over the past few months and I am finding myself maintaining my goal watts at a much higher cadence than in months past. Even though my zones have increased, due to my previous 20 min effort in the group ride on Sat, I am finding myself improving with each workout. I try to gain something from every workout. I don't let myself think that I am ever having a bad workout. Rather than just "getting through" the workouts I am waking up recovered from previous workouts and ready to give a sweaty 100%. Warm up 20-25 min: 3min @ LT (161-187watts) 5min @ Tempo ( 135-160watts) 4min @ LT ( 161-187watts) 5min @ Tempo (135-160 watts) 10 min recovery 5min @ LT (161 – 187watts) 10min @ Tempo ( ...

Karel and I enjoyed delicious meals with the family. Karel rarely eats red meat (maybe once every 3-4 months) but he does enjoy an occasional steak when we go to Outback (pre-race for me) or when we visit my parents. On Fri evening we enjoyed a beautiful salad w/ spinach and kale, oranges and lots of veggies, corn on the cob, steamed zucchini w/ garlic and grilled asparagus. My carnivorous family (dad, mom, Karel and Aaron) had chicken for their protein and I enjoyed 2 hard boiled egg whites and 1 yoke w/ the rest of my beautiful meal. I had a big glass of soy milk and a few walnuts and pistachios as I was preparing the salad. Here's the Grilled Chicken Bruschetta recipe: Serves 6: Ingredients: * 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves * 1 Tbsp. olive oil * 1/4 tsp. garlic powder * 3 plum tomatoes, chopped * 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped (my mom used basil seasoning) * 1/4 cup chopped onions * 2 cloves garlic, minced * 1/8 tsp. pepper *...

I love training. Probably more than racing. I don't race a lot because it takes me a while to get my body to a healthy place that allows me to reach for my short term (and long term) goals. When I did my first IM, I had Karel (who was my Boyfriend at the time) and my family there to cheer me on and to support me at this crazy long race called the Ironman. Before the race, I gave my parents "estimated" times of when I would finish the swim, bike and run. I gave them a range starting with my perfect day times and ending with my "oh no, something went wrong" times. Luckily, nothing went wrong and I ended up matching every one of my predicted times to the minute! How did I know what I would be able to do for the swim, bike and run? I just thought back to my training and by being realistic, I felt pretty confident predicting my times. By spending many months of my year training for a few key races, I don't feel rushed to improve. With a gradually building trainin...