Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

I couldn't be more excited to write my post-race report!!! Now that the painful part is out of the way, this is the fun stuff! This part of the report means so much to me. Not only because I finished my fourth IM since 2006 but I get to write MY report on behalf of all of the triathletes out there, who aspire to one-day sign-up and finish an Ironman. And even if you don't aspire to do a triathlon or an Ironman, or you have done an IM, this is for all of the people out there who have set a challenging, and perhaps, unthinkable, goal. It is hard to describe the feelings that come with finishing an Ironman. For many of us, we devote a good 6-12 months of training to one event. That's right, an entire year dedicated to one event! And to make things even more nerve-racking, you pay a lump sum of money for the event.... 365 days before the race! For myself, this race was 4 years in the making and I sacrificed many other local races (and wants) to offset the expenses for this eve...

"You run HOW FAR????" Whenever you tell a non-triathlete about the Ironman distances, you typically get the wide-eyes (or a jaw drop) when it comes the mileage of the Ironman run portion. Or "You are CRAZY!!!" As I handed off my bike to a volunteer, immediately after the dismount line, I noticed that there weren't a lot of bikes in the transition area. Not knowing my time on the bike (I didn't check it) or the time of the day, I knew that there were a handful of girls ahead of me from the bike portion. I really conserved my energy during the last 2 hours of the bike so that I could put my run-training to the test and run like I have trained myself to run. I have been craving a long, hard run for a few years now and as I was running to the T2 gear bag room, I felt amazingly good and ready to run. The volunteers called out my number as I ran into the gear bag room but the volunteer had trouble finding my bag. That's ok, I knew exactly where it was cause I ...

Before I attempt to sum up the 112 mile bike, I must confess two little bike-related concerns which occurred prior to the race. Karel and I decided to not bring a bike pump and to borrow one from my mom's cousin in Madison. I was anxious to pump up my tires so I ended up borrowing a pump from a guy in the hotel (Bill, who I met at breakfast on Fri morning) on Fri afternoon. Excited to ride my bike on Sat morning, my wheels were ready to go as soon as Karel arrived to assemble my bike. Because I was fast asleep when Karel arrived (and finished with my bike) he told me that my valve must have leaked throughout the day because my tire was flat (forgot if it was the front or back). This has happened to us before because of the valve extender on my dish wheel, but because we didn't want to take the chance of possibly having a flat in my tire, Karel pumped up the tire (after putting on a different valve) on Sat morning and we waited a good 3 hrs before I went for my warm-up ride. Luc...

Today is my first day of interning for my 11-week Food Service and Management rotation. Oh how time flies!! I'm moving a lot faster than the last few days but still in need of sleep. I finally had a restful night of sleep last night (8 hours!) but it's going to take me a few more days to feel rested throughout the day. My quads aren't hurting as bad but inside I still feel drained. Yesterday, Campy was very confused when I walked down our 3 flights of stairs backwards and quite upset that I wasn't walking at our normal pace. That's ok, there will be plenty of Campy miles during the fall and winter months. We are both looking forward to the cooler temps and Campy is excited to wear his favorite sweater. It's going to take me a bit of time to sum up the 112 mile bike course (pics included) so I wanted to talk about my recovery from an IM. After 11 hours of consuming gels, my stomach was in need of real food. The first thing I go for is Pizza and then I just liste...

It was Sat evening before I knew it. My transition bags were packed and my bike was sitting in the transition area. All that was left on my itinerary was OUTBACK and a hopeful good night of sleep. After an excellent dinner from 5:20pm til 6:15pm we went back to the hotel and it was time to enjoy my last evening of being a 3x Ironman finisher. I was very calm and not too nervous on the days leading up to the race. However, every now and then I would get a feeling of "OMG the race is tomorrow!" In all honesty, my body has never felt so good before, prior to a race, and it was more of excitement, rather than worry, and I knew the feeling was that I was ready to go. I had a very good night of rest after laying down for bed around 8:45pm. With 3 alarms set for the morning, it was no surprise that I woke up 5 min prior to my first series of alarms. 3:40am and I was up and at 'em! Breakfast consisted of 1/2 raisin bagel w/ PB and regular jelly, a small banana, 1...