Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

I'm happy to be back in Jacksonville and finally caught up on sleep, emails and housework but I sure do miss the Big Island of Kona...and all the Mdots! Knowing that we get to come home to this little guy made it super easy to leave Kona after the most exciting and memorable vacation for Karel and myself. Campy nearly teared up when he saw us, even though he was taken care of VERY well by my friends Laura and Jo. Campy has not left my side since I have returned home and he even took me for a fun 2 mile run after my easy 30 mile bike ride this am. Campy and I are super excited for the anticipated cooler temps as we have lots of "campy miles" to do over the next few months. I'm very excited to announce that TriMarni Coaching and Nutrition, LLC is in the works! It's not an official business just yet, but the process has begun!! And what a process it is!!! This has been a dream of mine as I consider myself a dreamer and entrepreneur. My life is filled with dreams, whi...

"Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it." -- Michael Jordan As I made my way onto Ali, I could see a massive amount of spectators. Complete strangers cheering my name as if they had supported me throughout my entire Ironman journey. I felt as if the fans had been waiting for me, almost as if they knew about my rough day but believed in me that I could finish. You see, the journey of the Ironman ends when you make it to the Ironman starting line. Once the gun goes off for an Ironman, you enter a completely different state of mind. Your body and mind will flood with emotions and thoughts and you begin 140.6 miles of self-talk. Despite 1800 other athletes out on the course with you, it is up to you, your body and your mind to make it to the finishing line. Certainly you are putting your training to the test and using the skills (both mental and physical) that yo...

"It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit." As a coach, exercise physiologist, dietitian, 5x Ironman finisher and 2x Ironman world championship finisher, I respect the human body for all that it allows me to do on a daily basis. Throughout this Ironman journey, I have developed a deep relationship with my body and with the right balance of my lifestyle of triathlon with my passion for living my life to the fullest and helping others, I feel I was able to enter this Ironman in the best mental and physical shape of my life. What I find so amazing about the body is that for many of us, we have a gift. Regardless of finishing time, those of us who reach an Ironman starting line have a gift, comprised of mostly perseverance. This is a gift that many people don't recognize and for others, that many people would lo...

"We must look for the opportunity in every difficulty instead of being paralyzed at the thought of the difficulty in every opportunity.” After exiting the transition area, I made a left turn on the "hot" corner and went on Malaka, toward the old airport and made a short, steep climb to Queen K hwy. This would be the only time I would bike down Palani, from Queen K hwy, so as I made a right turn onto Palani, I found myself flying down the hill. I made a sweeping left hand turn and onto Kuakini. Kuakini is the street that we are staying off of and I heard a lot of cheers from the crowds, both from people that I knew and spectators. As I was making my gradual climb to the turn around on Kuakini (a few miles up the road), I totally forgot about the swim and I was feeling fantastic. My riding legs were on and I was feeling super good. I made the turn around on Kuakini and enjoyed the gradual descend down to Palani. I changed gears to my small chain ring and enjoyed the steep ...

"Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another." Although I struggled with a restful night of rest on the days leading up to this IM, I never seem to have trouble sleeping on the night before an Ironman. In my opinion, heading to the start of an IM is much more simple than going to any other triathlon because almost everything is done on the day before the race. On race day, you just show up. Around 6pm, Karel and my dad picked up Outback and I enjoyed the fresh brown bread, along with a sweet potato, broccoli (and shredded cheese) and scrambled eggs - which I made in my condo. I did a great job eating throughout the day, eating small meals every few hours after my morning race warm-up (20 min swim, 1 hr bike, 15 min run) so I didn't need to "stuff" myself in the evening. Kevin Grogan and his wife (Kim who is racing in Kona), are staying in our condo plaza so while Kim and I relaxed in our seperate condo's, the "guys" we...