Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

What a shocker to my body this morning!!! Over the last 10 years, Karel and I have found ourselves bundling-up to train outside on those occasional cold "winter" days in Florida.  This morning it was 27 degrees when we woke up in Greenvills, SC. After we walked Campy, I headed to the Y for a treadmill run and Karel ran outside. When I saw that the leftover water in my water bottle was frozen, it quickly hit me that this was our new normal. Campy, it's time to break out your sweaters!  We are looking forward to swapping out our summer training gear for our winter gear and enjoying all of the season foods that are best enjoyed when it is cold outside. As an athlete, one of the interesting parts of training throughout the seasons is understanding what foods feel the best around workouts. I often find that athletes enjoy more rich-flavor gels, bars and drinks in the cooler months whereas fruity options are more enjoyable in the hotter months. I feel the same is tru...

A salad:  "A dish of various mixtures of raw or cooked vegetables, usually seasoned with oil, vinegar, or other dressing and sometimes accompanied by meat, fish, or other ingredients." I realize that for some, the thought of eating only veggies for a meal is boring but for others, the thought of eating only veggies for a meal is satisfying. If you love veggies, you are probably smiling right now thinking of veggies whereas those who have yet to appreciate veggies, are cringing at the thought of eating those crunchy, tasteless food stuffs.  Plants are Mother Earth's best sources of vitamins and minerals so consider them to be the most delicious way that you can take a multi-vitamin.  What's not to love about a salad?  The beauty of a salad is that YOU can create a meal that leaves you and your tummy happy.  Essentially it is a plant-strong meal but you can dress it up however you want.  As a 22-year lacto-ovo vegetarian, you'd ...

There's something so special about the oven. It's kinda magical how the oven can turn something flavorless into something so flavorful!! I just love the process of baking muffins as the final product smells absolutely delicious!! In real life, 20 minutes goes by rather quickly but when it comes to baking, 20 minutes feels like forever!! These zucchini flaxseed muffins didn't last long in the Trimarni household so that means two things... 1) I need to go grocery shopping for round two of making muffins 2) These muffins are 100% Trimarni blog-worthy Enjoy! Zucchini Flaxseed Muffins (adapted from  Martha Stewart recipe ) Ingredients 1 3/4 cu all-purpose flour 1/2 cup ground flaxseed 1/2 cu packed brown sugar 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon  1 1/2 cup grated zucchini (1 zucchini) 1/3 cup mashed ripe banana (1 banana) 3/4 cup reduced fat milk 1 large egg, lightly b...

Why do I need the Trimarni 8-week transition plan?  To improve next year's performance by making good use of the transition phase between 'off season' and your first phase of triathlon specific training.   The transition plan is designed specifically to help you develop the proper skills to progress smoothly throughout the year. Consider this the blueprint of building a strong house for your body.  What makes this plan different than my regular base building triathlon training plan?  Transition plan highlights: -The swim focus is on improving your aerobic threshold, drills, kicking, upper body strength and form and improving your aerobic capacity. -For the bike workouts, you will see some high intensity intervals mixed with skills/drills and cadence work. You will be doing single-leg drills, heavy leg drills and a little higher volume bike training on the weekends to improve aerobic threshold. -The run workouts in this phase wi...

While on our long "foundation" building ride this morning, we made good use of our time on our bikes by enjoying the mountain views on top of Cedar's Head.  As we were climbing the 6-miles to the top of the mountain, I couldn't help but think about my progress as a swimmer, turned runner, turned triathlete, turned cyclist. Although my love for swimming has not gone away, I absolutely love riding my bike. And now  that we live in beautiful, bike-friendly Greenville, SC we love riding our bikes even more! We leave from our doorstep on the Westend of downtown and in less than 7 miles we can climb Paris Mountain and in 45 minutes we are on challenging roads and hilly terrain on beautiful country roads. There was a time, not too long ago a few years ago, that I was not very skilled on my bike. By no means, am I an expert now but my riding skills have improved dramatically over the last few years and I owe it all to Karel helping me learn how to be a better...