Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

Facebook reminded me of this photo from 2011. This photo was taken by my dad at the Kona Plaza, just a few days before my 2nd Ironman World Championship. Karel was just a cyclist at this time so for his first time to the big island, Karel explored every challenging bike route that he could find.....off the IM Kona bike course. Karel didn't understand or care much for the sport of triathlon back then, except for the fact that I loved the sport and he supported me in all of my swimbikerun goals and dreams. It was only a few months after the Ironman World Championship, as we were driving home from USA Crits Speed Week , when Karel mentioned to me that he was getting "too old" for competitive cycling and he was ready for a change in sport. Although he still loved bike racing, Karel wanted a new athletic challenge to keep him healthy, competitive and active. Whereas once Karel didn't understand why anyone would run when they could ride a bike, he started to dedicate hi...

At Trimarni Coaching, we only accept new athletes for one-on-one coaching in September/October for the following year. Although we have training plans and an educational membership for athletes who want to train under our guidance throughout the year, there is only one opportunity out of the year to be coached by us as a Trimarni athlete for the following year. While this may sound a bit strict, as it requires new/potential athletes to think about coaching for the next season well before the New Year, there are a few reasons why we do not add new athletes to our coaching roster throughout the year.  Athlete/coach relationship - It takes time for us to get to know an athlete so we start building this relationship early in the year (Nov/Dec). Effective coaching is so much more than workout delivery or being great workout writers as we need to understand athletes on an individual and personal level. We also want to start opening the lines of communication so that the athl...

Karel and I waited for Thomas, our next athlete (of 14) to finish the race before we headed back to the parking garage to change out of our sweaty, sport drink covered, wet kits. I was moving very slow after the race and like usual, my body was not yet interested in solid food. I didn't feel dehydrated at the finish (no GI issues, nausea or anything abnormal) but I did take a few sips of water at the finish line to wash out my mouth. I went into the food tent and since the food selection was unappetizing to me at that time, I ate a few orange slices and grabbed a coke to give me some sugar and calories before heading over to bag/gear check-out. I know my body well (and Karel's body) and after an endurance event, it's amazing how quick the blood sugar can drop so sipping on some sugar (or having something with quick digesting carbs) is always good prevention to a possible post-race low energy moment. Anticipating what was coming next, my body started to tighten up and i...

With every Ironman, there is always the unknown of what will happen to the body on race day. For most athletes, there are a lot of questions surrounding the Ironman marathon. Running 26.2 miles is no easy feat but after 2.4 miles of swimming and 116 miles of cycling, the body is physically compromised. Toss in the heat and a very hilly and challenging run course and the thought of running a marathon at the end of an Ironman can cause a lot of worry. After I registered for Ironman Chattanooga the week before race week, I didn't worry too much about the marathon. To be honest, in the past, I've dedicated my entire season to training for an Ironman and felt less ready than I felt going into IM Chattanooga. All summer, my running form and resiliency has continued to improve. I always feel stronger running off the bike than in solo runs. I've experimented with all types of sport nutrition products and I've gone back to running more on the treadmill and track (along wit...