Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

This is a typical picture of the gear we use during an outdoor run. As you can see, there are two flasks for both me and Karel, with our respective hydration belts. Let it be known that Karel and I run with our hydration belts for every single outdoor run. It doesn't matter how short or long, a hydration belt is part of our running gear. It surprises me how many athletes undervalue the many benefits of a hydration belt/pack. We have been long-time supporters of hydration belts and packs because we feel they bring so many great benefits to athletes when running outside. Interestingly, hydration belt/pack acceptance is sport dependent. For example, hydration belts are not very popular among stand-along-runners and many refuse to wear them in training and racing. Furthermore, some races prohibit the use of bringing nutrition (belt/pack) with you on race day for safety reasons. In the ultra-running community, hydration packs are popular and widely accepted and encouraged. Ironical...

Triathletes and endurance athletes are very susceptible to dehydration and even more so, a heat-related injury at this time of the year.  Whereas in the cold/cooler months of the year, athletes can get away with haphazard fueling and hydration strategies, now is the time in the year when a poorly planned (or early-season) fueling/hydration regime will negatively affect training sessions, racing potential and health.    Let it be known that training in the heat is incredibly stressful for the body. Seeing that training (in any environment) already creates difficulty for the body to adequately digest and absorb nutrients and fluids, you can imagine why so many athletes experience harmful health issues, GI struggles, extreme fatigue and so many more issues during the summer months when training for an event. If you think about those who succeed well in endurance events, every athlete is getting tired from glycogen depletion and dehydration and central nervous syst...

We have all been there - that unpleasant race-day incident that you hope will never happen again. Although we'd like to think those "oh-no" moments are no big deal (hey, no one is perfect), it's not easy to move on from the Worst. Mistake. Ever. As you think back to your most embarrassing race-day moments, check out a few of my nutrition tips in my recent Triathlete Magazine article (July 2018, pg 66), to help you successfully recover from the most humiliating situations. 

Whew. It was a HOT weekend of training. This past week started off a little light with cycling and running but my swimming regime didn't change. I swam five times this week and it felt good to keep my feel of the water with a few moderate distance swims, a long swim and a few easy swims. I had an interval run on Wednesday that had me feeling so-so - not bad, not great but still a good run on legs that were still repairing from the damage that occurred from the last week/weekend of training. Thursday morning was a solid longer brick workout and Friday was a long, tough swim. I sprinkled in a few EZ rides on the road bike which was nice to loosen out the legs. I've been most pleased with my running fitness and being able to hold good form when tired but Karel keeps telling me that I am stronger, faster and fitter than ever before - which is boosting my confidence going into Ironman Austria. I've had a sign in my workout room since the winter reading "9:57 and 3:35...