Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

We arrived to Znojmo, Czech Republic (Karel’s hometown, around 10k from the Austrian border) after a 3-hr drive from Roman’s house (outside of Prague). Although the trip was only around 110 miles, there is no interstate to get on but instead, we go through many small towns where the speed limit is constantly changing from 30-50Km/hr to 70-90Km/hr (the interstate is 110Km/hr). Plus, there’s also construction, round abouts, tractors and trucks to slow things down on the small two-lane roads. When we arrived to Znojmo, we unloaded our stuff at our Airbnb in the town center and then made a quick stop at the grocery store to get flowers for Karel’s mom and some mineral water (and a non-alcoholic beer for Karel). Karel’s mom was really happy to see us and the feeling was mutual. It’s been three long years since Karel saw his mom. She had dinner ready for us – Svickova, one of Karel’s favorite meals. She started preparing this meal two days before we arrived (it’s a labor of love). I apprec...

  We’ve traveled to Europe every other year since 2012 to visit Karel’s family (and in 2014, 2016, and 2018 we raced Ironman Austria and in 2018 we also raced Challenge Prague). Packing for this Europe trip was a bit different compared to years past. With all the recent issues and complaints with international travel, packing was not as easy as throwing everything into a suitcase. With two bikes (we brought our mountain bikes for Xterra European Championship and we are renting road bikes for Haute route – more on this later) and two suitcases to get us through two races and 4 weeks in Europe, we needed to account for the chance of lost/delayed luggage. We both brought a carry-one with all our race stuff – mountain bike and road shoes, helmet, 3 cycling kits, Xterra race kit, 2 pairs of regular clothes and other race stuff. We packed our sport nutrition in our checked bag, with the rest of our everyday clothing and a few more cycling kits. For this trip, we ordered 4 Apple Air tag...

I love my body and what it allows me to do. However, it wasn't always this way.  It took a long time to recognize, appreciate and acknowledge my strengths. Trying to look like someone else is pointless. Once I started to focus on my own needs, things started to change. I started to get stronger, fitter and healthier.  When dealing with insecurities about the body (often as a result of wanting to look like the societal norm of 'athlete body') the common approach for athletes is to undereat and underfuel. But not giving the body what it needs to perform (and to stay healthy) shows a lack of respect for your body. And it certainly doesn't make you a better athlete.  When you register for an event and commit to training for that event, you are an athlete. As an athlete, you have a responsibility to take care of your body. This means paying attention to your needs, respecting your body and not letting others affect how you feel about and fuel your body. As an athlete, you ne...

  2.4 mile swim Marni -57:40 Karel – 1:00.28 As soon as I started swimming, the nerves went away. Since I lined up with the sub 60 min group, I found myself swimming strong right from the start. Although I breathe to both sides when I swim in the pool, I tend to favor my left side when I swim open water (and favor my right side when I swim in the pool). I didn’t need to sight much since the lake is so small and several people stay along the cable (under the water) which helps to keep everyone on course but when I did sight, I take note of the next buoy. When I breathed to my left, I would make note of the number on the buoy – counting to 9 before the first of two turn buoys. Karel tried to stay with me but he had to stay with his own effort after a few buoys. As I made the 2 nd turn buoy, it felt like I was swimming fast. I rarely found myself swimming alone and many times, I found myself in a crowd of other swimmers. As I was nearing the end of the first loop, I was looking f...