Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

The alarm woke me (and Karel) up at 5:30am so that I had time to eat a pre-race/event meal (2 waffles + PB, syrup and banana for me) and to warm-up with a cup of coffee. My athlete/good friend Meredith arrived to our house (via car) at 7am and we all drove to the parking area for the Hincapie Gran Fondo, about 20 minutes away. I rode with Meredith to chat about the execution for the "fun" 80-mile bike event while Karel followed in his car. I'm sure you can agree with me when I say that you can't help but get excited when you see other like-minded individuals doing what you love to do. Despite the mid 40-degree temps, there was a big field full of vehicles, all with bike racks and a road lined with cyclists, heading a mile down the road to Hotel Domestique. It was very nostalgic as it reminded me of all of the bike events that I went to with Karel.  After riding our bikes on the hwy for 1 mile (we had the shoulder, which was marked off with cones...

There was a time when I was afraid to be on two wheels in a group ride. My skills were sketchy, I didn't feel one with my bike, I wasn't able to anticipate the dynamics of riding with other people, my cycling fitness didn't allow me to push when the group ride effort increased, my bike handling skills were horrible, my reaction time on my bike was non-existent and above all, I was afraid to ride around more experienced cyclists. I didn't grow up riding a bike so being on two wheels always felt foreign to me. Lucky me - I happened to marry a very experienced cyclist. Like with any fear in life, if you avoid what makes you feel uncomfortable, you'll never get better. When we moved to Greenville, SC. in May 2014, I traded the beach for the mountains and I was forced to become a better cyclist. Since learning how to ride a tri bike back in 2006 for my first season of endurance triathlons (a half and a full IM), it wasn't until we moved to Greenville, 8 year...

Yep, that happened on Sunday (July 20th).  Best bike ride EVER! Riding with THE  George Hincapie ,  17 x Tour de France finisher.  Ever since my dad passed away 59 days ago, there hasn't been a day that I haven't thought about  my dad. My dad had a great love of life, no matter where he was or what obstacle was in his way, he had a smile on his face, a great sense of humor and an ongoing love of being alive.  My dad never appeared stressed out by life. I wish I could say the same for me for I find myself easily stressed out at times.  I am sure we all wish we could be just like my dad and act in a way as if life was just easy.  I know that there were times in my dad's life that were not easy and certainly, fighting stage IV cancer for the last 10 months of his life was no easy task.  Stress affects us all differently but we all have stress in life. Stress is very subjective for it is hard to define and even ...