Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

Pre-race While the alarm was early at 3:45am, the recent time change made it only feel like 4:45am. Karel was quick to get out of bed for his morning espresso, followed by his typical pre-race/workout bowl of oatmeal. He ate standing to help with digestion and shortly after, he went for a quick jog around the neighborhood to get his digestive tract flowing even more. After getting all of his gear organized, it was time to drive to the race venue around 4:50am. It was a quick 2 mile drive from the Southern Dunes property to the Lake Eva community center/park (race venue). I drove Karel (and our other coach Joe) and dropped them off near the transition area. Campy and I then drove around to find parking. Thankfully, Haines City does a great job opening almost every parking lot available for their triathlon races. After parking in the lot of a pharmacy on 5 th street, Campy and I walked to the transition area to wait for Karel after he pumped up his tires. The weather was perfect ...

Hello from Haines City, FL! Here we go again. It feels like it was just a few weeks ago when we were one sleep away from an Ironman! During our travels back home from Kona, Hawaii on October 16th, we received an email from Ironman that Ironman Florida was cancelled due to extensive devastation from Hurricane Michael. In the beginning of the year, Karel wanted to do something that he has never done before - race two Ironmans within a month. While an experimentation to see how his body would handle two endurance triathlon events in such a short time period, Karel also wanted to see if he would be able to re-qualify for 2019 Kona. Seeing that Karel did not have the race that he wanted in Kona, he was really looking forward to another opportunity to race. Even though there's the uncertainty of what his body will be able to do in the later miles of the marathon due to the unknowns of what's still lingering in his heart, tissues and muscles, Karel was really looking forward to...

Spectating is not easy but we absolutely love watching our athletes in action. My alarm woke us up at 5:30am on race day morning and Karel started the water in our electric kettle (that we brought) to fill the French Press (that Karel brought). Campy stayed snuggled in bed (with one eye opened to make sure we didn’t leave him) as we had a snack before heading out the hotel door to watch our athletes start the bike. The race started at 6:15am so we watched the live feed on Ironman.com until the athletes started their second loop of the swim.  From experience, it was always hard to spot our athletes coming out of the water with so many people so we decided to spectate on the corner of Front Beach and Thomas, less than ½ mile from where the athletes started the bike.  We were able to spot all our athletes and many of our friends racing so it was the perfect location for cheering. Plus, it’s always nice to surprise athletes when they don’t expect us to be th...

Panama City Beach holds a special place in my heart. Not because it was where I spent my spring break in 2000 for my senior year of High School but because it was the location of my first Ironman. I had my mom and dad with me for support as well as my boyfriend Karel (dating for 5 months). With less than a mile from the finish, Karel yelled to me "Babe- you are going to Kona!" I never saw Karel run before so I was smiling and laughing at him (although he had no trouble keeping up with me). And then, without thinking, I yelled back "I Love you!" It was the first time that I told Karel that I loved him but it just felt right. Not only was he out on the course supporting me but I just knew he was the one for me because he "got me." It's hard to explain to someone why anyone would want to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles or run 26.2 miles for what looks like all for a medal and a t-shirt. But it's so much more than that. I can't describe this li...

We ran 2.5 miles from our homestay to watch the IMFL swim start.  We couldn't wait to see our friends and athletes start their Ironman day. A day that was months in the making and the culmination of many miles and hours of training. Most people would say that the Ironman distance triathlons is hard. Absolutely.  But getting to the starting line is one of the most rewarding experiences that any athlete can receive.  Although choppy waters, the day was absolutely perfect for PR's and great performances. There is no "easy" Ironman course or day so the understanding is that for those who are mentally strong, they are the ones who can take their trained body to the finish line knowing that it won't be easy - BUT it will be worth it.  With soaked shoes and socks, standing in calf high water, we waited to see our athletes finish the first loop of the two loop swim course. I couldn't believe that Karel could spot so many of our friends and athlet...