Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

  112 mile bike (~7200 feet elevation gain) Marni - 5:45.38, 2nd fastest AG time Karel - 5:28.50, 19th AG GEAR Bikes: Ventum  Karel – Lightweight autobahn disc, Alto CT 58 front, Bont 0H+ cycling shoes. Crank 165 (54/39 chainrings), Rudy Project Nytron road aero helmet. Marni – Boyd 60/90 tubeless with Schwalbe Pro one TT tires. Crank: 155 (53/39 chainrings), Endura D2Z Helmet Aeroswitch, Bont Riot TR+ tri shoes. NUTRITION: Karel – Started with: 1 bottle + 1.5 liters worth, each with NeverSecond C90 (360 calories). Picked up at special needs: 1.5 liters in a Smart Water Bottle of NBS Strawberry Lemonade Carbo-hydration (~400 calories for hydration system) and a bottle of NBS. Consumed 1 Supra bar (nibbled throughout). Water at each aid station for sipping and cooling. Total calories: ~1900 Total hydration: 152 ounces + water from aid stations Marni – Started with 1.2 liters + 2 bottles worth, each with Skratch Superfuel Raspberry (400 calories). Picked up at speci...

As I made my way through town, my first focus was to safely get out of town. The first few miles are a bit technical and with the wet roads and rain, I didn’t want my day to be over in the first few miles of the bike. Once I made my way to the first big climb passed the ski jumps, I felt like I could start settling into a good routine.  The few miles before the Keene decent are very challenging as there are a few climbs that seem to roll but you never get enough momentum on the back of one hill to carry it to the next hill. So it really is a steady climb over several hills that makes it feel like one long climb. I enjoyed the out and back section into the Olympic cross country ski area as it was nice to break things up and see the other athletes in the other direction. I found myself around a few female professionals and only noticed a few age group riders ahead of me. I knew there was a lot left in the ride/race so I just focused on riding my own race but also using those around...

Photo: Justin Luau After my "moment" with the wind on the Thursday before race week, I convinced myself that I would be just fine in windy conditions on race day. To be honest, I actually wanted heat and wind on race day for a more difficult race experience. After giving the weather forecast a quick look on race day morning, it looked like we would all be getting the true IM Kona experience. Although the weather can quickly change in Kona, it was looking to be a tough day of racing. Although my cycling skills and fitness has drastically improved over the past few years, I felt my biggest strength on race day was experience. Not only did I know what to expect in certain areas of the course but I also know how low the lows can be on certain areas of the course. I went into the 112 mile bike with confidence and trust in my cycling abilities. I also had great trust in my nutrition as I practiced and fine-tuned it throughout the entire summer. I actually prepared my ra...

The first few miles of the Ironman Canada bike were a little technical as there were speed bumps, bumpy roads and a few twists and turns. I didn't want to do anything silly in these early miles so I treated it as a warm-up, especially since my body was still adjusting to the bike position after the swim and I was finding myself a bit cold from being so wet from the swim. Once I got on the main road (Sea to Sky hwy) I started to ride into my Ironman event. The layout of this course was rather simple as there were four main segments. To Callaghan Climb, Callaghan Climb, to the far turn around, riding back to town and then you repeat. This allowed me to break the course up into small segments so that I could focus on executing each segment to the best of my ability. Although I didn't have any metrics to abide to, I lapped my computer at each segment so that I could check in with my metrics just to see how my numbers (specifically lap normalized power) was correlating to my ...

Photo: Jay Baker If I had one complaint about this course, it's the first few miles on the bike path. Even though the course was altered a bit due to recent flooding, it's still a technical way to start the bike in a race. Thankfully, it's not more than a few miles of navigating cracks, turns and bumps and a railroad track before you are on an open road and heading out to the country. With the temp around 50 degrees, I was happy I had my arm coolers on as they were keeping me warm. I felt very comfortable (body temp) when I started the bike but I still gave myself a few miles to wake-up my legs and to settle into a nice rhythm. I always start the bike with my helmet shield up so it doesn't fog and then after a few minutes I snap it in place as my "sunglasses" for the rest of the ride. It's also a lot easier to get on this way. After losing both my rear bottles at Ironman Chattanooga last year in the first few miles of the bike, I was extra paranoi...

Since we rode one loop of the bike course on Wednesday afternoon on race week, it was nice having that recon ride fresh in my head going into race day. There was no part of the course that I was dreading as this bike course is fast but also includes a significant amount of climbing – around 5600 feet. I felt like I knew the course well enough to make tactical decisions when to push, hold back and where to take risks. With no rain predicted for race day (unlike the rain that we experienced the last two times in 2014 and 2016, although both were record breaking years), I was excited to show off my bike fitness on this course. When I got on the bike after the swim, I enjoyed the short 90-degree turn with spectators lining the barricades. It was nice to hear all the cheers. The energy is so extreme in any Ironman but at Ironman Austria, it's really easy to get around for the spectators so the hot spots are super HOT with noise. There was a short out and back section coming nex...

It took me a few miles to get over the fact that I lost two hours worth of nutrition from my rear two cages - which has never happened before in over 11 years of endurance triathlon racing. Since I was not even 5 miles into the bike, mentally, it really affected me. I was frustrated and I couldn't get my head into a good place. But after realizing that Karel likely had a faster transition than me (nothing good happens in the transition area according to Karel) and I wouldn't be seeing him for the rest of the day, I forced myself to get out of my pity party and put on my Ironman hat and figure out how to overcome this nutrition setback. With every Ironman, there is something to learn. I often think of the Ironman as a day of decision making. Perhaps this is what makes the Ironman distance so addicting in that every race tests you physically and mentally and you keep wanting to get better with every next race. With my experience and knowledge, I knew that I would need to use...