Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

  Happy Global Running Day! I wish I had the same confidence, passion and joy for running as I do for swimming and cycling. I look forward to my swim and bike workouts. It feels so good to push hard. I don't feel the same way about running. I always stress about what my body will feel like when I run. Running does not feel natural to me. I don't feel like "a runner" when I run. Sometimes running is very hard for me. It's often hard to get started and to keep going. Running has given me several injuries. As much as I try to do things right, it's the only sport that can make me sad and frustrated. Although me and running have had a rocky long-term relationship, I've never given up on running. It has helped me during difficult times in my life. I have found comfort in running as it serves as an outlet for grief, anxiety and depression. When I run, I become a great problem solver. I come up with the best ideas when I am running. Running is the only sport that ...

For over 10 years, Karel and I have used hydration belts for every single outdoor run. It doesn't matter how short or long, a hydration belt is part of our running gear. And now that we are doing more XTRI and and off-road triathlon racing, it's been an easy transition to our self-supported events.        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. Sport usage of hydration packs, belts and bands Interestingly, hydration belt/pack acceptance is sport dependent. For example, hydration belts are not very popular among stand-along-runners and most 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 and trail running community, hydration packs are popular and wid...

  On Wednesday, we woke up to cooler temps and a cloudy sky. Despite not having AC in our Airbnb, we are sleeping amazingly well - 9-10 hours a night! I absolutely love sleeping and I am feeling so much more refreshed. My recovery from workouts is a lot better too. It's great to not be woken by cats throughout the night.  After eating and working on the computer, we drove 30 minutes and returned to the race course in Elgin Valley for redemption after a low energy ride and run on Monday. It’s amazing how poorly the body performs when it’s sleep deprived, low in energy and off a normal routine. I’m happy to report that we both felt 100% better. And the cooler temps in the 70s and cloud cover helped a lot! We each rode the course on our own. Karel did the rock garden twice and waited for me after the big loop before we went to the smaller loop. I made the technical sections fine but I had a few rough patches llike getting stuck in sand, blocked by cow puppies and attacked by bush...

  I was really looking forward to today (Feb 13th/Tuesday). I love swimming and I love swimming outside and during my online hunt for an outdoor swimming pool around the area, I came across a 50-meter outdoor pool in Stellenbosch at Coetzenburg University.  I asked the open water swim group on whatsapp about allowing vistors and the group said that visitors were allowed.  I looked online at the lane availability schedule and noticed that after 8am was a good time to swim. We left our Airbnb around 7am for the 15 mile drive to Stellenbosch but there was a lot of traffic so it took us over an hour. Our route took us through Strand, which goes by the beach, so I made a mental note of this route for my run later in the day.  The Stellenbosch area has a different vibe to Gordon's Bay as the campus as there are several schools and students and the area is very pretty with lots of fields, trees, and paths for biking. As we got closer to the area, we saw a lot of people on m...

  When runners and triathletes think "hill repeats" they generally assume that the workout is designed for building strength.  Although training on hills can significantly improve strength and power, there are a few other (not so) hidden benefits.  Of those benefits, an improvement in speed and economy and reduced risk for injury are some of my favorite reasons why I like to head to the hills (and off the track) for "speed" work. When I want to stress my cardio system (elevate heart rate) while also improving muscular endurance, it's much safer and effective to do hill repeaters.  After a few weeks of priming my system with 10-12 minute 1-minute building efforts (thanks Grace A for the awesome workout idea) on gently rolling terrain, I was excited for more specific hill work. Yesterday my morning run workout was:  WU: ~30 min EZ (gently rolling hills) MS:  6 x 2 min controlled strong uphill efforts w/ EZ jog down (~2:30) + 20 sec rest Post set: EZ home (mor...

  After the award ceremony, we made our way back down from Snow Basin and arrived back to our Airbnb around 3pm on Saturday afternoon. I was pretty exhausted from all the walking and spectating during Karel's race. I also had a very odd niggle in my right knee (probably from the spontaneous running to get from one location to the next while cheering for Karel). I spent the rest of the afternoon in bed relaxing (and eating/hydrating) and around 7pm, I was ready for bed. I didn't have any nerves for the race so I found myself sleeping pretty good.  I woke up to the alarm at 6:30am and had my typical pre-race meal of a cup of instant Nescafe Gold coffee, water and a cinnamon raisin bagel, peanut butter and strawberry jelly. I did some foam rolling and mobility work and then went for a short jog around our complex. My knee felt better which was a good thing. It was nice not feeling rushed for the race. We arrived at 7:45am and it felt like I had forever until I raced. We hung out ...