Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

Hydration drinks, energy drinks, energy gels. With so many different products on the market, it's important to know how they compare (and differ) in their respective functions.  For endurance athletes, it's in your primary interest to maintain a state of hydration (fluids and sodium) while consuming adequate fuel (carbs) to optimize health and performance in training and on race day. Therefore, it's important to understand that not all sport nutrition products are created equal.  By understanding the formulation and application of sport nutrition products, you can select your sport nutrition products more effectively, knowing that the product(s) you are using are being quickly digested and absorbed.  Otherwise, there's a good chance that what you are consuming is sitting around in the gut, potentially causing GI issues, dehydration or bonking (and a waste of money).

  Although we have a tremendous amount of research on sport nutrition strategies to optimize performance in runners, there's very little research on long distance triathlon.  It's impossible to isolate one variable in a triathlon-focused experiment. For example, with so many different environmental, physical, mental, terrain, pacing, fitness and physiological factors contributing to performance in a 70.3 or 140.6 mile event, it's impossible for research to create specific sport nutrition guidelines for swimming, biking and running when there are so many unpredictable and uncontrollable variables. We must recognize that running off the bike for 13 or 26 miles in a half or full distance triathlon (respectively) is very different than running a stand alone half marathon or marathon. For example, a stand alone endurance runner will start the race is cool or cold conditions, first thing in the morning with a body that is glycogen loaded and well-hydrated. Marathon races are oft...

It's been 18 years since my first Ironman. Eight days ago I completed my 20th Ironman (23rd long distance triathlon) in Chattanooga and it was my best-ever Ironman day in terms of speed and power on the bike and pace on the run. At the age of 42 years, I feel incredibly strong and healthy. I contribute much of my continued success in long distance triathlon to the understanding and application of sport nutrition and nutrient timing. Although there have been several significant advancements in the science of sport nutrition over the past few years which have contributed to faster race performances, I've kept three things the same with my training and race day fueling....... ⚡KEEP IT SIMPLE - my fueling and hydrating strategy is simple (and easy to tweak depending on the weather/distance). It's not complicated, it requires little thinking, it's easy to digest/absorb and I can stick to my strategy on any terrain or in any weather conditions. ⚡LESS IS BEST - more nutrition...

Your body is going to perform differently when it's 60 degrees outside than when it is 90 degrees. Although exercising in hot weather requires extra planning and caution to avoid health risks, it is possible to improve performance, enjoy your training sessions and not feel completely drained when training in the heat. There's a good chance that you are not making good decisions when training in the heat and as a result, your performance and health is being compromised. Running without a hydration belt, not planning stops accordingly on the bike, showing up to workouts dehydrated, not fueling properly (or eating enough) and not rehydrating properly after workouts will negatively impact your body's thermoregulatory process. The human body is remarkable when it comes to exericising heat, so long as you take the necessary steps to acclimate gradually, pace yourself and look for opportunities to minimize dehydration and cool the skin.

  Every endurance (and ultra distance) athlete wants to show up to an event/race feeling physically prepared. But what about being nutritionally prepared?  A long distance event places a lot of stress on the human body. Extreme environmental conditions further exacerbate the physiological (and mental) demands during physical activity. While physical preparation can improve the chance of completing the event or setting a personal best time, gastrointestinal issues are likely to cause the body to underperform. Or even worse, you may not be able to complete the event due to a nutritional complication.  Research states that around 30-70% of endurance and ultra endurance athletes experiences GI issues on race day. In other words, at an Ironman triathlon of 1500 athletes, around 1050 athletes will experience some type of GI issue. This is a very alarming statistic considering how money, time and effort go into preparing for an endurance event.  I've worked with many athlet...

  The ideal fueling strategy during training/racing is the consumption of carbohydrates in a way that can be quickly emptied from the stomach, be rapidly digested and quickly absorbed so it can be used by the working muscles.  Just because you are consuming a gel, bar, solid food or drink with carbohydrates, this doesn't mean that your muscles are receiving those carbohydrates. The takeaway from this is not all carbs are the same. Exercise shifts blood flow away from the GI (Gastrointestional tract) towards the active muscles and lungs. Digestion is compromised during exercise. This is why it's important that your carb choices during exercise do not require a lot of digestion. The quicker and easier those carbs are emptied from the stomach, the quicker those carbs can be used by the active muscles. Also, the more digestion that is required, the greater risk for GI issues.  After digestion comes absorption. For the muscles to continue to perform during long distance activi...

Practice, practice, practice.  I can't tell you how many athletes arrive to a long distance race without confidence in their fueling and hydration plan. A precise balance of carbs, fluids and electrolytes are needed to delay the onset of fatigue by sparing liver glycogen, maintaining blood glucose concentrations and off-setting excessive fluid losses from sweating. You can't 'fake it 'til you make it' when it comes to fueling during a long distance event. It's not uncommon for athletes to underfuel/hydrate in training and then overcomplicate fueling strategies on race day due to fear of running out of energy. Whereas too little of an energy intake (carbs, calories) is detrimental to performance, not having a well-practiced nutrition plan may result in GI issues, or more serious health complications. It seems obvious that if you are going to do something on race day, you should repeatedly do it in training, but far too often is this not the case. Rushed and busy...

  Typically, supplements are marketed to athletes as a means to help with weight loss or gain, muscle recovery, improve immunity, gut health and metabolic support. Many athletes look to supplements for a mental or physical edge in training or competition. Supplements come in a variety of forms; tablets, liquids, powders, bars and capsules. Some of the most sought-after vitamin and mineral supplements include iron, B12, vitamin D, calcium, multivitamins, Ashwagandha, creatine, BCAA, whey protein, ketones and antioxidants like vitamin C, E and Q10. Some supplements are problematic to health and performance. A review in the Journal of Physiology showed no strong evidence that antioxidant supplementation, such C and E, can improve performance or health. Furthermore, high-dose antioxidants may prevent important training adaptations such as creating new muscle mitochondria, muscle growth, and improving insulin sensitivity. In addition, supplements contain multiple ingredients, maki...

Do you have a long workout this weekend??✋ As you get closer to your key races, you will likely see longer workouts in your training plan. The higher volume workouts play an important role in your athletic development and race readiness. However, completing a long workout requires much more than just showing up and going through the motions. Because many athletes perform long workouts on the weekend - after a stressful and busy week of work, it's not uncommon to begin the workout poorly prepared, exhausted, underfueled and dehydrated. Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your long workouts.

Do you want to take your health and performance to the next level? Say hello to NUTRIENT TIMING⏰. Nutrient timing can be the link that takes you from a good athlete to a great athlete. It can also help with better quality training sessions and reducing the risk for injury and illness. Nutrient timing refers to the intentional manipulation of nutrients at specific times in and around exercise in an effort to achieve a specific outcome (ex. performance, health, body composition). Although the definition is simple, the application can get complicated when you factor in workout type, duration, frequency, timing, intensity, purpose and time of the day. When it comes to nutrient timing, evening workouts can be tough to nail. Knowing what, how much and when to eat before and after the workout can be tricky as you have to be extra intentional with making sure you time your nutrition appropriately before or after the workout. The upside of an evening workout is that (if timed well) you already ...

I was really looking forward to my Saturday workout. A long ride followed by a brick run. I hadn't ridden with a group in a few weeks so I was really excited to join my friends for their 80-mile route.  Karel participated in the  South East Gravel Battle of Sumter Forest Race . This race was his first gravel race of many this year. Karel is preparing for the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder 5-day stage race in June so every race prior is a learning opportunity. Karel spent much of Friday tinkering with his bike to get it race ready. Karel's race started at 9am and I left for my ride around 8am.  Although I had a great ride, Karel's race didn't go as well. He experienced an issue with his tubeless valve that got loose in the first gravel section of the ride. While he was able to fix it within a few minutes, he was dead last as the pack of riders flew by him with the downhill start. The gravel conditions are super rough to start this race and the valve must have bounced itsel...

Preparing for a triathlon is much more than registering for a race and training to improve fitness. Sport nutrition plays an important role in race day readiness. Whether you are traveling to compete in a full distance triathlon or participating in a local sprint triathlon, dialing in your race day nutrition is key.How you fuel during a race primarily depends on the duration of the event, the weather and your racing intensity. No matter your experience, proper fueling will help you maximize your performance without compromising your health. While you may be able to get away with a haphazard sport nutrition strategies (or not fueling at all) during your workouts, an enjoyable race day means avoiding these common performance limiters - extreme fatigue, cramping, dehydration, gastrointestinal issues. Because proper sport nutrition should be part of your training and not something you only do a few times per month (or in the two weeks before your race), I'm providing some easy 'get...

  While watching the Tour de France a few years ago, I noticed a lot of The Feed logos and commercials. I didn't care too much about the company when I first heard about it as I thought it was just another sport nutrition website to order products.  But overtime, I realized that next to your local run/tri/bike shop, The Feed is a great place to purchase sport nutrition products (and lots of other sport related gear, equipment and nutrition).  As a sport RD, I'm constantly recommending sport nutrition products to athletes. I'm also constantly trying out different products. But in order to see if a product will work, the only options are to hunt down a single serving at a local store or order online a case or bag of 16+ servings. It was so much more affordable for athletes (and myself) to try out products for a few workouts to see if that sport drink or recovery powder was tolerated by the taste buds and digestive system.  As a Feed ambassador, I really enjoy this comp...

Gastrointestional issues are very common among endurance athletes. Complaints are usually dividing into two categories - upper GI and lower GI.  Most athletes are familiar with lower GI issues - gas, loose stool, urge to defecate, diarrhea, abdominal cramping. I've written several articles on the topic of GI issues but most of the gastrointestinal issues I discuss involve the lower GI tract. In working with hundreds of endurance athletes on race day nutrition, the common culprits of lower GI issues include dehydration and concentrated or poorly applied sport nutrition consumption. I find this area fairly straightforward when it comes to prescribing well-formulated sport nutrition products to minimize or alleviate lower GI issues on race day.  When it comes to upper GI issues in endurance athletes, like belching, vomiting, reflux/heartburn, trouble swallowing and bloating, this area has been more challenging to fix. What makes it so difficult is that most of the athletes ...

I never run without my hydration belt.  It's part of my running attire and I feel naked without it.  It doesn't matter the duration or intensity of the workout or the weather, I always have a sport drink with me in my hydration belt.  If you are a long distance athlete, you've likely experiences several pronounced and uncomfortable symptoms related to unsuccessful fueling/hydration methods. Headache, dehydration, swelling, bloating, sleepiness, lethargy, lack of appetite, nausea, chills, fatigue, deep muscle aches, moodiness and dizziness are not just performance limiting but they are also extremely risky for your overall health. Proper fueling during intense or long duration exercise can help you sustain a desirable effort to maximize training adaptations. Proper fueling/hydration also minimizes the stress load to help keep your body in better health. Proper fueling/hydration in training also helps you practice fueling strategies for competition as you can train the gut ...