Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

The current pandemic has led to drastic changes in the bike industry. Bike sales are booming. Suddenly, riding a bike has become a fun way to phsyically distance while enjoying the great outdoors. More so, for many people around the world, the bike is a convenient (and necessary), sustainable, cost-effective and reliable mode of transportation. While accidents on the bike do happen and some roads are just not safe for biking, your safety and enjoyment on the road can be improved with a few tips: Master your cycling skills - While you can improve your fitness on the trainer, a stationary bike trainer does not allow you to identify and master your cycling skills like you can when you are riding in the elements and on all types of terrain. Learn how to change your gears, sit on the bike properly, stand up and adjust your position, grab your bottle (for hydration), break quickly, maneuver your bike in tight spaces, react smartly, descend, corner, stop/start on any terrain and ride...

The bike portion of a triathlon represents the majority of your overall racing time. However, most athletes look to the run as the area where significant improvements in fitness need to be made. But to run to your potential, you must consider what precedes the run - the swim and the bike. When it comes to training for the cycling portion of a triathlon, we can't see the bike as a time trial event. If you are simply seeking a personal best time/power wattage/speed, you are likely overbiking. On the flip side, if you simply "save your legs" on the bike because you are worried about running out of energy for the run, you'll underbike. To deliver a strong race day bike, you must train to do so. Instead of putting all of your focus on FTP, TSS, IF or average power watts, consider the following that will have a huge impact on your cycling and running abilities: Posture and form Skills/bike handling Pedaling mechanics Terrain management Fueling/hydration Pacing...

It's hard to find me not smiling when I'm on my bike. Especially when I'm riding in Greenville. Views like this make me so happy to be outside, in the mountains, surrounding myself by nature, on two wheels. Yes, our riding is challenging and it's not easy to settle into a rhythm but it's impossible to get bored and there are endless cycling routes to choose from, with so much to see, on two wheels. I feel SO lucky to live in Greenville, where our roads are bike friendly and the views are spectacular. It's common that many triathletes assume that to be a better triathlete, you need to be a better runner. While there is some truth in this statement as triathlon is a 3-sport event, but far too many triathletes remember the last sport as the sport that was the "failure" when it's the bike that allows you to deliver yourself to a good run. Far too many triathletes fail on the run simply because of what precedes the run....the bike. Sur...

I didn't grow up as a cyclist - heck, I barely rode my huffy bike with purple tassels when I was a child. I was born to be a swimmer and have always felt comfortable in the water. Karel, on the other hand, was born to be on two wheels. He has been riding a bike since he learned to walk. Road, fixie, TT, triathlon, mountain - you name it and Karel will ride it! Whenever Karel has an off day and he feels tired, I just tell him "go ride your bike" and instantly he feels better. When I met Karel ten years ago, I was training for my first Ironman. My cycling skills were horrible. I was afraid to clip in and out, afraid to get out of the saddle, afraid to be on my aerobars on busy roads (or around other people), afraid to take turns, climb, descend...yes, pretty much afraid to be on my bike despite me training for a 112 mile bike event. I was great at riding on a spin bike and ok at riding in a straight line on the road. Anything else and I felt off balance, uncomfortable an...

It's a completely different mindset to go by time instead of by miles. Just think about the many different outcomes that could occur if a coach tells all his/her athletes: Workout: Ride 100 miles. Do you know how long it would take Karel and I to ride 100 miles in Greenville? Well, we have ridden a century just a few times (2 for me) since we have moved to Greenville in May 2014 and the miles do not go by quickly here! Regardless of where you live (mountains, hills, flat, by the beach, etc.), it's important that your workout has specificity, especially if you are training for an endurance event. Seeing that changing your physiology and adapting to training stress is paramount to being physically prepared for race day, if your training plan asks you to complete x-miles and there's minimal structure or purpose to the workout, you are delaying the opportunity to experience significant gains in fitness. Additionally, your training will become monotonous and...

After spending the past 10 years living all over Florida (Davie, New Port Richey, Dunedin, Jacksonville) I welcomed our first experience (in a long time) of seasons when we moved to Greenville, SC in May 2014. By October, the trees were changing colors and the weather was getting cooler. We are now getting our second opportunity to enjoy the fall season and like most triathletes, the fall coincides with the off-season. Whereas cyclists often swap out the road bike for a mountain and/or fixie for cross training, the off-season for triathletes is a great opportunity to improve cycling skills and to have some fun on two wheels....without being in an aero position.  Although it is not required that you rush out and buy a road bike (the sport of triathlon is expensive enough as it is with one bike!), if a road bike purchase is an option or you have been neglecting your road bike in your garage/storage room over the past year, I highly recommend giving your triathl...

There’s no better feeling than finishing a race with a strong effort. Perhaps you invision leaving it all out on the course in the last mile or maybe you remember your last race, sprinting to the finish with your hands in the air. It’s not easy to finish a race strong, especially in an endurance race but with the right pacing strategy with a well-fueled and hydrated body, every athlete has it in him/her to experience how amazing it feels to give a full-throttle effort to the finish line. But no athlete likes to remember the end of a race as being a horrible finish or perhaps, not having any gas left in the tank the last few miles. Feeling empty, depleted and dwelling on not being able to race strong to the finish line is not something you plan for and even with the best intentions to pace your own race, you never know what the body will do throughout an endurance race.  It’s far too common that athletes will talk about the end of the race either with positive and mot...