Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

Currently, Karel and I are traveling to Europe. We will be spending the rest of August in France.  I have been looking forward to this trip for months, but as August 15th gets closer, it is starting to feel very real. This isn't just a trip to France. It is a race, a cycling train-cation, a chance to revisit some of the places and climbs that have challenged us before, and an opportunity to experience some of the most iconic roads in cycling. First stop: Embrun From August 12–18, we'll be based in Embrun, where I'll be racing Embrunman on August 15 at 6:00 a.m. The race is no small undertaking: a 2.4 mile open water swim, a 115-mile bike (~16,000 feet elevation gain with the Col d'Izoard making an appearance before half way) and then a 26.2 mile, 3-loop run and ~1,300 feet elevation gain. The Col d'Izoard has appeared in the Tour de France around 33 times, and its summit sits at 2,361 meters (7,740 feet), making it one of the highest historic and legendary alpine p...

Karel and I had a fun time reflecting on his Patagonman extreme triathlon experience. If you'd like to hear about his race experience (the highs, lows and everything between), you can check out his race recap video (HERE) As I was editing the video (adding pictures and videos from the race), I couldn't help but think about the journey that Karel went through to get to the start line. For athletes, it’s easy to believe that everything comes down to one day.....the race. The months (or years) of training can feel like a means to an end - an unfulfilling road that hinges on a race day outcome. But here's the truth: it's not about the race result. The fulfillment happens in the preparation.  The Trap of the Finish Line Mentality Goals are essential. They give direction, motivation, and structure to training. They help you get out of your cozy bed and power through a workout when there are distractions all around you. However, when your self-worth is centered around a res...

  Patagonman Finisher  An extreme triathlon at the end of the world I find it serendipitous that our 50th newsletter of the year is occurring a few weeks before the beginning of Karel's 50th birth year of life and I am writing about an event that Karel has dreamed of finishing for the past few years.  On December 7th, Karel took on  Patagonman Extreme Triathlon . We did everything possible to get him to this start line — but what lied ahead were 140 miles of uncontrollables. We woke up at 2am after a night of no sleep. At 4am, he boarded a ferry in the dark and at 5:30am, he jumped into the fjord (55 degrees - much warmer than usual), and swam 2.4 miles back to shore (1:08). From there, a 110-mile point-to-point ride with over 8,000 ft of climbing, gravel, cobbles, wind and whatever Patagonia decides to throw at him. He finished the bike in 5:50. And then, a 27-mile run with 3250 feet of gain, all off-road, through technical forest trail...

  I have a lot of pictures to upload but the internet is a bit slow in our Airbnb(s) so I will upload pictures later on. If you'd like to see more pics from our trip, you can check out my Instagram page.  Monday  After a delicious dinner at D-Lizia (I got a huge pizza and Karel got a burger), we went back to our cabin and had a relaxing evening. Sadly, Karel woke up in the middle of the night with excruciating pain in his right leg. He thought it was a blood clot but we later put some pieces together that it was likely coming from his disc and SI joint. He couldn't bear weight on his leg and he said it felt like his leg was broken. It was really scary as it came out of no where when he got up to pee in the middle of the night. Even when we got up in the morning, Karel was still unable to walk normally. He decided to try a spin to see if that would help loosen it out. I drove him 15 min up the road (up the last descend of the bike course) and he went out for an 1+ hour rid...

  We landed in Balmaceda (very small airport) around 3pm local time (2 hour ahead from EST). It was a quick 2-hour flight from Santiago (a total of 11 hours of flying and 26 hours of traveling). While Karel was waiting for our suitcases and his bike, I went to the Varona rental car counter (outside of the baggage area) to get our SUV. It was a very quick process and by 3:30pm we were in the car to make our way 1-hour to Villa Cerro Castillo (the location of Patagonman T2 - bike to run). It was a very beautiful drive and we couldn't believe how warm it was (in the 70's)! We arrived to our Airbnb (1.5K from the town center) and it was a little confusing to get in (the lady who met us did not speak English) but it all worked out. The cabin was super cute and so peaceful and quiet. The best part is that the cabin is on a farm and there are two dogs, lots of chickens and baby chicks!  After we unloaded the car, we drove to the town to get a few items from the grocery store. There a...