Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

  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...

  For some people it's hiking, for others it's riding a bike. When you find an activity that gives you a feeling of being alive, there's no better feeling.  When it comes to long-distance, ultra and extreme sports, the primary motivation for participating in these types of events is knowing that you are part of a small group of people who have the ability, time and resources to attempt this type of feat. Whether you want to push the envelope because your last accomplishment never feels good enough or because you don't feel satisfied with one area of your life and the risk of an extreme event seems really appealing, some people love to push themselves to discover their limit - physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally.  I am in my 16th year of long-distance triathlon racing. This weekend I will be participating in my 19th Ironman in Lake Placid. I love the sport of triathlon but what I love the most is challenging myself - physically and mentally.  For me, my ...

Anytime I think about the stress of packing for a long distance triathlon, I am reminded of this picture - from my very first half ironman. My first half ironman was in May 2006 in Orlando - at Disney. The event is no longer at Disney, but is now in Haines City - and is now called Ironman 70.3 Florida (the event we are competing in this weekend). For the past few years, Karel and I have returned to Florida to kick-start our triathlon season in Haines City. Every time I race IM 70.3 Florida, I am reminded of that first scary unknown experience of swimming 1.2 miles, biking 56 miles and then running 13.1 miles. It was a humbling experience to feel like a beginner and to have no idea what I would experience over 70.3 miles.  Despite feeling physically prepared for your upcoming long distance triathlon event, lacking actual race experience may leave you feeling a bit overwhelmed. And with the logistics of racing for 70.3 miles, a lot of "stuff" is needed to get from start to fini...