Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

February 3rd, 2007. My very first blog post. You would think my first blog post would be a post would be something along the lines of me introducing myself to the world or talking about something positive or happy in life. But sadly no. Instead, I decided I needed a creative outlet to write about my very first DNF (Did Not Finish) race. Since then, I have written close to 3000 blog posts. I've had over 2.5 million blog views. I've written about triathlon, running, and bike races. Going back to school for my dietetic internship. Went in depth about my accomplishments, setbacks and failures. I've shared my travels, events, recipes, nutrition tips, fueling suggestions, motivation tips and pretty much anything and everything about my life. And of course, plenty of animal pictures - especially of our furry children. Even though blogging does take out a big chunk of my time each week, I'm not planning to stop blogging anytime soon. A a writer, it is the best outlet for t...

Photo: Bree Wee When I participated in IM Canada back in July, I had three weeks of no running going into the race due to sudden hip/glute/back injury. This is nothing new for me as my body tends to get "twisted". Thankfully, I've been able to manage it well over the years but this season gave me a hard knock in the back - literally. Luckily, I went into IM Canada with great run fitness but unfortunately, I wasn't able to show it as I had to manage the run with a lot of walking, stopping and shuffling. It was actually a big unknown if I was going to be able to complete the marathon portion of the Ironman in Canada as I was not able to make a step forward without pain in my groin/hip. Somehow my body allowed me to run for 26.2 miles - very uncomfortable but not painful. I share this picture above from the exit of the energy lab at the 2019 Ironman World Championship. I don't think the smile left my face for all 26.2 miles. Despite another "slow" Ir...

Photo: Jay Baker After dismounting my bike, I quickly removed my cycling shoes as I ran my way into the terrace to grab my T2 (Run) gear bag. My legs were a little tired from 112 miles of biking but I didn't let it worry me. My athlete Diane was out on the course and on lap 2, she told me I was still leading but the girls behind me were closing in. At this point, I assumed I was still leading my age group but I didn't know by how much. Anything can happen in an Ironman marathon and I had a game plan that I trusted and I was looking forward to seeing if I could put together a solid run after what appeared to be a solid day of swimming and biking. When I entered the women's changing room, I was all smiles as I was the only one in the room and I had all the volunteers to myself. I had a few Trimarni followers in the room (volunteers) giving me cheers which made me so happy. I put on my Nike Zoom Pegasus Turbo, emptied my pockets from the bike and put on my visor. I grab...

With every Ironman, there is always the unknown of what will happen to the body on race day. For most athletes, there are a lot of questions surrounding the Ironman marathon. Running 26.2 miles is no easy feat but after 2.4 miles of swimming and 116 miles of cycling, the body is physically compromised. Toss in the heat and a very hilly and challenging run course and the thought of running a marathon at the end of an Ironman can cause a lot of worry. After I registered for Ironman Chattanooga the week before race week, I didn't worry too much about the marathon. To be honest, in the past, I've dedicated my entire season to training for an Ironman and felt less ready than I felt going into IM Chattanooga. All summer, my running form and resiliency has continued to improve. I always feel stronger running off the bike than in solo runs. I've experimented with all types of sport nutrition products and I've gone back to running more on the treadmill and track (along wit...

After transitioning from bike to run, I jogged out of the transition area, started my Garmin 910 (which I powered on in the last mile of the bike - already set on the run function) and was feeling a lot of energy from the crowds. My plan was to use the first 5 miles or so to find a good rhythm as I had no pace goals for this run. My Garmin was simply there to record data but it was not controlling how I raced my race. While shuffling my way up Palani, before turning right onto Kuakini Hwy, I tried to not confuse feelings with actions. Even though I didn't feel great coming out of the transition tent and my Ironman swim and bike performance had me feeling as if I was not having a good day, I did everything in my power to not let it get to me. I told myself that I could still put together a great run and amazing things could still happen. I suppose I had two options at this point - to settle for the day that was far from my best or to convince myself that today was a...