Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

As I mentioned in a previous blog post , Karel had his mind set on a top performance at Ironman Lake Placid. Sadly, a bad sickness (flu) knocked him off his routine and also compromised his recovery after a big peak week of training, just 2 weeks before the race. There was a lot of doubt and uncertainty during the sickness but with exceptional mental toughness and good race day management, Karel was able to put together a podium-finish race that required a lot of tools and tricks to help him get to the finish line. Although Karel had no control over the longevity of the sickness, he had control over his mind and that is what helped he achieve greatness on race day.                                            In a recent Intelligent Racer podcast interview, Karel and Adam have a very insightful conversation on how to mentally manage the Ironman race and how to overcome di...

When was the last time that you had that one workout when everything clicked and you wish race day was tomorrow? Don't you love it when that happens! But then comes race week - Ahhh!!! Where did that race-ready, everything clicked, workout go? All of a sudden, it's race week and now you have a mix of emotions - many of which make you feel so unprepared.  It’s human nature to doubt yourself to feel like you should have done more. In our always-connected world, it’s very hard to keep things in perspective, especially when it appears as if everyone else is so much more ready than you are.  Regardless of how your training did or didn’t go, it’s important that you adjust your mindset so that you go into your race confident and believing in yourself.  Before every race, you need to believe yourself when you say “I am ready.” For many now successful athletes, they started something before they felt ready. If something is important to you, you will never...

Peak performance. What is it?  For most athletes, to perform at your best, you need to be physical ready. However, race day readiness is much more than the physical training that precedes an important race. To allow your body to operate at a level of peak performance, you need your mind to work with your body. An athletically ready body can only perform when you are confident in your abilities and you are calm, focused and determined. To get into this "zone", where you are able to think about absolutely nothing other than what is absolutely necessary to succeed, your body can deliver the desired results. For many athletes, it's likely that before and on race day, you let your mind get in the way of your performance. That is, your mind works against your body, instead of with your body. Stress, loss of focus, self-doubt, competition, inability to stay present, worrying about the uncontrollables and fear of not meeting your expectations are all race day demons...

When was the last time you had a workout when everything clicked and you felt unstoppable? Although we all looooove that feeling and hope for it on race day, it's natural  to doubt yourself and to feel unprepared before an important event. Certainly, in our always-connected world, it’s also very hard to keep things in perspective as it may seem like everyone is doing more than you and you are not doing enough.  Regardless of how your training did or didn’t go, I encourage you to adjust your mindset so that you can confidently say, "I am ready!" Here are some ways to boost your mental game before an important race:  1. You control your thoughts – Feelings come from thoughts. All conflicting and negative thoughts start internally, in the mind. The next time your mind starts racing and you notice self-doubt, anxiety, fear or stress, try to let go of the negative feelings and uncertainties. Choose positive, quality thoughts that will help you excel on ra...

In my  last blog,  I talked about getting out of your own way. I find that many athletes are so focused on what everyone else is doing that when it comes back to your own reality, you believe that you are not good enough, doing enough, fast enough, strong enough, working hard enough or lean/skinny enough. Every day you are filled with thoughts and while some are positive, many of those thoughts can be negative interpretations of your weaknesses and mistakes. Ultimately, when you believe in negative thoughts, you self-esteem drops. It's easy to understand why so many athletes give up on themselves simply because of fear of failing and negative thinking. Let's look at some of the ways that you may be limiting yourself from reaching your full potential so you can conquer yourself and achieve your goals. PERFECTIONISM Are you never satisfied with your effort or performance?  Are constant negative thoughts filling your head as you are so self-critical with e...

If you are training for a race that is happening in the next 6-8 weeks, you may find that this is a tough time of the year. While your excitement is building to put your fitness to the test, you may find that your motivation, focus and determination to train is like a rollercoaster - some days you are exhausted and struggle to get started whereas other days you have the energy to tackle what's on your training plan...and crave more. While all of this is normal for a hard working athlete like yourself, it's very easy to let your mind get in the way of the body. If you don't believe me, how many times have you felt so exhausted, tired and sore, struggling to even start a workout and then after the warm-up you feel great and surprise yourself with the energy that you thought you didn't have? ------------------------------- If you want to conquer yourself and reach your goals, you have to believe in yourself. It’s human nature to enjoy doing things that come eas...

If you want to conquer yourself and reach your goals, you have to believe in yourself. It’s human nature to enjoy doing things that you do well in and enjoy the most and to put off things that are uncomfortable or difficult.  Don’t be afraid to fail when trying something new. Many people resist making changes because it is uncomfortable to change. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. If you believe in yourself and your own ability to be successful, you will put yourself into a position to be eligible to reach your goals. Beliefs drive behaviors. If you believe in yourself and your abilities, you will succeed. If all an athlete had to do was to follow his/her training plan to be successful, “coaching” would be an easy job. One of the most important, yet overlooked, areas of fostering performance gains is the mental side of training. Many athletes let their mind get in the way of the body. As a goal-driven, hard-working and dedicated athlete, it’...

It's all getting a bit more real right now for me and Karel.  The weekly training hours are increasing, we are always eating (seriously - always eating!), we need to restock our sport nutrition supply more quickly and sleep is much more of a priority.  Can you believe it? Only 67 days until the 2015 Ironman World Championship!!!! Every morning I wake up with excitement to train my body for my 4th IM World Championship and my 10th Ironman. I love the journey that I get to share with my body in training for an Ironman.  Every evening I go to bed and think about racing for 140.6 miles on the big island of Kona and staying mentally strong for all of those miles just to be able to run down Ali'i drive in order to cross the epic IM World Championship finish line.  For the past few years, I have learned so much about mental training from my best friend  Dr. G. (Gloria). To many athletes, mental strength means being tough and pushi...

Well, it's finally official.  MARNI SUMBAL (30-34 age group): BIB NUMBER 1933 With this week being my last week of Ironman training before an active recovery week followed by race week taper, my body feels amazing. With our approach to Ironman training being enhanced every year, I really feel Karel and I nailed my training for my 7th Ironman and 3rd Ironman World Championship. Every go-around we reflect on what didn't work and then we stretch the boundaries on how much I can get my body to adapt with the least amount of training stress. With this "less is more, train hard, recover harder approach" I have experienced bitter sweet feelings before my last three Ironmans. Absolutely I am ready to taper and rejuvenate from all this Ironman Kona specific training and I am excited to experience the normal "hunger" I experience on race week to get out there and let my body do it's thing. But my body and mind feel healthy. They feel strong and c...

Do you want the perfect life?  Life is not perfect. Healthy individuals get cancer, cyclists are an annoyance to drivers, employees who work less get paid more than you and when everything seems to be running smoothly, life happens and you feel unbalanced.  So what you can desire in life, is the ability to want the most out of your life. You can define your own definition of the perfect life by one that is consistent and involves a lot of hard work, growth and reflection.  Today I officially registered for the 2013 Ironman World Championship  in Kona Hawaii. This will be my 3rd experience on the big island, racing amongst the best (and most inspiring) age group and professional triathletes in the world. I will be arriving October 7th and departing October 15th. All the logistics of traveling are settled and all I have left to do is prepare my body and mind for my 7th Ironman. Nine weeks of another Ironman journey. Thank you body. One of my favori...

Did you know that we have over 50,000 thoughts a day? According to some research , the majority of our thoughts are negative. As a writer and a speaker, I feel my brain is on over-drive from the moment I get up until I go to bed. I am always thinking and some of my best thoughts come when I am working out as I feel the rush of adrenaline and blood flow helps my thought processes. I'm sure you don't think about all the thoughts that go through your head as many are silly, non important and meaningless. But others likely contribute to how you live your day and the choices you make throughout the day. For example, how many times have you been driving to work or on a road trip and in the other direction there is a crash or extreme traffic pile-up. You think to yourself "I am so glad that's not me!" As athletes and fitness enthusiasts, I am sure there are many times when you think to yourself "Why am I doing this?" but certainly it hasn't slowed you ...