Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

Feeling a bit more rested on day 3, we started the morning with an open water swim. I thought we were swimming in the Indian ocean (which would be a first for us) but it was the Atlantic. Still, the furthest south I've ever swam in the ocean. Prior to our trip to SA, I emailed a lady that I found online who was in charge of the local masters group. She connected me with the Gordon Bay Sea Swim group on WhatsApp so that I could stay up to date with all the local swims. An older gentleman (Gordon – appropriately named 😊) said he would meet me and Karel for a swim, along with Harold – the local legend who has completed over 100 English Channel and Robin Crossing swims. The water was a little cool (upper 60’s) but with the warm sun at 8:30am, it felt prefect in our Roka wetsuits. We swam to and back from the old harbor which was ~1000 meters away. When we got there, we could stand on the sand (low tide) and regroup. Gordon was very helpful in that he would tell us where to swim as it ...

As a triathlete, you must think like an open water swimmer. But before jumping into a large body of water, there are a few ways to help you stay safe and confident.               Open water swimming drills for the pool  Incorporating sighting can help strengthen your neck muscles for the open water. Swimming in one lane with 3-4 people abreast can reduce anxiety when swimming in a crowd. Treading water to start a lap (instead of pushing off the wall) can teach you how to quickly build momentum – similar to the start of a race.  If you have access to a pool without lane-lines (which are used to reduce turbulence), practice swimming in a straight line without using the black line to navigate you.  Because an elevated heart rate can cause breathing issues during the triathlon swim, try “deck-ups.” For this drill, you will swim one or two fast laps, quickly push yourself up and out of the water, touch an object (like a wall o...

It's National Triathlon Week! National Triathlon Week is an initiative created by USA Triathlon to celebrate multisport and all its constituency groups. "National Triathlon Week is a celebration of not only triathletes, but all members of the multisport community, including officials, coaches, race directors, families and friends of triathletes and more." On behalf of Triweek, I'll be sharing some information on each sport (swim, bike, run) to help you make the most of your triathlon training journey. If you are new to the sport (or thinking about training for a triathlon), I hope you find this information helpful.                                                  ------------------------------------------------- Without a doubt, a pool offers a very controlled, safe and consistent swimming environment. Add in 1000+ athletes in the open water ...

A year ago, we experienced something incredibly scary as we had a coached athlete suffer from SIPE (Swimming induced pulmonary edema) during the swim portion of IM 70.3 St. George. Thankfully, he survived. Other triathletes, sadly, have not been so lucky. He is an experienced and fit triathlete so this was a big shock for us all. The water temp was in the low 60's and he was wearing a wetsuit. He didn't have a warm-up in the water. After entering the water, he started out with his effort  and quickly felt tightness in his chest. He mentioned he felt a similar tightness (but not as severe) on the day before the race during a pre-race practice swim. He started to cough severely and noticed pink phlegm coming from his cough - he was able to get to a kayak to rest. He tried to swim to the next kayak but was getting weaker. He finally exited the water and went to medical. The med tent didn't take his BP after the event but he later followed up with his doctor. All was ok w...

As much as our campers love the entire 4-day camp experience, after day 2 , our campers tend to move a little slower, talk a little less and take a bit longer to warm-up. But that's ok - it's all part of the overloading process and it's much easier to suffer with friend/teammates.  We knew that our campers would be moving slow after the last two days of camp and Karel and I wanted to change up the scenery so that our campers did have to go into day 3 workouts with a "just get through it" mindset.  We are big proponents of changing up the scenery in our own training, especially when it comes to the final push before an endurance race. When training on the same roads all the time, we often need a mental boost to help keep us entertained to get out the door and to have quality workouts. It's no fun to just check off workouts to get them done so a new place to train can often be a welcomed reboot for the system.  Just an hour drive away ...