Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

  Over the past few weeks I've been progressing gradually with my run fitness. I'm not training with a specific race day pace goal in mind but instead, I'm training to become a stronger runner. A lot of variables contribute to running well off the bike and frankily, it really comes down to not getting injured. Running is corrosive and it brings a great risk for injury. I've been thankful that my body has not had a setback since August 2019 and for me - someone who has had a rocky relationship with running - that is a big deal. When I eased back into running after my short off-season break, I focused primarily on easy running with good form. I incorporated a lot of walk breaks in my runs to help reset form and neuromuscular firing (communication with the brain and muscles) and finished some of my runs with hill strides (10-15 seconds uphill w/ walk down) to activate the posterior chain and for leg turnover. After a few weeks of frequent running, I continued with easy run...

Over the past 14 years as a triathlete, my body has experienced a wide variety of run workouts. Without getting into too much detail, I've learned that some workouts build confidence, some workouts don't carry over to performance improvements, some workouts increase the risk for injury and other workouts are really beneficial to the demands of triathlon. Becoming a better at running off the bike is much more than training for speed or distance or accumulating weekly running miles. Proper run training means you must think like a triathlete and not like a runner.  If you think about the sport of triathlon - specifically any distance at and above the Olympic distance - the sport is all about resisting fatigue. Speed is relative to the distance.  One of the most important physiological components of successful triathlon racing is resiliency. The stronger and more efficient you are, the easier it is to resist fatigue. Training to improve your 5K or half marathon t...

Well, Mother Nature did her thing and took us by surprise with a few cold, snowy days earlier this week. But the snow was not worth complaining about as it was beautiful while it lasted and come the weekend, we opened our house windows as it was 60+ degrees!  Since the snow had melted around our area come Friday evening, we were so excited to venture outside for a few hours of road biking on Saturday morning. Since we ride on very quiet country roads, where we see more farm animals than cars, we had to negotiate a few sections where the snow had not yet melted. Karel has the skills to ride thru anything but I didn't take any risks and I got off my bike and walked through the icy sections. Three hours and 35 minutes later, we covered around 4300 feet of elevation gain and finished the workout with a 25 minute/3.2 mile hilly run (Karel ran 35 minutes - 5 miles). In the evening, I did my typical PM run for added running frequency but this time it was a short treadmill run for onl...

Ask me to train at an aerobic effort for several hours and I will gladly say yes please. My body was  trained/built for endurance and I love going the distance. As for intense workouts, they scare the heck out of me! Sprint - no thank you! Whenever my heart beats out of my chest, I can hardly catch my breath and my body aches, I feel so incredibly uncomfortable, my first thought is to lower the intensity or just give up. There have been countless times when I was training with Karel and I tell him "I can't do this, I need to give up" (or think those things in a race) and by simply saying this outside, I immediately call myself out on my negative thinking and stay persistent until I finish what I started. I have learned that if you want to excel in something, you have to step outside of your comfort zone and do the things that you are not good at (or what scares you). Nothing great will come from always doing what you are great at. As it relates to training/working out,...

Over the past few weeks, I have noticed a significant improvement in my running speed at longer distances. While I haven't done any specific speed work in my training this season, I often find myself finishing a run workout saying "wow, I can't believe I just did that." I am not chasing pace, heart rate or miles but instead, I am defining a successful run workout by execution at this point in my season development. Seeing there are many ways to guide and improve performance, identifying limiters and addressing weaknesses, I find that chasing metrics brings me great stress as gadgets have a way to rule a workout. Additionally, when a gadget/metric controls a workout, it's easy to chase numbers and to assume that fitness is not "good" when numbers are lower/slower than anticipated. A workout is simply that. A workout. It doesn't define a season and it doesn't mean that you are destined to have a bad race if you don't hit your expected ...

It's crazy to think that this is my 11th year of endurance triathlon racing and for the last five years, I have been sharing it with Karel as my training partner. We have had highs and we have had lows but that's all to be expected when you are a competitive athlete, always wanting to give your best, stretch your comfort zone and push your limits.  Over the past few years, I have learned that it requires a lot of work and time to see performance improvements, so I am never quick to assume that my training is or isn't working. I continue to focus on the process and with so much gratitude to my strong and healthy body, no workout is taken for granted. Some workouts are so-so, some I want to quickly forget and others go into my memory bank to be remembered on race day.  I've also learned that time goals, paces and watts are not worth chasing nor is a specific body image, but instead, I must continuously focus on something more subjective and meaningful to keep...

I'm sending a big thank you to my body for giving me another week of quality training. I never take a day of training for granted. It's been 3 years and 8 months since I've last been injured and 10 years since I've had a cold/sickness. Not a day goes by that I don't thank my body for letting me do so much with it. The overall training volume hasn't changed a lot over the past few months but I've noticed a bit more intensity throughout the week lately. I've worked hard to build a strong foundation since starting my training back in late October so my body is responding well to the added training stress.  On Wednesday morning I had a tough hill run workout. Although the intense intervals only totaled 8 minutes, it was a leg burner and cardio stressor.  For 20 minutes, I ran EZ on some of my favorite roads around where I live, which included no shortage of hills. After listening to a Facebook LIVE 75-minute educational chat with running exp...

It's hard to believe that we will be racing in about 8 weeks at the conclusion of our Clermont training camp . We have been putting in some good work training indoors over the past few weeks due to the cooler temps and rainy days but with the weekend forecast looking good, we gathered up the crew for a Saturday long ride. Exploring Greenville on two wheels was on the training agenda and we took full advantage of our nicer weather!  But first, a Friday swim workout for me and Karel to leave the arms heavy all day.  MS: 30 x 100's at 85% on 1:28 cycle.  Whew...that was a long swim requiring a lot of focus and energy!  Karel swam with his buoyancy shorts (which have helped him out a lot with his swimming development) and paddles so he was much faster than me. He did his 100's on a 1:26 cycle!  As for the rest of Friday, after working all day, I had my teeth cleaned at the dentist (yay for healthy teeth and gums!), stopped at th...

After Ironman Austria, Karel wasn't sure if he would ever be able to go that hard in a race again. With only 8 weeks between IM Austria and IMMT, Karel was able to fully recover from IM Austria (thanks to his mom's cooking and lots of IPA and pastries) and return home with excitement to train again to achieve his season goal of Kona qualifying. At IMMT, Karel went "there" again for 140.6 miles. After Kona qualifying at IMMT, Karel was extremely sore and once again, he questioned if he had anything left for a third Ironman, within 15 weeks. But after quickly physically recovering from IMMT, his body was in a good place to train again. And most importantly, his mind was in a really good place. Not only was Karel excited to race on the big island for the 2nd time but he was excited to train for 5-6 more weeks before dropping down the volume before IM Kona. There are several things that Karel has done right this season which has helped him take his fitne...

I love running on the treadmill and I love cycling on my indoor bike trainer. Perhaps my love of indoor "stationary" workouts comes from following a black line for 25 yards in for 23+ years as a competitive swimmer. I enjoy being able to control my workout when I train indoors and to minimize all outside influences like terrain, traffic, wind and cold/hot weather. But I also love training outside as this is the best environment for me to mentally and physically prepare for my upcoming races. It's easy to make excuses when it comes to weather and available time to train (morning and night) so for me, I always seek the best environment for a quality workout. Sometimes it is indoors and sometimes it is outdoors. At time in the year, most of my workouts are indoors - but as soon as it gets warmer, it's hard for me to stay indoors to train. I love the sun and the heat!   Karel, on the other hand, will make every attempt to train outside, as much as possible...

As I mentioned in my last blog, recovery nutrition is important in the foundation phase, as it will help to kick-start the recovery process soon after your workout is complete. But you do not have to be super scientific and strict with what, how much and when you eat. Remember -  recovery is everything and anything that happens between two workouts and right now in your season, you want to create eating habits that make your body feel good all day long, so that you can maintain a consistent training regime (balanced with your busy lifestyle). By working on your  daily diet right now, you will set yourself up for great eating habits later on in your season when your training volume and intensity increase.   Here are three recovery meals that kept me training consistently last week. (I had a pre-workout carbohydrate snack before all workouts and water during the workouts) Swim Workout:  400 swim 400 buoy Pre set: 8 x 50's kick w/ fins (on back). 10 sec res...