Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

  All things relative, we slept much better after stage 2. It was nice knowing that we didn't have to drive to the start of stage 3 - the finish of stage 2, lodging and start of stage 3 was all in the same area. We "slept in" until 5:30am and made our way to the swim start around 6:45am. Because we were so exhausted after stage 2 (93 miles of racing) that we didn't prepare as much as we should have after the race so we felt a bit more scattered and busy on the morning of stage 3. Al was a huge help as he packed up the car for us so that we could have a little more time to get ourselves ready in the morning.  I failed to mention that going into the race, there was a chance that the event was going to be cancelled (or modified) due to hurricane Eta. Thankfully, the hurricane changed direction but it did leave Crystal River, FL (stage 1) with a bit of debris on the road (and trails). The weather could not have been more perfect during our event (no rain and in the upper ...

When we arrived to the transition area at Hunter Springs in Crystal River, it felt like any other triathlon. Although there were only 17 participants, the atmosphere felt familiar. There was music, spectators (crew for each athlete), an announcer, lots of signage, rules to follow, race volunteers and staff, and a fenced in transition area. While this event was technically called a "gathering," it felt really good to be showing up to a triathlon race - especially after a season of cancelled races.  After setting up our transition area and turning in our run gear bag to the race staff (for them to bring to T2 - which was ~102 miles away in Ocala), it was almost time for the national anthem, followed by the athlete pre-race meeting. The energy around us was positive and there was a strong sense of camaraderie among the group. We instantly felt like we were all part of a family.  2 mile swim Karel and I lined up near the front on the grassy/sandy shore and exactly at 7:30am, the ...