Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

On Sun evening I received an email from Karel... First sentence, 11 weeks until IMWI Next part of the email included dates for 3 weeks of build and 1 week recovery. The next part, 3 more weeks of build, 1 week recovery. Week 9 - last hard week Week 10 and 11 - taper 9/12/10 IRONMAN WISCONSIN So far, so good. Feeling great, no signs of "past injury" and feeling strong. Actually, stronger than ever before. Wouldn't you agree with me that the human body is amazing. I have always loved the body and the amazing things that it allows us to do on a daily basis but for much of my life, I really took for granted how sensitive the body is to every-day stress and daily habits. Growing up, I was always active with swim team. When I went to college at Transylvania University in my hometown of Lexington, KY. I majored in Exercise Science. I was president of the Exercise Science club, I was a personal trainer at the YMCA (in the summer) and taught spin classes and personal trained YMCA ...

I hope you enjoy my latest article from the FREE Iron Girl newsletter! Snack before you eat and control overeating Looking to improve your nutrition or change unhealthy eating habits? Try snacking before a meal, which can decrease hunger and help control caloric intake throughout the day. Individuals who plan balanced snacks between meals are likely to avoid the symptoms of low blood sugar, are better able to fuel and recover from exercise and appear more alert and productive at work, compared to those who go long hours without eating. Eating a 50- to 80-calorie snack before your next meal will set you up for a portion, calorie and craving-controlled meal. An optimal snack should include healthy fats, low-fat or lean protein and whole grains, in addition to fibrous fruits and veggies. As you snack on these nourishing foods, you'll find yourself eating and ordering more consciously and will feel better about what you put into your body. Most, if not all, active individuals will qu...

As you know, my background is in exercise physiology (Master degree in Exercise Physiology, Bachelor degree in Exercise Science/minor in psychology) so I feel really confident when it comes to coaching and understanding the adaptations that must be made in an effort to increase speed and power for optimal performance. Individual improvements are very relative. Because we all have different heart rates for different speeds, which causes us to metabolize fuels differently, it would be silly to say that a 9 min miler does not work as hard as a 7 min miler, just because the "faster" athlete finishes quicker than the "slower" athlete. Training must be individualized in an effort to experience performance gains and in an effort to avoid burnout, injury and unnecessary fatigue. Unlike any other event out there, except for the decathlon, triathletes do not just train for one sport. If you are a triathlete, or are considering the "triathlete" lifestyle, you realiz...

I missed my little ones

I remember all too well what it feels like to be a newbie. Considering that my first three triathlons (sprint, olympic and olympic) were on a Giant Hybrid bike (which I thought was the coolest bike EVER at the time) I was 100% newbie for my first year of calling myself a "triathlete". I think my swimming background allowed me to "succeed" in the sport as a newbie but looking back, WOW- I was such a horrible biker and so-not-worthy to even call myself a cyclist. That's ok - it didn't really matter to me if I sucked at cycling or running off the bike because I just loved the people at triathlons, the excitment, the finish line, the t-shirt and medal and the post-race soreness that lasted for at least a week. I just loved the experience and the lifestyle of swim-bike-run and never considered myself to be a die-hard competitive triathlete...that is, until I met Karel. Karel always told me that I was having too much fun at triathlons because I was always smiling...

Heading to Lake Lanier, GA today for Iron Girl Atlanta. Looking forward to the un-matched, Iron Girl experience. Nothing compares to racing with women and seeing pink EVERYWHERE! In addition to our 3 furry little ones, we have 3 fish tanks. Karel just re-did our 55 gallon fish tank and it looks beautiful. We have 2 other tanks and dozen of fish in them but we just love the personalities of our chichlid fish. Oscar (the giant one) likes to re-arrange the tank after Karel makes everything pretty. It's funny to see the tank completely different in the morning (usually with all of the plants and rocks on one side of the tank) because Oscar doesn't like anything in his way. Eventually we will get a bigger tank for them but for now, we only have so much room in our apartment. Enjoy the pics! *In my next life, I will be a fish. What a wonderful life to just swim all day....

Tomorrow Laura and I will be on the road for a 7 hour drive to Lake Lanier, GA. This will be Laura's first Iron Girl triathlon and I am so excited to share this experience with her and all of the other future Iron Girl newbies. Although this is a sprint triathlon and may be "short" in distance, there is nothing easy about this course. I have done this race for the last 2 years and both times I finished the race I was wondering if I really did a sprint triathlon? The 1/3 mile swim + 18 mile bike + 3 mile run is not easy and you need to have your climbing legs ready for this event. Sure, there are lots of climbs on the bike and the out and back run seems like it just goes up and never goes down but let me tell you about the swim. No, no hills during the swim but to get from the swim exit to transition you run up the most steep hill I have ever seen in my life! I will be speaking at the pre-race expo at 1pm. Please come if you are doing the race or live nearby. Rather than t...