Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

This past weekend Karel and I watched " The Swimmers " on Netflix. We love watching true story documentaries, especially with a sport focus. Words can't describe how powerful this movie was to watch. It brought back some uncomfortable emotions and memories from Karel who immigrated to the US over two decades ago.  The film is based on the true story of 17-year old Yusra and 20-year old Sara who left their home and family in Syria to travel to Germany due to the escalation of the Syrian civil war. Yusra was determined to make the 2016 Rio Olympics as a swimmer, with the support and coaching from her father. Germany would give her the opportunity to pursue her (and her fathers) dream. The 25-day journey from Syria to Germany involved airplanes, boats, lots of walking, buses and taxies.  The film shows the many obstacles and struggles of being a refugee. Although swimming is the reason why the sisters left Syria, this movie shows the complicated lives that people from around...

  When I first heard about the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Blue Ridge in 2020, I was intrigued by the possibility that this race would feature a challenging bike course. When the bike course details described an "epic five-mile climb on Route 43 to the Blue Ridge Parkway entrance" and that "Athletes will experience breathtaking views of the valley, as they ride and descend 21-miles of completely closed roads" I couldn't stop thinking about the race. I love challenging race courses as the accomplishment is in the adventure to get to the finish line. My most memorable long distance races have all been on really hard courses. I've raced in St. George many times, I love IM Lake Placid, IM Austria and IM Wisconsin and I have also completed IM 70.3 St. Croix and IM 70.3 Branson  (two very tough bike courses - both events are now retired from the IM 70.3 race circuit).  Where I live, the terrain is extremely technical. There's a lot of climbing, descending, twists a...

For many people, November begins the season of gratitude. Starting with Thanksgiving - whcih literally has THANKS in the name, it's important to ask yourself how often do you thank your body? Learning to quiet the body bashing and negative body thoughts is not easy. The mental picture you have of your body is constantly compared to an image of what you think you should look like. This is due to the social impact of body image. Seeing images over and over again is linked to poor body image and feelings that your own body is not normal. As a result, you may shame, criticize and hate certain parts of your body.  Body image refers to how you see your body. What you believe about your appearance, how you feel about your body and how you move, nourish and use your body.  Gratitude is the expression of appreciation for what one has. It involves being thankful.  The human body is incredible. Just think about all your body can do and has done for you - crossing finishing lines, br...

The holiday season is here and it's filled with family, friends and.....food.  Without a doubt, food is a significant component of every holiday. For anyone who suffers from an eating disorder or an unhealthy relationship with food and the body, this can be a challenging time of the year.  You may not realize it but the holidays bring several triggers that could lead to disordered eating and exercising behaviors. Often times, stress, overwhelm, people pleasing, travel, toxic relationships/family members, uncomfortable conversations and finances can bring on uncomfortable feelings. In order to lessen those emotions, it's easy to resort to food restriction (or dieting). And with restriction often comes binge eating. Overeating from time to time does not mean that you have a binge eating disorder. Fundamentally, binge eating is different from overeating.  Signs and symptoms of binge eating include:  Eating a large amount of food in a short period of time (ex. over 2 ho...

I love the heat and humidity but there's something about winter riding that soothes my soul and sharpens my mind. It's as if the cooler it gets outside, the more excited I get to go outside for a bike ride. I was not always this way - it took me several years to learn how to dress appropriately for cold weather riding but as the saying goes "there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing." Where we live in Greenville, SC. the weather can be unpredictable. Luckily, we are never too cold for too long and it rarely snows. While this is a great thing for year-round outdoor cycling, it does make it tricky for what to wear.  As an example, in the past two weeks, we have enjoyed a variety of weather for a variety of outdoor rides.  Warmish 2-hour afternoon gravel ride. Private skills session with our athlete Diane.  9:30am, 3hr group ride. Started off foggy, stayed cloudy, got warm and then cooler again.  Very cold 3.5 hour mountain bike ride.  Sunny sky, cold...

Gastrointestional issues are very common among endurance athletes. Complaints are usually dividing into two categories - upper GI and lower GI.  Most athletes are familiar with lower GI issues - gas, loose stool, urge to defecate, diarrhea, abdominal cramping. I've written several articles on the topic of GI issues but most of the gastrointestinal issues I discuss involve the lower GI tract. In working with hundreds of endurance athletes on race day nutrition, the common culprits of lower GI issues include dehydration and concentrated or poorly applied sport nutrition consumption. I find this area fairly straightforward when it comes to prescribing well-formulated sport nutrition products to minimize or alleviate lower GI issues on race day.  When it comes to upper GI issues in endurance athletes, like belching, vomiting, reflux/heartburn, trouble swallowing and bloating, this area has been more challenging to fix. What makes it so difficult is that most of the athletes ...

  There's a good chance that you don't drink nearly as much water as you should in the cooler months. During the summer, it's easy to tell when you are dehydrated. In the winter, you may not actively recognize your current hydration status. But there is still a need for water. Don't let the cooler temps fool you in thinking you are hydrated when you are really dehydrated.  As mentioned in my book  Essential Sports Nutrition :  Water plays a vital in many important roles within your body and you simply can’t survive without it. Water transports glucose, oxygen, and fatty acids through your blood to working muscles. Water eliminates metabolic waste products such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid in the form of urine. Water absorbs heat from your muscles, during exercise, and dissipates it through sweat via the skin, ultimately regulating body temperature.  Water helps digest food through saliva and gastric secretions. Water lubricates joints and cushions organs an...