Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

  We are approaching our last key events in our 2023 season. I will be participating in XTRI ICON on September 1st and Karel will be participating in Breck Epic on August 13th - 18th. These events will test us mentally and physically and we are excited (and nervous) for the unknown. If you'd like to learn a bit more about these events, I'll share some info about the events. You can also follow me on social media (Instagram and Facebook) as I will be sharing updates from Karel's race (and then Karel will share updates from my race).  KAREL: Breck Epic - Breckendridge, CO ~220-240 miles ~40,000 feet of vertical gain All stages start at ~9,600 feet Stage 1: Pennsylvania Creek, August 13th 35.7 miles, 5700 feet Stage 2: The Colorado Trail, August 14th: 42.5 miles, 6565 feet Stage 3: The Guyot Loop, August 15th: 40.5 miles, 7100 feet (crossing the Continental Divide twice) Stage 4: The Keystone Loop, August 16th: 42.3 miles, 6473 feet Stage 5: The Wheeler Loop, August 17th: 24....

  Blood analysis provides an opportunity to look inside your body, giving insights into your diet and training and their effects on performance and health.  When athletes consider blood testing, it's usually during a time of illness, a drop in performance or injury. In other words, it's done as a reaction to a physical setback. However, don't wait until it's too late.  Anytime you are about to experience a new type of stressor (ex. new training block, return to training after injury, overcoming an illness, approaching a significant increase in training volume, altitude training), a blood test can give you valuable information about your current state of health. The only way to know what's going on in your body is to test what's going on inside your body. Many times, early diagnosis of a condition is easier to treat before complications develop. Sadly, athletes will only consider blood testing when symptoms are significant - but at this point, health may be sever...

When someone expresses dietary struggles to me, I often hear responses like "I need to be more disciplined" or "I feel so out of control, I need to get back on track." While it's advised to adapt a nutritious diet for health reasons, eating healthier should never become rigid and extreme. And unless you adapt your eating in a way that honors your hunger, makes you feel satiated and aligns with your personal health and activity goals, you may find yourself with a lot of food-related guilt, shame, deprivation, and a feeling of failure from an unstainable style of eating. Signs that your eating style may be too strict include: watching the clock for permission to eat having an off-limit food list only eating conditionally (ex. reward food) developing a fear of "bad" foods avoiding social situations involving food feeling constant hunger difficulty focusing, headaches or lightheadedness avoiding foods that you enjoy eliminating food groups or certain food...

  Are you struggling with any of the following during your workouts? Low energy Slow recovery Dehydration Early fatigue Low blood sugar Hunger GI issues A quality training session begins with the daily diet. If you are going long hours without eating, restricting carbs, ignoring your hydration needs and/or not planning well-balanced meals or snacks, you will struggle to perform to your potential. As a result, you may blame sport nutrition products or seek supplements to "fix" an issue that started well before you began your workout. Because it's a lot easier to fuel and hydrate a body at rest than it is during exercise, take advantage of the many hours when you are not training to maximize your glycogen stores, provide your body with adequate calories, vitamins and minerals, supply your muscles with protein and meet your hydration needs. A body that is well-hydrated and fueled going into a workout will outperform a body that begins a workout in a compromised state. 

🧂More sodium isn't the solution to your struggles in the heat and humidity. Around this time of the year, I often receive many emails from athletes struggling with sport nutrition while training/performing in the heat and humidity. With good reason, dehydration is a major contributor to health, performance and GI issues. As a result, many athletes believe that they need to consume more sodium during exercise. While sodium is important, high heat and humidity lead to two major problems in the exercising body: 1) increased core body temperature and 2) dehydration Interestingly, the athletes struggling the most (ex. vomiting, cramping, stomach pains, nausea) are already consuming a lot of sodium!   For those who constantly obsess over sodium, it's important to understand the basics of sweat: 💦You do not lose salt without fluid. 💦Sweat is hypotonic (water loss is greater than solute loss). 💦To effectively rehydrate during exercise, you need sodium and carbs to help with the abs...

We just returned from a week-trip to Bend, Oregon. We followed that up with a few days in Salem to support our athletes at Oregon 70.3. Oregon is known for an outdoorsy lifestyle and we witness this first-hand during our recent trip to Bend. As it relates to living an active lifestyle, one thing was evident – the way in which communities and streets are designed. How many times do you commute, run an errand or go somewhere that is less than 5 miles away? How many times do you drive a few miles in order to start a workout? How often do you ride a bike, other than for exercise? There’s a good chance that you will say that it’s not safe to ride a bike where you live or to where you need to go. In many states, the prevalence of physical activity is higher in places where there is little to no access to safe or convenient places to be active – like community parks, sidewalks or trails. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease and Control), common barriers to physical activity include lack...

Pre-Race I was a bit nervous going into the High Cascades 100. We had reconned the back half of the course but the first ~45 miles were all new trails for me. The routes in Bend are incredible. Over 900 miles of single track MTB trails! But the conditions are very different to what I am used to – sandy, jagged pointy rocks and loose dirt. I was also nervous about the start of the race and having 350+ athletes to navigate around going into the single track. I prepared my bottles the night prior and got 2 bags ready for the bag drop (aid station ~45 and ~81). I used a 1.5L plastic water bottle for my hydration pack (either INFINIT Fructose 360 calories/hr or Never Second C30 Berry, 360 calories per bottle/hr) and a sport bottle of Mexican coke (diluted with water). I started with my USWE hydration pack with INFINIT Fructose and a bottle of Never Second C30. I also carried a Power Bar, PB Clif Bar, Power bar chews, Gu aminos and a Never Second Gel. We woke up at 3:45am and ate our normal...