Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

  One race down, two to go.  We just completed the Whitewater Triathlon and one week later, we will participate in Gulf Coast 70.3. Six days later, we will race Xterra Oak Mountain.  Today we slept in and around 9am, we went for an easy ride. We left the house on our road bikes without a specific route in mind. We explored some different roads and made our way back to the house after around 2.5 hours. I ran an easy 38 minutes off the bike, listening to a podcast.  Although there is no one specific guideline, rule or method to speed the recovery after an endurance event, I feel it's important to walk you through some of the factors that contribute to your recovery time after an endurance event, some of the mistakes that athletes make when recovering from an endurance event and a few strategies to help you get back to good health after an endurance event. Why is race recovery important?  When training for an event, you welcome (and need) intentional and residual ...

On Saturday 5/4 we kicked off the first race in our racing block: 💫 Whitewater Off-Road Triathlon  (Charlotte, NC) 💫Ironman 70.3 Gulf Coast (Panama City Beach, FL) 💫Xterra Oak Mountain (Pelham, Alabama) Three races over three weeks. We define a racing block as 2+ races within a 4-ish week time frame. Although we've completed racing blocks in the past, this race block approach is unique in that we have been training on three different bikes (road, TT, mountain bike) and running on road and trail. Preparing for events with different skills, terrain and physiological demands has been fun for us as it adds variety to training and keeps our body and mind sharp. We love racing blocks as it is the culmination of several months of periodized training and intentional overload. Knowing that there won't be much "training" between each race, arriving to a racing block healthy, fit, strong and resilient is the goal. Within each race of the racing block, we will recover quickly,...

Carb loading is not an excuse to eat whatever you want in the days leading up to an event. Carb loading is a strategic method of consuming specific foods to help load muscle and liver glycogen stores. Over the past 50 years, a significant amount of research has shown the important role of glycogen for delaying fatigue in athletes competing in endurance and ultra endurance events. Glycogen is the storage form of carbohydrates. Glycogen is primarily stored primarily in the cells of the liver (~100g) and skeletal muscle (~500g). Skeletal muscles transform chemical energy to mechanical work. Glycogen is the body's predominant source of energy during moderate to high intensity activity. The depletion of muscle glycogen during endurance activity causes early fatigue. Carb loading should not be confused with calorie loading. Effective glycogen loading should be the result of emphasizing more energy-dense, carbohydrate sources and reducing fiber, protein and fat. As you can see from the a...

  We just finished 3 packed days of triathlon training in Greenville, SC. with eleven campers. Although we've been holding camps for the last 10 years, this camp was extra special as we only had primarily first-time Trimarni campers. This means fresh ears and eyes to absorb a lot of information and skills.  When triathletes hear the word "skills" they often think that this focus is for newbies or beginners. But we believe that you are never too good, too old, too young, too fast or too slow to improve. When athletes come to our camp, they leave tired. They put in a lot of work over 3 days. But the main focus of our camps is learning. Athletes can train hard at home but when they attend a training camp, we want to make sure that the athlete learns how to train better and race smarter.  We see it and hear it all the time. Triathletes don't have the best bike handling skills. Open water swimming is exhausting and triathletes struggle to translate their pool technique and...

For over 10 years, Karel and I have used hydration belts for every single outdoor run. It doesn't matter how short or long, a hydration belt is part of our running gear. And now that we are doing more XTRI and and off-road triathlon racing, it's been an easy transition to our self-supported events.        It surprises me how many athletes undervalue the many benefits of a hydration belt/pack. We have been long-time supporters of hydration belts (and packs) because we feel they bring so many great benefits to athletes when running outside. Sport usage of hydration packs, belts and bands Interestingly, hydration belt/pack acceptance is sport dependent. For example, hydration belts are not very popular among stand-along-runners and most refuse to wear them in training and racing. Furthermore, some races prohibit the use of bringing nutrition (belt/pack) with you on race day for safety reasons. In the ultra and trail running community, hydration packs are popular and wid...

  Healthy Eating -  A way of eating that maintains or improves overall health and makes you feel good. There is no one-size-fits-all definition when it comes to "healthy eating." While similar methods and ideologies may work for the masses, every individual is on his/her/their own nutritional journey. Depending on who you are, "healthy eating" could mean..... Making homemade almond milk, grinding your own nut butter, or picking produce from your home garden Only eating GMO-free and organic foods Not eating meat, dairy or fish Doesn't eat meat but eats dairy and fish Portion control Not eating out of boredom or emotions Not restricting food in order to prevent binge eating Eating enough to support training for a long distance triathlon Making nutrition changes to reduce the risk of a cancer recurrence Making nutrition changes because a disease runs in your family Practicing intuitive eating after overcoming a decade of disordered eating or an eating disorder ...

Representation Matters                 These are pictures from 2021 Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga. These pictures were taken on the same day, of the same body.  I share these pictures side by side as it's a reminder how the media and advertising has brainwashed athletes to believe that there is an ideal body type for sport. And without good self-esteem, body love and confidence, it becomes normal to be ashamed, embarrassed and disgusted by the body on the left. As a result, your body becomes something that you need to "fix" often through overexercising and undereating.  I came across this IG post from  Katie Moon   and it got me thinking about representation.  How many times have you been proud of your athletic performance or workout but ashamed of how your body looked? As a result, you didn't share the picture of yourself performing. Or, perhaps you blamed a poor athletic performance or workout on your body? Or, your awesome a...