Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

Enjoy my latest article on Iron Girl.com and don't forget to subscribe to the FREE Iron Girl e-newsletter!! Pre-race nutrition tips Marni Rakes, M.S. Are you a newbie triathlete, about to embark on your first triathlon? Aside from the fear of how your body will feel as you run your way to the finish line, race-day nutrition is certainly on your mind. Regardless of if you are a novice or a veteran, a well- practiced race-day nutrition plan is always a top priority when attempting to perform at your best. Ask any veteran triathlete and she will tell you race-day nutrition takes planning and practice. Most people say you must practice in training what you will do in a race. True to an extent, but rarely do you wake up at 4:30 a.m. to fuel for a 7 a.m. swim- bike-run workout at maximum heart rate with 500 to 1,500 of your closest friends. Unlike training, where you exercise at different intensities and for different sport disciplines depending on the day of the week, race day brings a ...

Sat morning I woke up very nervous for the 2.5 mile ocean swim. That's a lot of swimming in the ocean. Not sure what's worse to think about, 2.5 miles of swimming or an hour+ of continuous swimming. It was hard for me to eat a whole lot at 5:30am so I added a Wasa cracker w/ PB to my normal pre-bike breakfast of oatmeal, raisins, honey and banana slices. My friend Laura came over to my place and we loaded up our bikes in her car. I had to work out my training plans well before Sat so I could do my swim+long bike and make it home sometime before dark. We made our drive to Jacksonville beach, got our caps and chips and waited for the buses. At 7:30am we got bused 2.5 miles down the road on a school bus. Fun times with 100 nearly naked athletes in a school bus. This reminded me of high school swim meets, except we wore warm parkas to our swim meets. It sure took a while to drive 2.5 miles but finally we arrived to our starting point. A little after 8am it was time to line up on th...

More to come tomorrow..... Weekend stats Sat: 2.5 mile ocean swim - 1:08.03 101 mile solo bike - 5:27 Sun: 14 mile solo run - 1:55 + 1 campy mile I am trying to use whatever brain functions I have left to study 150 pages of fat soluble and water soluble vitamins for my Adv nutrition exam tomorrow. My finals are on Wed (medical therapy) and Fri (cumulative Adv. nutrition). Nothing like finals week + last IM training week. I think I can, I think I can, I know I can......

Tomorrow I have race. Finally..I need to get all this stress out of my system! 2.5 mile ocean swim at Jacksonville beach. I am ready to see where I am at. This worries me a bit because I know I will re-evaluate my training if I don't have a great time but that is what I do. I guess it makes me work harder but the time is running out. If anything, I can look back on all this IM training and feel confident that I did everything I could to stay balanced with my life and get my body strong for an IM. After the swim I will bike 112 miles. I promised myself that I would never train past 1pm on the weekend. That's just too much time to be out doing the "tri" thing because my mind would be spinning in circles of all of the homework, studying and reports that are due. Plus, I would miss Campy the whole time I was gone. I'm a very hard-working, type A person so I'm always on a schedule, with my to-do lists and I am a huge planner. Ask any of my friends (and Karel) and I...

TUNE INTO THE AFLAC IRON GIRL ATLANTA NBC BROADCAST Check out a preview... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxRjQArQKZE The broadcast of the third annual Aflac Iron Girl Atlanta Triathlon will air this Sunday, Aug. 2, from 2 to 3 p.m. ET on NBC Sports. (Check your local listings for additional details). The telecast will showcase a highly competitive professional field as well as a diverse group of athletes varying in age and fitness level. Viewers will watch stories of athletes who have overcome adversity, as well as gain inspiration from women who have adopted healthy, active lifestyles and more. The sold-out all-women's event brought more than 1,200 participants to Lake Lanier Islands Resort, located 45 minutes northeast of Atlanta, Ga., to compete in a 1/3-mile swim, 18-mile bike and 3-mile run. Featured in the broadcast: * 1st-place-finisher, Mirinda Carfrae, 28, AUS, (1:13:55): Carfrae is a multiple Ironman 70.3 champion, as well as the winner of the 2007 Ford Ironman World...

When I was young, my mom would make tofu-stuffed shells once a week. I LOVED the mix of the jumbo shells, marina sauce and cheese. I didn't really know what tofu was when I was young so I guess I didn't mind it. This recipe is perfect when you are looking for comfort food and you want to feel satisfied without a lot of carb calories. It is easy to overdo it when eating pasta since the feeling of fullness/satisfaction doesn't usually come until you've devoured at least 4 servings pasta and well over 800 calories. When was the last time you ate pasta at a restaurant? Did you have one of the following? Ruby Tuesday: Roma Chicken Alfredo Pasta - 968 calories, 43 grams fat Sbarro: Spaghetti with Chicken Parmesan - 930 calories, 36 grams fat Ruby Tuesday: Chicken Parmesan with Pasta - 1275 calories, 82 grams fat Buca Di Beppo: Macaroni Rosa (serves 2) - 2036 calories, 119 grams fat Romano's Macaroni Grill: Eggplant Parmesan - 1240 calories, 64 grams fat Olive Garden: Chic...