Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

This body is not disappointing me despite pushing it to higher limits and challenging workouts. Thanks coach Karel! Today's workout was a breakthrough. I owe it to two great recovery days last week (Mon off, Tues 3000 recovery swim) and a balanced training plan since IM Lake Placid that has allowed my body to train hard but recover harder. I still don't forget that I didn't run for 90 days in Feb  - April but I thank my body constantly. Sometimes I even do it out loud.  Wednesday - UNF masters swim team (joined Karel who has really benefited from this group and Coach Mel's assistance with his stroke) Main set: 100 fast, 50 EZ 2 x 100 fast, 50 EZ 3 x 100 fast, 50 EZ 4 x 100 fast 50 EZ The goal was to get faster with the fast as the set went on (2 minute cycle) but to be consistent. I really woke up my fast twitch fibers and oh boy was my body filled with lactic acid. I went from 1:16 to holding 1:14 on the last 4 and I was done after that. Whewww. ...

With so much nutrition advice available, how do you know what to believe?  For example, my friend Jason  asked me if I heard about Almased, not because he was interested in it but because he was shocked at the diet plan and that it was endorsed by a Registered Dietitian (RD). So, if a MD and RD recommend Almased, does that mean that you should use the product to lose weight and follow the diet plan?  At the beginning, you only drink vegetable broth, water and three Almased ® shakes per day. For each “meal”, eight level tablespoons of Almased ® with cold water (bottled or filtered) or milk (skim, unsweetened almond or soy). The weight loss during this phase may be higher than for the rest of the diet. You can stay in this Starting Phase for a couple of days or up to 2 weeks if you feel good. Then you begin the Reduction Phase, during which you replace two meals (preferably breakfast and dinner) with an Almased ® drink and eat one healthy meal. This phase l...

Every day we go to bed with happy tummy's  and wake up with a body that is energized and ready to train and have a great day. We owe it all to real food that fuels our active lifestyle and keeps our immune system healthy and our brain thinking clearly.  No matter how many legs you have in the Sumbal house, we all love real food.  I created the plant strong meal for Karel  (see below - my entire dinner) and he finished it off with Kuřecí řízek (chicken schnitzel) and local sourdough fresh bread. Nothing like European food that brings memories from home.  So simple yet so delicious. Frozen mixed veggies with fresh mushrooms and sliced onions sautéed in olive oil with toasted quinoa and brown rice. I can't believe my 21 year plant strong diet is gearing me up for my seventh Ironman in 32 days. Yay for real food that makes my tummy and body happy. And for my little furry child who is not a fan of any type of dog food (we've tried so many!), even...

My legs were tired, it was hot and humid, the wind was blowing and I was riding behind Karel on his new Speed Concept. 33 days until Kona and I think I just finished one of my hardest training blocks ever. Thank you BODY! -Sunday's workout- 5 hour ride + 15 min run Bike: 1 hour warm-up, building to 10 watts below IM pace (legs took a while to warm-up thanks to the stress I placed on my body from Saturday's 3:15 bike + 9.5 mile run). 35 min IM pace w/ 5 min EZ Main set 3x's: 35 minutes @ Half IM pace (watts) w/ 4 minutes in between (see below of details of this set) Steady riding upper Z2 until finished Total hours: 4:58 Miles: 99.3 15 min run off the bike (RPE 75-80%, ended up holding 8-8:15 min/miles) Since Karel is training for a half IM (Miami 70.3 in the end of October), his training is a bit different than mine right now. He ran 1 hour before the bike and then joined me on my 2nd interval. After I did 35 minutes of riding at my IM pace and then ...

Over the years, my training has changed tremendously. I wasn't sure how to approach the training as an endurance athlete so I followed the crowd and trained twice a day, long workouts on the weekends and dreaded the recommended "off" day on Monday.  It worked for my first Ironman, so I decided that if more is better, I should do even more than before. However, I became injured and extremely fatigued for my second Ironman and now I pay for that race (2007 Ironman World Championship) a few times every year since. With Karel's thinking outside the box, we have adapted a philosophy of "train hard, recover harder". Training is periodized so that we peak at the right time and training stays balanced with life. Every workout has a purpose, there are no junk miles and we have fun seeing progress. Sometimes there are off days but there are a lot of great days. The off days finish with the mindset that we accomplished something that we almost didn...

So there was a lot going on this past week, hence the lack of blogging. BUT life is continuing to move forward and no day is being wasted. I have lots to catch up on via the blog but for the mean time, how about an old Iron Girl article of mine regarding nutrition when traveling for a race. Enjoy!! In route to Kona, (Honolulu airport) for the 2011 Ironman World Championship. TRAVEL TO RACE: Nutrition Tips Pertaining to nutrition, the overall mission of an Iron Girl athlete is to develop a healthy relationship with food. Although body composition goals are often primary reasons for embarking in the Iron Girl lifestyle, longevity, performance gains and a commitment to keeping your body healthy are top priorities when creating lifelong, practical dietary habits. For the nutrients that you put into your body will help fuel your fitness routine as well as reducing the risk for disease or illness. If you prioritize heart-healthy choices on an everyday basis, you shou...

 To cap off three quality days of training, Karel and I joined a group ride in the Clearwater/New Port Richey area (while visiting my family) to see our second family - the Gearlink Cycling team. Karel and I were set up on a group ride in 2006 on my birthday and we are so lucky to have them all in our life. What great people.....who also taught me how to enjoy riding my bicycle! After a 4:15 ride (with around 60 minutes or so with the 80+ rider fast group ride), it was time to cool off in the pool with my favorite furry friend. My latest article from Iron Girl has to do with a few tips on recovering from an event to ensure that your hard work during a race does not leave you sore, depressed or injured after the race. Enjoy! Recovering From Your Event By Marni Sumbal, MS, RD, LD/N Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition, LLC No matter how hard you push, there is stress on the body (emotional, physical and mental) during racing. Since it takes a long time for the body...