Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

                                        I love blueberries. I can easily go through a carton a day in the summer. But now that it is late September (insert tear), local fresh blueberries won't be stocked on the grocery store shelves until next blueberry season (which runs from April to late September). But if you are a blueberry lover like me, we can continue to get our fix in the frozen food section. Yay for frozen blueberries! If you are concerned that frozen fruits and veggies are not as nutritious as their fresh counterparts, I have great news for you. When fruits and veggies are picked and frozen at peak ripeness, they retain a comparable nutrient profile compared to fresh. And if you consider where most fruits and veggies come from (often on the other side of the world), frozen fruits and veggies can actually retain more nutrients when they are frozen compared to fresh. To optimize ...

Although exercising in a group environment - especially in a confined, indoor facility - is still risky due to the COVID-19 pandemic, staying active is extremely important. We are very fortunate to have an incredible aquatic center just 15 minutes away from where we live. Although not as close as the Furman pool (where we used to swim - just 2 miles away), it's the best option for us since the Furman campus has remained closed to the public since March.  With no lane reservations (or time limits) and plenty of room to spread out (20 lanes!), we are grateful to swim - especially with our athletes/friends.  Today we had a tough but fun swim - the perfect workout for suffering with others. The total workout was 4000 yards. Here's the main set:  MS:  7 x 100 on 1:30 3 x 200 paddles/buoy on 2:55 5 x 100 on 1:30 2 x 200 paddles/buoy on 2:55 2 x 100 on 1:30 1 x 100 all out This set can be modified in many different ways, and the cycle can be adjusted, so that swimmers of al...

  Karel and I have a unique marriage. We work together, train together, live together and travel together. Although we have a lot in common, we are also very different. But like any relationship, each person evolves overtime and you learn how to live with one another, and for one another.  Over the past 14 years, I continue to make a big deal of Karel’s birthday - he could care less about becoming one year older. Although getting older can be rough (he reminds me every day how "old" he feels), it’s a beautiful thing when you can add another year to life and grow older with someone that you love. Through every setback, tear, heartache and fear, Karel has a unique ability to turn my worries into laughter. If you ever get to spend a few minutes with Karel, you'll quickly realize that he has an extraordinary sense of humor. He is also never afraid to speak his mind. Athough Karel's personality makes him one of a kind, he will constantly go out of his way to help others. H...

  The end of September is always a busy time for us. Over the past few years, we are putting in the final prep for the Ironman World Championship or preparing for some other type of Ironman. We've always wanted to participate in the Upstate Charity Splash but it has never worked out in our schedule. And then 2020 happened. All of our races were cancelled and 2020 became the year of new opportunities.  Since the open water swim event was not cancelled, we made sure to take advantage of the event this year. The swim is located at beautiful Lake Jocassee, which is one of our absolute favorite places to open water swim. The water is clean, never too hot and the panoramic mountain views are stunning. There are boats but they never get in our way as the lake is very wide and the side closest to the shore (to the left of the pic below) is designated to swimming, camping (on land), kayaking and SUP.  Although the event sold out (which it does every year due to the lake having a m...

  The avocado is a stone fruit that has a creamy texture. It grows in tropical climates. Unlike most fruits that are rich in carbohydrates, the avocado fruit has a high content of fat. It may seem strange but there was a time when American's weren't familiar with the avocado. It took some time and a lot of great marketing for the avocado to become popular in the USA.  Over the past 15 years, American's have fallen in love with avocados. This fruit has become so popular that according to  statista.com , nearly 2.6 billion pounds were consumed by Americans in 2019.  Although once a rare treat, avocados can be purchased year round at local grocery stores and are on most restaurant menus and are featured in many fast food chains. At this point, most people have come to expect it as a given that no matter where you eat, you can find a dish with avocado. More so, people are willing to pay between $6-$18 for sliced (or smashed) avocado on a piece of a bread! According to CN...

  1.5K Swim Marni: 24:38  Karel: 25:14 With the time trial start and small participant list, the water never felt crowded. I was able to swim through a small group of athletes who started ahead of me and soon after the first buoy, I found myself swimming alone. I was passed by a few speedy swimmers and tried to stay on their feet but wasn't able to swim at their speed. I'd call this more of a half ironman effort as I felt like I was swimming strong but the effort was very familiar to me as it's what I know from endurance racing. Karel passed me in the first few hundred yards but I was able to pass him back as I always build my swims on race day. I felt myself getting stronger as the swim went on but couldn't find another gear to pick up the speed.  The water temp was warm but since it was raining, it never felt hot but instead, just perfect. There were a few buoys on the course but as I was swimming back to the shore, I couldn't sight the finishing arch. I kept look...

  Pre-Race I had all the normal nerves going into the event. It was a welcomed experience to feel these emotions as I hadn't felt them since last October at the 2019 Ironman World Championship. Eleven months without racing felt like an eternity but one thing felt familiar.....I was super excited to race.  Since Karel and I registered for this event around two weeks ago, we didn't have any expectations for this event. There was no Olympic specific training. As endurance athletes, our strength is being great at not slowing down. Fast is relative but we certainly didn't feel "fast" going into this event. Not having expectations helped to eliminate any pressure that we needed to prove something at this event.  The day before the event was a normal day. We both went out for a pre-race workout (~45 min interval bike followed by a ~20-minute run) and then went straight into work mode. Since the event was only ~1:15 away, we opted to stay at home and head to the race venu...