Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

  We find it beneficial for our early season campers to participate in a race on the last day of camp. It's a great opportunity to dust of the rust in an early season race, applying everything learned from camp. Not surprisingly, every time we combine a race with a camp, our campers do incredibly well at the race. By removing any expectations or pressure to perform, our campers can simply focus on the small details while staying in the present moment. If only athletes could do this at the longer distance races and not get so overwhelmed by outcomes! 😁 We also find great value in doing a "short" distance race. For many long distance triathletes, short races become "not worth it" and are brushed to the side in favor of more training for half or full distance triathlon events. But in the short events, there's less breakdown and risk for setbacks alongside so many incredible opportunities to go through the motions and emotions that are experienced in long dista...

With so many training routes available to us in and around Greenville, SC. no two Trimarni camps are ever the same. With several returning athletes to our 2022 Early Season triathlon camp, we made sure to give our athletes new workouts, new routes and new experiences.  Every Trimarni camp includes the following:  -Safe run and cycling routes -Specific structured workouts (swim/bike/run) -Proper recovery and nutrition focus -Education -Specifically designed routes so that no one is too fast or too slow -Terrain management execution -Skills, technique and form focus -Race specific tips Our campers settled into Greenville, SC. on Wednesday afternoon/evening and we started our first day of camp bright and early on Thursday morning. The day before camp is always a bit hectic for me as I'm packing swag/goodie bags, printing off liability forms, triple checking the weather and pool reservations and answering any last minute questions from our campers. I always send out an itinerary b...

This morning we said good-bye to our master swim coach who has been instrumental in helping so many people around our area with their swimming fitness, while also sharing his contagious passion for swimming.  Bill - our masters swim coach - is leaving us in Greenville to be closer to family in the Midwest. 😢 For the last few years, having Bill on deck kept me accountable, having fun (I love social kick!) and working hard. Going into my 30th year of swimming, I’m still showing up to swim “practice.” I will often modify his sets depending on my training needs but he’s always there for on-deck coaching. I’ve had some of my best Ironman swim times over the past few years (first time breaking an hour at IM Kona without a wetsuit in ‘19 and going 55:43 at IM Lake placid last summer). I swim often and my sweet spot is around 3500-4500 yards 3-4 times per week. I don’t like being out of the water for more than a day. Bill has given me so many good cues to help my stroke/technique. He als...

  I consider myself to be a good cyclist. But it wasn't always this way. There was a time - not too long ago - that I was terrified to ride my bike on any type of road that resembled going downhill. I would squeeze my brakes and feel so unstable and this caused me to absolutely dread going downhill. Although I could have avoided going downhill by selecting races and routes that were flat, the problem was that I love climbing. And when it came to tight turns, switchbacks or roads where I couldn't see what was coming next, I would find myself frozen with fear, often with tears in my eyes. Pretty much, if the road wasn't going up or it was flat, I was freaking out.  When we moved from Jacksonville, FL. to Greenville, SC. I had no choice but to work on my bike handling skills. I was an experienced triathlete with really poor bike handling skills and this showed on our challenging terrain that is littered with punchy climbs, twists, turns and steep downhills.  With Karel havin...

  I can't remember when it happened but Karel told me he registered us for The Whole Enchilada MTB event at the Whitewater center in NC. I was excited for the opportunity to test my new skills (thanks Lon!)  and to use this event as a "long" training ride. Although the GPS shows 44 miles, the accurate distance (wheel measured) was 50 miles - which would be my longest ever MTB ride.  Earlier last week Karel and I went to the pump track in TR (a few miles away) and practiced some of our skills. While it feels like we are playing, there is some fear, discomfort and anxiety that is produced when practicing/learning new skills. I was proud of myself for finally getting the rhythm of "pumping" and conquering my steepest ramp. I struggled on some other areas but I know that I will be an ongoing work in progress. Karel is still struggling on the jumps as he is very fearful about crashing. I know he will get it one day but right now, his recent crash last May is still pr...

  Today is my dad's birthday. He would have been 75 years old.  I can't believe that I've lived the last 8 years without my dad in my life. I really don't know how I've made it this long as my dad was such an important person in my life. It also makes me sad that I don't have any pictures with my dad after the age of 31. It's just not fair.  I often wonder what he would think about my current lifestyle, my career and all the bikes we've accumulated over the past few years. I wonder what he would think about Greenville, SC. We had only been living here for a few weeks before he passed away after a 10-month fight with cancer. I wonder which one of our four cats would be his favorite :)  It's been a tough day today. I really miss him. I miss his advice, his stories and how proud he was of my accomplishments.  During my long run this morning, I couldn't help but think about my dad and what his passing taught me about life. I know that his death reall...

When it comes to self-image (the mental image that you have for yourself), it can fluctuate a lot from day to day, or even minute to minute. If you are having an awesome day or you crushed a hard workout, your perception of your body may be really good. You don't worry about what you eat and you carry on with your day with positivity and confidence. But if you are stressed and anxious, you made a mistake, had a bad workout/race or someone said something to you that made you feel less worthy, your self-image may become negative - which makes you feel fat. Additionally, during moments of high stress and anxiety, a preoccupation with your body is not uncommon. When things/life feel out of control, you may direct your focus to food and exercise as a coping mechanism. The next time you experience a "I feel fat" thought, give yourself space to get to the root of what triggered this misinterpreted feeling. As a reminder, diet culture has taught you how to use food to gain a feel...