Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

  What's your favorite indulgence? I'm indifferent to ice cream, chocolate, cakes and cookies but when it comes to cinnamon rolls, banana bread or soft salty pretzels, I can't resist.  There's nothing wrong with having a comfort food. A comfort food is something that makes you feel good - it brings you comfort. Comfort foods have a strong psychological link - reducing loneliness, improving mood and possibly connecting you with childhood memories. Interestingly, comfort foods aren't connected only to emotions. For many, comfort foods are consumed because you feel you deserve a treat. Or, perhaps it's because you survived a long day or accomplished a physical feat. Maybe it's because you are celebrating a special occasion or having fun with friends. And sometimes comfort foods are turned to out of habit - without any rhyme or reason.   Sadly, comfort foods don't always bring positive emotions - sometimes they bring great shame, anxiety and guilt. Learning ...

  As an athlete, you may not realize how much your thoughts influence your actions.  How you think about your body matters. As I begin a new style of training for my upcoming events, I am focused on two things from my body - strength and health. But well before I decided to take on the new challenge of XTRI (think Ironman distance but more extreme weather conditions, elevation and terrain), I've always focused on developing a strong body in motion. In our body image and appearance obsessed culture that has encouraged us to place too much importance on how we look, I want to make it clear that a 'strong' body is NOT a look. Strength is something you feel. It's an action. It's not a look, a size, shape or number. The reason for this is because your body is functional....it's not an object.  When you think about or see your body and your mind immediately focuses on your flaws, what you wish looked differently or what you feel you need to fix, you are objectify...

I was really looking forward to my Saturday workout. A long ride followed by a brick run. I hadn't ridden with a group in a few weeks so I was really excited to join my friends for their 80-mile route.  Karel participated in the  South East Gravel Battle of Sumter Forest Race . This race was his first gravel race of many this year. Karel is preparing for the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder 5-day stage race in June so every race prior is a learning opportunity. Karel spent much of Friday tinkering with his bike to get it race ready. Karel's race started at 9am and I left for my ride around 8am.  Although I had a great ride, Karel's race didn't go as well. He experienced an issue with his tubeless valve that got loose in the first gravel section of the ride. While he was able to fix it within a few minutes, he was dead last as the pack of riders flew by him with the downhill start. The gravel conditions are super rough to start this race and the valve must have bounced itsel...

Trigger warning. This post talks about dieting, weight and body image. You may have noticed that your wardrobe changes from season to season. Warm weather often means less or lighter clothing compared to the layers that keep you warm in the winter. Although we are still a few months away from summer, it's worth the discussion of how your body image impacts a warm weather getaway. If you struggle with body image issues, you may find yourself hyper aware of your body in anticipation for your upcoming vacation. You may fear wearing a swimsuit or having your photo taken. You may worry about systemic fatphobia issues during travel and begin to internalize messages that your body isn't good enough. You may begin to "body check" things like your weight, size or shape. You may suddenly begin to compare yourself to other people, likely making you feel inadequate. Anytime you feel heightened awareness of your body, you may feel the urge to diet or overexercise in order to chan...

Preparing for a triathlon is much more than registering for a race and training to improve fitness. Sport nutrition plays an important role in race day readiness. Whether you are traveling to compete in a full distance triathlon or participating in a local sprint triathlon, dialing in your race day nutrition is key.How you fuel during a race primarily depends on the duration of the event, the weather and your racing intensity. No matter your experience, proper fueling will help you maximize your performance without compromising your health. While you may be able to get away with a haphazard sport nutrition strategies (or not fueling at all) during your workouts, an enjoyable race day means avoiding these common performance limiters - extreme fatigue, cramping, dehydration, gastrointestinal issues. Because proper sport nutrition should be part of your training and not something you only do a few times per month (or in the two weeks before your race), I'm providing some easy 'get...

  We had a really great night of sleep. There was something special about this race course that had us both really excited to race. With this being only my third Xterra event (previously Xterra Czech in August and Xterra World Championship in Molveno in October), I continue to feel a little nervous about the start of the bike and I worry about holding up other riders behind me on single track. But I'm learning to just focus on my own race. The biggest confidence booster was knowing that we had ridden the entire bike course and I was able to safely get through everything. It was not overly hilly (~2000 feet) and it flowed really well. There was a legit rock garden and several fun obstacles to go over. The race director gave the option for those who didn't feel comfortable in the rock garden could go the "chicken" route which was around 4K longer.  After we ate our pre-race meal, we double checked our gear, loaded the car and left our Airbnb around 6:15am and arrived to...

  After a lot of sitting and no exercise for five days, I was searching for something adventurous that we could do for our last day in South Africa. As we were flying back to Cape Town from Johannesburg, I was searching for run routes in Cape Town. I really wanted to visit the Botanical Gardens so when I came across a hike description i nside the gardens, I knew this would be perfect for us.  "The Skeleton Gorge is a moderate hike with a steep ascent from the start to the end and a couple of tricky climbs (on the way down) over rocks and boulders." We took an uber from the Cape Town airport to our hotel ( Best Western ) and arrived just before 11pm on Friday evening. We collected our suitcases that we dropped off on Monday morning before we left for our Safari and kept the bikes in the luggage storage. We also paid $30 for a late checkout (6pm) since our flight back to the US was not leaving until 10pm on Saturday. The staff was incredibly nice and the hotel had a mediterrean...