Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

  In early January of 2025, I felt like I had no direction with my training as I was struggling to put together my race schedule. Karel knew that Ironman Lanzarote was always on my race bucket list because of the ocean swim w/ wetsuit, hills on the bike and heat throughout the entire race but I was very scared of the wind. Over the past few years, I have stepped way out of my comfort zone with mountain biking and Xtreme triathlon events so I feel more comfortable embracing challenging race day conditions. When Karel mentioned that I do Ironman Lanzarote this year, I slept on it for a few days and finally committed by registering for the event. Having a race on my schedule that was exciting and challenging gave me the motivation (and direction) that I needed to design my training for the next 5 months. Two of our professional athletes (Katie and Yannick) did the event last year and had great things to stay about the course and island.  In the fall of 2024, we selected our 4 Tri...

Around 4pm on Friday April 4th, I told Karel that I wanted to spin my legs. Typically Friday’s are my swim-only days but it was warm and sunny outside and I was itching to be outside. I rarely ride my bike on a Friday afternoon but when I do an easy spin by myself, I typically ride on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. However, something was pulling me to ride up and over Paris Mountain so I told Karel I was going to ride my bike on our Paris Mountain loop. I left a little after 4pm and headed up the mountain. After 1.6 miles, I was nearing the top of the 2-mile climb and I was looking forward to a fast descent to the other side of the mountain. As I was climbing, I was shocked to see a small cat and two kittens in a muddy ditch on the side of the mountain. The cats didn’t move when I stopped as they all seemed to be in shock by the situation. I quickly called Karel and told him the situation. He was planning to go for a swim that evening but he stopped what he was doing at home and drove the ca...

  We held our first training camp in March of 2014 (picture above). It's wild to think that it was 11 years ago when I told Karel that I wanted to bring our coaching athletes together for a group training camp.  At the time, we lived in Jacksonville, Florida. Clermont, Florida was a few hours away and the perfect location for a triathlon training camp. After a successful first camp, I started planning the next camp. We learned a lot and I wanted to make it even better. A few months later, we moved to Greenville, SC. We continued hosting our early season training camps in Clermont for a few more years, while also holding a second training camp (endurance camp) in our new home of Greenville, SC. 2020 was the year of our last training camp in Clermont, Florida. The world shut down due to Covid the week after we finished our camp. Since then, we have held all of our triathlon training camps in our incredible playground of Greenville, SC. Over the past few years we have added ...

  Bonking. Hitting the wall. Lights went out.  Whatever you call it, lack of energy doesn't feel good.  When muscle glycogen stores are depleted, the muscles do not receive the fuel needed to produce energy. When liver glycogen stores are depleted, the liver is unable to maintain blood glucose levels, which are crucial for brain function. As a result, the body shuts down to slow you down in order to protect your health.  Although proper fueling and hydration during workouts is key for slowing the rate of glycogen depletion, the most important strategy for optimizing energy stores is to start the workout with adequate energy on board in the muscles and liver.  By consuming enough carbohydrates throughout the day to meet energy needs, and maximizing recovery nutrition, your fuel tank will be more filled, which means it will take longer to run out. In other words, would you rather start a road trip with a full tank of gas or a tank that is 1/4 filled? But unlike a ...