2026 Trimarni coaching - Last chance to apply

 

It's that time of the year again. You are an endurance triathlete and you are getting closer to your off-season. That means you are thinking about your short and long term goals and how you can train smarter, fuel better and get closer to your athletic potential in 2026. 

With the end of one season comes the beginning of another season. Although we have limited availability, once a year in October we open our coaching roster for a few new one-on-one coaching athletes. If you are considering preparing for an Ironman triathlon or 70.3 triathlon or want to challenge yourself with an XTRI or Xterra event, we would enjoy learning more about you through our coaching application. 

APPLY HERE
Application will close on October 31st.

Coach - Athlete Relationship

Your coach plays a significant role in your athletic journey. When I was in High School, I had one swim coach for four years. Then in college, I had another swim coach (one for my Freshman year before transferring to another college where I completed the rest of my education/collegiate swimming). Eight years = three swim coaches. While some athletes may have one coach for an entire athletic journey, the majority of athletes will likely have a few different coaching relationships throughout an athletic career. Different coaches means different opinions, attitudes, emotions, styles of training and coaching methodologies. Whereas the high school and collegiate athlete may not have a lot of life responsibilities or stressors, a strong coach - athlete relationship is extremely important for the adult athlete, who is needing to prioritize health while also balancing more in life than just training and racing.

In today's society, coaching rarely occurs face-to-face unless you are in a squad environment or your coach is local. While your coach may occasionally see you in action, most coaches will monitor you via an online data software program and communicate with you via phone or email. With internet-based coaching, your athletic success relies greatly on a healthy, trusting and safe relationship with your coach. Disliking the actions of your coach, not trusting your coach, feeling uncomfortable around your coach, not knowing your coach or struggling to effectively communicate with your coach are all signs that your coach is not the right fit for you.

As an athlete, you likely love to train, you have great time-management and you are probably very motivated and driven. For the coachable athlete, it's assumed that your need of a coach is not to tell you to exercise but to help guide you in a way that will allow you to improve fitness and race readiness while reducing risk for injury, sickness and burnout.

Although coaches come from different backgrounds, some with more notable credentials and knowledge than others, it's important that you see your coach as an expert and to fully understand his/her coaching philosophy and methodology. The more you know and value your coaches experience, the more trust you will have for your coach.

Trusting your coach is one of the most important components of having a great coach - athlete relationship. Because it's easy for a coach to market himself/herself on social media and online, you need to do your homework to make sure your coach is the "right" fit. Don't fall victim to fancy websites, expensive fees/prices and trendy services as there are many "experts" that have poor coaching skills. Effective coaching takes time, practice and experience. 

I look back at my early years and think "I had no idea what I was doing!" But thanks to mentors, 20 years in the sport, ongoing learning and education and experience and always keeping an open mind (while being an active participant in an evolving sport), I've become better at coaching. Anyone can call themselves a coach but coaching an athlete is a lot of work. Many times, it has less to do about writing workouts (anyone can be a great workout writer) but more to do about getting to know a person as a human being instead of just focusing on a person as an athlete with goals and a race schedule.

Because coaching works both ways, there are many athletes who are not coachable.

As an athlete, you have every right to ask questions to your coach. When you don't understand something or you have a concern, you should feel comfortable communicating with your coach. But going against your coaches guidance means that you are not ready or willing to learn a different or new way of doing things. Coaching is a dialogue - two way communication. If you are skipping workouts, changing your training plan or creating your own sessions, this is not coaching.  Being resistant to the methods/workouts that your coach feels is best for you is saying that you the athlete know better than your coach. Typically, this occurs when an athlete feels he/she should be training longer or harder as athletes don't like to be told to do less or to rest.

Athletes who hire coaches do so because they need assistance, guidance or accountability and they recognize their strengths, weaknesses and limiters. A coachable athlete is willing to change and to evolve. A non-coachable athlete is resistant to change.  Communicating your concerns with your coach is helpful but a good coach should not have to change his/her coaching methods/philosophy in order to please you. If this is the case, you hired the wrong coach. 

Take your time in selecting your coach and then put your trust into your coach so you can put your energy into your training.

APPLY HERE
Application will close on October 31st.

2023 Trimarni Coaching - Apply Now

It's that time of the year where you may be looking into a new coach or different training methodology to help you prepare for your 2023 races. 

Coaching isn't just about training. Coaching isn't about the training plan.
It's about building a healthy coach-athlete relationship. 

The coach-athlete relationship is a partnership. 
You are not our client. You are our athlete. 
And you are much more than an athlete, you are an incredible human being. 

For our coach-athlete relationship to work, you need to understand us and we need to understand you. We are willing to put in the work. But we cannot work independently of you. As the athlete, you must be willing and ready to be in a partnership. 

How can we help you get the most out of your triathlon journey? 

We take our job as "coach" very seriously. 
We respect you. We listen. We are available. We communicate. We support you. We believe in you. 

At Trimarni, we want you to maintain the same passion for the sport as when you started. We care about your mental and physical health. We want to help you grow and develop. We want to challenge you and help you safely stretch your comfort zone. We are an ego-free team where everyone feels included and accepted. We care about you, your life, your family/relationships, your career, your goals and your personal well-being.

Athletic success with a strong healthy coach-athlete partnership produces physical improvements and personal growth. 

If you are interested in being part of the 2023 Trimarni Coaching Team, our application period for 2023 is only open until October 31st, 2022. We only accept a few new athletes once a year. Do not miss out on this one-time opportunity to apply to be a Trimarni coached athlete. 

If you are not interested in one-on-one coaching but would like to be part of the Trimarni team, consider a Trimarni training plan and joining our team.

To apply for coaching click HERE.
To join our team, click HERE. 

2022 Trimarni Coaching - APPLY NOW

💥Motivation 

💥Education 

💥Teammates

💥Health 

💥Performance 

As a Trimarni coached athlete, you receive much more than an individualized training to help you prepare for your long distance triathlon. 

Sure, we have athletes qualifying for the Ironman World Championship and winning their age group at national-level events. But we also have athletes overcoming adversity, stepping out of their comfort zone, doing something for the first time and making memories with lifelong friends. We recognize all accomplishments - every finish line is worth celebrating. 

We are so much more than a coaching business. We are a team.

Trimarni is a team of incredible human beings - of all fitness levels with unique capabilities and strengths.  Our athletes are hard working, caring, supportive and fun.

At Trimarni, we try our very best to help you maintain the same passion for the sport as when you started. We care about your mental and physical health and we want you to love your swim-bike-run lifestyle. We will challenge you and help you safely stretch your comfort zone. We are an ego-free team where everyone feels included and accepted. We care about you, your life, your goals and your personal well-being.

If you are interested in being part of the 2022 Trimarni Coaching Team, our coaching application period for 2022 is only open until October 4th, 2021.

To be part of the Trimarni team as a one-on-one athlete, we only accept new athletes once a year. Do not miss out on this one-time opportunity to complete your coaching application.

If you are not interested in one-on-one coaching but would like to be part of the Trimarni team, consider a Trimarni training plan and joining our educational membership team.

To learn more about Trimarni coaching, click HERE.
To apply, click HERE.

2019 Trimarni Coaching - APPLY NOW

It's that time of the year again. I can't believe that we are about to jump into the month of October. Where did the summer go? With the majority of triathletes nearing their off-season in the next 4-6 weeks, there's a good chance that you are thinking about your next-season goals and how you can train better, smarter or harder in 2019.

With the end of one season comes the beginning of another season. With that being said, we look forward to continuing to work with our returning Trimarni athletes and welcoming new endurance triathletes to our coaching team. While we have limited availability for accepting new athletes, we look forward to receiving your application.

APPLY HERE
Application will close on October 12th. 

Coach - Athlete Relationship

Your coach plays a significant role in your athletic journey. When I was in High School, I had one swim coach for four years. Then in college, I had another swim coach (one for my Freshman year before transferring to another college where I completed the rest of my education/collegiate swimming). Eight years = three swim coaches. While some athletes may have one coach for an entire athletic journey, the majority of athletes will likely have several coaching relationships throughout an athletic career. Different coaches means different opinions, attitudes, emotions, styles of training and coaching methodologies. Whereas the high school and collegiate athlete may not have a lot of life responsibilities or stressors, a strong coach - athlete relationship is extremely important for the adult athlete, who has a lot more to balance in life than just training and racing.

In today's society, coaching rarely occurs face-to-face unless you are in a squad environment or your coach is local. While your coach may occasionally see you in action, most coaches will monitor you via an online data software program and communicate with you via phone or email.  With internet-based coaching, your athletic success relies greatly on a healthy, trusting and safe relationship with your coach. Disliking the actions of your coach, not trusting your coach, feeling uncomfortable around your coach, not knowing your coach or struggling to effectively communicate with your coach are all signs that your coach is not the right fit for you. 

As an athlete, you likely love to train, you have great time-management and you are probably very motivated and driven. For the coachable athlete, it's assumed that your need of a coach is not to tell you to exercise but to help guide you in a way that will allow you to improve fitness and race readiness while reducing risk for injury, sickness and burnout. 

Although coaches come from different backgrounds, some with more notable credentials and knowledge than others, it's important that you see your coach as an expert and to fully understand his/her coaching philosophy and methodology. The more you know and value your coaches experience, the more trust you will have for your coach.

Trusting your coach is one of the most important components of having a great coach - athlete relationship. Since most coaches do a great job with marketing themselves, most athletes find it easy to know which coach is the "right" fit. However, don't fall victim to fancy websites, glowing testimonials, expensive fees/prices and trendy services as there are many "experts" that have poor coaching skills. Plus, coaching takes time, practice and experience. I look back at my early years and think "I had no idea what I was doing!" But thanks to mentors, years in the sport, ongoing learning and education and experience and always keeping an open mind (while being an active participant in an evolving sport), I've become better at coaching. Anyone can call themselves a coach but coaching an athlete is a lot of work and many times, it has less to do about writing workouts (anyone can be a great workout writer) but more to do about getting to know a person as a human being instead of just focusing on a person as an athlete with goals and a race schedule. 

Because coaching works both ways, there are many athletes who are not coachable.

As an athlete, you have every right to ask questions to your coach. When you don't understand something or you have a concern, you should feel comfortable communicating with your coach. But to go against your coaches guidance means that you are not ready or willing to learn a different or new way of doing things. Coaching is a dialogue - two way communication. But if an athlete is questioning his/her coaches decisions to the point where the athlete is telling the coach how to train him/her, this is not coaching. Because it takes time to get to know an athlete and time to develop an athlete, you need to give your coach time. If you the athlete hire a coach and then feel there's a certain way that you need to train to feel race ready or to reach athletic goals, you don't need a coach. You need to write your own training plan. There are many successful athletes who do not have a coach (maybe a mentor or two) but instead, figure things out along the way on their own. But being resistant to the methods/workouts that your coach feels is best for you is saying that you the athlete know better than your coach.  Typically, this occurs when an athlete feels he/she should be training longer or harder as athletes don't like to be told to do less or to rest.

Athletes who hire coaches do so because they need assistance, guidance or accountability and they recognize their strengths, weaknesses and limiters. A coachable athlete is willing to change. A non-coachable athlete is resistant to change. An athlete who is unwilling to deviate from what they think they need is a red flag that the athlete does not trust his/her coach. Communicating your concerns is good but a good coach should not have to change his/her coaching methods/philosophy in order to please you and to give you what you think you need. If this is the case, you hired the wrong coach. While there are bad coaches out there and sometimes coaching relationship (like in real life) do not work out, there are also a lot of really great coaches that you can choose from, that will give you what you need from a coach. Take your time selecting your coach and then put your trust into your coach so you can put your energy into your training.

APPLY HERE
Application will close on October 12th.

2017 Trimarni Coaching: It's a wrap!

Throughout the year and particularly at the end of a season, Karel and I find it imperative to reflect - what's working and what's not working.  Reflection is a necessary part of learning, growing and enhancement. While it's easy to reflect (anyone can do it), the difficulty comes in knowing how to change what's not working and then acting on it.

Since Karel and I both come from different athletic and educational backgrounds and upbringings, we are able to combine our experience and knowledge in order to critique our coaching methods, workouts and relationship with our athletes so that we can explore the areas that can be improved.

For coaches, it's normal to spend so much time on training plans and workouts that it's easy to forget to change what needs to change. Every coach loves talking about his/her proud coaching moments and athlete success stories but if you don't reflect on what occurred over the past season and assess how specific athletes responded to their training, it's difficult to keep athletes on a successful path of athletic development. Growth comes from implementing changes based on what you have learned.

Through our online coaching, interactions with our athletes at group and private camps and seeing our athletes in action at key events, we have had many opportunities to identify strengths in our coaching methods and recognize areas that we need to improve on. Reflection is fun but it is also time consuming as you have to do something with the information that you gained throughout the reflection process.

In researching the reflection process, here are some important reflection areas that I feel are important for coaches (and athletes):

• Celebrate success
• Improve/build on success
• Assess areas of improvement 
• Address what failed/didn't work
• Make a plan for improvements
• Make changes
• Track changes and continue to reflect

We are extremely excited to kick-off another season of coaching, starting today. Yep - the majority of our 2018 Trimarni athletes will be starting their training today, as they prepare for their upcoming season. The reason behind starting our athletes in November (for the upcoming season) is to ensure that we have plenty of time to get to know our new athletes and to allow adequate time to build a solid foundation in which to work from as the season progresses.

As we wrap-up the 2017 season, I am so proud to share some of the results by our Trimarni athletes (thank you Trimarni athlete Meredith with Narrative Strategic Communications for creating this infographic):

2018 Trimarni Coaching Application will close TODAY!!!

At Trimarni Coaching, we only accept new athletes for one-on-one coaching in September/October for the following year. Although we have training plans and an educational membership for athletes who want to train under our guidance throughout the year, there is only one opportunity out of the year to be coached by us as a Trimarni athlete for the following year. While this may sound a bit strict, as it requires new/potential athletes to think about coaching for the next season well before the New Year, there are a few reasons why we do not add new athletes to our coaching roster throughout the year. 

1. Athlete/coach relationship - It takes time for us to get to know an athlete so we start building this relationship early in the year (Nov/Dec). Effective coaching is so much more than workout delivery or being great workout writers as we need to understand athletes on an individual and personal level. We also want to start opening the lines of communication so that the athlete feels as if she/he is in a safe, trustworthy and supportive coach/athlete relationship. 
2. 
3. Team building- Although online coaching is not for every athlete, we make sure that our new athletes understand that they are joining a team. At Trimarni, we consider our athletes as family. Our athletes are not our "clients" but they are teammates. Triathlon is an individual sport and with busy work/family/life schedules, it's very easy to feel alone and isolate from other people. We make a strong effort to make sure that every Trimarni athlete feels part of a team, with caring, supportive, fun, passionate, judgment-free and ego-free teammates. We not only offer camps and key races throughout the year to bring our athletes together, but we use social media in a positive way, to help connect our athletes to one another. By welcoming new athletes to our team all at once, everyone has an opportunity to get to know one another.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Education - A big component to Trimarni coaching is education. We don't want to tell our athletes what to do but to make sure that our athletes are doing things well. Over the years, we have learned that triathletes are great at training but when it comes to race day, athletes struggle to effectively put that training to good use when it counts. Therefore, we make the effort every week throughout the year to educate our athletes through weekly FB live chats and weekly check-in educational emails. There is no shortage of education for our athletes as it relates to training, nutrition, racing and so much more.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Development - If an athlete is focused on training for one race, we have a Trimarni training plan that will allow for smooth progression and race day readiness. We take great pride in our training plans as we update them every year to keep them current and fresh. But for our coached athletes, we believe that a long-term relationship is imperative to allow for development, while keeping the body in good health. To reach athletic excellence within a racing season, an athlete needs patience, a hard work ethic and consistency. The process is not quick or easy but when done right, our athletes can maintain a sense of athletic-identity without feeling like training is taking over their life. Above all, we want to keep training fun and exciting as it should be a health-promoting hobby that enriches your life. When a new athlete starts with us, we have time to develop the athlete and work through the different phases of training to build resilience, strength and the necessary skills to work from year after year. We take great pride in building strong, healthy and happy athletes.
   
   
   
6. Commitment - Our job as coaches is to help athletes reach personal athletic goals and to maintain a healthy lifestyle. When an athlete applies to be a Trimarni coaching athlete during our 2-week application submission period, we immediately know that the athlete is committed to the journey. On the flip side, as coaches, we are committed to helping every athlete on our team and it is important for us to carefully select our athletes so that everyone is a good fit for our team and so that we do not coach more athletes than we can handle. Although there are three of us (Me, Karel and assistant coach Joe) and coaching is our full-time job, coaching is much more than writing workouts. We are committed to all areas of coaching, which most importantly, means communicating and being there for our athletes. It's very important to us that we make sure that every athlete that we coach will benefit physically, psychologically and emotionally from our coaching. We are looking for individuals who are committed to the process of development in an effort to achieve athletic excellence with a healthy and strong mind and body.
   
   
   
   
   

If you are interested in joining the 2018 Trimarni coaching team, TODAY is the last day to apply.

To learn more about our coaching categories and to apply, CLICK HERE. 

2017 Trimarni coaching - apply now!

APPLY NOW

If you are reading this blog, there's a good chance you already know a lot about us.

You know that we are full-time triathlon coaches and that we specialize in coaching endurance triathletes.

We are also experts in sport nutrition (Marni) and cycling/bike fitting (Karel).

You can ask Karel to help you with your diet but you will probably get no help....

Unless you like beer. 

We are serious about our coaching and helping our athletes optimize performance. 

  But we also believe that the sport of triathlon should be fun and that every athlete deserves to be part of a great triathlon family.

You know we love to eat, we love to travel and we love Campy.
(You probably don't know that we have two cats and that's because Campy gets all the attention) 

First paws across the line!

You probably know that we raced together in Kona last year at the 2015 Ironman World Championship.

And this year, we both had huge PR's at Ironman Austria (9:13 for Karel, 10:06 for Marni).


I achieved my season race goal of placing on the podium at Ironman Austria.

And Karel did it 8 weeks later at Ironman Mont Tremblant.


 We also hold several triathlon training camps throughout the year, where our campers can learn, be challenged and break away from the normal stressors of life to focus on swim/bike/run/eat/sleep in order to improve skills and to take fitness to that next level. 



But just in case you need a little refresher on who we are at Trimarni Coaching......

-------------------------

Marni and Karel are a husband and wife team who specialize in endurance coaching. They are dedicated to helping newbie, experienced, elite and professional athletes maximize sport performance.

Between them both, they have successfully finished 17 Ironman triathlons and have qualified for the Ironman World Championship six times.

Currently, Karel is training for his 2nd Ironman World Championship and Marni will be enjoying her 5th trip to Kona for the IM World Championship as a first time spectator.
Don't worry - she is trained and fit and ready to spectate on the big island. 

Marni is a board certified dietitian with a Master of Science in exercise physiology. She specializes in endurance triathlon coaching and nutrition, race planning and execution, individualized sport nutrition, training and racing fueling and hydrating planning, nutritious daily eating, plant strong diets, body composition changes and helping athletes improve their relationship with food and body image.
She is also a qualified speaker and experienced writer.

Karel is a skilled bike mechanic with a precise eye for detail. He has decades of experience in the bike industry. Karel is an experienced RETUL bike fitter and provides a wealth of knowledge to age group and professional athletes in the areas of triathlon training and racing, cycling skills, equipment/gear choices and appropriate bike fits.
As a former cat 1 cyclist, with no swimming or running background, Karel is now an  accomplished endurance triathlete who recently finished IMMT with the fastest male amateur run split of 3:08. And, he now actually likes to swim (well, sometimes).

  As elite athletes, Marni and Karel bring years of practice, education and skills in their own athletic careers and apply that experience and knowledge to athletes of all levels.

Trimarni philosophy:
Our goal is to help athletes reach performance goals without compromising health.
We incorporate scientific research with practical ideologies and apply to real world settings so that we can take your training and racing to the next level.
Let us help you perform at your best by giving you the individual and personalized services that you and your body deserve. 

If you are an endurance triathlete who is interested in being coached by Marni and Karel for your 2017 triathlon season and you want to be part of the Trimarni coaching team, here's your one-time chance for next season....

APPLY NOW

Your coach is watching you

It's easy to cut deals with yourself when you train alone. When no one is watching, you can go a little harder/easier when you feel like it and you can modify a workout based on your mood and energy. You can skip the parts of the workout that you don't like and you can add/shorten a workout based on what you feel makes you feel the best on that given day. Although coaches would like to assume that athletes follow training plans as written (with only necessary modifications applied based on time constraints and energy to ensure quality training), I think any athlete would agree that a group training environment (or having a coach with you when you train) forces athletes to give an effort that they wouldn't do on their own, not to mention complete the entire workout as planned. Seeing that training alone gives an athlete a tremendous amount of freedom to mentally check-out, modify or adjust a given workout as the athlete feels fit, you may find that you are limiting your athletic capabilities when training alone. An easy fix to this is to pretend like your/a coach is always supervising your workout.

Here are a few tips to bring to every training session.

-Show up "on time" -Don't cut the warm-up short

-Understand the workout purpose before you start the workout

-Don't make excuses

-Don't be afraid to fail

-Give your best effort, on that day

-Only compare yourself to a past version of you (not another athlete)

-Don't stop the workout until you complete the entire workout (unless you are sick, injured or form suffers)

Far too many athletes fail to reach their full athletic potential simply because they lack the motivation and discipline needed to execute well for every given workout. 

If you follow a training plan, it's important to not let yourself think that you know better than your coach and that it's ok to modify workouts based on what you feel like doing each day. 

It's important to trust your coach and trust your training plan as every workout (and week of training) has a clear purpose in your individual fitness journey. If your gut tells you that your training plan is not ideal for you, discuss with your coach before you begin to coach yourself by modifying your assigned training plan workouts. It's far too common that athletes will feel the need to do more intensity or volume thinking that the harder and longer you go, the fitter and faster you become. 

Sadly, this is not always true as specific workouts are needed at specific times in training. At Trimarni coaching, we focus on getting our athletes strong before we get them fast and then they are ready to go long. Too much volume and intensity will often lead to injuries or overtraining. 

A smart and well-laid training plan ensures development and proper physical adaptations to prepare your body and mind for race day.

Always give your best effort and hold yourself accountable to the work that needs to get done to help you get your fitness and health to where you want it to be by race day.

If you are interested in a Trimarni training plan, visit our website to learn more about our Olympic, half and full Ironman 20-week training plans. Every Trimarni training plan is designed to help you develop your skills and fitness to properly prepare for race day. We can assure you that you will never get bored with our workouts and you will be able to fit your training into your life as you prepare your body for your upcoming event. If you are in need (or love) triathlon education and are looking for a team environment (even if you train alone), consider joining our Performance Team with the purchase of your training plan. For only $50/month, you have access to our private Trimarni team Facebook page, Trimarni sponsor discounts, discount to our training camps and you receive a weekly educational "check-in" email (either as a handout or video) from Karel and myself. Every week we discuss an important topic that will help you become a smarter triathlete. Even if you join the Performance Team now, you still receive all past handouts (since December). Check-in topics already discussed include:

-Sport nutrition -Daily nutrition -Long run nutrition -Race day execution - olympic, half and full Ironman -Motivation -Bike skills - ex. riding in the wind

-Staying accountable to training -Swim skills -Planning a race-cation -Team approach to training -Training stress -Training metrics -Mobility -Sleep And more!

2016 Trimarni coaching - last day to apply!

-Do you have a big racing goal for 2016? 

-Do you have a long distance race on your schedule for next season but feel you need some guidance to avoid overtraining or to maximize fitness without compromising your health? 

-Are you looking to be part of a team that you can socialize with at key races and camps?
-Are you focused on short course racing and want to get faster and stronger and improve your confidence and skills with triathlon racing?

-Are you training for a triathlon race next season and are looking for two experienced coaches to provide you with education on how to train and fuel smarter - not just give you a training plan?

-Are you seeking a better understanding of nutrition, sport nutrition, training, performance, recovery, swim/bike/run skills and the ability to perform better on race day?

If you said YES to any of the above, you can now apply to be part of the 2016 Trimarni Team.

APPLY NOW

We realize that no two athletes are alike. We all have different health and fitness goals, we live different lifestyles and we all come from different athletic backgrounds.
There are athletes who have a lot of experience and strengths and other athletes who have weaknesses and need a lot of guidance.

Some athletes have more to balance on their daily plate but we know that every athlete who seeks a coach, wants to make improvements and desires personal athletic development.

But every athlete that we work with should have a dream, a goal and a plan.

We believe in a TEAM structure with our coaching in that every athlete supports one another. We also believe in long-term relationships with our athletes. As coaches, we treat every one of our coaching athletes as individuals, each with a training plan which is designed to challenge you, prepare you and develop you as an athlete.  Overtime, we can get to know you as an athlete and person which allows us to coach you better.

It is our goal to progress your fitness and to help you train smart so that by race day, you have the skills, fitness and mental strength to execute with a healthy body. 

We never want you to feel as if training takes over your life but instead, it is an integral part of your lifestyle.

As recent 2015 Ironman World Championship finishers, we have a combined 14 Ironman finishes between us, over 15 half IM races and years of experience specific to (but not limited to) sport nutrition (Marni), understanding how to perform on race (Marni and Karel) and cycling skills/fitness (which are all common weak areas for triathletes of all levels).

We understand what is required to maximize fitness and to be able to execute with a healthy body on race day.
 No matter what fitness level athlete you are, we want to be part of your training and racing journey and help you reach your season goals!

 APPLY NOW 

 IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BEING PART OF THE 2016 TRIMARNI COACHING TEAM, the last day to apply is today - OCTOBER 16TH.
YOU WILL RECEIVE AN EMAIL AFTER YOUR APPLICATION IS RECEIVED TO CONFIRM YOUR APPLICATION. 
THE 2016 TRIMARNI TEAM WILL BE ANNOUNCED BY NOVEMBER 2ND.

2016 Trimarni coaching - apply now!!

-Do you have a big racing goal for 2016? 

-Do you have a long distance race on your schedule for next season but feel you need some guidance? 

-Are you looking to be part of a team that you can socialize with at key races and camps?

-Are you training for a triathlon race next season and are looking for two experienced coaches to help you take your fitness to the next level? 

-Are you seeking a better understanding of nutrition, sport nutrition, training, performance, recovery, cycling skills and the ability to train smarter to train harder and perform better on race day when it comes to working with a coach and being part of a triathlon team?

If you said YES to any of the above, you can now apply to be part of the 2016 Trimarni Team.

APPLY NOW

We realize that no two athletes are alike. We all have different health and fitness goals, we live different lifestyles and we all come from different athletic backgrounds.
Some athletes work more than others to pay the bills and some have more to balance on their daily plate. For some, your triathlon lifestyle is your life and for others, you are passionate about triathlons but it's just part of your lifestyle.

Above all, we believe in a TEAM structure with our coaching in that every athlete supports one another. But, as coaches, we treat every one of our coaching athletes as individuals, each with a personalized training plan.  It is our goal to help you train smart so that by race day, you have the skills, fitness and mental strength to execute with a healthy and well-fueled body.  We never want you to feel as if training takes over your life but instead, it is part of your lifestyle.

As 2015 Ironman World Championship qualifiers, we understand what is required to be in the best shape possible by race day and to be able to execute with a healthy body on race day. No matter what level athlete you are, we want to be part of your training and racing journey!

 APPLY NOW 

 IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BEING PART OF THE 2016 TRIMARNI COACHING TEAM, APPLY BEFORE OCTOBER 16TH. YOU WILL RECEIVE AN EMAIL AFTER YOUR APPLICATION IS RECEIVED TO CONFIRM YOUR APPLICATION. 
THE 2016 TRIMARNI TEAM WILL BE ANNOUNCED BY NOVEMBER 2ND.

Train smart and enjoy the journey

Thank you to all the athletes who applied for 2015 Trimarni coaching! We reached our capacity before our deadline and we look forward to the opportunity to work with an amazing group of inspiring, motivating and hard-working age-group triathletes in 2015.

If you are interested in applying our coaching methodology to your training, we will be offering our NEW 8-week transition plan in the next few weeks, which features specific strength training exercises that will yield positive results in swim, bike, run fitness. The transition plan will also help you build a strong foundation as you work on form and skills.

We will also be offering the transition plan WITH our pre-built running and triathlon training plans.

Stay tuned!

--------------------------------------------------------

What comes to mind when you think of the word “smart” in relation to an athlete? Perhaps doing this well or perfect or being able to execute or not miss a workout? Well, certainly smart athletes are not perfect and are not necessarily the best at everything.

Smart athletes are patient, they do not rush the journey, the focus on the little things and they do not continually search for a better/quicker way. 

As a coach and age-group triathlete, it’s wonderful to see a rise in the number of race-seeking, active individuals. However, with a growing community of athletes, you may find yourself immersed in a triathlon or running-bubble with SO many tips, tricks and suggestions. I can honestly say that there are way too many "coaches" out there with way too much information available as to how to train "right". This doesn't mean there are way too many bad or unprofessional coaches as I feel there are many wonderful, caring and passionate coaches but certainly with so many experts comes a lot of "smart" ways to train. Seeing that there are many paths that one can take to get to the final destination, the ultimate goal for an athlete is to always determine the best road for your goals, your body and your lifestyle.

By knowing a coaches philosophy and how he/she coaches athletes, you will be able to identify the best coach for you in order to train "smart."

From the goal-focused newbie who is determined to cross a finish line with a smile, to the elite who race for bragging rights, prize money and podium awards, there’s no need to feel overwhelmed when it comes to taking the smartest road to success. 

Bottom line is that it’s important that your extremely active lifestyle is bringing you closer to your goals. Therefore, training for a race requires more than just checking off assigned workouts and finishing a workout with sweaty clothes and sore muscles.

Now a days, it seems like there are a lot of heavy exercisers out there who are training for races. The training is haphazard and the plan is not periodized or even favorable for optional performance goals. There are a lot of hours spent training that do not correlate to subpar race day performances.  There is a quick rush toward volume and there is little emphasis on strength training, recovery, sport nutrition and most importantly skills and form. 

When was the last time you fully rested your body before starting a training plan? And then, when was the last time you spent 4,6 or even 8 weeks perfecting your strength, form and skills before starting your "real" structured training?

Depending on how you answered these questions, do you think that you are doing things the "right" way or focusing too much on the end results instead of the journey?

There is a large number of athletes out there, of all fitness levels, that never take the time to create a solid foundation before training stress is applied. In other words, before you start decorating the house (the fun stuff) you must make sure the foundation is strong (which takes time and patience).

If there are two things that you should carry with you throughout your season (starting now), here are two that should always be on your mind: 

It’s not just about the miles –  Consider the many variables in your life that can positively affect your training consistency and health and can contribute to a balanced lifestyle. Among the top priorities: Sport nutrition before, during and after training to assist in intentional physiological stress. Strength training to enhance your cardio-focused routine. Stretching to encourage proper range of motion and injury prevention. A restful sleeping routine to help control appetite, quicken recovery, assist in stress and attitude management and to encourage stable energy throughout the day. There is no magic number of hours that you need to train a week to prepare for x-distance run race or triathlon. What's important is how you use your available hours. You must accept that the hours you have to spend on training are enough because any more hours would compromise sleep, diet, work productivity, family and social life. Periodize your season so that each phase builds on the last.
  Don’t rush the journey- To make the most physiological training adaptations with the least amount of training stress, focus on your individual response to training. Training adaptations vary between individuals and there is no perfect training (or diet) plan. A properly planned training routine, alongside a carefully mapped-out racing schedule will ensure well-timed, peak performances thanks to a progressive, individualized overload. Develop a training routine that takes into account your current level of fitness, frequency, intensity and duration of workouts, past season successes and regrets, current lifestyle requirements and available hours of daily/weekly training, number of weeks/months until your A-races, short and long term goals, past or potential injuries/health issues and ability to recover properly between workouts. 

Happy Training!

2015 Trimarni coaching - apply now!

After I finished the 2011 Ironman World Championships, I was instructed by Karel that I would be taking a year off from Ironman racing in 2012. In addition to IM Kona being my only triathlon in 2011, I didn't have the race I wanted on the run in Kona due to some tummy troubles from swallowing a bit too much sea water (11:02 finishing time). 

With Karel guiding me (I was not quite ready to call him my "coach") in 2011, he felt as if I needed a year to rest my body from long distance racing and work on my speed. It was really hard to not want a do-over Ironman performance in 2012 and truly test my fitness (plus I love the IM journey!!) but according to Karel, it was just not possible (and too risky) for me to get faster while training for Ironman distance triathlons. 

"Alright Karel, I trust you."

It wasn't worth a deep discussion as I knew I would still be racing half IM distances (which certainly counts as a long distance race) so I trusted Karel and finally realized that every coach needs a coach. 

Although my mind was still struggling to accept this new process of training (more speed work, more rest, more strength training), it was quite amazing how great my body felt in 2012 but also how I performed at my races. After a chilly start to the season with the Donna half marathon in Feb, I won my very first race...and it was a running race! I was the overall winner of the 2012 Iron Girl Clearwater half marathon. (I could not have asked for a better first race to win than an all-women's race, particularly Iron Girl. My dad also watched me finish which was super special.)

A month later, I ran my first sub 20 minute 5K (19:52) and placed overall female.

I found myself really loving 2012 because I was able to race much more frequently and recover very quickly from races. This was a big change than just training for an IM.

Who would have guessed that Karel's master plan was actually working!?!

A few weeks later Karel and I headed to Macon, GA for one of my favorite challenging races, the Colesium Rock n' RollMan half Ironman. Now it was time to see if Karel's plan would really pay off. Could I take all that speed work to a long distance race and feel strong and have the stamina to perform well?

I raced super strong (and surprised myself) and finished 5th place overall female (which got me money!) and ran my fastest ever off the bike in 1:42 (a 6 minute PR on this course) on a very hard, hot course. 

Another great highlight of 2012 was that Karel switched from Cat 1 bike racing to triathlons!! In August at the Jax Olympic distance Tri Series #3, Karel and I did our very first triathlon together (Karel's 2nd triathlon and first Olympic distance tri). 

Not only was this super special to race on the same course together for the very first time, but I had another PR of 2:15 in an Olympic distance race! 

I trained really hard all summer for my key long distance race of 2012 Branson 70.3 with Karel (his first half and 3rd triathlon). This was my first time racing two half IM races in one season (4 months apart). We did a lot of track workouts and a lot of high intensity work in the pool and on the bike and lots of bricks and strength training/plyo's. The training paid off, again!

For the first time, I crossed the finish line as overall female amateur on an incredibly challenging course. I had the fastest female run of the day which was also a huge PR for me of 1:36.

Karel placed 5th in his AG which was awesome!

Even though I had great knowledge in exercise physiology, my approach was very wrong for my body and goals (and according to new approaches to long distance racing that I wasn't ready to believe). I guess I wanted to keep doing the same thing (and more) over and over and just hoped for different results. Well, actually, I ended up doing way more volume that I should have in my early years of IM racing and I didn't understand how to train or even race for that matter. I guess you could say I was barely getting by and really burning myself out as an IM athlete. For the past few years, I have felt healthy, strong and balanced. No burn out and always hungry to race.

I am incredibly thankful that Karel changed so much about how I/we trained for endurance sports and the results (and good health) show for it. 

I'm not sure exactly what summarizes a successful season, as we all define it differently, but 2012 was a season of PR's and top performances for me so I would have to say it was a very successful season (with no injuries too). Never would I have thought my body would be able to perform like it did all season long and I can't thank Karel enough for knowing what was best for me and my long term goals of being a faster long distance athlete.

Patience and hard work are so important in discovering your true potential as an athlete.

Oh and speaking of those long term goals.....

2013 Ironman Lake Placid (first IM in 21 months): 10:43 (10 min PR), Kona qualified

2013 Ironman World Championship (10 weeks after IM placid): 10:37 (new PR)
2014 HITS Ocala Half Ironman: Overall female winner

2014 Ironman Austria: 10:17 (new PR)

2014 Ironman Wisconsin (9 weeks after IM Austria): 10:44 (13 min improvement from 2010 IMWI), Kona qualified

4 Ironman's in 14 months.

Thank you body!

Thank you Karel!

As an athlete who is self-coached (with Karel over-seeing my training plan and instructing me on race execution), I have learned a lot over the past 8 years. I have learned a lot of lessons and have had to overcome a lot of obstacles as an age group endurance triathlete. 

Everything that didn't go well or could be termed as a mistake over the past few years, I have taken note to make sure I don't set myself up to make the same mistake twice (and this goes in training and racing). I always learn something new on race day, no matter the race and I also learn a lot about myself as an athlete, no matter the training journey. 

Year after year there is so much to learn. I spend a great amount of time learning about the sport of triathlons, specifically endurance sports. I learn from other great coaches, successful, consistent athletes and I also like to take note of what doesn't work for athletes. 

There's so much that I love about coaching. It is rewarding, inspiring and educational. But it requires a lot of work, it is extremely time consuming and often exhausting. Coaches have a lot of responsibility as a human body is within the hands of the coach and it is the coaches job to guide the athlete's body to success  but also to keep it healthy and well.

When I think about my past successes and many learning lessons (and now more learning with Karel as a new triathlete), I can count a lot of changes that have been made.  And this has actually been a very beneficial thing. I really enjoy growing into my full potential and I know that it happens overtime, not just in one season. And many times, it takes new approaches.

I feel this is true for all athletes and that is why I feel my job as a coach is so special. Regardless if I work with an athlete for a season or for several years, I have the great opportunity to guide an athlete, teach an athlete and motivate an athlete to learn how to train smarter to train harder and to develop a strong body foundation, good mental skills, exceptional physical capabilities and a great ability to understand how to fuel for endurance training/racing.

Just like with my own personal athletic journey, Karel and I have made some exciting new changes to our coaching services and we feel that with our improved knowledge and experience with coaching (and learning what didn't work), 2015 is going to be a great year for us but more so, for all of our amazing Trimarni coaching athletes.

If you are interested in being coached by Karel and me, be sure to complete the application by November 15th.

For more info on our 2015 coaching services, click below....

                        2015 TRIMARNI COACHING

Exciting news for Trimarni...Coming soon!

How true is this?

To devote so much time, energy, money and effort to one goal and to finally have it pay off.

What a great feeling!

I realize that not every athlete has the race of his/her life all the time and sometimes we have a bad race and we just have to let it go.  But we must remember that hard work goes somewhere. It may not be immediately seen but the hard work is not without a purpose. Maybe it doesn't show on a piece of paper that the world sees but within yourself you have become a better, stronger and smarter person and athlete.

We are currently working on our 2015 racing schedule which I will share with the world, as I did last this past season. But in the mean time, I want to share some exciting new things that will be happening with Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition for 2015. 

COACHING

We are really excited about our new coaching services for 2015. We will have 3 different services to offer athletes in addition to pre-built plans. Stay tuned, we plan on sharing these via our website in the next week or two.

SPORT NUTRITION

I love seeking out the best ways to help athletes with my nutrition services. I continue to tweak my services based on what I feel athletes need but also based on my ongoing learning in the field of sport nutrition relating to endurance sports and what will be most practical and effective.

CAMPS

We decided to postpone our October Greenville camp until June. The best thing we can offer campers aside from great swag and lots of learning, is the opportunity to be around other like-minded individuals. We feel June is a great time for athletes who are gearing up for a summer/fall half or full Ironman to come to our endurance focused camp.
We also plan to have this camp (tentatively) on June 17th - 21st or on the 24th - 29th.
We are also planning a spring camp for triathletes of all levels on March 18th - 22nd, in Clermont FL. We will swim at the National Training Center and our plan is to finish the camp

with the Clermont Olympic distance triathlon!

EXTRA

We also plan to have several camps and clinics (in and out of Greenville) so if you are interested in a specific type of clinic for you or your training club/group, just send us an email.

Trimarni gear is available at the Trimarni store and we just got water bottles which will be posted soon!

Karel and I will be racing and spectating at a few races in 2015. I will announce our race schedule as well as the key Trimarni races (which will have a pronounce Trimarni athlete turn-out) for 2015.

Since Karel and I will be finishing our season in October as we race the 2015 Ironman World Championships, and we love sharing our journey with others, stay tuned for lots of updates via social media/blog on our prep for Kona 2015!

We are really excited to be working with some great companies in 2015 and I hope to provide the Trimarni athletes/followers with some discounts in 2015. 

Campy is really excited about his 2015 season. He will be 7 years old in a few weeks and his life gets better and better every year!

My mom is moving to Greenville in two weeks - yippee!! We will ALL be together here in Greenville (my dad would be so happy).

As always, thanks for your Trimarni support. We absolutely love what we get to do to help athletes reach health and performance goals.

Who's excited about 2015????

WE ARE!!!!