2022 Trimarni Training Camps - NOW OPEN!!

 

If you are new to the sport of triathlon or you are a seasoned athlete, a training camp can be a valuable investment to your triathlon journey. 

Since our very first training camp in 2014, we have remained extremely passionate about our triathlon training camps. We take great pride in selecting beautiful venues, which are conducive to safe and effective training, while carefully planning every detail of our camp itineraries to make the most out of your entire camp experience.

For each of our 14+ group training camps, our focus has remained the same.

Our mission is to provide you with a fun and enriching camp experience, empowering you to stretch your athletic limits while offering a great amount of education and instruction to help you become a more confident triathlete.

When you participate in a Trimarni camp, you will learn new skills and training techniques, and you'll probably find yourself breaking some old bad habits. While you'll gain a lot at camp, our hope is that when the camp experience comes to an end, you have more "tools" to use in your home training environment. 

Why attend a Trimarni group training camp? 
The structure of each camp will depend on the purpose of the camp. But you can expect to be surrounded by like-minded triathletes. Each camp is designed and developed to meet the needs of every camper. When you attend camp, you get to leave your stressful and busy life behind you. This allows you to focus 100% on yourself - something that you probably don't experience on a daily basis. We take care of almost everything for you - from providing sport nutrition/fueling guidance and sport nutrition products to planning the routes and SAG support - so that all you have to do is show up to each camp training session.

Your camp is an investment into yourself. As your camp guide, we want you to have fun, learn a lot and safely put yourself into new situations to help you stretch your comfort zone and develop new skills. Karel and I will be there alongside you for every training session as this camp is all about YOU.

YOU are giving yourself the unique opportunity to train in a group format (alongside experienced coaches) while gifting yourself great sleep, nutrition and time for recovery. You will eat well, fuel smart and receive a lot of education, motivation and instruction to help you become a better, smarter and more confident triathlete. You are attending camp because you want to have fun while you explore your mental and physical abilities.

To learn more about our 2022 group training camps, click HERE. 

Bike skills/climbing camp - April 1-3rd (Fri-Sun) - Max size 8 campers. 

Early season kick-off camp + triathlon race - April 4-7th (Thurs-Sun) - Max size 12 campers. 

Endurance camp - July 7-10th (Thurs-Sun) - Max size 12 campers. 

Our camps are open to the public - you do not have to be a Trimarni team member or coached athlete to attend. Be sure to sign up soon as we will sell out. 

Over the next few days I'll share a bit more about each of our training camps to help you decide which camp is right for you.

If you have any questions, send us an email. 

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Trimarni 3-day Advanced camp recap

Although our recent camp experience felt a little different with our new COVID-19 guidelines in place, the camp focus remained the same. With every Trimarni camp, we want to help our athletes stretch their comfort zone, practice new skills, improve terrain management, try new things, master sport nutrition, feel challenged and of course, have fun. With each camp being all about our campers, we have many opportunities to help our athletes improve their weaknesses and strengthen their strengths. Although every athlete loves to accumulate miles at a training camp, we feel it would be a diservice to our campers to only prescribe workouts. Instead, we have a tentative schedule as to what we will accomplish each day (and within each workout) but with education as a key component of our camps, we always adjust as we go along to ensure that each camper gets the most out of his/her Trimarni camp experience. 

Here's what our five advanced campers accomplished throughout their 3-day training camp: 

Monday
AM: 75-minute open water swim workout at Lake Jocassee followed by a 65 minute hilly run workout. 
PM: 2:30 bike workout (working on terrain management on a 4.5 mile loop that included a mix of descends, cornering, rolling hills, false flats and climbing. Total elevation gain throughout the ride ~2200 feet)

Tuesday
AM: 90-minute pool swim workout at the Westside aquatic center. 
Late morning: 4:10 bike (~4000 feet elevation gain) followed by a 30-minute run. 

Wednesday 
AM: 3-hour bike (~3000 feet elevation gain) with two 4.2 mile climbs/descends. Started at Tuxedo Park in NC. 
Followed by a 85-minute run workout on a packed gravel trail on Lake Summit road. 

Our campers finished camp feeling very accomplished and slightly (but not overly) exhausted. In total, our campers completed 9.5 hours of biking, almost 3 hours of swimming and almost 3 hours of running. A total of almost 16 hours of training (in 90+ degree temps) over 72 hours.

As it relates to training, we are still mindful not to overload our athletes as we don't want their immune systems to get taxed with a virus spreading quickly among the population. Although our campers completed a lot of training volume over 3 days, no workout was "too hard" for our athletes. More so, our athletes did an excellent job focusing on doing the small things well like listening to the body, fueling/hydrating smart and maximizing recovery between sessions.

While they were each challenged and tested, we designed the workouts so that everyone could perform well based on their current level of fitness. I prescribed fueling/hydration recommendations for every workout so our athletes were very prepared and well-fueled and hydrated for every session. We also carefully planned out each training session so that there were opportunities to refill bottles/nutrition to ensure that no athlete would have their health or performance compromised by underfueling/hydrating. 

In no particular order, here are some pictures from our recent 3-day Advanced Camp. 

Trimarni Greenville Camp - Day 2 recap

"Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing."

Unless you live by, in, on or near the mountains, it's not every day that you can get on your bike from your front doorstep and ride up and down a mountain. 

Karel and I consider ourselves really lucky in that we can ride from our house and within 10 minutes we can climb Paris Mountain. In less than 2 miles, we are on bike-friendly, country roads with endless options for riding.

Although we do not do the long mountain climbs very often in our training, it is a nice treat to know that we can climb a mountain anytime we want without having to drive our bikes anywhere.
And if you haven't figured it out yet, Karel and I love to climb!

It was a no-brainer that we would give our campers an opportunity to climb a mountain (or two) during camp. Not only would it provide great stress on the body for our campers to climb (without stopping) for up to an hour but it would also force our athletes to dig deep and to discover new possibilities with their fitness. And because what goes up must come down, we wanted to put those who are not comfortable descending into the position where they had to descend in order to come down the mountain and we would be right there to give them the tips, encouragement and support that they needed to conquer any fears.

The morning started early for Karel, Joe and Adam. The dynamic trio (all training for IM Lake Placid) set out for a 92 mile, 7000+ feet elevation gain ride. I have never done this route before but Karel has done it three times. 

(Picture from a previous ride). 

I have never done this route but one of these days I will test my strength (and mental toughness) and try to conquer all that climbing. 

Our amazing SAG Support (Elizabeth, Taylor, Tricia) met the trio out around 36 miles into their ride to restock bottles. 

Oh the things you will see while riding in the country. 

The guys met the SAG after/before a climb so it was a welcome but quick refueling top. Although we don't recommend athletes load up on fluids/foods before a climb, this was the only spot where the SAG could meet the guys and still make it to the Ceaser Head SAG stop for my group. Lots of logistics when it comes to training camps and we could not have done it without our fab SAG crew!

The guys had a great view of Table Rock before climbing Ceaser's Head from the other side of the mountain. 

Karel was super impressed with Adam and Joe - both Floridians who never had this much climbing in one ride. Adam's body had enough at the top of Ceaser's Head which meant he still did around 64 miles of the ride which was incredible. Karel gave him a pep talk and told him to call it a day.
(I remember when I did my longest ride in Greenville last summer  - we did some of the Hincapie Gran Fondo route and after climbing/descending Skyuka Mountain, I told Karel I was done with all that climbing. I had a little breakdown but because we were still around 40 miles from home I had no choice but to continue. Thank goodness for Karel's pep talks because I managed to get myself back on the bike. We all have those days - we are human)

The guys enjoying their well-earned view!

As for our group, we left around 8:30am (the guys left at 7:15am) and we were off to the mountains. Our ride was a planned 4+ hours of riding and 5000 feet of climbing.
I love chasing the mountains!

This is one of my favorite stops for a picture. You are so close to the mountains and the views are incredible. 

My group was amazing!! Everyone stayed strong and focused for the 7 mile climb up to the top of Ceaser's Head. Everyone finished in less than an hour (yes - 60 minutes of climbing!).

What a view!!

I was just so proud of everyone for climbing the unknown mountain. There were bumpy roads and switchbacks and with the temps approaching 100, it was not an easy day to be riding 4+ hours but hey, if it was easy, everyone would be at a Trimarni camp! 

Great job Jim!! Looking strong!

Way to go Alex!!

Yay - time to go back down the mountains- 7 miles descending!!

Our SAG crew having so much fun waiting for us. 

(BTW - Taylor - front of pic - is our awesome Trimarni photographer. You will also see some great pics from Elizabeth - back of pic. Tricia in the middle was our awesome SAG coordinator - she rocked!)

Yes Elizabeth - we climbed from way down there. 

Our SAG crew earning their post SAG meal - yummy Sidewall Pizza from Traveler's Rest.

After we all finished our ride (we all finished around the same time), it was off for a 15-20 minute run. We asked our campers to run comfortable with good form for no more than 15-20 minutes but the last 5-7 minutes were strong. As usual, all campers were required to have a hydration system with them (handheld or belt) for the run WITH a sport drink.
For the ride, we all went through at least 1 bottle of sport drink per hour. I provided the campers with specific fueling suggestions for the long run and run (and pre/post workout) and no one bonked or had GI distress - well done campers!

After a few hours of resting (well more like hanging out and eating) for our campers at the lodge, it was time to clean up and head to downtown Greenville for our camp team dinner at Roost Restaurant.

Those are some awesome bodies!!! 

Welcome to Karel's world - it's always time for a beer. 

We love our beautiful downtown and Falls Park!

Walking on the Liberty Bridge downtown. 

Thanks Roost for accommodating our large group! The service was great!

We were hungry!! I had the tempeh pesto dish....

Karel had steak. 

What a GREAT day 2 of camp!! So proud of our campers. 

Half way through camp and we only gave our campers a teaser of our challenging terrain and what's to come in day 3 and 4 of Trimarni Greenville camp.  

Stay tuned for day 3 recap of camp! 

Trimarni 2.5 day Greenville training camp - Day 2 recap

Back in 2011, I did my very first training camp. I didn't pay any money for the camp and I didn't have to travel very far because the camp was just for me. 

 Karel designed a strategically placed "overload" training block in my training plan, around 9 weeks out from the Ironman World Championship. Since we, at Trimarni, are not proponents of high volume training within our training plans (specific to endurance training), this new concept of a 3-4 day "training camp" was such a smart and appropriate way to put adequate stress on my healthy body and gain fitness without compromising health. Plus, it was so cool to just mentally and physically dedicate 3-4 days to training and to minimize outside stressors (something that is hard to accomplish on a week to week basis).

We still continue to implement "training camps" into our training plans and for our one-on-one athletes. 

There are many different types of training camps, from camps that pack a lot of volume, to camps that jump-start a training block/phase or to escape from normal life/weather to camps that are more informative to focus on skills. 

For Karel and me, camps are a prime opportunity to see our athletes in action but to also educate. Sure, the extra push that each camper gives to one another is an added bonus and something that you can never get at home when training alone but being in the elements, one on one with athletes is invaluable.

With our big training day on Saturday for our camp, we weren't sure how our campers would "survive" but they all did outstanding, with no complaints, no excuses and no bad attitudes. We had six well-fueled, strong and focused athletes ready to learn, push and support one another. 

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

At 7:45am we met as a group at the Caine Halter YMCA and due to a broken water pump, we had to move our swim to the indoor pool. With the temperatures in the low 30's on Saturday morning, our campers were not complaining that they didn't have to walk outside to the bubble pool.

After a series of swim dynamic warm-ups, our campers got into the pool for a warm-up and then they began their pre-set before their main set. 

I took video's of every athlete so that they could see what they looked like in the pool since the Fri swim was more technique focused before the main set. We really like the opportunity to have our first day of camp be dedicated to skills and technique so that our athletes can apply new tips to their training the next day. 

After an hour of swimming (around 2000 yards), our athletes changed and headed to a restaurant to feed their bellies before their long brick. I advised our athletes to have a snack before their swim and a carb-rich with moderate protein, low fiber/fat meal after the swim since we allowed about 2 hours after the swim and before the bike for digestion. 

At 11am we all met at the host hotel on our bikes and although the sun was popping out (at times) it was a bit chilly in the mid 30's. However, everyone dressed appropriately and I made sure our campers stayed consistent on their fuel intake (liquid calories) in order to avoid bonking or dehydration with the cold weather. 

Karel planned a challenging yet beautiful route through Dacusville and Pumpkintown and to Table Rock. With 4000 feet of climbing and one long climb that went from 11% to 14% to 17% to 20%, the route was not easy! But we reminded our  athletes that the riding in Greenville is not easy because the routes are not steady - there is little opportunity to develop a rhythm and this is why we feel so strongly that when our athletes come to train with us in Greenville they can get very comfortable changing gears and learning how to anticipate climbs. Aside from the rolling hills, climbs and descends, we also have a lot of turns, bumpy roads and windy sections so our  athletes were able to learn how to efficiently ride their bike (and fuel) in non-"perfect" conditions. 

Our campers were strong and they never complained. I remember the first few rides with Karel in Greenville and feeling totally exhausted from this challenging terrain. But our campers knew that the focus of the camp was to learn and improve skills but to also experience added training stress that they just can't get alone or in their normal training environment.   Needless to say, Karel and I gave everyone the push they secretly craved. The group was of different riding styles and that was just fine because we had meet-up sections on the course at stop signs/turns.

After an almost 4 hour ride, we made our way back to the host hotel and gave our athletes a 10-minute transition before our run. I made sure everyone had a sport drink or gel+water for the run because the worst thing is having athletes underfuel/underhydrate in a brick workout. Karel and I never leave the house without fluids (at minimum) when we run - even for a 10 minute brick run.

It was nearing 3:45pm and our athletes had been moving since 8am but the fun wasn't over yet. 

Karel and I ran from our home to the host hotel and met the group and we all jogged easily to the Greenville HS track (which is free to the public, anytime).

We all did a dynamic warm-up and Karel and I discussed briefly about the importance of learning how to run smart when running off the bike in a triathlon as well as how to get the mind and body ready for a strong run off the bike. 

Our brick run was ~15 minutes or 2 miles (whichever came first) on the track, semi-conversational pace. Most of us found a buddy to run with which made the laps go by rather quickly. Despite 5 hours of training in the bank on Saturday, everyone looked really smooth and light on their feet for the run. We made sure that all our campers took some extra fuel around 30 minutes before we finished the bike (gels, blocks, bars, sport drinks - sugar!) to ensure that no one would bonk or get injured. Furthermore, we all had happy feet running on the track surface compared to the asphalt.

After a 3.5 mile run, our campers had around 90 minutes to shower, rest and refuel with a recovery drink and snack and then we all met downtown for dinner at Pomegranate on Main. I absolutely LOVE this restaurant and it has something for every type of diet.

Throughout our dinner, Karel and I talked about our upcoming relationship with First Bourn and our growing excitement to hold camps at the various First Bourn locations and we also heard from each of our campers to better understand what they were taking away from the camp as well as areas of continued improvement. Lucky for me and Karel, we had two of our own one-on-one Trimarni athletes at our camp and one of our athletes is a coach herself (Leigh-Ann) so the group dynamic was really powerful to hear from all of our campers, which come from all different backgrounds and fitness levels. 

By 9pm, we were all exhausted and ready for bed so we called it a night and told everyone to sleep-in to wake up super rested for our last day of training - the long run!

Day 3 recap coming soon....here are some pictures from day 2. 

"

Reserved lanes at the YMCA

Trimarni swim workout


Happy swimmers!

Karel refueling at the French Bakery.

YUM!!

We LOVE fresh bread!!!

Time to chase the mountains!

Learn to embrace the climbs. 

What goes up must go down!

Regrouping before our "big" climb!

Riding strong!

Happy on two wheels!

Everyone made it up the big climb!

Top of the big climb!

Strong ladies!!

Karel and Izzy finishing strong!

Snow on the top!

In the valley!

The closest we can get to flat roads - rollers. 

Just riding along...

We love to climb!

Cory riding strong!

Leigh-Ann riding strong

Leigh-Ann and Meryl riding strong!

Go Leigh-Ann!

Meryl riding strong!

Doreene riding strong!

Go Doreene!

In my happy place

Yay climbs!

Laura riding strong!

Go Laura!

Go Izzy!

Izzy riding strong!

Everyone made it to the top! That was just the warm-up! 2 more hours to go!

Helping our athletes learn how to draft for training purposes

Super windy and still riding strong!

Cory takes a pull!

Pacing these strong ladies behind my wheel

Super windy out - we worked on where to draft in different wind conditions

Pushing strong!


A perfect place for a brick run!


Karel instructing on run pacing off the bike

Let's EAT!!!

Veggie kabobs with basmati rice, lentils and raisins. - HAPPY TUMMY!

Trimarni 2.5 day Greenville training camp - Day 1 recap

It was cold, windy and a little rainy but nothing stopped this great group of athletes from training hard and smart for 2.5 days in Greenville, SC with me and Karel.  

One of the primary reasons for moving to Greenville, SC (from Jacksonville, FL) back in May was because of the natural multi-sport playground that would provide us with safe, scenic and challenging roads for running and cycling. We love being outside and over the past few years, we have craved a place to live where our environment was conducive to our active lifestyle. Thank goodness we found Greenville, SC! We now have endless routes for cycling and running to the point that we can train for weeks and never have to repeat the same route twice. 

When our awesome athlete Izzy asked us if we would hold a private camp for another one of our awesome athletes (Leigh-Ann) and their awesome training buddies, we couldn't resist the opportunity!   We love awesomness! 

Now before I go into the recap of the camp, I must admit that I now have a new appreciation for race directors because we dealt with a tough situation on camp week with the weather - that changed hourly! We had no choice but to wait until Thursday to say yes or no if the camp was a go. 10 days out I watched and watched the weather and it didn't look good. Cold, rain, ice and even snow at some point during our camp. With only 2.5 days for the camp and our campers driving 90 minutes to attend, we weighed every pro and con and had plan A up to plan C for the camp. Because of the snow shower on Wed evening, we ended up having to cancel our camp on Thursday morning. By Thursday evening, most of the snow in our area melted and the roads were dry so we ended emailing everyone to say that the camp was back on. Hopefully you can understand why race directors really do wait until the very last minute to cancel a race. We needed safe roads for liability reasons and thankfully, the weather was in our favor for the camp by Friday. Thank you Mother Earth (and our campers for being so flexible!). Needless to say, we are really looking forward to having First Bourn locations for future training camps next year!

FRIDAY
1:30pm - 4:30 pm bike session, 6-7pm swim session
2 hours riding + 1 hour swimming
The focus on Friday was to give the athletes an opportunity to ride on our challenging terrain and for us to also see our athletes in action. For Karel, he can never look at a picture or an uploaded training file and know if an athlete is fitted properly on his/her bike or if they have the right cycling skills for training and racing. You can't judge cycling fitness by watts or speed because a fit triathlete knows how to ride his/her bike efficiently in order to bike as strong as possible but to conserve energy and fuel adequately in order to run strong off the bike. Having the opportunity to watch athletes but also to instruct on changing gears, grabbing bottles from cages fueling), climbing and descending skills, cornering and individual riding style is invaluable for athlete development. Also, watching our athletes in the elements (bumpy, hilly and rolling/punchy terrain and wind) is the best way to really help an athlete improve overall fitness. In Greenville, because of our terrain, changing gears has to be second nature. There is no easy ride here and you can easily go through every gear in small and big ring in less than 10 minutes as the opportunity to settle into a rhythm is very rare on our country roads. Every ride makes you a stronger cyclist and you have no choice but to improve riding skills. Greenville really is the perfect place to have a training camp in an effort to improve triathlon skills.

After the bike, our athletes had around an hour to clean up, refuel and check into their hotel (just a mile from downtown Greenville, where we started our ride).

We all met at the Westside Aquatic Center around 5:45pm and we did a few dynamic swim warm-ups to loosen up and talked about our use of pool toys as well as the importance of triathlon swim training to prepare for open water swimming. I demonstrated a few different swimming stroke styles, comparing "competitive swimmer" strokes vs "open water" strokes in the water and then got out to be on deck to watch our athletes from above the water. I had a main set for everyone and throughout the first 30 minutes of the swim workout, Karel and I took 2 athletes at a time in their own lane to break down their swim stroke and to provide some tips/suggestions for improvement. All the athletes (6 of them) performed the main set together, on their own respected cycles.
10 min warm-up
Pre set:
200, 175, 150, 125, 100, 50 - with 10 sec rest - building intensity throughout from 75-95%
300 choice
MS 3-4x's:
20-30 sec vertical kicking, then go right into
3 x 50's descending 1-3 (80,85,95%) w/ 5 sec rest
30-60 sec rest in between before repeating the MS.
50 EZ

10 bobs

After the swim, I handed out the camper swag bags, courtesy of our awesome Trimarni sponsors.
Thank you sponsors for having quality gear/products that we trust, use and recommend!!!
Clif Bar
Oakley and Oakley Women
Veronica's Health Crunch
Xterra Wetsuits
Training Peaks
Run In

It was nearing 7:45pm when our athletes left the aquatic center and they were super hungry so they left to get some food and Karel and I headed home to finalize our plans for our big training day on Saturday. 

Day 2 recap coming soon.... for now, here are some pics of our first day of camp. 

Swag bag thanks to our awesome sponsors. 

Thank you Run In for providing extra swag for our campers. 

Swag!

Coach Karel ready for our afternoon ride. 

Group discussion before we hit the rollers. 

Karel has endless information, tips and tricks from his lifetime as a competitive cyclist, recently turned triathlete in 2012. 

Love those views!

Riding back to town on the Swamp Rabbit Trail



Swim session at the aquatic center. 

Endless lanes for happy human fishes!