Happy 15th Birthday Campy

 

Dear Campy, 
You have surpassed the life expectancy of the average dog and today we celebrate your 15 years of life. 

I still remember the day we came across your picture on Petfinder.com. Your long-legs, floppy ears and innocent golden face stole our heart and we knew we needed you in our life. You were only a year old and we were in no position to "own" a dog. I was in school becoming a RD, your dad was the general manager of the Trek Store, we were a few weeks away from getting married and we were living on a very tight budget. We had recently moved to Jacksonville, Florida - living in a small apartment on the 3rd floor.

But little did I know how much I needed you in my life. 

Since the day I brought you home, you have slept in our bed. You love to burry yourself under the covers and always make sure part of you is always touching me. You get excited for every new day, despite the routine being exactly the same as the day before. All you know is life with cats. 

The best part of my day is seeing your energy when I get out your leash for your walks. You love being outside. 

We've created so many amazing memories together. You've traveled a lot - from bike races and triathlons to visiting friends and family. You are the best travel companion as you never complain and always know how to calm us down in stressful situations. 

From stressful and exhausting moves and life changes to the loss of family members, you've helped us get through so many emotionally challenging times. And no matter the day, you shower us with unconditional love without using any words. Even on the worst day of life, your joyous celebration of 'another day of life' becomes a gentle reminder to express gratitude and to always focus on the positive. 

You love to destroy plush toys with squeakers. You always get your own Thanksgiving plate. 

You show your loyalty through protection but when you learn to trust a stranger, you become extremely kind and affectionate. 

Over the past few years, we've noticed the changes and signs that you are aging. You are much less golden. You are much more anxious. Your hearing is mostly gone and you sometimes get disoriented and confused. You can no longer jump like you used to so everytime you make it on the couch (after a few missed attempts), we celebrate your effort and say "you still got it!" You need help getting off the bed as you don't trust yourself jumping down. Your joints are stiff after sleeping and you sometimes struggle to lift your leg to pee. You prefer to stay downstairs as it takes a bit of work to go up the stairs. You can't hold your bladder as long as you used to but luckily you don't mind wearing a diaper (and you look so cute in it). You've been on seizure meds since 2013 and thankfully you haven't had one since.

You sleep a lot. With very few teeth left, your tongue often slips out of your mouth as you sleep so deeply. I love seeing how comfortable and happy you are snuggled in your bed, feeling warm in your fuzzy blanket or dog bed. 

But you continue to impress the vet at your senior check-ups. You still have energy for long walks and you don't hesitate when there's an opportunity to chase a bird or squirrel. You still get excited for car rides. And you get so excited when it's time to eat - jumping and barking in excitement. 

Although the aging process has been slow, there are constant reminders that you are getting older. But instead of worrying about how many years we have left with you, I celebrate every day by recognizing how much life you still have in you. 

Whatever life throws at us, you are always there. You remind us every single day to be happy and most of all, to always be grateful for another day. 

Today is a monumental day and every day forward is a blessing.

Happy 15th birthday Campy, my love. 

2021 Trimarni Endurance Training Camp Recap

 

DAY ONE
As with many of our campers, we had to change our tentative training schedule due to weather. With tropical storm Elsa making her way up from Florida, the weather forecast had us worried. To play it safe, we swapped a few things around and thankfully, it all worked out. 

We started the morning at 9am for a 75-minute long course swim workout at the Westside Aquatic Center. We reserved three lanes for our campers. We like to start each camp with a swim workout as it's a nice way for the athletes to settle into camp and to release any nerves or worries. We mostly focused on technique with a series of drills w/ toys (ex. snorkel, buoy, fins, paddles, kick board) and finished with some open water specific work (ex. sighting). 

After the swim, the campers had a short break before we met at Trailblazer parking lot around 11:30am. Most of our campers stayed at the Swamp Rabbit Inn in TR, which was just a 1/2 mile from where we started and finished our bike/run workouts at Trailblazer Park. Hoping to miss the predicted afternoon shower, we had a quick turn around from swim to bike. The athletes were advised to have a recovery snack and meal after the swim but the main recovery would happen in the late afternoon/evening due to a packed first day of camp. Campers also had a varied mix of sport nutrition products from NBS, Infinit, Skratch and other various products that I collected from Run In to keep our athletes fueled and hydrated. 

We biked out on the trail to the country roads, headed toward Marietta and then to Pumpkintown. Right on River Road and we made our way to River Falls. I absolutely love this 5.6 mile loop that I discovered during our last GVL WBL group bike ride.  The loop has a little of everything - a climb, descend, a flattish fast section and then a section to recover. We broke into small groups to keep everyone safe getting out to the loop and then we did 3 loops on the course - the first was a get-familiar loop, then heavy gear on the climb and then a 'best effort' time trial. The campers did amazing. To make things even more fun, on the last loop, we had our campers do the climb twice so that they finished on the top of the climb at Eedee's car. After the ride, we made our way back to Trailblazer Park for a run off the bike. The bike was ~3:20 and ~56 miles and close to ~3000 feet elevation gain. Everyone did a great job managing the terrain. 

For the run off the bike, we had everyone do a 45-min form focused run. The loop was 1.3 miles and they reversed direction at the end of each loop so that they could see one another and cheer each other on. Although they were tired from the first full day of camp, everyone did a great job focusing on good form, fueling, hydrating and rhythm on our undulating terrain. We always encourage our athletes to take "reset" walk/stop breaks so that was a theme throughout our entire camp to help reduce the residual stress to allow for good form running. 

Day one ended just before 5pm, which made for a packed first day. 

DAY TWO

We had another swim on the schedule for day two but a bit earlier to start the day. The campers arrived around 7:40am for a 8am-9:15am long course swim workout. This swim was a bit more specific so after warming up and spending some time on technique, it was time for the main set - which was a ladder or pyramid, depending on the lane/fitness abilities. After the swim, we all headed over to Furman for a run workout. We parked near the amphitheater which allowed us to be close to bathrooms, and our cars, so that everyone could stay well fueled and hydrated throughout a very humid, 75-min run workout. We started with an easy jog around the lake and then woke up the posterior chain with 3 rounds of hill strides (10, 20, 30 sec w/ easy jog down). After the hills, another jog around the lake and then it was time for the main set. The campers had a steep hill to climb on the back side of the Furman lake, followed by strong running downhill. Then to the bell tower and back where this section was a reset. Each loop was a little over 1/2 mile and they repeated the set for three times total. Afterward, another loop around the lake for a quality 75-minute run workout. 

We gave the campers a little bit of time to rest, recover and refuel before an afternoon bike session. We met at 1:30pm at Trailblazer park and headed out the same way that we did on day one and headed to our ~5 mile loop. Our campers did two loops working on terrain management but overall, this was a lower stress ride. Although our terrain is never easy and brings effort no matter where you ride (unless it's the swamp rabbit trail), we wanted our athletes to finish the ride feeling better than when they started (which they were all pretty tired when they started). Somehow we missed the rain as the sky was turning pretty dark. We finished the 2.5 hour ride around 4:30pm which concluded day two of camp. 

DAY THREE

It's going to be a great day of camp when you get to swim in the open water at Lake Jocassee. We all caravanned to the lake and parked at the Kayak station off Bootleg road. We started the morning with a 70-minute open water swim workout. After a 10 min out and back warm-up in the cove, the athletes did 2 x 20 min loops (with sighting "polls") with a little rest in between. We then finished with 3 short out and back sections around a poll as build to strong. After the swim, it was time for a run. 

There's no getting around it but a run at Lake Jocassee is going to be hilly. Really really hilly. Our athletes had 3 x 30 min out and back loops with each loop starting on a big long hill out of the parking lot. The loops were as follows: Steady, strong, steady. Walking was absolutely allowed and encouraged. The weather started out hot and humid but we were greeted with a wonderful downpour on the last loop of our run. The athletes were very strong and never gave up. We had planned to enjoy a dip in the water too cool off after the run but the rain shower took care of that for us. 

As for the afternoon, the campers were encouraged to rest, relax and refuel. Several of them made a visit to Run In to visit Dane - our shoe fairy :) Then it was time for our traditional camp pizza party (with 10 delicious pizza's from D'​Allesandro's).

DAY FOUR

With this being day four, our campers were very sore and tired but they also brought a bit of excitement to the workout as it was the last day of camp. We left Trailblazer Park around 7:45am and headed out the same way that we had gone the past two rides. We continued on Pumpkintown to the very end and crossed Hwy 11. We had a quick SAG stop at the gas station before we started our 12-mile "climb" to the Eastern Continental Divide. We picked this route  as it has a lot of characteristics similar to the Ironman Lake Placid bike course. The 12-mile segment to the divide has three distinctive sections. The first is a 3-ish mile section with several switch backs. Then we have a ~3-ish mile section of longer rolling hills and descends. Once we cross a bridge, the last section of 3.8 miles is the longest and most steady section of climbing. After everyone made it to the top, we regrouped and headed back down. Whereas it took the campers at least an hour to 75 minutes to get to the turn around at the top, it was a fast and fun ~40 minutes (or less) to return back to the gas station. Several of our campers are still gaining skills and confidence on downhills so we helped them out, especially on the switchbacks and steeper segments. I had a big sigh of relief when everyone made it back to the gas station/SAG stop in one piece. We then headed back for the last 22 miles to conclude all of the biking at camp. The campers finished with ~71 miles in ~4.5 hours of riding (with ~5000+ elevation gain). After the ride, a 2.5 mile loop (with one last big hill because, why not :) + extra so that everyone finished the run together with around 25 minutes of running. 

We are so proud of our campers. They really impressed us. Although this camp was by design, an intentional training overload, our campers would not have been able to safely tolerate this load without all of their consistent, previous training. Camp, like racing, is the fun part where you get to showcase your hard work...most of which is lonely, monotonous and tough because it occurs behind-the-scenes, when no one is watching. 

2021 Trimarni Endurance Training Camp - quick recap

 

Every training camp is a different experience. No matter how much planning goes into the camp schedule and routes, we always feel like we are needing to be flexible due to uncertainty. The timing in the season, the campers, the weather.....there is just no way to predict how the camp will unfold. 

But after every camp, we find ourselves saying "that was the best camp." I don't know how it happens but every camp turns out to be the most rewarding, exhausting, memorable and fun experience. 

We planned the timing of this camp to occur two weeks before Ironman Lake Placid. We did this for two reasons. The first reason was to help our athletes break out of their normal training routine and overload the body in a safe, beautiful, challenging environment. With us watching over them, we could also keep our athletes in good health knowing that they were finishing off their Ironman training with a lot of residual fatigue. Secondly, in the case that Ironman Lake Placid was cancelled (we planned this camp back in the winter), we didn't want our athletes to go through another mental let-down and to feel like all of the training would go to waste. If the race was cancelled, we could still give our athletes an Ironman-inspired training camp. 

Thankfully, Ironman Lake Placid is a go and seven of our eleven campers were able to put together a solid 4-day training camp to finish off a one (to two) year journey in route to the Ironman Lake Placid start line. As for the other campers, they will receive a nice boost in fitness, endurance and resilience from the intentional training overload. 

Over four days in Greenville, SC, the campers stretched comfort zones, practiced their race day nutrition, worked through mental challenges, tested their physical limits and kept each other accountable during the low moments. There were laughs, smiles and tears and a lot of hills to climb. This camp was memorable for many reasons but it was extra rewarding to witness how several of our athletes have developed over the past few years. Although we were inspired by the work ethic of every athlete, it's extra special to see how the confidence, endurance, resilience and skills of our returning athletes improve year after year. It makes us so very proud as coaches to see how our athletes develop, as we know long-distance triathlon training is not easy and it comes with a lot of setbacks, obstacles and sacrifices. 

Over four days, our campers accumulated over 17 hours of training. 
~3.5 hours of swimming
~10 hours of biking (~10,000+ feet elevation gain)
~4 hours of running (~3000+ feet elevation gain)

Some workouts came as a physical challenge whereas others were more mental. But our campers kept showing up and they never gave up. There were no excuses, just focus, persistence and grit. Even with a few changes in the tentative schedule due to weather, our athletes never complained. And even on day four - the longest and most challenging bike session - it was as if our campers got stronger as the camp went on and finished the workout with strength and determination. 

As for me and Karel, we are exhausted. Training camps are fun and rewarding but they are very mentally draining for us. The constant worry of their safety while making sure each athlete is receiving the right type of training stress without risking a health issue is very stressful for us and we typically finish camp feeling mentally drained and physically exhausted. We try to keep things simple for our athletes so that all they have to do is show up prepared for each training session. This requires a lot of behind-the-scenes work. I'm incredibly grateful to those who help us out in our camps. Alvi and Eedee were super helpful and I could not have done it without them. The constant worry of their safety while making sure each athlete is receiving the right type of training stress without risking a health issue is very stressful for us and we typically finish camp feeling mentally drained and physically exhausted. 

Now that our campers are done with camp, it's time for them to let their training marinate as they recover from the intentional training overload. For some, they will soon experience a breakthrough in their training as they continue to train for their upcoming events. For the rest, it's time to sharpen the body and mind for in less than two weeks, it's time to celebrate the journey at the start line of Ironman Lake Placid. 

2017 Trimarni Greenville Skills Camp wrap-up

Well, that's a wrap! With our first Greenville skills camp behind us, we wanted to take an opportunity to share with you the highlights of the camp. 

Day 1 swim skills:
We met our eight campers at Furman University (Physical Activities Center - PAC) outside the building and then proceeding inside to a large classroom for a meet and greet, followed by a 90-minute discussion on swimming. We designed this skills camp to be a small, intimate and personalized camp to ensure that every camper was able to get one on one attention with lots of opportunities for questions.

Swimming topics discussed included:

• Pool versus open water swimming 
• Importance of body posture, alignment and propulsion as an open water swimmer
• Framework of an effective swim workout
• Tips to improve swimming as a triathlete and common swimming mistakes by triathletes
• Detailed discussion of the phases of a swim stroke - catch, pull, exit, recovery
• How to breath when swimming
• Discussion of pool toys and importance of swimming with toys versus swimming with drills - ankle strap, fins, buoy, snorkel, fins
• Open water tips 

After the discussion, it was time for our campers to get into the water for a 90-minute skill focused swim, followed by a "main set" to put all the skills to good use.

Here are some pictures from our first skills session, taken by Joey, who was our support throughout camp.

Day 1: Run skills
Following our swim skills session, it was time to head down the road to Poinsett Park for a run skills session. We had our campers get warmed up with a 1/2 mile EZ jog. We then started our run skills discussion on the following topics:

• Posture and form
• How to reduce risk for injury in running
• How to improve running efficiency
• Tips for food form running
• Running drills
• Busting some running myths: Shoe types, running styles, strength, stride rate/length
• Up and downhill running tips

After our run skills session, we gave our athletes a workout to put everything together. 

Here are some pictures from our run skills session. 

Day 1 Bike skills: After a 2 hour break for food/recovery, it was time for our last session of the day - which was the one I was most looking forward to as I know how much triathletes need to work on bike handling skills. 

Karel did a phenomenal job working with our athletes on their bike handling skills and we had a variety of drills to practice in a safe parking lot at Trailblazer park. 

Knowing that many triathletes are afraid on the bike, and tend to spend a lot of emotional energy while riding, we spent a full hour working on bike handling skills so that our campers could ride more relaxed and confident on two wheels. 

A few reasons why triathletes should work on bike skills: 

• To feel safe and confident on all types of terrain and conditions 
• To ride comfortably around other riders
• To be able to to safely pass other people and dodge obstacles in the road 
• To improve safety and safety of those around you. 

Many crashes can be avoided with experience, skills and mental preparation. 

After helping our athletes learn how to sit properly on the bike while learning how to stay relaxed, it was time to work on some drills! 

• Practice changing gears while riding – small ring to big ring, etc.
• Anticipate stopping quickly and unclipping quickly. 
• Hand skills – right turn, left turn, slowing/stopping, signal something on the road, grabbing bottles, rotating bottles
• Look behind you and keep the bike in a straight line
• U-turns – left, right
• Figure 8’s
• Standing up

After our drill session, it was time to take the bike riding to real conditions. We all rode 5 miles down the road to a safe and quiet location with a steep hill to practice climbing and descending. 

Here are some pictures from our bike skills session:

And what camp would be complete without a pic with Mr. Llama!

Day 2: For our second day of camp, we all met at Hotel Domestique for a 2.5 hour ride followed by a 20-minute run.

Karel first discussed a few terrain management tips for riding on the hills as well as why we want to learn how to stretch our available cadence to help ride more efficiently (rather than shifting to the smallest gear to "save your legs"). To apply this information, Karel gave the group a main set that we could ride with our campers to help with some one on one work.
We all rode together to the base of the Watershed and performed the main set on the watershed (up for each interval and then down for recovery)

MS 3x's:
9 minutes Z2 as 3 minutes 75rpm, 3 minutes 65 rpm, 3 minutes 55 rpm.
Then ride back down for recovery

6 minutes Z2/3 as 55-65rpm

Then ride back down for recovery

4 minutes Z3 as 45-55rpm

After the ride, we all rode back to the hotel for a quick transition to the run. We had our campers run a 20-minute hilly run to show them that even though they did a lot of mechanical work on the bike, they saved their cardio system for the run. Everyone did amazingly well and gave 100% for the entire 3 hour brick. 

Day 2 nutrition/training talk: 

After a few hours of recovery, we all met downtown Greenville for a 2-hour Q&A talk at Falls Park before dinner at Trio Brick Oven. This was a great opportunity for our campers to ask us questions and to talk about the application of sport nutrition for triathletes. Our campers asked great questions!

Day 3: Transition work
It's very common that triathletes put a lot of time into training but neglect the importance of having a plan and practicing the plan for a quick, effective and smooth transition. Because transitions can cause a lot of anxiety, stress and time, we want to practice transitions and to think of them as "free" time in your overall triathlon time. In other words, you don't have to be fit and trained to have a quick transition.

We gave our campers a few transition tips and then for their final workout, they had several opportunities to practice transitions.

We started with a run around a cement track, followed by transitioning to the bike. We set up a little course which included a mount line, a 2 mile bike course (with a descend and hill on this bike loop) and a run course that led to the track. Our campers had to set up their gear similar to a race and we even had a transition rack for them to practice their entire transition.

Our campers did a total of 8 transitions (run, bike, run, bike, run, bike, run, bike, run). Of course, knowing that transitions are never smooth, we made sure that "stuff" happened to our campers in transition - like another cyclist getting in your way on the mount line or your helmet getting knocked off your bike and one of your  shoes moving to another athlete's transition area. We made sure to think of all transition scenarios so that our campers could practice, practice, practice to build confidence for race day. 

What a successful camp! We could not be more proud of our campers who invested a lot to improve swim/bike/run skills. We overloaded their heads with information and they had a lot of one on one help. We have no doubt that our campers built a lot of confidence from camp and will feel more prepared for upcoming training and racing. 

And to finish off camp - awards for all of the campers!

What an inspiring group of athletes! Best of luck this season! 

We would also like to give a big thank you to the Trimarni sponsors and affiliates who continue to support the Trimarni team and camps:

-Run In - for helping us with all of our running needs
-New Wave Swim Buoy - for keeping us safe and seen in the open water
-Mg12 - for helping our muscles stay relaxed
-Clif Bar - for quality ingredients in quality sport nutrition
-Cheribundi - for providing a safe, natural and delicious way to reduce inflammation
-Veronica's Health Crunch - for the most delicious hand made crunch - ever!
-Infinit - for customizable sport nutrition
-Levelen - for helping us optimize our hydration needs through sweat testing
-Hot Shot - for keeping Karel cramp-free!
-Solestar - for maximum stability, better power transmission
-Boco Gear - for helping us race in style
-Canari - for the most comfortable, functional and stylish gear

-Xterra - for the fastest wetsuit ever (so fast, Karel is now beating me in the swim!)
-Alto cycling - for enginnering the fastest race wheels
-Swamp Rabbit Inn and Lodge - for keeping our campers happy with perfect lodging options
-Salem Anesthesia - for your Trimarni support

2017 Trimarni camps - now open for registration!

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A MEMORABLE, VALUABLE, EDUCATIONAL, Challenging AND FUN TRIATHLON TRAINING EXPERIENCE WITH EXPERT GUIDANCE and athlete support?

 YOU HAVE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE.

At Trimarni, we are extremely passionate about our 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.



Our mission is to provide our campers with an unforgettable camp experience, empowering you to stretch your athletic limits while providing you with a great amount of education and skill focus to help you become a better triathlete. 



When you participate in a Trimarni camp, we will give you our full attention as we want you to learn new training techniques (and break some old bad habits) to ensure that you can train effectively in your home environment, after your time at camp has concluded.


As you travel to a picturesque training location, surrounded by like-minded triathletes, you will leave your stressful and busy life behind you. 



We want to take care of everything for you so that all you have to do is book your travel and show-up to camp.

Your camp investment will give you the unique opportunity to train in a group format (alongside two experienced coaches and SAG support), while getting great sleep, eating well, fueling smart and receiving a lot of motivation and inspiration from your fellow campers.

Take a look at our camps to decide which camp will best fit your athletic needs.
All camps are open to all triathletes.
You do not have to be a Trimarni coaching athlete to participate in a Trimarni group or private camp.



If you are coached by another coach/coaching company, we would be happy to discuss your needs with your coach, before a group or private Trimarni camp, to ensure the best camp training experience possible to assist in your athletic season development. 

If you aren't sure which camp is right for you, send us an email and let us help.

We look forward to giving you an unforgettable training experience at a 2017 Trimarni group or private training camp.

Be sure to register quickly as several of our camps are over 50% filled at this time.
(Trimarni coaching athletes receive first priority sign-up.)

FIND OUT MORE HERE