Live a more courageous life

On Sunday (January 8th), Facebook shared this memory of Campy from 2014. Not only was Campy just a young pup at six years old but this was a very important moment in our life - it was our first trip to Greenville, SC. We were living in Jacksonville, FL and after six years, we were ready for a change. Although there was nothing forcing us to move, we felt like there was more to life for us and it wasn't in Florida. 

It was extremely risky to move from Florida to South Carolina. This was a big change and nearly everything that we would be experiencing would be new for both of us. 

Thankfully, Greenville, SC. has been the perfect place for us to grow our business and to live an active and healthy lifestyle. 

For much of my life, I hated change. I feared failure and I did not like stepping out of my comfort zone. Karel has helped me become much more courageous. With Karel leading the way in most of our adventures, it has forced me to understand (and work through) that paralyzing moment of anxiety, stress and worry. Because fear has the power of stopping us from making the most out of opportunities, I realized (with time) that being courageous means making the choice to get more out of my one and only life. 

Prior to moving to Greenville, SC we knew our move wouldn't be easy and smooth but we also thought about the things that were important to us - and that helped us act in spite of the fear of giving up the familiar. 

Since moving to Greenville, SC. I have found myself doing a lot of new things - I've really strengthened my courage muscle - and it's not without tears, worry and struggles. But each time I stretch or step out of my comfort zone, I find myself getting more excited about life. I no longer fear failure and that has allowed me to grow as a human being. 

The memory of our first trip to Greenville on January 8th, 2014 could not have come at a better time. 

On Saturday, it was nearly 30-degrees and we were getting ready for the 10am Greenville Winter Bike League weekly ride. The old me wouldn't have even considered the thought of riding outside but the new me likes to put myself into uncomfortable situations. Unfortunately, I didn't feel strong on the ride and it was a real struggle for me but I showed up and gave it my best effort. I finished the ride feeling accomplished (and even went out for a 20-min run off the bike!). 

It’s easy to avoid things that feel hard, uncomfortable and overwhelming. It’s normal to have an expectation that we should be in the mood to do something and that it will be comfortable, fun and pleasurable.

But this mindset means we teach ourselves that we can’t do hard things.

I love putting myself into challenging, uncertain, uncomfortable and difficult situations.

For many years, I was scared of failure. But I learned that I was robbing myself of great opportunities and meaningful experiences by shying away from difficulty.

Do the things that make you feel uncomfortable. 
Try to live a more courageous life. 
Learning to be comfortable with discomfort is an important skill to living a truly fulfilling life.

Before you start a 30-day challenge, read this!

A 30-day challenge is a great way to implement new healthy habits into your lifestyle, push yourself through fears or to try something different. Hey, it's only 30-days....what's the worst that could happen?

Although time-bound challenges can be effective for behavior modifications, many people fail to reach the finish line. Here are a few things to keep in mind before you jump on the 30-day challenge bandwagon:

👍PROS: Changing habits is hard. With it comes great pressure and self-doubt as you think about committing to "forever." In the big picture of the year, 30-days is a period just long enough for you to experiment with what works and what doesn't work. You can begin to understand how the change affects you emotionally, physically, socially and spiritually. A challenge allows you to open your mind to new possibilities or a new ways of doing things and gives you confidence and a sense of accomplishment. Plus, it can put you well on your way to making something an actual habit.

👎CONS: A fixed-time challenge can be a great way to kickstart a new activity but it takes more than 30-days to ingrain a new habit. You can't rush the process in 30-days. While you may be motivated to reach a goal, there's no quick fix to long-term problems. More so, many challenges are oriented toward short-term results and not effective for long-term changes. It's not uncommon at the end of those 30 days for people to give up and return to previous habits (or worse habits due to frustration or relief that the challenge is complete). The outcome often becomes about reaching a goal or finishing the challenge, rather than on changing behaviors to maintain the change in a sustainable way.

Because you can't turn life into a series of 30-day challenges, it's important to make changes because they are important to you. A habit is a learned automatic response. To form a new habit - or to break a bad one - you must make the commitment to change, initiate the new behavior and continue to work at it until it becomes part of who you are and how you live. A challenge should align with your values and should be realistic for your lifestyle - in other words, it should make your life easier or less stressful, not cause you distress. Avoid the all or nothing, pass or fail mentality and approach the challenge with good intentions.

As featured in the latest Trimarni newsletter, here are a few challenge ideas to implement into your routine for the next 30-days:

• Everyday, write down one thing you are grateful for.
• Engage in some type of movement for 30-minutes everyday (can be split up into segments).
• Drink at least 8-ounces of water every time you eat (meals and snacks).
• Consume 1 cup of fruits and 1 cup of vegetables every day.
• Meditate for 5 minutes every day.
• Eat breakfast every morning (within 2 hours of waking).
• Commit to a random act of kindness everyday.
• Floss your teeth every day.
• Take a photo of something that makes you happy everyday.
• Pay for everything with cash for the next 30-days. At the end of each day, put all loose change (or $1 bills) in the charge to use as an emergency fund.
• Declutter (or organize) your house by one location (or drawer/shelf) everyday for the next 30-days.
• Do something that makes you happy for 20-minutes everyday.
• Get up ten minutes earlier every morning.
• Limit non-business related social media usage to no more than 30-minutes a day.

Our next triathlon event will be XTREME!

With this year being unpredictable and different, we have approached our training as a way to try different things and to explore different events. Cancelled races meant new opportunities.

Earlier this summer, Karel was itching for a physical challenge. He wanted some type of event where he would be challenged physically and mentally. After 14 years together, I've learned that anytime Karel says to me "Marni, I have an idea...." I know it's something epic or exciting.

Or, it's a new bike 😄

When Karel mentioned the Florida Xtreme Coast to Coast triathlon in mid November, I immediately told Karel that I wanted to do the event with him. We registered and committed to the 3-day event. He also mentioned applying for Ultraman Florida but I told Karel that I would gladly support him during that extreme ultra endurance event (and not be a participant). 

After completing 16 Ironman distance triathlons (and qualifying for the Ironman World Championship six times), I feel that I understand what it takes to successfully navigate through the physical and mental obstacles that occur over swimming, biking and running for a total of 140.6 miles. I still feel extremely challenged by the Ironman distance and I absolutely love the journey of preparing for an Ironman. I also never take the Ironman distance for granted. I've been so thankful that my body has allowed me to train for the Ironman distance for 14 consecutive years. But this year has been all about trying new things and exploring new opportunities. 

From November 13th-15th, Karel and I will be participating in the Florida Xtreme Coast to Coast Triathlon. This will be a true test of our physical and mental limits and it'll be a challenge unlike any other endurance event that we have completed. 

Not only will we cover over 300 miles over three days - swimming a total of 6 miles, biking a total of 244 miles and running a total of 50.3 miles - but this event takes us from one coast to the other...a triathlon journey over the state of Florida. 

Here are the logistics: 

• Stage 1: November 13th - 2 mile swim in Crystal River, 102 mile bike (from Crystal River to Ocala), 18.6 mile run in Ocala.
• Stage 2: November 14th - 2 mile swim in Ocala, 73 mile bike (from Ocala to Starke), 18.6 mile run in Starke. 
• Stage 3: November 15th - 2 mile swim in Starke, 68 mile bike (from Starke to Palm Coast), 13.1 mile run in Palm Coast. 

Although we only registered for the event in September, I feel as if all of our years as endurance triathletes has prepared us for many of the physical and mental components that we will experience over three days of racing. However, this event will test us in many new ways - physically and mentally. The logistics of this event will be a new experience for us but we have no idea how our bodies will perform day after day after day. Then you toss in weather, course navigating and a small racing field and it's all a big unknown for our body and mind.  Over the summer, we have experienced training through fatigue on a whole new level. We have explored new mental limits and have tested ourselves physically. 

We are really looking forward to event as it's much more than a physical challenge. 

It's easy and fun to live a life staying in your comfort zone. Life is filled with obstacles, detours, peaks and valleys and road closed signs. There is great value in challenging yourself and getting outside of your comfort zone. Not only do you discover that you are capable of things that you didn't think you could do but you also learned that you have so many more skills, strengths and talents if you just give yourself a chance to explore your limits. Challenging yourself doesn't have to be physical. Learning a new skill, traveling to a new place or changing your normal routine can all be wonderful challenges that force you to break old habits or change mental barriers. 

We all go through difficult times. These moments can take a heavy toll on mood, health and outlook on life. As a result, you may feel helpless, hopeless, stressed and anxious. Resiliency is the ability to cope with trauma, loss and change. The more resilient you are, the better you are able to tolerate uncomfortable and challenging times. Resiliency isn't something you achieve in one day and it's not fixed. It's an ongoing process that requires effort as you build resilience over time. 

To build resilience, you must accept the situation for what it is. You must focus on things within your control. Take a step back and maintain a hopeful outlook. You need to be able to look at past successes and coping strategies to gain confidence in a difficult situation. You must feel your feelings but manage your emotions. And most of all, during turbulent times, we must pursue activities and interests that nourish our spirit. Never give up on something that defines you as an individual and brings meaning to your life. 

The Florida Xtreme event will teach us so much about ourselves and the world around us, it will strengthen us and help us continue to evolve and grow as human beings. 

You can follow along with our event at Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition, Trimarni and on the Xtreme triathlon website. 

To learn more about the event, visit HERE.

Why you need to be challenged

As an athlete, you are constantly put into scenarios where you are challenged. Sometimes you will thrive and other times you will struggle. This isn't just on race day, but in training as well. When you experience a challenge, your level of perserverance, mental fortitude, grit and determination will be tested.

Whether a tough main set, a virtual race or a block of epic workouts, now more than ever before, it's important to find creative ways to satisfy your competitive drive.  With a strong desire to conquer the challenge that lies ahead, you will find yourself filled with nervous, positive energy - just like you would experience on race day.

As for your emotions, if you feel threatened or discouraged by a challenge, your confidence will be affected. And where does that dislike of a challenge come from? Likely from a fear of  failure. When you consider or accept a new challenge, you are also faced with the possibility of failure. Rather than seeing the opportunity in the situation, your mind may feel with thoughts on what it would be like to fail or not meet your expectations.

Gift yourself a workout challenge. You deserve to feel excitement, inspiration, courage and healthy nerves, even during stressful and difficult times. Instead of avoiding a challenge due to fear of failure, focus on what you will gain by putting yourself through a personal challenge. During a physical challenge, it's not about pass or fail. It's about having fun and seeing the challenge as something exciting, new and enriching.

As you learn to become motivated by athletic challenges, you will develop a positive reaction to difficult, uncomfortable and new scenarios. Instead of viewing challenges with fear and self-doubt, learn to rise to the challenge. By doing this in training, you'll be better prepared for the challenges that you will face on race day.

You have two ways of viewing a challenge. One is: "this is going to be so hard, there's no way I can perform well today." The other is: "I'm excited to see what I can do." Clearly, one thought is a threat (or self-doubt in abilities) and the other is viewed as a welcoming experience.

The more you can test your limits and capabilities, the more you can learn about yourself.

New challenges are opportunities to discover your incredible capabilities, strengths and areas of improvement.

How will you challenge yourself?

Challenge yourself and have fun!

There's a lot to balance in life when you choose to train for a competitive sport as an adult athlete. As kids and young adults, there are still responsibilities in life for student athletes but life certainly becomes a lot more stressful as you grow up. 

But despite all the stressors in life that we face on a daily basis, there's something so special about moving and using your body to relieve some of that stress. Many times the mind becomes relaxed at the start, during or after a training session. Other times, a tense body becomes relaxed at the thought of the upcoming opportunity to workout. 

Regardless if you are training or working out for fitness gains, it is important to have fun with what you are doing.
My advice is to change up the scenery every now and then to keep things fresh. Perhaps go to a new location to train (even if it is driving 10 miles down the road or maybe spending the night somewhere that is 2+ hours away), join others on a new route/activity or discover the new place that everyone is talking about.
In a busy life, it's very easy to get burnt out of something that you know makes you incredibly happy simply because it is just one more thing to add to your busy schedule. But because activity can help you live a more quality filled life, never convince yourself that you are too busy to move your body. Spend a little time every day on yourself and when you have the opportunity, go venture out of your normal routine and have some fun doing something new or different. 

Challenge yourself. Yep, that's what I will be doing with Karel today on our 85-mile ride. My body has not seen this much climbing in a long time (maybe not since 6-gap in 2009) so I plan to thank my body a lot during and after this ride.
We will be riding from our home in downtown Greenville to Ceaser's Head and then doing a loop (which we did on Thursday) by Hotel Domestique and on the roads that George Hincapie loves to train. 

Life is not without challenges and if you are an athlete, training and racing/competition is not easy. Embrace a challenge every now and then and take yourself out of your comfort zone. Of course, always keep safety and your health as the most important priority.
Depending on your race/event course, there may be hills, descends, wind, crowded or bumpy roads and less than ideal conditions. Sometimes you should embrace the things that you can not control and face your fears. Every athlete should accept challenging situations by practicing for those conditions and improving your physical and mental skills. Don't let race or competition day be your first day climbing/descending on your bike, running on hills, swimming in open water, riding in the wind, etc. 

As you enjoy the beautiful sights and experiences and thank your body for what it allows you to do, accept the unfamiliar, the uncomfortable and the unknown and see what you can accomplish with your incredible body and mind.

Happy training!